Smith's Bible Dictionary - J

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JAAKAN


(he shall surround), the same as Jakan, the forefather of
Bene-Jaakan. (10:6)


JAAKOBAH


(supplanter), one of the princes of the families of Simeon. (1
Chronicles 4:36) (B.C. about 710.)


JAALA


(wild she-goat). Bene-Jaala were among the descendants of
"Solomon's slaves" who returned from Babylon with Zerubbabel. (Nehemiah
7:58) (B.C. before 536.) The name also occurs as Ja-alah.


JAALAH


(wild goat). (Ezra 2:56)


JAALAM


(whom God hides), a son of Esau, (Genesis 36:5,14,18) comp. 1Chr
1:35 And a head of a tribe of Edom. (B.C. 1790.).


JAANAI


(whom Jehovah answers), a chief man in the tribe of Gad. (1
Chronicles 5:12)


JAAREOREGIM


(forests of the weavers), (2 Samuel 21:19) a Bethlehemite, and the
father of Elhanan who slew Goliath. In the parallel passage, (1 Chronicles
20:5) Jair is found instead of Jaare, and Oregim is omitted. (B.C.
1063.)


JAASAU


(whom Jehovah made), one of the Bene-Bani who had married a foreign
wife. (Ezra 10:37) (B.C. 459.)


JAASIEL


(whom God comforts), son of the great Abner. (1 Chronicles 27:21)
(B.C. 1046-1014.)


JAAZANIAH


(whom Jehovah hears).

  2. One of the captains of the forces who accompanied Hohanan ben-Kareah
    to pay his respects to Gedaliah at Mizpah, (2 Kings 25:23) and who appears
    afterwards to have assisted in recovering Ishmael's prey from his
    clutches. Comp. (Jeremiah 41:11; 43:4,5) (B.C. 587.)

  4. Son of Shaphan. (Ezekiel 8:11) It is possible that he is identical
    with

  6. Son of Azur; one of the princes of the people against whom Ezekiel was
    directed to prophesy. (Ezekiel 11:1) (B.C. 593.)

  8. A Rechabite, son of Jeremiah. (Jeremiah 35:3) (B.C. 606.)


JAAZER, OR JAZER


(Jehovah helps), a town on the east of Jordan, in or near to
Gilead. (Numbers 32:1,3; 1 Chronicles 26:31) We first hear of it in
possession of the Amorites, and as taken by Israel after Heshbon, and on
their way from thence to Bashan. (Numbers 21:32) It seems to have given
its name to a district of dependent or "daughter" towns, (Numbers 21:32)
Authorized Version "villages," 1 Macc. 5:8, the "land of Jazer." (Numbers
32:1)


JAAZIAH


(whom Jehovah comforts), apparently a third son, or a descendant,
or Merari the Levite. (1 Chronicles 24:26,27) (B.C. before 1014).


JAAZIEL


(whom Jehovah comforts), one of the Levites appointed by David to
perform the musical service before the ark. (1 Chronicles 15:18) (B.C.
1014).


JABAL


(stream), the son of Lamech and Adah, (Genesis 4:20) and brother of
Jubal. He is described as the father of such as dwell in tents and have
cattle.


JABBOK


(emptying), a stream which intersects the mountain range of Gilead,
comp. (Joshua 12:2,5) and falls into the Jordan on the east about midway
between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. It was anciently the border
of the children of Ammon. (Numbers 21:24; 2:37; 3:16) It was on the south
bank of the Jabbok that the interview took place between Jacob and Esau,
(Genesis 32:22) and this river afterward became, toward its western part,
the boundary between the kingdoms of Sihon and Og. (Joshua 12:2,5) Its
modern name is Wady Zurka.


JABESH


(dry).

  2. Father of Shallum, the fifteenth king of Israel. (2 Kings
    15:10,13,14)

  4. Jabesh-gilead, or Jabesh in the territory of Gilead. In its widest
    sense Gilead included the half tribe of Manasseh, (1 Chronicles 27:21) as
    well as the tribes of Gad and Reuben, (Numbers 32:1-42) east of the
    Jordan; and of the cities of Gilead, Jabesh was the chief. It is first
    mentioned in (Judges 21:8-14) Being attacked subsequently by Nahash the
    Ammonite, it gave Saul an opportunity of displaying his prowess in its
    defence. (1 Samuel 11:1-15) Eusebius places it beyond the Jordan, six
    miles from Pella on the mountain road to Gerasa; where its name is
    probably preserved in the Wady Yabes.


JABEZ


(sorrow).

  2. Apparently a place at which the families of the scribes resided who
    belonged to the families of the Kenites. (1 Chronicles 2:55)

  4. The name occurs again in the genealogies of Judah, (1 Chronicles
    4:9,10) in a passage of remarkable detail inserted in a genealogy again
    connected with Bethlehem. ver. 4.


JABIN


(whom God observes).

  2. King of Hazor, who organized a confederacy of the northern princes
    against the Israelites. (Joshua 11:1-3) Joshua surprised the allied forces
    by the waters of Merom, ver. 7, and utterly routed them. (B.C. 1448.)
    During the ensuing wars Joshua again attacked Jabin, and burnt his city.
    (Joshua 11:1-14)

  4. A king of Hazor, whose general, Sisera, was defeated by Barak. (Judges
    4:2,13) (B.C. 1316.)


JABNEEL


(building of God).

  2. One of the points on the northern boundary of Judah, not quite at the
    sea, though near it. (Joshua 15:11) There is no sign, however, of its ever
    having been occupied by Judah. Josephus attributes it to the Danites.
    There was a constant struggle going on between that tribe and the
    Philistines for the possession of all the places in the lowland plains,
    and it is not surprising that the next time we meet with Jabneel it should
    be in the hands of the latter. (2 Chronicles 26:6) Uzziah dispossessed
    them of it and demolished its fortifications. Called also JABNEH. At the
    time of the fall of Jerusalem, Jabneh was one of the most populous places
    of Judea. The modern village of Yebna, more accurately Ibna
    , stands about two miles from the sea, on a slight eminence just south of
    the Nahr Rubin.

  4. One of the landmarks on the boundary of Naphtali, (Joshua 19:33) in
    upper Galilee.


JABNEH


(building of God), (2 Chronicles 26:6) [JABNEEL]


JACHAN


(affliction), one of seven chief men of the tribe of Gad. (1
Chronicles 5:13)


JACHIN


(he shall establish).

  2. One of the two pillars which were set up "in the porch," (1 Kings
    7:21) or before the temple. (2 Chronicles 3:17) of Solomon. [BOAZ]

  4. Fourth son of Simeon, (Genesis 46:10; Exodus 6:15) founder of the
    family of the Jachinites. (Numbers 26:12)

  6. Head of the twenty-first course of priests in the time of David. (1
    Chronicles 9:10; 24:17; Nehemiah 11:10)


JACINTH


a precious stone, forming one of the foundations of the walls of the new
Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:20) Called hyacinth in the Revised
Version. This is simply a different English rendering of the same Greek
original. It is probably identical with the lighure of (Exodus
28:19) The Jacinth or hyacinth is a red variety of zircon, which is found
in square prisms of a white, gray, red, reddish-brown, yellow or
pale-green color. The expression in (Revelation 9:17) "of jacinth," is
descriptive simply of a dark-purple color.


JACOB


(supplanter), the second son of Isaac and Rebekah. He was born with
Esau, probably at the well of Lahai-roi, about B.C. 1837. His history is
related in the latter half of the book of Genesis. He bought the
birthright from his brother Esau, and afterward acquired the blessing
intended for Esau, by practicing a well-known deceit on Isaac. (Jacob did
not obtain the blessing because of his deceit, but in spite of it. That
which was promised he would have received in some good way; but Jacob and
his mother, distrusting God's promise, sought the promised blessing in a
wrong way, and received with it trouble and sorrow. -- ED.) Jacob, in his
78th year, was sent from the family home to avoid his brother, and to seek
a wife among his kindred in Padan-aram. As he passed through Bethel, God
appeared to him. After the lapse of twenty-one years he returned from
Padan-aram with two wives, two concubines, eleven sons and a daughter, and
large property. He escaped from the angry pursuit of Laban, from a meeting
with Esau, and from the vengeance of the Canaanites provoked by the murder
of Shechem; and in each of these three emergencies he was aided and
strengthened by the interposition of God, and in sign of the grace won by
a night of wrestling with God his name was changed at Jabbok into Israel.
Deborah and Rachel died before he reached Hebron; Joseph, the favorite son
of Jacob, was sold into Egypt eleven years before the death of Isaac; and
Jacob had probably exceeded his 130th year when he went tither. He was
presented to Pharaoh, and dwelt for seventeen years in Rameses and Goshen,
and died in his 147th year. His body was embalmed, carried with great care
and pomp into the land of Canaan, and deposited with his fathers, and his
wife Leah, in the cave of Machpelah. The example of Jacob is quoted by the
first and the last of the minor prophets. Besides the frequent mention of
his name in conjunction with the names of the other two patriarchs, there
are distinct references to the events in the life of Jacob in four books
of the New Testament - (John 1:51; 4:5,12; Acts 7:12,16; Romans 9:11-13;
Hebrews 11:21; 12:16)


JACOBS WELL


a deep spring in the vicinity of Shechem (called Sychar in Christ's
time and Nablus at the present day). It was probably dug by Jacob
whose name it bears. On the curb of the well Jesus sat and discoursed with
the Samaritan woman. (John 4:5-26) It is situated about half a mile
southeast of Nablus, at the foot of Mount Gerizim. It is about nine feet
in diameter and 75 feet deep. At some seasons it is dry; at others it
contains a few feet of water.


JADA


(wise), son of Onam and brother of Shammai, in the genealogy of the
sons of Jerahmeel by his wife Atarah. (1 Chronicles 2:28,32) (B.C. after
1445.)


JADAU


(loving), one of the Bene-Nebo who had taken a foreign wife. (Ezra
10:43) (B.C. 459.)


JADDUA


(known).

  2. Son and successor in the high priesthood of Jonathan or Johanan. He is
    the last of the high priests mentioned in the Old Testament, and probably
    altogether the latest name in the canon. (Nehemiah 12:11,22) (B.C.
    406-332.)

  4. One of the chief of the people who sealed the covenant with Nehemiah.
    (Nehemiah 10:21) (B.C. 410.)


JADON


(judge), the Meronothite, who assisted to repair the wall of
Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 3:7) (B.C. 446.)


JAEL


(mountain goat), the wife of Heber the Kenite. (B.C. 1316.) In the
headlong rout which followed the defeat of the Canaanites by Barak, at
Megiddo on the plain of Esdraelon, Sisera, their general, fled to the tent
of the Kenite chieftainess, at Kedesh in Naphtali, four miles northwest of
Lake Merom. He accepted Jael's invitation to enter, and she flung a mantle
over him as he lay wearily on the floor. When thirst prevented sleep, and
he asked for water, she brought him buttermilk in her choicest vessel. At
last, with a feeling of perfect security, he feel into a deep sleep. Then
it was that Jael took one of the great wooden pins which fastened down the
cords of the tent, and with one terrible blow with a mallet dashed it
through Sisera's temples deep into the earth. (Judges 5:27) She then
waited to meet the pursuing Barak, and led him into her tent that she
might in his presence claim the glory of the deed! Many have supposed that
by this act she fulfilled the saying of Deborah, (Judges 4:9) and hence
they have supposed that Jael was actuated by some divine and hidden
influence. But the Bible gives no hint of such an inspiration.


JAGUR


(lodging),a town of Judah, one of those farthest to the south, on
the frontier of Edom. (Joshua 15:21)


JAH


(Jehovah), the abbreviated form of Jehovah, used only in poetry. It
occurs frequently in the Hebrew, but with a single exception, (Psalms
68:4) is rendered "Lord" in the Authorized Version. The identity of Jah
and Jehovah is strongly marked in two passages of Isaiah -- (Isaiah 12:2;
26:4) [JEHOVAH].


JAHATH


(union).

