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Jerusalem – John, Second Epistle of
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Jerusalem
Called also Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the "city of God," the "holy city;" by the modern Arabs el-Khuds, meaning "the holy;" once "the city of Judah" (). This name is in the original in the dual form, and means "possession of peace," or "foundation of peace." The dual form probably refers to the two mountains on which it was built, viz., Zion and Moriah; or, as some suppose, to the two parts of the city, the "upper" and the "lower city." Jerusalem is a "mountain city enthroned on a mountain fastness" (comp. , ; ; ; , ; ). It stands on the edge of one of the highest table-lands in Palestine, and is surrounded on the south-eastern, the southern, and the western sides by deep and precipitous ravines.
It is first mentioned in Scripture under the name Salem (; comp. ). When first mentioned under the name Jerusalem, Adonizedek was its king (). It is afterwards named among the cities of Benjamin (; ); but in the time of David it was divided between Benjamin and Judah. After the death of Joshua the city was taken and set on fire by the men of Judah (); but the Jebusites were not wholly driven out of it. The city is not again mentioned till we are told that David brought the head of Goliath thither (). David afterwards led his forces against the Jebusites still residing within its walls, and drove them out, fixing his own dwelling on Zion, which he called "the city of David" (; ). Here he built an altar to the Lord on the threshing-floor of Araunah the Jebusite (), and thither he brought up the ark of the covenant and placed it in the new tabernacle which he had prepared for it. Jerusalem now became the capital of the kingdom.
After the death of David, Solomon built the temple, a house for the name of the Lord, on Mount Moriah (B.C. 1010). He also greatly strengthened and adorned the city, and it became the great centre of all the civil and religious affairs of the nation (; comp. 12:14; 14:23; 16:11-16; Ps. 122).
After the disruption of the kingdom on the accession to the throne of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, Jerusalem became the capital of the kingdom of the two tribes. It was subsequently often taken and retaken by the Egyptians, the Assyrians, and by the kings of Israel (, ; , ; ; ; ; ; , ; ; ; ), till finally, for the abounding iniquities of the nation, after a siege of three years, it was taken and utterly destroyed, its walls razed to the ground, and its temple and palaces consumed by fire, by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon (2 Kings 25; 2 Chr. 36; Jer. 39), B.C. 588. The desolation of the city and the land was completed by the retreat of the principal Jews into Egypt (Jer. 40-44), and by the final carrying captive into Babylon of all that still remained in the land (52:3), so that it was left without an inhabitant (B.C. 582). Compare the predictions, Deut. 28; .
But the streets and walls of Jerusalem were again to be built, in troublous times (, , ), after a captivity of seventy years. This restoration was begun B.C. 536, "in the first year of Cyrus" (, , ). The Books of Ezra and Nehemiah contain the history of the re-building of the city and temple, and the restoration of the kingdom of the Jews, consisting of a portion of all the tribes. The kingdom thus constituted was for two centuries under the dominion of Persia, till B.C. 331; and thereafter, for about a century and a half, under the rulers of the Greek empire in Asia, till B.C. 167. For a century the Jews maintained their independence under native rulers, the Asmonean princes. At the close of this period they fell under the rule of Herod and of members of his family, but practically under Rome, till the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, A.D. 70. The city was then laid in ruins.
The modern Jerusalem by-and-by began to be built over the immense beds of rubbish resulting from the overthrow of the ancient city; and whilst it occupies certainly the same site, there are no evidences that even the lines of its streets are now what they were in the ancient city. Till A.D. 131 the Jews who still lingered about Jerusalem quietly submitted to the Roman sway. But in that year the emperor (Hadrian), in order to hold them in subjection, rebuilt and fortified the city. The Jews, however, took possession of it, having risen under the leadership of one Bar-Chohaba (i.e., "the son of the star") in revolt against the Romans. Some four years afterwards (A.D. 135), however, they were driven out of it with great slaughter, and the city was again destroyed; and over its ruins was built a Roman city called Aelia Capitolina, a name which it retained till it fell under the dominion of the Mohammedans, when it was called el-Khuds, i.e., "the holy."
In A.D. 326 Helena, mother of the emperor Constantine, made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem with the view of discovering the places mentioned in the life of our Lord. She caused a church to be built on what was then supposed to be the place of the nativity at Bethlehem. Constantine, animated by her example, searched for the holy sepulchre, and built over the supposed site a magnificent church, which was completed and dedicated A.D. 335. He relaxed the laws against the Jews till this time in force, and permitted them once a year to visit the city and wail over the desolation of "the holy and beautiful house."