  2. Son of Libni, the son of Gershom, the son of Levi. (1 Chronicles 6:20)
    (B.C. after 1706.)

  4. Head of a later house in the family of Gershom, being the eldest son
    of Shimei, the son of Laadan. (1 Chronicles 23:10,11)

  6. A man in the genealogy of Judah, (1 Chronicles 4:2) son of Reaiah
    ben-Shobal.

  8. A Levite, son of Shelomoth. (1 Chronicles 24:22)

  10. A Merarite Levite in the reign of Josiah. (2 Chronicles 34:12) (B.C.
    623.)


JAHAZ, ALSO JAHAZA, JAHAZAH AND JUHZAH


(trodden down). Under these four forms is given in the Authorized
Version the name of a place which in the Hebrew appears as Yahats
and Yahtsah. At Jahaz the decisive battle was fought between the
children of Israel and Sihon king of the Amorites. (Numbers 21:23; 2:32;
Judges 11:20) It was in the allotment of Reuben. (Joshua 13:18) Like many
others relating to the places east of the Dead Sea, the question of its
site must await further research.


JAHAZA


(trodden down). (Joshua 13:18) [JAHAZ, ALSO JAHAZA, JAHAZAH AND
JUHZAH]


JAHAZAH


(trodden down). (Joshua 21:36; Jeremiah 48:21) [JAHAZ, ALSO JAHAZA,
JAHAZAH AND JUHZAH]


JAHNZIAH


(whom Jehovah watches over), son of Tikvah, apparently a priest.
(Ezra 10:15)


JAHAZIEL


(whom God watches over)

  2. One of the heroes of Benjamin who joined David at Ziklag. (1
    Chronicles 12:4) (B.C. 1055.)

  4. A priest in the reign of David. (1 Chronicles 16:6)

  6. A Kohathite Levite, third son of Hebron. (1 Chronicles 23:19;
    24:23)

  8. Son of Zechariah, a Levite of the Bene-Asaph in the reign of
    Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 20:14) (B.C. 896.)

  10. The "son of Jahaziel" was the chief of the Bene-Shecaniah who returned
    from Babylon with Ezra. (Ezra 8:5) (B.C. before 459.)


JAHDAI


(whom Jehovah directs), a man who appears to be thrust abruptly
into the genealogy of Caleb, as the father of six sons. (1 Chronicles
2:47)


JAHDIEL


(whom Jehovah makes joyful), a chieftain of Manasseh on the east of
Jordan. (1 Chronicles 5:24) (B.C. 320.)


JAHDO


(united), a Gadite, (1 Chronicles 5:14) son of Buz and father of
Jeshishai.


JAHLEEL


(hoping in Jehovah), the third of the three sons of Zebulun,
(Genesis 46:14; Numbers 26:26) founder of the family of Jahleelites. (B.C.
1706.)


JAHMAI


(whom Jehovah guards), a man of Issachar, one of the heads of the
house of Tolah. (1 Chronicles 7:2) (B.C. 1491)


JAHZAH


(trodden down). (1 Chronicles 6:78) [JAHAZ, ALSO JAHAZA, JAHAZAH
AND JUHZAH]


JAHZEEL


(whom God allots), the first of the four sons of Naphtali, (Genesis
46:24) founder of the family of the Jahzeelites. (Numbers 26:48) (B.C.
1306.)


JAHZERAH


(whom God leads back), a priest of the house of Immer. (1
Chronicles 9:12)


JAHZIEL


(whom God allots), the same as JAHZEEL. (1 Chronicles 7:13)


JAIR


(enlightener).

  2. A man who on his father's side was descended from Judah, and on his
    mother's from Manasseh. (B.C. 1451.) During, the conquest he took the
    whole of the tract of Argob (3:14) and in addition possessed himself of
    some nomad villages in Gilead, which he called after his own name
    Havoth-Jair. (Numbers 32:41; 1 Chronicles 2:23)

  4. JAIR THE GILEADITE, who judged Israel for two-and-twenty years.
    (Judges 10:3-5) (B.C. 1160.) He had thirty sons, and possessed thirty
    cities in the land of Gilead, which like those of their namesakes were
    called Havoth-jair.

  6. A Benjamite, son of Kish and father of Mordecai. (Esther 2:5) (B.C.
    before 598.)

  8. The father of Elhanan, one of the heroes of David's army. (1
    Chronicles 20:6)


JAIRITE


(descendant of Jair). The IRA THE JAIRITE was a priest (Authorized
Version "chief ruler") to David (2 Samuel 20:26)


JAIRUS


(whom God enlightens).

  2. A ruler of a synagogue, probably in some town near the western shore
    of the Sea of Galilee. (Matthew 9:18; Mark 5:22; Luke 8:41) (A.D.
    28.)

  4. (Esther 11:2) [JAIR, 3]


JAKAN


(sagacious), son of Ezer the Horite. (1 Chronicles 1:42) The same
as JAAKANJAAKAN. [And see AKAN]


JAKEH


(pious). [PROVERBS, BOOK OF, BOOK OF]


JAKIM


(whom God sets up).

  2. Head of the twelfth course of priests in the reign of David. (1
    Chronicles 24:12) (B.C. 1014.)

  4. A Benjamite, one of the Bene-Shimhi. (1 Chronicles 8:19) (B.C.
    588.)


JALON


(abiding), one of the sons of Ezra. (1 Chronicles 4:17)


JAMBRES


[JANNES AND JAMBRES]


JAMES


(the Greek form of Jacob, supplanter).

  2. James the son of Zebedee, one of the twelve apostles. He was elder
    brother of the evangelist John. His mother's name was Salome. We first
    hear of him in A.D. 27, (Mark 1:20) when at the call of the Master he left
    all, and became, one and forever, his disciple, in the spring of 28.
    (Matthew 10:2; Mark 3:14; Luke 6:13; Acts 1:13) It would seem to have been
    at the time of the appointment of the twelve apostles that the name of
    Boanerges was given to the sons of Zebedee. The "sons of thunder" had a
    burning and impetuous spirit, which twice exhibits itself. (Mark 10:37;
    Luke 9:54) On the night before the crucifixion James was present at the
    agony in the garden. On the day of the ascension he is mentioned as
    persevering with the rest of the apostles and disciples, in prayer. (Acts
    1:13) Shortly before the day of the Passover, in the year 44, he was put
    to death by Herod Agrippa I. (Acts 12:1,2)

  4. James the son of Alpheus, one of the twelve apostles. (Matthew 10:3)
    Whether or not this James is to be identified with James the Less, the son
    of Alphaeus, the brother of our Lord, is one of the most difficult
    questions in the gospel history. By comparing (Matthew 27:56) and Mark
    15:40 with John 19:25 We find that the Virgin Mary had a sister named,
    like herself, Mary, who was the wife of Clopas or Alpheus (varieties of
    the same name), and who had two sons, James the Less and Joses. By
    referring to (Matthew 13:55) and Mark 6:3 We find that a James the Less
    and Joses, with two other brethren called Jude and Simon, and at least
    three sisters, were sisters with the Virgin Mary at Nazareth by referring
    to (Luke 6:16) and Acts 1:13 We find that there were two brethren named
    James and Jude among the apostles. It would certainly be natural to think
    that we had here but one family of four brothers and three or more
    sisters, the children of Clopas and Mary, nephews and nieces of the Virgin
    Mary. There are difficulties however, in the way of this conclusion into
    which we cannot here enter; but in reply to the objection that the four
    brethren in (Matthew 13:55) are described as the brothers of Jesus, not as
    his cousins, it must be recollected that adelphoi, which is here
    translated "brethren," may also signify cousins.


JAMES THE LESS


called the Less because younger or smaller in stature than James the son
of Zebedee. He was the son of Alpheus or Clopas and brother of our Lord
(see above); was called to the apostolate, together with his younger
brother Jude, in the spring of the year 28. At some time in the forty days
that intervened between the resurrection and the ascension the Lord
appeared to him. (1 Corinthians 15:7) Ten years after we find James on a
level with Peter, and with him deciding on the admission of St. Paul into
fellowship with the Church at Jerusalem; and from henceforth we always
find him equal, or in his own department superior, to the very chiefest
apostles, Peter, John and Paul. (Acts 9:27; Galatians 1:18,19) This
pre-eminence is evident throughout the after history of the apostles,
whether we read it in the Acts, in the epistles or in ecclesiastical
writers. (Acts 12:17; 15:13,19; 21:18; Galatians 2:9) According to
tradition, James was thrown down from the temple by the scribes and
Pharisees; he was then stoned, and his brains dashed out with a fuller's
club.


JAMES, THE GENERAL EPISTLE OF


The author of this epistle was in all probability James the son of
Alphaeus, and our Lord's brother It was written from Jerusalem, which St.
James does not seem to have ever left. It was probably written about A.D.
62, during the interval between Paul's two imprisonments. Its main object
is not to teach doctrine, but to improve morality. St. James is the moral
teacher of the New Testament. He wrote for the Jewish Christians, whether
in Jerusalem or abroad, to warn them against the sins to which as Jews
they were most liable, and to console and exhort them under the sufferings
to which as Christians they were most exposed.


JAMIN


(right hand).

  2. Second son of Simeon, (Genesis46:10; Exod 6:15; 1Chr 4:24 Founder of
    the family of the Jaminites. (Numbers 26:12) (B.C. 1706.)

  4. A man of Judah, second son of Ram the Jerahmeelite. (1 Chronicles
    2:27)

  6. One of the Levites who expounded the law to the people. (Nehemiah 8:7)
    (B.C. 410.)


JAMLECH


(whom God makes king), one of the chief men of the tribe of Simeon.
(1 Chronicles 4:34)


JAMNIN


[JABNEEL]


JANNA


(flourishing), son of Joseph, and father of Melchi, in the
genealogy of Christ. (Luke 3:24) In the Revised Version written
JANNAI.


JANNES


and Jam’bres, the names of two Egyptian magicians who
opposed Moses. Exod 7:9-13; 2Tim 3:8,9. (B.C. 1492.)


JANOAH


(rest), a place apparently in the north of Galilee, or the "land of
Naphtali," -- one of those taken by Tiglath-pileser in his first incursion
into Palestine. (2 Kings 15:29) No trace of it appears elsewhere.


JANOHAH


(rest), a place on the boundary of Ephraim (Joshua 16:6,7) east of
Neapolis. A little less than twelve miles from Nablus and about
southeast in direction, two miles from Akrabeh is the village of
Yanun, doubtless identical with the ancient Janohah.


JANUM


(slumber), a town of Judah in the mountain district, apparently not
far from Hebron. (Joshua 15:53)


JAPHETH


(enlargement), one of the three sons of Noah. The descendants of
Japheth occupied the "isles of the Gentiles," (Genesis 10:5) -- i.e. the
coast lands of the Mediterranean Sea in Europe and Asia Minor -- whence
they spread northward over the whole continent of Europe and a
considerable portion of Asia.


JAPHIA


(splended) The boundary of Zebulun ascended from Daberath to
Japhia, and thence passed to Gath-hepher. (Joshua 19:12) Yafa, two
miles south of Nazareth. ,is not unlikely to be identical with Japhin.


JAPHIA


(splendid).

  2. King of Lachish at the time of the conquest of Canaan by the
    Israelites. (Joshua 10:3) (B.C. 1450.)

  4. One of the sons of David born to him in Jerusalem. (2 Samuel 5:15; 1
    Chronicles 3:7; 14:6) (B.C. 1046.)


JAPHLET


(whom God delivers) a descendant of Asher through Beriah. (1
Chronicles 7:32,33)


JAPHLELI


(the Japhletite). The boundary of the "Japhletite" is one of the
landmarks on the south boundary line of Ephraim. (Joshua 16:3)


JAPHO


(beauty). (John 19:46) The Hebrew form for the better-known JOPPA,
OR JAPHO. (2 Chronicles 2:16; Ezra 3:7; Jonah 1:3) In its modern garb it
is Yafa.


JARAH


(honey), a descendant of Saul; son of Micah and great-grandson of
Mephibosheth. (1 Chronicles 9:42) comp. 1Chr 9:40


JAREB


(adversary) is to be explained either as the proper name of a
country or person, as a noun in apposition, or as a verb from a root,
rub, "to contend plead." All these senses are represented in the
Authorized Version and the marginal readings, (Hosea 5:13; 10:6) and the
east preferable has been inserted in the text. Jareb is most probably the
name of some city of Assyria or another name of the country itself.


JARED


(descent), one of the antediluvian patriarchs, and further of Enoch
(Genesis 5:15,16,18-20; Luke 3:37) In the lists of Chronicles the name is
given in the Authorized Version JERED.


JARESIAH


(whom Jehovah nourishes),a Benjamite, one of the Bene-Jehoram. (1
Chronicles 8:17)


JARHA


the Egyptian servant of Sheshan, about the time of Eli, to whom his master
gave his daughter and heir in marriage; (1 Chronicles 2:34,35) (B.C.
before 1491.)


JARIB


(adversary).

  2. Named in the list of (1 Chronicles 4:24) only, as a son of Simeon.
    Perhaps the same as JACHIN. Genesis46; Exod 6; Numb 26.

  4. One of the "chief men" who accompanied Ezra on his journey from
    Babylon to Jerusalem. (Ezra 8:16) (B.C. 469.)

  6. A priest of the house of Jeshua the son of Jozadak, who had married a
    foreign wife, and was compelled by Ezra to put her away. (Ezra 10:18)
    (B.C. 459.)

  8. 1 Macc. 14:29. A contraction or corruption of the name JOARIB. ch.
    2:1.


JARIMOTH


(heights). 1 Esd. 9:28. [JEREMOTH]


JARMUTH


(high).

  2. A town in the low country of Judah. (Joshua 16:35) Its king, Piram,
    was one of the five who conspired. to punish Gibeon for having made
    alliance with Israel, (Joshua 10:3,5) and who were routed at Beth-horon
    and put to death by Joshua at Makkedah. ver. 33. Its site is probably the
    modern Yarmuk.

  4. A city of Issachar allotted with its suburbs to the Gershonite
    Levites. (Joshua 21:29)


JAROAH


(moon), a chief man of the tribe of Gad (1 Chronicles 5:14)


JASHEN


(sleeping). Bene-Jashen -- "sons of Jashen" -- are named in the
catalogue of the heroes of David's guard in (2 Samuel 23:32) (B.C.
1046.)


JASHER


(upright),Book of ("the book of the upright"),
alluded to in two passages only of the Old Testament. (Joshua 10:13) and
2Sam 1:18 It was probably written in verse; and it has been conjectured
that it was a collection of ancient records of honored men or noble deeds.
It is wholly lost.


JASHOBEAM


(to whom the people turn), named first among the chief of the
mighty men of David. (1 Chronicles 11:11) (B.C. 1046.) He came to David at
Ziklag. His distinguishing exploit was that he slew 300 (or 800,) (2
Samuel 23:8) men at one time.


JASHUB


(he turns).

  2. The third son of Issachar, and founder of the family of the
    Jashubites. (Numbers 26:24; 1 Chronicles 7:1) (B.C. 1706.)

  4. One of the sons of Bani, who had to put away his foreign wife. (Ezra
    10:29) (B.C. 459.)


JASHUBILEHEM


(turner back for food), a person or a place named among the
descendants of Shelah, the son of Judah by Bath-shua the Canaanitess. (1
Chronicles 4:22)


JASIEL


(whom God made), the last named on the list of David's heroes in (1
Chronicles 11:47)


JASON


(one who will heal), called the Thessalonian, entertained Paul and
Silas, and was in consequence attacked by the Jewish mob. (Acts
17:5,6,7,9) (A.D. 48.) He is probably the same as the Jason mentioned in
(Romans 16:21) It is conjectured that Jason and Secundus, (Acts 20:4) were
the same.


JASPER


a precious stone frequently noticed in Scripture. It was the last of the
twelve inserted in the high priest's breastplate, (Exodus 28:20; 39:13)
and the first of the twelve used in the foundations of the new Jerusalem.
(Revelation 21:19) The characteristics of the stone as far as they are
specified in Scripture, (Revelation 21:11) are that it "was most
precious," and "like crystal;" we may also infer from (Revelation 4:3)
that it was a stone of brilliant and transparent light. The stone which we
name "jasper" does not accord with this description. There can be no doubt
that the diamond would more adequately answer to the description in
the book of Revelation.


JATHNIEL


(whom God gives), a Korhite Levite, the fourth of the family of
Meshelemiah. (1 Chronicles 26:2) (B.C. 1014.)


JATTIR


(pre-eminent), a town of Judah in the mountain districts, (Joshua
15:48) one of the group containing Socho, Eshtemoa, etc. See also (Joshua
21:14; 1 Samuel 30:27; 1 Chronicles 6:57) By Robinson it is identified
with ’Attir, six miles north of Molada and ten miles south
of Hebron.


JAVAN


(clay).

  2. A son of Japheth. (Genesis 10:2,4) Javan was regarded as the
    representative of the Greek race. The name was probably introduced into
    Asia by the Phoenicians, to whom the Ionians were naturally better known
    than any other of the Hellenic races, on account of their commercial
    activity and the high prosperity of their towns on the western coast of
    Asia Minor.

  4. A town in the souther part of Arabia (Yemen), whither the
    Phoenicians traded. (Ezekiel 27:19)


JAVELIN


[ARMS, ARMOR]


JAZER


(Jehovah helps). [JAAZER, OR JAZER]


JAZIZ


(whom God moves), a Hagarite who had charge of the flocks of King
David. (1 Chronicles 27:31) (B.C. 1046.)


JEARIM


(forests), Mount, a place named in specifying the northern
boundary of Judah. (Joshua 15:10) The boundary ran from Mount Seir to "the
shoulder of Mount Jearim, which is Cesalon" -- that is, Cesalon was the
landmark on the mountain. Kesla, seven miles due west of
Jerusalem, stands on a high point on the north slope of a lofty ridge,
which is probably Mount Jearim.


JEATERAI


(whom Jehovah leads), a Gershonite Levite, son of Zerah. (1
Chronicles 6:21)


JEBERECHIAH


(whom Jehovah blesses), father of a certain Zechariah, in the reign
of Ahaz, mentioned (Isaiah 8:2) (B.C. about 739.)


JEBUS


(threshing-floor), one of the names of Jerusalem, the city of the
Jebusites, are called JEBUSI. (Joshua 15:8; 18:16,28; Judges 19:10,11; 1
Chronicles 11:4,5) [JERUSALEM]


JEBUSI


(from Jebus), the name employed for the city of JEBUS. (Joshua
15:8; 18:16,28)


JEBUSITES


(descendants of Jebus), The, were descended from the third
son of Canaan. (Genesis 10:16; 1 Chronicles 1:14) The actual people first
appear in the invaluable report of the spies. (Numbers 13:29) When Jabin
organized his rising against Joshua, the Jebusites joined him. (Joshua
11:3) "Jebus, which is Jerusalem," lost its king in the slaughter of
Beth-horon, (Joshua 10:1,5,26) comp. Josh 12:10 Was sacked and burned by
the men of Judah, (Judges 1:21) and its citadel finally scaled and
occupied by David. (2 Samuel 5:6) After this they emerge from the darkness
but once, in the person of Araunah the Jebusite, "Araunah the king," who
appears before us in true kingly dignity in his well-known transaction
with David. (2 Samuel 24:23; 1 Chronicles 21:24,25)


JECAMIAH


(whom Jehovah gathers), one of seven who were introduced into the
royal line, on the failure of it in the person of Jehoiachin. (1
Chronicles 3:18)


JECHOLIAH


(strong through Jehovah) wife of Amaziah king of Judah, and mother
of Azariah or Uzziah his successor. (2 Kings 15:2) (B.C. 824-807.)


JECONIAS


the Greek form of Jeconiah, an altered form of Jehoiachin.
[JEHOIACHIN]


JECOLIAH


The same as JECHOLIAH. (2 Chronicles 26:3)


JECONIAH


(whom Jehovah establishes). [See JEHOIACHIN]


JEDAIAH


(praise Jehovah).

  2. Head of the second course of priests, as they were divided in the time
    of David. (1 Chronicles 24:7) (B.C. 1014.) some of them survived to return
    to Jerusalem after the Babylonish captivity, as appears from (Ezra 2:36;
    Nehemiah 7:39)

  4. A priest in the time of Jeshua the high priest. (Zechariah 6:10,14)
    (B.C. 536.)


JEDAIAH


  2. A Simeonite, forefather of Ziza. (1 Chronicles 4:37)

  4. Son of Harumaph; a man who did his part in the rebuilding of the wall
    of Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 3:10) (B.C. 446.)


JEDIAEL


(known of God).

  2. A chief patriarch of the tribe of Benjamin. (1 Chronicles 7:6,11) It
    is usually assumed that Jediael is the same as Ashbel, (Genesis 46:21;
    Numbers 26:38; 1 Chronicles 8:1) but this is not certain.

  4. Second son of Meshelemiah, a Levite. (1 Chronicles 26:1,2)

  6. Son of Shimri; one of the heroes of David's guard. (1 Chronicles
    11:45) (B.C. 1046.)

  8. One of the chiefs of the thousands of Manasseh who joined David on his
    march to Ziklag. (1 Chronicles 12:20) comp. 1Sam 30:9,10 (B.C. 1053.)


JEDIDAH


(one beloved), queen of Amon and mother of the good king Josiah. (2
Kings 22:1) (B.C. 648.)


JEDIDIAH


(beloved of Jehovah), Jedid-jah (darling of Jehovah),
the name bestowed, through Nathan the prophet, on David's son Solomon. (2
Samuel 12:25)


JEDUTHUN


(praising), a Levite of the family of Merari, is probably the same
as Ethan. Comp. (1 Chronicles 15:17,19) with 1Chr 16:41,42; 25:1,3,6; 2Chr
35:15 His office was generally to preside over the music of the temple
service, Jeduthun's name stands at the head of the 39th, 62d and 77th
Psalms, indicating probably that they were to be sung by his choir. (B.C.
1014.)


JEEZER


(father of help), (Numbers 26:30) the name of a descendant of
Manasseh and founder of the family of the Jeezerites. In parallel lists
the name is given as ABI-EZER.


JEGARSAHADUTHA


(heap of testimony), the Aramaean name given by Laban the Syrian to
the heap of stones which he erected as a memorial of the compact between
Jacob and himself. (Genesis 31:47) Galeed, a "witness heap," which is
given as the Hebrew equivalent, does not exactly represent
Jegar-sahadutha.


JEHALELEEL


(who praises God). Four men of the Bene-Jehaleleel are introduced
abruptly into the genealogies of Judah. (1 Chronicles 4:16)


JEHALELEL


(who praises God), a Merarite Levite, father of Azariah. (2
Chronicles 29:12)


JEHDEIAH


(whom Jehovah makes glad).

  2. The representative of the Bene-Shubael, in the time of David. (1
    Chronicles 24:20)

  4. A Meronothite who had charge of the she-asses of David. (1 Chronicles
    27:30) (B.C. 1046.)


JEHEZEKEL


(whom God makes strong), a priest to whom was given by David the
charge of the twentieth of the twenty-four courses in the service of the
house of Jehovah. (1 Chronicles 24:16) (B.C. 1014.)


JEHIAH


(Jehovah lives), "doorkeeper for the ark" at the time of its
establishment in Jerusalem. (1 Chronicles 15:24) (B.C. 1043.)


JEHIEL


(God lives).

  2. One of the Levites appointed by David to assist in the service of the
    house of God. (1 Chronicles 15:18,20; 16:5)

  4. One of the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, put to death by his
    brother Jehoram. (2 Chronicles 21:2,4) (B.C. 887.)

  6. One of the rulers of the house of God at the time of the reforms of
    Josiah. (2 Chronicles 35:8) (B.C. 623.)

  8. A Gershonite Levite, (1 Chronicles 23:8) who had charge of the
    treasures. ch. (1 Chronicles 28:8)

  10. A son of Hachmoni named in the list of David's officers, (1 Chronicles
    27:32) as "with the king's sons," whatever that may mean.

  12. A Levite who took part in the restorations of King Hezekiah. (2
    Chronicles 29:14) (B.C. 726.)

  14. Another Levite at the same period. (2 Chronicles 31:13)

  16. Father of Obadiah, of the Bene-Joab. (Ezra 8:9) (B.C. before
    459.)

  18. One of the Bene-Elam, father of Shechaniah. (Ezra 10:2)

  20. A member of the same family, who himself had to part with his wife.
    (Ezra 10:26)

  22. A priest, one of the Bene-Harim, who also had to put away his foreign
    wife. (Ezra 10:21) (B.C. 459.)


JEHIEL


(treasured of God), a perfectly distinct name from the last.

  2. A man described as father of Gibeon; a fore-father of King Saul. (1
    Chronicles 9:35)

  4. One of the sons of Hotham the Aroerite; a member of David's guard. (1
    Chronicles 11:44) (B.C. 1046.)


JEHIELI


(a Jehielite), according to the Authorized Version a Gershonite
Levite of the family of Laadan. (1 Chronicles 26:21,22)


JEHIZKIAH


(Jehovah strengthens), son of Shallum, one of the heads of the
tribe of Ephraim in the time of Ahaz. (2 Chronicles 28:12) comp. 2Chr
28:8,13,15 (B.C. 738.)


JEHOADAH


(whom Jehovah adorns), one of the descendants of Saul. (1
Chronicles 8:36)


JEHOADDAN


(Whom Jehovah adorns), queen to King Josiah, and mother of Amaziah
of Judah. (2 Kings 14:2; 2 Chronicles 25:1) (B.C. 862-837.)


JEHOAHAZ


(whom the Lord sustains).

  2. The son and successor of jehu, reigned 17 years, B.C. 856-840, over
    Israel in Samaria. His inglorious history is given in (2 Kings 13:1-9)
    Throughout his reign, ver. (2 Kings 13:22) he was kept in subjection by
    Hazael king of Damascus. Jehoahaz maintained the idolatry of Jeroboam; but
    in the extremity of his humiliation he besought Jehovah, and Jehovah gave
    Israel a deliverer -- probably either Jehoash, vs. (2 Kings 13:23) and
    2Kin 13:25 Or Jeroboam II., (2 Kings 14:24,25)

  4. Jehoahaz, otherwise called Shallum, son of Josiah, whom he succeeded
    as king of Judah. He was chosen by the people in preference to his elder
    (comp. (2 Kings 23:31) and 2Kin 23:36) brother, B.C. 610, and he reigned
    three months in Jerusalem. Pharaoh-necho sent to Jerusalem to depose him
    and to fetch him to Riblah. There he was cast into chains, and from thence
    he was taken into Egypt, where he died.

  6. The name given, (2 Chronicles 21:17) to Ahaziah, the youngest son of
    Jehoram king of Judah.


JEHOASH


(given by the Lord), the uncontracted form of Joash.

  2. The eighth king of Judah; son of Ahaziah. (2 Kings 11:21;
    12:1,2,4,6,7,18; 14:13) [JOASH, 1]

  4. The twelfth king of Israel; son of Jehoahaz. (2 Kings 13:10,25;
    14:8,9,11,13,15,16,17) [JOASH, 2]


JEHOHANAN


(whom Jehovah gave), a name of which John is the contraction.

  2. A Korhite Levite, one of the doorkeepers to the tabernacle. (1
    Chronicles 26:3) comp. 1Chr 25:1 (B.C. 1014.)

  4. One of the principal men of Judah under King Jehoshaphat. (2
    Chronicles 17:15) comp. 2Chr 17:13 and 2Chr 17:19 (B.C. 910.)

  6. Father of Ishmael, one of the "captains of hundreds" whom Jehoiada the
    priest took into his confidence about the restoration of the line of
    Judah. (2 Chronicles 23:1) (B.C. 910.)

  8. One of the Bene-Bebai who was forced to put away his foreign wife.
    (Ezra 10:28) (B.C. 459.)

  10. A priest, (Nehemiah 12:13) during the high priesthood of Joiakim. ver.
    (Nehemiah 12:12) (B.C. 406.)

  12. A priest who took part in the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem.
    (Nehemiah 12:42) (B.C. 446.)


JEHOIACHIN


(whom Jehovah has appointed), son of Jehoiakim, and for three
months and ten days king of Judah. (B.C. 597.) At his accession Jerusalem
was quite defenseless, and unable to offer any resistance to the army
which Nebuchadnezzar sent to besiege it. (2 Kings 24:10,11) In a very
short time Jehoiachin surrendered at discretion; and he, and the
queen-mother, and all his servants, captains and officers, came out and
gave themselves up to Nebuchadnezzar, who carried them, with the harem and
the eunuchs, to Babylon. (Jeremiah 29:2; Ezekiel 17:12; 19:9) There he
remained a prisoner, actually in prison and wearing prison garments, for
thirty-six years, viz., till the death of Nebuchadnezzar, when
Evilmerodach, succeeding to the throne of Babylon, brought him out of
prison, and made him sit at this own table. The time of his death is
uncertain.


JEHOIADA


(Jehovah knows).

  2. Father of Benaiah, David's well-known warrior. (2 Samuel 8:18) 1Kin 1
    and 2 passim ; (1 Chronicles 18:17) etc. (B.C. before 1046.)

  4. Leader of the Aaronites, i.e. the priests; who joined David at Hebron.
    (1 Chronicles 12:27) (B.C. 1053-46.)

  6. According to (1 Chronicles 27:34) son of Benaiah; but in all
    probability Benaiah the sons of Jehoiada is meant. Probably an error in
    copying. (1 Chronicles 18:17; 2 Samuel 8:18)

  8. High priest at the time of Athaliah's usurpation of the throne of
    Judah, B.C. 884-878, and during the greater portion of the forty-years
    reign of Joash. He married Jehosheba; and when Athaliah slew all the seed
    royal to Judah after Ahaziah had been put to death by Jehu, he and his
    wife stole Joash from among the king's sons and hid him for six years in
    the temple, and eventually replaced him on the throne of his ancestors.
    [ATHALIAH] The destruction of Baal-worship and the restoration of the
    temple were among the great works effected by Jehoiada. He died B.C.
    834.

  10. Second priest, or sagan, to Seraiah the high priest. (Jeremiah
    29:25-29; 2 Kings 25:18)

  12. Son of Paseach, who assisted to repair the old gate of Jerusalem.
    (Nehemiah 3:6)


JEHOIAKIM


(whom Jehovah sets up), called Eliakim, son of Josiah and king of
Judah. After deposing Jehoahaz, Pharaoh-necho set Eliakim, his elder
brother, upon the throne, and changed his name to Jehoiakim, B.C. 608-597.
For four years Jehoiakim was subject toi Egypt, when Nebuchadnezzar, after
a short siege, entered Jerusalem, took the king prisoner, bound him in
fetters to carry him to Babylon, and took also some of the precious
vessels of the temple and carried them to the land of Shinar. Jehoiakim
became tributary to Nebuchadnezzar after his invasion of Judah, and
continued so for three years, but at the end of that time broke his oath
of allegiance and rebelled against him. (2 Kings 24:1) Nebuchadnezzar sent
against him numerous bands of Chaldeans, with Syrians, Moabites and
Ammonites, (2 Kings 24:7) and who cruelly harassed the whole country.
Either in an engagement with some of these forces or else by the hand of
his own oppressed subjects Jehoiakim came to a violent end in the eleventh
year of his reign. His body was cast out ignominiously on the ground, and
then was dragged away and buried "with the burial of an ass," without pomp
or lamentation, "beyond the gates of Jerusalem." (Jeremiah 22:18,19;
36:30) All the accounts we have of Jehoiakim concur in ascribing to him a
vicious and irreligious character. (2 Kings 23:37; 24:9; 2 Chronicles
36:5) The reign of Jehoiakim extends from B.C. 609 to B.C. 598, or, as
some reckon, 599.


JEHOIARIB


(whom Jehovah defends), head of the first of the twenty-four
courses of priests. (1 Chronicles 24:7)


JEHONADAB


(whom Jehovah impels) and Jon’adab, the son of Rechab,
founder of the Rechabites, an Arab chief. When Jehu was advancing, after
the slaughter of Betheked, on the city of Samaria, he was suddenly met by
Jehonadab, who joined with him in "slaying all that remained unto Ahab."
(2 Kings 10:15-17)


JEHONATHAN


(whom Jehovah gave).

  2. Son of Uzziah; superintendent of certain of King David's storehouses.
    (1 Chronicles 27:25) (B.C. 1014).

  4. One of the Levites who were sent by Jehoshaphat through the cities of
    Judah, with a book of the law, to teach the people. (2 Chronicles 17:8)
    (B.C. 910.)

  6. A priest, (Nehemiah 12:18) the representative of the family of
    Shemaiah, ver. 6, when Joiakim was high priest. (B.C. after 536.)


JEHORAM


(whom Jehovah has exalted).

  2. Son of Ahab king of Israel, who succeeded his brother Ahaziah B.C.
    896, and died B.C. 884. The alliance between the kingdoms of Israel and
    Judah, commenced by his father and Jehoshaphat, was very close throughout
    his reign. We first find him associated with Jehoshaphat and the king of
    Edom in a war against the Moabites. The three armies were in the utmost
    danger of perishing for want of water. The piety of Jehoshaphat suggested
    an inquiry of Jehovah, thorough Elisha. After reproving Jehoram, Elisha,
    for Jehoshaphat's sake, inquired of Jehovah, and received the promise of
    an abundant supply of water, and of a great victory over the Moabites; a
    promise which was immediately fulfilled. The allies pursued them with
    great slaughter into their own land, which they utterly ravaged and
    destroyed most of its cities. Kirharaseth alone remained, the there the
    king of Moab made his last stand. An attempt to break through the
    besieging army having failed, he resorted to the desperate expedient of
    offering up his eldest son, as a burnt offering, upon the wall of the
    city, in the sight of the enemy. Upon this the Israelites retired and
    returned to their own land. (2 Kings 3:1) ... A little later, when war
    broke out between Syria and Israel, we find Elisha befriending Jehoram;
    but when the terrible famine in Samaria arose, the king immediately
    attributed the evil to Elisha, and determined to take away his life. The
    providential interposition by which both Elisha's life was saved the city
    delivered is narrated (2 Kings 7:1) ... and Jehoram appears to have
    returned to friendly feeling toward Elisha. (2 Kings 8:4) It was soon
    after these vents that the revolution in Syria predicted by Elisha took
    place, giving Jehoram a good opportunity of recovering Ramoth-gilead from
    the Syrians. he accordingly made an alliance with his nephew Ahaziah, who
    had just succeeded Joram on the throne of Judah, and the two kings
    proceeded to occupy Ramoth-gilead by force. The expedition was an
    unfortunate one. Jehoram was wounded in battle, and obliged to return to
    Jezreel to be healed of his wounds. (2 Kings 8:29; 9:14,15) jehu and the
    army under his command revolted from their allegiance to Jehoram, (2 Kings
    9:1) ... and hastily marching to Jezreel, surprised Jehoram, wounded and
    defenseless as he was. Jehoram, going out to meet him, fell pierced by an
    arrow from Jehu's bow on the very plot of ground which Ahab had wrested
    from Naboth the Jezreelite; thus fulfilling to the letter the prophecy of
    Elijah. (1 Kings 21:29) With the life of Jehoram ended the dynasty of
    Omri.

  4. Eldest son of Jehoshaphat, succeeded his father on the throne of Judah
    at the age of 32, and reigned eight years, from B.C. 893-2 to 885-4. As
    soon as he was fixed on the throne, he put his six brothers to death, with
    many of the chief nobles of the land. He then, probably at the instance of
    his wife Athaliah the daughter of Ahab, proceeded to establish the worship
    of Baal. A prophetic writing from the aged prophet Elijah, (2 Chronicles
    21:12) failed to produce any good effect upon him. The remainder of his
    reign was a series of calamities. First the Edomites, who had been
    tributary to Jehoshaphat, revolted from his dominion and established their
    permanent independence. Next Libnah, (2 Kings 19:8) rebelled against him.
    Then followed invasion by armed bands of Philistines and of Arabians, who
    stormed the king's palace, put his wives and all his children, except his
    youngest son Ahaziah, to death, (2 Chronicles 22:1) or carried them into
    captivity, and plundered all his treasures. he died of a terrible disease.
    (2 Chronicles 21:19,20)


JEHOSHABEATH


(whose oath is Jehovah). (2 Chronicles 22:11) [See JEHOSHEBA]


JEHOSHAPHAT


(whom Jehovah judges.)

  2. King of Judah, son of Asa, succeeded to the throne B.C. 914, when he
    was 35 years old, and reigned 25 years. His history is to be found among
    the events recorded in (1 Kings 15:24; 2 Kings 8:16) or in a continuous
    narrative in (2 Chronicles 17:1; 2 Chronicles 21:3) He was contemporary
    with Ahab, Ahaziah and Jehoram. He was one of the best, most pious and
    prosperous kings of Judah, the greatest since Solomon. At first he
    strengthened himself against Israel; but soon afterward the two Hebrew
    kings formed an alliance. In his own kingdom Jehoshaphat ever showed
    himself a zealous follower of the commandments of God: he tried to put
    down the high places and groves in which the people of Judah burnt
    incense, and sent the wisest Levites through the cities and towns to
    instruct the people in true morality and religion. Riches and honors
    increased around him. He received tribute from the Philistines and
    Arabians, and kept up a large standing army in Jerusalem. It was probably
    about the 16th year of his reign, B.C. 898, when he became Ahab's ally in
    the great battle of Ramoth-gilead, for which he was severely reproved by
    Jehu. (2 Chronicles 19:2) He built at Ezion-geber, with the help of
    Ahaziah, a navy designed to go to Tarshish; but it was wrecked at
    Ezion-geber. Before the close of his reign he was engaged in two
    additional wars. He was miraculously delivered from a threatened attack of
    the people of Ammon, Moab and Seir. After this, perhaps, must be dated the
    war which Jehoshaphat, in conjunction with Jehoram king of Israel and the
    king of Edom, carried on against the rebellious king of Moab. (2 Kings
    3:1) ... In his declining years the administration of affairs was placed,
    probably B.C. 891, in the hands of his son Jehoram.

  4. Son of Ahilud, who filled the office of recorder of annalist in the
    courts of David, (2 Samuel 8:16) etc., and Solomon. (1 Kings 4:3)

  6. One of the priests in David's time. (1 Chronicles 15:24)

  8. Son of Paruah; one of the twelve purveyors of King Solomon. (1 Kings
    4:17)

  10. Son of Nimshi and father of King Jehu. (2 Kings 9:2,14)


JEHOSHAPHAT, VALLEY OF


(valley of the judgment of Jehovah), a valley mentioned by Joel
only, as the spot in which, after the return of Judah and Jerusalem from
captivity, Jehovah would gather all the heathen, (Joel 3:2) and would
there sit to judge them for their misdeeds to Israel. ch. (Joel 3:12) The
scene of "Jehovah's judgment" as been localized, and the name has come
down to us attached to that deep ravine which separates Jerusalem from the
Mount of Olives, through which at one time the Kedron forced its stream.
At what period the name "valley of Jehoshaphat" was first applied to this
spot is unknown. It is not mentioned in the Bible or Josephus, but is
first encountered in the middle of the fourth century. Both Moslems and
Jews believe that the last judgment is to take place there. The steep
sides of the ravine, wherever a level strip affords the opportunity, are
crowded -- in places almost paved -- by the sepulchres of the Moslems, or
the simpler slabs of the Jewish tombs, alike awaiting the assembly of the
last judgment. The name is generally confined by travellers to the upper
part of the glen. (Others suppose that the name is only an imaginary one,
"the valley of the judgment of Jehovah" referring to some great victories
of God's people in which judgment was executed upon the heathen; or
perhaps, as Keil, etc., to the end of the world. -- ED.)


JEHOSHEBA


(Jehovah's oath), daughter of Joram king of Israel, and wife of
jehoiada the high priest. (2 Kings 11:2) Her name in the Chronicles is
given JEHOSHABEATH. (B.C. 882.) As she is called, (2 Kings 11:2) "the
daughter of Joram, sister of Ahaziah," it has been conjectured
that she was the daughter, not of Athaliah, but of Joram by another wife.
She is the only recorded instance of the marriage of a princess of the
royal house with a high priest.


JEHOSHUA


(whose help is Jehovah; Help of Jehovah or savoiur). In this
form is given the name of Joshua in (Numbers 13:16) Once more only the
name appears, -- as Jehosh’uah.


JEHOSHUAH


in the genealogy of Ephraim. (1 Chronicles 7:27)


JEHOVAH


(I am; the eternal living one). The Scripture appellation of the
supreme Being, usually interpreted as signifying self-derived and
permanent existence. The Jews scrupulously avoided every mention of this
name of God, substituting in its stead one or other of the words with
whose proper vowel-points it may happen to be written. This custom, which
had its origin in reverence, was founded upon an erroneous rendering of
(Leviticus 24:16) from which it was inferred that the mere utterance of
the name constituted a capital offence. According to Jewish tradition, it
was pronounced but once a year, by the high priest on the day of atonement
when he entered the holy of holies; but on this point there is some doubt.
When Moses received his commission to be the deliverer of Israel, the
Almighty, who appeared in the burning bush, communicated to him the name
which he should give as the credentials of his mission: "And God said unto
Moses, "I AM THAT I AM (ehyea asher ehyeh); and he said, Thus shalt
thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." That
this passage is intended to indicate the etymology of Jehovah, as
understood by the Hebrews, no one has ventured to doubt. While Elohim
exhibits God displayed in his power as the creator and governor of the
physical universe, the name Jehovah designates his nature as he stands in
relation to man, as the only almighty, true, personal, holy Being, a
spirit and "the father of spirits," (Numbers 16:22) comp. John 4:24 Who
revealed himself to his people, made a covenant with them, and became
their lawgiver, and to whom all honor and worship are due.


JEHOVAHJIREH


(Jehovah will see or provide), the name given by Abraham to
the place on which he had been commanded to offer Isaac, to commemorate
the interposition of the angel of Jehovah, who appeared to prevent the
sacrifice, (Genesis 22:14) and provided another victim.


JEHOVAHNISSI


(Jehovah my banner), the name given by Moses to the altar which he
built in commemoration of the discomfiture of the Amalekites. (Exodus
17:15)


JEHOVAHSHALOM


(Jehovah (is) peace), or, with an ellipsis, "Jehovah the God of
peace." The altar erected by Gideon in Orphrah was so called in memory of
the salutation addressed to him by the angel of Jehovah, "Peace be unto
thee." (Judges 6:24)


JEHOZABAD


(whom Jehovah gave).

  2. A Korhite Levite, second son of Obed-edom, and one of the porters of
    the south gate of the temple and of the storehouse there in the time of
    David. (1 Chronicles 26:4,15) compared with Nehe 12:25 (B.C. 1014.)

  4. A Benjamite, captain of 180,000 armed men, in the days of King
    Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 17:18) (B.C. 910.)

  6. Son of Shomer or Shimrith, a Moabitish woman, who with another
    conspired against King Joash and slew him in his bed. (2 Kings 2:21; 2
    Chronicles 24:26) (B.C. 837.)


JEHOZADAK


(Jehovah justifies), usually called Jozadak or Josedech. He was the
son of the high priest Seraiah. (1 Chronicles 6:14,15) When his father was
slain at Riblah by order of Nebuchadnezzar, (2 Kings 25:18,21) Jehozadak
was led away captive to Babylon. (1 Chronicles 6:15) (B.C. 588.) He
himself never attained the high priesthood, but he was the father of
Jeshua the high priest, and of all his successors till the pontificate of
Alcimus. (Ezra 3:2; Nehemiah 12:26), etc.


JEHU


(the living).

  2. The founder of the fifth dynasty of the kingdom of Israel, son of
    Jehoshaphat. (2 Kings 9:2) He reigned over Israel 28 years, B.C. 884-856.
    His first appearance in history is when he heard the warning of Elijah
    against the murderer of Naboth. (2 Kings 9:25) In the reigns of Ahaziah
    and Jehoram, Jehu rose to importance. He was, under the last-named king,
    captain of the host in the siege of Ramoth-gilead. During this siege he
    was anointed by Elisha's servant, and told that he was appointed to be
    king of Israel and destroyer of the house of Ahab. (2 Kings 9:12) The army
    at once ordained him king, and he set off full speed for Jezreel. Jehoram,
    who was lying ill in Jezreel, came out to meet him, as it happened on the
    fatal field of Naboth. (2 Kings 9:21-24) Jehu seized his opportunity, and
    shot him through the heart. (2 Kings 9:24) Jehu himself advanced to the
    gates of Jezreel and fulfilled the divine warning on Jezebel as already on
    Jehoram. He then entered on a work of extermination hitherto unparalleled
    in the history of the Jewish monarchy. All the descendants of Ahab that
    remained in Jezreel, together with the officers of the court and the
    hierarchy of Eastward, were swept away. His next step was to secure
    Samaria. For the pretended purpose of inaugurating anew the worship of
    Baal, he called all the Bailouts together at Samaria. The vast temple
    raised by Ahab, (1 Kings 16:32) was crowded from end to end. The chief
    sacrifice was offered, as if in the excess of his zeal, by Jehu himself.
    As soon as it was ascertained that all, and none but, the idolaters were
    there, the signal was given to eighty trusted guards, and sweeping
    massacre removed at one blow the whole heathen population of the kingdom
    of Israel. This is the last public act recorded of Jehu. The remaining
    twenty-seven years of his long reign are passed over in a few words, in
    which two points only are material: -- He did not destroy the calf-worship
    of Jeroboam: -- The transjordanic tribes suffered much from the ravages of
    Hazael. (2 Kings 10:29-33) He was buried in state in Samaria, and was
    succeeded by his son Jehoahaz. (2 Kings 10:35) His name is the first of
    the Israelite kings which appears in the Assyrian monuments.

  4. Jehu son of Hanani; a prophet of Judah, but whose ministrations were
    chiefly directed to Israel. His father was probably the seer who attacked
    Asa. (2 Chronicles 16:7) He must have begun his career as a prophet when
    very young. He first denounced Baasha, (1 Kings 16:1,7) and then, after an
    interval of thirty years, reappeared to denounce Jehoshaphat for his
    alliance with Ahab. (2 Chronicles 19:2,3) He survived Jehoshaphat and
    wrote his life. ch. (2 Chronicles 20:34)

  6. A man of Judah of the house of Hezron. (1 Chronicles 2:38)

  8. A Simeonite, son of Josibiah. (1 Chronicles 4:35)

  10. Jehu the Antothite was one of the chief of the heroes of Benjamin who
    joined David at Ziklag. (1 Chronicles 12:3)


JEHUBBAH


(protected), a man of Asher, son of Shamer or Shomer, of the house
of Beriah. (1 Chronicles 7:34) (B.C. perhaps about 1450.)


JEHUCAL


(able), son of Shelemiah; one of two persons sent by King Zedekiah
to Jeremiah to entreat his prayers and advice. (Jeremiah 37:3) (B.C.
589.)


JEHUD


(praised), one of the towns of the tribe of Dan, (Joshua 19:45)
named between Baalath and Bene-berak.


JEHUDI


(a Jew), son of Nethaniah, a man employed by the princes of
Jehoiakim's court to fetch Baruch to read Jeremiah's denunciation,
(Jeremiah 36:14) and then by the king to fetch the volume itself and read
it to him. vs. (Jeremiah 36:21,23) (B.C. 605.)


JEHUDIJAH


(the Jewess). There is really no such name in the Hebrew Bible as
that which our Authorized Version exhibits at (1 Chronicles 4:18) If it is
a proper name at all, it is Ha-jehudijah, like Hammelech, Hak-koz, etc.;
and it seems to be rather an appellative, "the Jewess."


JEHUSH


(to whom God hastens), son of eshek, a remote descendant of Saul.
(1 Chronicles 8:39)


JEIEL


(treasured of God).

  2. A Reubenite of the house of Joel. (1 Chronicles 5:7)

  4. A Merarite Levite, one of the gate-keepers to the sacred tent. (1
    Chronicles 15:18) His duty was also to play the harp, ver. (1 Chronicles
    15:21) or the psaltery and harp, (1 Chronicles 16:5) in the service before
    the ark. (B.C. 1043.)

  6. A Gershonite Levite, one of the Bene-Asaph, forefather of Jahaziel in
    the time of King Jehoshaphat. (2 Chronicles 20:14) (B.C. 910.)

  8. The scribe who kept the account of the numbers of King Uzziah's
    irregular predatory warriors. (2 Chronicles 26:11) (B.C. 803.)

  10. A Gershonite Levite, one of the Bene-Elizaphan. (2 Chronicles
    29:13)

  12. One of the chiefs of the Levites in the time of Josiah. (2 Chronicles
    35:9) (B.C. 623.)

  14. One of the Bene-Adonikam who formed part of the caravan of Ezra from
    Babylon to Jerusalem. (Ezra 8:13) (B.C. 459.)

  16. A layman of the Bene-Nebo, who had taken a foreign wife and had to
    relinquish her. (Ezra 10:43) (B.C. 459.)


JEKABZEEL


(what God gathers), a fuller form of the name of KABZEEL, the most
remote city of Judah on the southern frontier. (Nehemiah 11:25)


JAKAMEAN


(who gathers the people together), a Levite in the time of King
David; fourth of the sons of Hebron, the son of Kohath. (1 Chronicles
23:19; 24:23) (B.C. 1014.)


JEKAMIAH


(whom Jehovah gathers), son of Shallum, in the line of Ahlai. (1
Chronicles 2:41) (B.C. about 588.)


JEKUTHIEL


a man recorded in the genealogies of Judah. (1 Chronicles 4:18)


JEMIMA


(dove), the eldest of the three daughters born to Job after the
restoration of his prosperity. (Job 42:14)


JEMUEL


(day of God), the eldest son of Simeon. (Genesis 46:10; Exodus
6:15) (B.C. 1706.)


JEPHTHAE


(whom God sets free), (Hebrews 11:32) the Greek form of the name
JEPHTHAH.


JEPHTHAH


(whom God sets free), A judge about B.C. 1143-1137. His history is
contained in (Judges 11:1; Judges 12:8) He was a Gileadite, the son of
Gilead and a concubine. Driven by the legitimate sons from his father's
inheritance, he went to Tob and became the head of a company of
freebooters in a debatable land probably belonging to Ammon. (2 Samuel
10:6) (This land was east of Jordan and southeast of Gilead, and bordered
on the desert of Arabia. -- ED.) His fame as a bold and successful captain
was carried back to his native Gilead; and when the time was ripe for
throwing off the yoke of Ammon, Jephthah consented to become the captain
of the Gileadite bands, on the condition, solemnly ratified before the
Lord in Mizpeh, that int he event of his success against Ammon he should
still remain as their acknowledged head. Vowing his vow unto God, (Judges
11:31) that he would offer up as a burn offering whatsoever should come
out to meet him if successful, he went forth to battle. The Ammonites were
routed with great slaughter; but as the conqueror returned to Mizpeh there
came out to meet him his daughter, his only child, with timbrels and
dancing. The father is heart-stricken; but the maiden asks only for a
respite of two months in which to prepare for death. When that time was
ended she returned to her father, who "did with her according to his vow."
The tribe of Ephraim challenged Jephthah's right to go to war as he had
done, without their concurrence, against Ammon. He first defeated them,
then intercepted the fugitives at the fords of Jordan, and there put
forty-two thousand men to the sword. He judged Israel six years, and died.
It is generally conjectured that his jurisdiction was limited to the
transjordanic region. That the daughter of Jephthah was really offered up
to God in sacrifice is a conclusion which it seems impossible to avoid.
(But there is no word of approval, as if such a sacrifice was acceptable
to God. Josephus well says that "the sacrifice was neither sanctioned by
the Mosaic ritual nor acceptable to God." The vow and the fulfillment were
the mistaken conceptions of a rude chieftain, not acts pleasing to God. --
ED.)


JEPHUNNEH


(for whom a way is prepared).

  2. Father of Caleb the spy, appears to have belonged to an Edomitish
    tribe called Kenezites, from Kenaz their founder. See (Numbers 13:6) etc.;
    Numb 32:12 etc.; Josh 14:14 etc.; 1Chr 4:15 (B.C. 1530.)

  4. A descendant of Asher, eldest of the three sons of Jether. (1
    Chronicles 7:38) (B.C. 1017.)


JERAH


(the moon), the fourth in order of the sons of Joktan, (Genesis
10:26; 1 Chronicles 1:20) and the progenitor of a tribe of southern
Arabia.


JERAHMEEL


(mercy of God).

  2. First-born son of hezron, the son of Pharez, the son of Judah, (1
    Chronicles 2:9,25-27,33,42) and founder of the family of Jerahmeelites. (1
    Samuel 27:10) (B.C. before 1491.)

  4. A Merarite Levite, the representative of the family of Kish, the son
    of Mahli. (1 Chronicles 24:29) comp. 1Chr 23:21 (B.C. 1014.)

  6. Son of Hammelech, who was employed by Jehoiakim to make Jeremiah and
    baruch prisoners, after the had burnt the roll of Jeremiah's prophecy.
    (Jeremiah 36:26) (B.C. 505.)


JERAHMEELITES


(descendants of Jerahmeel), The, the tribe descended from
the first of the foregoing persons. (1 Samuel 27:10) They dwelt in the
south of Judah.


JERED


(descent).

  2. Son of Mahalaleel and father of Enoch. (1 Chronicles 1:2)

  4. One of the descendants of Judah signalized as the "father" -- i.e. the
    founder -- "of Gedor." (1 Chronicles 4:18)


JEREMAI


(dwelling in heights), a layman, one of the Bene-Hashum, who was
compelled by Ezra to put away his foreign wife. (Ezra 10:33) (B.C.
459.)


JEREMIAH


(whom Jehovah has appointed) was "the son of Hilkiah of the priests
that were in Anathoth." (Jeremiah 1:1)

  2. History. -- He was called very young (B.C. 626) to the
    prophetic office, and prophesied forty-two years; but we have hardly any
    mention of him during the eighteen years between his call and Josiah's
    death, or during the short reign of Jehoahaz. During the reigns of
    Jehoiakim and Jehoiachin, B.C. 607-598, he opposed the Egyptian party,
    then dominant in Jerusalem, and maintained that they only way of safety
    lay in accepting the supremacy of the Chaldeans. He was accordingly
    accused of treachery, and men claiming to be prophets had the "word of
    Jehovah" to set against his. (Jeremiah 14:13; 23:7) As the danger from the
    Chaldeans became more threatening, the persecution against Jeremiah grew
    hotter. ch. 18. The people sought his life; then follows the scene in
    (Jeremiah 19:10-13) he was set, however, "as a fenced brazen wall," ch.
    (Jeremiah 15:20) and went on with his work, reproving king and nobles and
    people. The danger which Jeremiah had so long foretold at last came near.
    First Jehoiakim, and afterwards his successor Jehoiachin, were carried
    into exile, 2Kin 24; but Zedekiah, B.C. 597-586, who was appointed by
    Nebuchadnezzar, was more friendly to the prophet, though powerless to help
    him. The approach of an Egyptian army, and the consequent departure of the
    Chaldeans, made the position of Jeremiah full of danger, and he sought to
    effect his escape from the city; but he was seized and finally thrown into
    a prison-pit to die, but was rescued. On the return of the Chaldean army
    he showed his faith in God's promises, and sought to encourage the people
    by purchasing the field at Anathoth which his kinsman Hanameel wished to
    get rid of. (Jeremiah 32:6-9) At last the blow came. The city was taken,
    the temple burnt. The king and his princes shared the fate of Jehoiachin.
    The prophet gave utterance to his sorrow in the Lamentations. After the
    capture of Jerusalem, B.C. 586, by the Chaldeans, we find Jeremiah
    receiving better treatment; but after the death of Gedaliah, the people,
    disregarding his warnings, took refuge in Egypt, carrying the prophet with
    them. In captivity his words were sharper and stronger than ever. He did
    not shrink, even there, from speaking of the Chaldean king once more as
    "the servant of Jehovah." (Jeremiah 43:10) After this all is uncertain,
    but he probably died in Egypt.

  4. Character. -- Canon Cook says of Jeremiah, "His character is
    most interesting. We find him sensitive to a most painful degree, timid,
    shy, hopeless, desponding, constantly complaining and dissatisfied with
    the course of events, but never flinching from duty...Timid in resolve, he
    was unflinching in execution; as fearless when he had to face the whole
    world as he was dispirited and prone to murmuring when alone with God.
    Judged by his own estimate of himself, he was feeble, and his mission a
    failure; really, in the hour of action and when duty called him, he was in
    very truth ’a defenced city, and an iron pillar, and brazen walls
    against the whole land.’ ch. (Jeremiah 1:18) he was a noble example
    of the triumph of the moral over the physical nature." (It is not strange
    that he was desponding when we consider his circumstances. He saw the
    nation going straight to irremediable ruin, and turning a deaf ear to all
    warnings. "A reign of terror had commenced (in the preceding reign),
    during which not only the prophets but all who were distinguished for
    religion and virtue were cruelly murdered." "The nation tried to extirpate
    the religion of Jehovah;" "Idolatry was openly established," "and such was
    the universal dishonesty that no man trusted another, and society was
    utterly disorganized." How could one who saw the nation about to reap the
    awful harvest they had been sowing, and yet had a vision of what they
    might have been and might yet be, help indulging in "Lamentations"? --
    ED.)


JEREMIAH


Seven other persons bearing the same name as the prophet are mentioned in
the Old Testament: --

  2. Jeremiah of Libnah, father of Hamutal wife of Josiah. (2 Kings 23:31)
    (B.C. before 632.) 2,3,4. Three warriors -- two of the tribe of Gad -- in
    David's army. (1 Chronicles 12:4,10,13) (B.C. 1061-53.)

  4. One of the "mighty men of valor" of the transjordanic half-tribe of
    Manasseh. (1 Chronicles 5:24) (B.C. 782.)

  6. A priest of high rank, head of the second or third of the twenty-one
    courses which are apparently enumerated in (Nehemiah 10:2-8; 12:1,12)
    (B.C. 446-410).

  8. The father of Jazaniah the Rechabite. (Jeremiah 35:3) (B.C. before
    606.)


JEREMIAH, BOOK OF


"There can be little doubt that the book of Jeremiah grew out of the roll
which Baruch wrote down at the prophet's mouth in the fourth year of
Jehoiakim. ch. (Jeremiah 36:2) Apparently the prophets kept written
records of their predictions, and collected into larger volumes such of
them as were intended for permanent use." -- Canon Cook. In the present
order we have two great divisions: -- I. Chs. 1-45. Prophecies delivered
at various times, directed mainly to Judah, or connected with Jeremiah's
personal history. II. Chs. 46-51. Prophecies connected with other nations.
Looking more closely into each of these divisions, we have the following
sections:

  2. Chs. 1-21, including prophecies from the thirteenth year of Josiah to
    the fourth of Jehoiakim; ch. 21; belongs to the later period.

  4. Chs. 22-25. Shorter prophecies, delivered at different times, against
    the kings of Judah and the false prophets. Ch. (Jeremiah 25:13,14)
    evidently marks the conclusion of a series of prophecies; and that which
    follows, ch. (Jeremiah 25:15-38) the germ of the fuller predictions in
    chs. 46-49, has been placed here as a kind of completion to the prophecy
    of the seventy years and the subsequent fall of Babylon.

  6. Chs. 26-28. The two great prophecies of the fall of Jerusalem, and the
    history connected with them.

  8. Chs. 29-31. The message of comfort for the exiles in Babylon.

  10. Chs. 32-44. The history of the last two years before the capture of
    Jerusalem, and of Jeremiah's work int hem and in the period that
    followed.

  12. Chs. 46-51. The prophecies against foreign nations, ending with the
    great prediction against Babylon.

  14. The supplementary narrative of ch. 52.


JEREMIAS


the Greek form of the name of Jeremiah the prophet. (Matthew 16:14)


JEREMOTH


(heights).

  2. A Benjamite chief, a son of the house of Beriah of Elpaal. (1
    Chronicles 8:14) comp. 1Chr 8:12-18 (B.C. about 588.)

  4. A merarite levite, son of Mushi. (1 Chronicles 23:23)

  6. Son of Heman; head of the thirteenth course of musicians in the divine
    service. (1 Chronicles 25:22) (B.C. 1014.)

  8. One of the sons of Elam, and,

  10. One of the sons of Zattu, who had taken strange wives. (Ezra 10:26,27)
    (B.C. 459.)

  12. The name which appears in the same list as "and RAMOTH," ver. 29.


JEREMY


the prophet Jeremiah. (Matthew 2:17; 27:9)


JERIAH


a Kohathite Levite, chief of the great house of Hebron when David
organized the service. (1 Chronicles 23:19; 24:23) B.C. 1014. The same man
is mentioned again as JERIJAH. (1 Chronicles 26:31)


JERIBAI


(whom Jehovah defends), one of the Bene-Elnaan, named among the
heroes of David's guard. (1 Chronicles 11:46)


JERICHO


(place of fragrance), a city of high antiquity, situated in a plain
traversed by the Jordan, and exactly over against where that river was
crossed by the Israelites under Joshua. (Joshua 3:16) It was five miles
west of the Jordan and seven miles northwest of the Dead Sea. It had a
king. Its walls were so considerable that houses were built upon them. ch.
(Joshua 2:15) The spoil that was found in it betokened its affluence.
Jericho is first mentioned as the city to which the two spies were sent by
Joshua from Shittim. (Joshua 2:1-21) It was bestowed by him upon the tribe
of Benjamin, ch. (Joshua 18:21) and from this time a long interval elapses
before Jericho appears again upon the scene. Its second foundation under
Hiel the Bethelite is recorded in (1 Kings 16:34) Once rebuilt, Jericho
rose again slowly into consequence. In its immediate vicinity the sons of
the prophets sought retirement from the world; Elisha "healed the spring
of the waters;" and over against it, beyond Jordan, Elijah "went up by a
whirlwind into heaven." (2 Kings 2:1-22) In its plains Zedekiah fell into
the hands of the Chaldeans. (2 Kings 25:5; Jeremiah 39:5) In the return
under Zerubbabel the "children of Jericho," 345 in number, are comprised.
(Ezra 2:34; Nehemiah 7:36) Under Herod the Great it again became an
important place. He fortified it and built a number of new palaces, which
he named after his friends. If he did not make Jericho his habitual
residence, he at last retired thither to die, and it was in the
amphitheater of Jericho that the news of his death was announced to the
assembled soldiers and people by Salome. Soon afterward the palace was
burnt and the town plundered by one Simon, slave to Herod; but Archelaus
rebuilt the former sumptuously, and founded a new town on the plain, that
bore his own name; and, most important of all, diverted water from a
village called Neaera to irrigate the plain which he had planted with
palms. Thus Jericho was once more "a city of palms" when our Lord visited
it. Here he restored sight to the blind. (Matthew 20:30; Mark 10:46; Luke
18:35) Here the descendant of Rahab did not disdain the hospitality of
Zaccaeus the publican. Finally, between Jerusalem and Jericho was laid the
scene of his story of the good Samaritan. The city was destroyed by
Vespasian. The site of ancient (the first) Jericho is placed by Dr.
Robinson in the immediate neighborhood of the fountain of Elisha; and that
of the second (the city of the New Testament and of Josephus) at the
opening of the Wady Kelt (Cherith), half an hour from the fountain.
(The village identified with jericho lies a mile and a half from the
ancient site, and is called Riha. It contains probably 200
inhabitants, indolent and licentious and about 40 houses. Dr. Olin says it
is the "meanest and foulest village of Palestine;" yet the soil of the
plain is of unsurpassed fertility. -- ED.)


JERIEL


(people of God), a man of Issachar, one of the six heads of the
house of Tola. (1 Chronicles 7:2)


JERIJAH


(people of Jehovah). [See JERIAH]


JERIMOTH


(heights).

  2. Son or descendant of Bela. (1 Chronicles 7:7) He is perhaps the same
    as

  4. who joined David at Ziklag. (1 Chronicles 12:5) (B.C. 1055.)

  6. A son of Beecher, (1 Chronicles 7:8) and head of a Benjamite
    house.

  8. Son of Mushi, the son of Merari. (1 Chronicles 24:30)

  10. Son of Heman, head of fifteenth ward of musicians. (1 Chronicles
    25:4,22) (B.C. 1014.)

  12. Son of Zariel, ruler of the tribe of Naphtali in the reign of David.
    (1 Chronicles 27:19)

  14. Son of King David, whose daughter Mahalath was one of the wives of
    Rehoboam, her cousin Abihail being the other. (2 Chronicles 11:18) (B.C.
    before 1014.)

  16. A Levite in the reign of Hezekiah. (2 Chronicles 31:13) (B.C.
    726.)


JERIOTH


(curtains), one of the elder Caleb's wives. (1 Chronicles 2:18)


JEROBOAM


(whose people are many).

  2. The first king of the divided kingdom of Israel, B.C. 975-954, was the
    son of an Ephraimite of the name of Nebat. He was raised by Solomon to the
    rank of superintendent over the taxes and labors exacted from the tribe of
    Ephraim. (1 Kings 11:28) he made the most of his position, and at last was
    perceived by Solomon to be aiming at the monarchy. He was leaving
    Jerusalem, when he was met by Ahijah the prophet, who gave him the
    assurance that, on condition of obedience to his laws, God would establish
    for him a kingdom and dynasty equal to that of David. (1 Kings 11:29-40)
    The attempts of Solomon to cut short Jeroboam's designs occasioned his
    flight into Egypt. There he remained until Solomon's death. After a year's
    longer stay in Egypt, during which Jeroboam married Ano, the elder sister
    of the Egyptian queen Tahpenes, he returned to Shechem, where took place
    the conference with Rehoboam [REHOBOAM], and the final revolt which ended
    in the elevation of Jeroboam to the throne of the northern kingdom. Now
    occurred the fatal error of his policy. Fearing that the yearly
    pilgrimages to Jerusalem would undo all the work which he effected, he
    took the bold step of rending the religious unity of the nation, which was
    as yet unimpaired, asunder. He caused two golden figures of Mnevis, the
    sacred calf, to be made and set up at the two extremities of his kingdom,
    one at Dan and the other at Bethel. It was while dedicating the altar at
    Bethel that a prophet from Judah suddenly appeared, who denounced the
    altar, and foretold its desecration by Josiah, and violent overthrow. The
    king, stretching out his hand to arrest the prophet, felt it withered and
    paralyzed, and only at the prophet's prayer saw it restored, and
    acknowledged his divine mission. Jeroboam was at constant war with the
    house of Judah, but the only act distinctly recorded is a battle with
    Abijah, son of Rehoboam, in which he was defeated. The calamity was
    severely felt; he never recovered the blow, and soon after died, in the
    22d year of his reign, (2 Chronicles 13:20) and was buried in his
    ancestral sepulchre. (1 Kings 14:20)

  4. Jeroboam II., the son of Joash, the fourth of the dynasty of Jehu.
    (B.C. 825-784.) The most prosperous of the kings of Israel. He repelled
    the Syrian invaders, took their capital city Damascus, (2 Kings 14:28) and
    recovered the whole of the ancient dominion from Hamah to the Dead Sea. ch
    (2 Kings 14:25) Ammon and Moab were reconquered, and the transjordanic
    tribes were restored to their territory, (2 Kings 13:5; 1 Chronicles
    5:17-22) but it was merely an outward restoration.


JEROHAM


(cherished).

  2. Father of Elkanah, the father of Samuel, of the house of Kohath. (1
    Samuel 1:1; 1 Chronicles 6:27,34) (B.C. before 1142.)

  4. A Benjamite, the founder of a family of Bene-Jeroham. (1 Chronicles
    8:27) Probably the same as

  6. Father (or progenitor) of Ibneiah. (1 Chronicles 9:8) comp. 1Chr 9:3
    and 1Chr 9:9. (B.C. before 588.)

  8. A descendant of Aaron, of the house of Immer, the leader of the
    sixteenth course of priests; son of Pashur, and father of Adaiah. (1
    Chronicles 9:12) He appears to be mentioned again in (Nehemiah 11:12)
    (B.C. before 586.)

  10. Jeroham of Gedor, some of whose sons joined David at Ziglag. (1
    Chronicles 12:7) (B.C. before 1055.)

  12. A Danite, whose son or descendant Azareel was head of his tribe in the
    time of David. (1 Chronicles 27:22)

  14. Father of Azariah, one of the "captains of hundreds" in the time of
    Athaliah. (2 Chronicles 23:1) (B.C. before 876.)


JERUBBAAL


(contender with Baal), the surname of Gideon, which he acquired in
consequence of destroying the altar of Baal, when his father defended him
from the vengeance of the Abiezrites. (Judges 6:32)


JERUBBESHETH


(contender with the shame), a name of Gideon. (2 Samuel 11:21)


JERUEL


(founded by God), The wilderness of, the place in which
Jehoshaphat was informed by Jahaziel the Levite that he should encounter
the hordes of Ammon, Moab and the Mehunims. (2 Chronicles 20:16) The name
has not been met with.


JERUSALEM


(the habitation of peace), Jerusalem stands in latitude 31 degrees
46’ 35" north and longitude 35 degrees 18’ 30" east of
Greenwich. It is 32 miles distant from the sea and 18 from the Jordan, 20
from Hebron and 36 from Samaria. "In several respects," says Dean Stanley,
"its situation is singular among the cities of Palestine. Its elevation is
remarkable; occasioned not from its being on the summit of one of the
numerous hills of Judea, like most of the towns and villages, but because
it is on the edge of one of the highest table-lands of the country. Hebron
indeed is higher still by some hundred feet, and from the south,
accordingly (even from Bethlehem), the approach to Jerusalem is by a
slight descent. But from any other side the ascent is perpetual; and to
the traveller approaching the city from the east or west it must always
have presented the appearance beyond any other capital of the then known
world -- we may say beyond any important city that has ever existed on the
earth -- of a mountain city; breathing, as compared with the sultry plains
of Jordan, a mountain air; enthroned, as compared with jericho or
Damascus, Gaza or Tyre, on a mountain fastness." -- S. & P. 170,

  2. Jerusalem, if not actually in the centre of Palestine, was yet
    virtually so. "It was on the ridge, the broadest and most strongly-marked
    ridge of the backbone of the complicated hills which extend through the
    whole country from the plain of Esdraelon to the desert." Roads. --
    There appear to have been but two main approaches to the city: --

  4. From the Jordan valley by Jericho and the Mount of Olives. This was
    the route commonly taken from the north and east of the country.

  6. From the great maritime plain of Philistia and Sharon. This road led
    by the two Beth-horons up to the high ground at Gibeon, whence it turned
    south, and came to Jerusalem by Ramah and Gibeah, and over the ridge north
    of the city. Topography. -- To convey an idea of the position of
    Jerusalem, we may say, roughly, that the city occupies the southern
    termination of the table-land which is cut off from the country round it
    on its west, south and east sides by ravines more than usually deep and
    precipitous. These ravines leave the level of the table-land, the one on
    the west and the other on the northeast of the city, and fall rapidly
    until they form a junction below its southeast corner. The eastern one --
    the valley of the Kedron, commonly called the valley of Jehoshaphat --
    runs nearly straight from north by south. But the western one -- the
    valley of Hinnom -- runs south for a time, and then takes a sudden bend to
    the east until it meets the valley of Jehoshaphat, after which the two
    rush off as one to the Dead Sea. How sudden is their descent may be
    gathered from the fact that the level at the point of junction -about a
    mile and a quarter from the starting-point of each -- is more than 600
    feet below that of the upper plateau from which they began their descent.
    So steep is the fall of the ravines, so trench-like their character, and
    so close do they keep to the promontory at whose feet they run, as to
    leave on the beholder almost the impression of the ditch at the foot of a
    fortress rather than of valleys formed by nature. The promontory thus
    encircled is itself divided by a longitudinal ravine running up it from
    south to north, called the valley of the Tyropoeon, rising gradually from
    the south, like the external ones, till at last it arrives at the level of
    the upper plateau, dividing the central mass into two unequal portions. Of
    these two, that on the west is the higher and more massive, on which the
    city of Jerusalem now stands, and in fact always stood. The hill on the
    east is considerably lower and smaller, so that to a spectator from the
    south the city appears to slope sharply toward the east. Here was the
    temple, and here stands now the great Mohammedan sanctuary with its
    mosques and domes. The name of MOUNT, MOUNT, MOUNTAIN ZION has been
    applied to the western hill from the time of Constantine to the present
    day. The eastern hill, called MOUNT, MOUNT, MOUNTAIN MORIAH in (2
    Chronicles 3:1) was as already remarked, the site of the temple. It was
    situated in the southwest angle of the area, now known as the Haram area,
    and was, as we learn from Josephus, an exact square of a stadium, or 600
    Greek feet, on each side. (Conder ("Bible Handbook," 1879) states that by
    the latest surveys the Haram area is a quadrangle with unequal sides. The
    west wall measures 1601 feet, the south 922, the east 1530, the north
    1042. It is thus nearly a mile in circumference, and contains 35 acres. --
    ED.) Attached to the northwest angle of the temple was the Antonia, a
    tower or fortress. North of the side of the temple is the building now
    known to Christians as the Mosque of Omar, but by Moslems called the Dome
    of the Rock. The southern continuation of the eastern hill was named
    OPHEL, which gradually came to a point at the junction of the valleys
    Tyropoeon and Jehoshaphat; and the norther BEZETHA, "the new city," first
    noticed by Josephus, which was separated from Moriah by an artificial
    ditch, and overlooked the valley of Kedron on the east; this hill was
    enclosed within the walls of Herod Agrippa. Lastly, ACRA lay westward of
    Moriah and northward of Zion, and formed the "lower city" in the time of
    Josephus. Walls. -- These are described by Josephus. The
    first or old wall was built by David and Solomon, and
    enclosed Zion and part of Mount Moriah. (The second wall enclosed a
    portion of the city called Acra or Millo, on the north of the city, from
    the tower of Mariamne to the tower of Antonia. It was built as the city
    enlarged in size; begun by Uzziah 140 years after the first wall was
    finished, continued by Jotham 50 years later, and by Manasseh 100 years
    later still. It was restored by Nehemiah. Even the latest explorations
    have failed to decide exactly what was its course. (See Conder's Handbook
    of the Bible, art. Jerusalem.) The third wall was built by
    King Herod Agrippa, and was intended to enclose the suburbs which had
    grown out on the northern sides of the city, which before this had been
    left exposed. After describing these walls, Josephus adds that the whole
    circumference of the city was 33 stadia, or nearly four English miles,
    which is as near as may be the extent indicated by the localities. He then
    adds that the number of towers in the old wall was 60, the middle wall 40,
    and the new wall 99. Water Supply -- (Jerusalem had no natural
    water supply, unless we so consider the "Fountain of the Virgin," which
    wells up with an intermittent action from under Ophel. The private
    citizens had cisterns, which were supplied by the rain from the roofs; and
    the city had a water supply "perhaps the most complete and extensive ever
    undertaken by a city," and which would enable it to endure a long siege.
    There were three aqueducts, a number of pools and fountains, and the
    temple area was honeycombed with great reservoirs, whose total capacity is
    estimated at 10,000,000 gallons. Thirty of these reservoirs are described,
    varying from 25 to 50 feet in depth; and one, call the great Sea,
    would hold 2,000,000 gallons. These reservoirs and the pools were supplied
    with water by the rainfall and by the aqueducts. One of these, constructed
    by Pilate, has been traced for 40 miles, though in a straight line the
    distance is but 13 miles. It brought water from the spring Elam, on the
    south, beyond Bethlehem, into the reservoirs under the temple enclosure.
    -- ED.) Pools and fountains. -- A part of the system of water
    supply. Outside the walls on the west side were the Upper and Lower Pools
    of GIHON, the latter close under Zion, the former more to the northwest on
    the Jaffa road. At the junction of the valleys of Hinnom and Jehoshaphat
    was ENROGEL, the "Well of Job," in the midst of the king's gardens. Within
    the walls, immediately north of Zion, was the "Pool of Hezekiah." A large
    pool existing beneath the temple (referred to in Ecclus. 1:3) was probably
    supplied by some subterranean aqueduct. The "King's Pool" was probably
    identical with the "Fountain of the Virgin," at the southern angle of
    Moriah. It possesses the peculiarity that it rises and falls at irregular
    periods; it is supposed to be fed form the cistern below the temple. From
    this a subterranean channel cut through solid rock leads the water to the
    pool of SILOAH, THE POOL OF or SILOAM, which has also acquired the
    character of being an intermittent fountain. The pool of which tradition
    has assigned the name of BETHESDA is situated on the north side of Moriah;
    it is now named Birket Israil. Burial-grounds. -- The main
    cemetery of the city seems from an early date to have been where it is
    still -- on the steep slopes of the valley of the Kedron. The tombs of the
    kings were in the city of David, that is, Mount Zion. The royal sepulchres
    were probably chambers containing separate recesses for the successive
    kings. Gardens. -- The king's gardens of David and Solomon seem to
    have been in the bottom formed by the confluence of the Kedron and Himmon.
    (Nehemiah 3:15) The Mount of Olives, as its name, and the names of various
    places upon it seem to imply, was a fruitful spot. At its foot was
    situated the garden of Gethsemane. At the time of the final siege the
    space north of the wall of Agrippa was covered with gardens, groves and
    plantations of fruit trees, enclosed by hedges and walls; and to level
    these was one of Titus’ first operations. We know that the Gennath
    (i.e. "of gardens") opened on this side of the city. Gates. -- The
    following is a complete list of the gates named in the Bible and by
    Josephus, with the reference to their occurrence: --

  8. Gate of Ephraim. (2 Chronicles 25:23; Nehemiah 8:16; 12:39) This is
    probably the same as the --

  10. Gate of Benjamin. (Jeremiah 20:2; 37:13; Zechariah 14:10) If so, it
    was 400 cubits distant from the --

  12. Corner gate. (2 Chronicles 25:23; 26:9; Jeremiah 31:38; Zechariah
    14:10)

  14. Gate of Joshua, governor of the city. (2 Kings 23:8)

  16. Gate between the two walls. (2 Kings 25:4; Jeremiah 39:4)

  18. Horse gate. (Nehemiah 3:28; 2 Chronicles 23:15; Jeremiah 31:40)

  20. Ravine gate (i.e. opening on ravine of Hinnom). (2 Chronicles 26:9;
    Nehemiah 2:13,15; 3:13)

  22. Fish gate. (2 Chronicles 33:14; Nehemiah 3:13; Zephaniah 1:10)

  24. Dung gate. (Nehemiah 2:13; 3:13)

  26. Sheep gate. (Nehemiah 3:1,32; 12:39)

  28. East gate. (Nehemiah 3:29)

  30. Miphkad. (Nehemiah 3:31)

  32. Fountain gate (Siloam?). (Nehemiah 12:37)

  34. Water gate. (Nehemiah 12:37)

  36. Old Gate. (Nehemiah 12:39)

  38. Prison gate. (Nehemiah 12:39)

  40. Gate Harsith (perhaps the Sun; Authorized Version East gate).
    (Jeremiah 19:2)

  42. First gate. (Zechariah 14:10)

  44. Gate Gennath (gardens). Jos B.J. v. 4, - 4.

  46. Essenes’ gate. Jos. B.J. 4, - 2. To these should be added
    the following gates to the temple: -- Gate Sur, (2 Kings 11:6) called also
    gate of foundation. (2 Chronicles 23:5) Gate of the guard, or behind the
    guard, (2 Kings 11:6,19); called the high gate. (2 Kings 15:35; 2
    Chronicles 23:20; 27:3) Gate Shallecheth. (1 Chronicles 26:16) At present
    the chief gates are --

  48. The Zion's gate and the dung gate, in the south wall;

  50. St. Stephen's gate and the golden gate (now walled up), in the east
    wall;

  52. The Damascus gate and

  54. Herod's gate, in the north wall; and

  56. The Jaffa gate, in the west wall. Population. -- Taking the
    area of the city enclosed by the two old walls at 750,000 yards, and that
    enclosed by the wall of Agrippa at 1,500,000 yards, we have 2,250,000
    yards for the whole. Taking the population of the old city at the probable
    number of the one person to 50 yards, we have 15,000 and at the extreme
    limit of 30 yards we should have 25,000 inhabitants for the old city, and
    at 100 yards to each individual in the new city about 15,000 more; so that
    the population of Jerusalem, in its days of greatest prosperity, may have
    amounted to from 30,000 to 45,000 souls, but could hardly ever have
    reached 50,000; and assuming that in times of festival one-half was added
    to this amount, which is an extreme estimate, there may have been 60,000
    or 70,000 in the city when Titus came up against it. (Josephus says that
    at the siege of Jerusalem the population was 3,000,000; but Tacitus’
    statement that it was 600,000 is nearer the truth. This last is certainly
    within the limits of possibility. Streets, houses, etc. -- Of the
    nature of these in the ancient city we have only the most scattered
    notices. The "east street," (2 Chronicles 29:4) the "street of the city,"
    i.e. the city of David, (2 Chronicles 32:6) the "street facing the water
    gate," (Nehemiah 8:1,3) or, according to the parallel account in 1 Esdr.
    9:38, the "broad place of the temple towards the east;" the "street of the
    house of God," (Ezra 10:9) the "street of the gate of Ephraim," (Nehemiah
    8:16) and the "open place of the first gate toward the east," must have
    been not "streets," in our sense of the word, so much as the open spaces
    found in easter towns round the inside of the gates. Streets, properly so
    called, there were, (Jeremiah 5:1; 11:13) etc.; but the name of only one,
    "the bakers’ street," (Jeremiah 37:21) is preserved to us. The Via
    Dolorosa, or street of sorrows, is a part of the street thorough which
    Christ is supposed to have been led on his way to his crucifixion. To the
    houses we have even less clue; but there is no reason to suppose that in
    either houses or streets the ancient Jerusalem differed very materially
    from the modern. No doubt the ancient city did not exhibit that air of
    mouldering dilapidation which is now so prominent there. The whole of the
    slopes south of the Haram area (the ancient Ophel), and the modern Zion,
    and the west side of the valley of Jehoshaphat, presents the appearance of
    gigantic mounds of rubbish. In this point at least the ancient city stood
    in favorable contrast with the modern, but in many others the resemblance
    must have been strong. Annals of the city. -- If, as is possible,
    Salem is the same with Jerusalem, the first mention of Jerusalem is in
    (Genesis 14:18) about B.C. 2080. It is next mentioned in (Joshua 10:1)
    B.C. 1451. The first siege appears to have taken place almost immediately
    after the death of Joshua -- cir. 1400 B.C. Judah and Simeon "fought
    against it and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and set
    the city on fire." (Judges 1:8) In the fifteen centuries which elapsed
    between this siege and the siege and destruction of the city by Titus,
    A.D. 70, the city was besieged no fewer than seventeen times; twice it was
    razed to the ground, on two other occasions its walls were levelled. In
    this respect it stands without a parallel in any city, ancient or modern.
    David captured the city B.C. 1046, and made it his capital, fortified and
    enlarged it. Solomon adorned the city with beautiful buildings, including
    the temple, but made no additions to its walls. The city was taken by the
    Philistines and Arabians in the reign of Jehoram, B.C. 886, and by the
    Israelites in the reign of Amaziah, B.C. 826. It was thrice taken by
    Nebuchadnezzar, in the years B.C. 607, 597 and 586, in the last of which
    it was utterly destroyed. Its restoration commenced under Cyrus, B.C. 538,
    and was completed under Artaxerxes I., who issued commissions for this
    purpose to Ezra, B.C. 457, and Nehemiah, B.C. 445. In B.C. 332 it was
    captured by Alexander the Great. Under the Ptolemies and the Seleucidae
    the town was prosperous, until Antiochus Epiphanes sacked it, B.C. 170. In
    consequence of his tyranny, the Jews rose under the Maccabees, and
    Jerusalem became again independent, and retained its position until its
    capture by the Romans under Pompey, B.C. 63. The temple was subsequently
    plundered by Crassus, B.C. 545, and the city by the Parthians, B.C. 40.
    Herod took up his residence there as soon as he was appointed sovereign,
    and restored the temple with great magnificence. On the death of Herod it
    became the residence of the Roman procurators, who occupied the fortress
    of Antonia. The greatest siege that it sustained, however, was at the
    hands of the Romans under Titus, when it held out nearly five months, and
    when the town was completely destroyed, A.D. 70. Hadrian restored it as a
    Roman colony, A.D. 135, and among other buildings erected a temple of
    Jupiter Capitolinus on the site of the temple. He gave to it the name of
    AElia Capitolina, thus combining his own family name with that of the
    Capitoline Jupiter. The emperor Constantine established the Christian
    character by the erection of a church on the supposed site of the holy
    sepulchre, A.D. 336. Justinian added several churches and hospitals about
    A.D. 532. It was taken by the Persians under Chosroes II in A.D. 614. The
    dominion of the Christians in the holy city was now rapidly drawing to a
    close. In A.D. 637 the patriarch Sophronius surrendered to the khalif Omar
    in person. With the fall of the Abassides the holy city passed into the
    hands of the Fatimite dynasty, under whom the sufferings of the Christians
    in Jerusalem reached their height. About the year 1084 it was bestowed
    upon Ortok, chief of a Turkman horde. It was taken by the Crusaders in
    1099, and for eighty-eight years Jerusal