In A.D. 614 the Persians, after defeating the Roman forces of the emperor Heraclius, took Jerusalem by storm, and retained it till A.D. 637, when it was taken by the Arabians under the Khalif Omar. It remained in their possession till it passed, in A.D. 960, under the dominion of the Fatimite khalifs of Egypt, and in A.D. 1073 under the Turcomans. In A.D. 1099 the crusader Godfrey of Bouillon took the city from the Moslems with great slaughter, and was elected king of Jerusalem. He converted the Mosque of Omar into a Christian cathedral. During the eighty-eight years which followed, many churches and convents were erected in the holy city. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre was rebuilt during this period, and it alone remains to this day. In A.D. 1187 the sultan Saladin wrested the city from the Christians. From that time to the present day, with few intervals, Jerusalem has remained in the hands of the Moslems. It has, however, during that period been again and again taken and retaken, demolished in great part and rebuilt, no city in the world having passed through so many vicissitudes.
In the year 1850 the Greek and Latin monks residing in Jerusalem had a fierce dispute about the guardianship of what are called the "holy places." In this dispute the emperor Nicholas of Russia sided with the Greeks, and Louis Napoleon, the emperor of the French, with the Latins. This led the Turkish authorities to settle the question in a way unsatisfactory to Russia. Out of this there sprang the Crimean War, which was protracted and sanguinary, but which had important consequences in the way of breaking down the barriers of Turkish exclusiveness.
Modern Jerusalem "lies near the summit of a broad mountain-ridge, which extends without interruption from the plain of Esdraelon to a line drawn between the southern end of the Dead Sea and the southeastern corner of the Mediterranean." This high, uneven table-land is everywhere from 20 to 25 geographical miles in breadth. It was anciently known as the mountains of Ephraim and Judah.
"Jerusalem is a city of contrasts, and differs widely from Damascus, not merely because it is a stone town in mountains, whilst the latter is a mud city in a plain, but because while in Damascus Moslem religion and Oriental custom are unmixed with any foreign element, in Jerusalem every form of religion, every nationality of East and West, is represented at one time."
Jerusalem is first mentioned under that name in the Book of Joshua, and the Tell-el-Amarna collection of tablets includes six letters from its Amorite king to Egypt, recording the attack of the Abiri about B.C. 1480. The name is there spelt Uru-Salim ("city of peace"). Another monumental record in which the Holy City is named is that of Sennacherib's attack in B.C. 702. The "camp of the Assyrians" was still shown about A.D. 70, on the flat ground to the north-west, included in the new quarter of the city.
The city of David included both the upper city and Millo, and was surrounded by a wall built by David and Solomon, who appear to have restored the original Jebusite fortifications. The name Zion (or Sion) appears to have been, like Ariel ("the hearth of God"), a poetical term for Jerusalem, but in the Greek age was more specially used of the Temple hill. The priests' quarter grew up on Ophel, south of the Temple, where also was Solomon's Palace outside the original city of David. The walls of the city were extended by Jotham and Manasseh to include this suburb and the Temple (; ).
Jerusalem is now a town of some 50,000 inhabitants, with ancient mediaeval walls, partly on the old lines, but extending less far to the south. The traditional sites, as a rule, were first shown in the 4th and later centuries A.D., and have no authority. The results of excavation have, however, settled most of the disputed questions, the limits of the Temple area, and the course of the old walls having been traced.
Jerusha
Possession, or possessed; i.e., "by a husband", the wife of Uzziah, and mother of king Jotham ().
Jeshaiah
Deliverance of Jehovah. (1.) A Kohathite Levite, the father of Joram, of the family of Eliezer (); called also Isshiah (24:21).
(2.) One of the sons of Jeduthum (, ).
(3.) One of the three sons of Hananiah ().
(4.) Son of Athaliah ().
(5.) A Levite of the family of Merari (8:19).
Jeshanah
A city of the kingdom of Israel ().
Jesharelah
Upright towards God, the head of the seventh division of Levitical musicians ().
Jeshebeab
Seat of his father, the head of the fourteenth division of priests ().
Jesher
Uprightness, the first of the three sons of Caleb by Azubah ().
Jeshimon
The waste, probably some high waste land to the south of the Dead Sea (; ; , ); or rather not a proper name at all, but simply "the waste" or "wilderness," the district on which the plateau of Ziph (q.v.) looks down.
Jeshua
(1.) Head of the ninth priestly order (); called also Jeshuah ().
(2.) A Levite appointed by Hezekiah to distribute offerings in the priestly cities ().
(3.) ; .
(4.) ; .
(5.) The son of Jozadak, and high priest of the Jews under Zerubbabel (; , , , ); called Joshua (, ; , ; , , , , ).
(6.) A Levite ().
(7.) .
(8.) A Levite who assisted in the reformation under Nehemiah (8:7; 9:4, 5).
(9.) Son of Kadmiel ().
(10.) A city of Judah ().
(11.) ; Joshua, the son of Nun.
Jeshurun
A poetical name for the people of Israel, used in token of affection, meaning, "the dear upright people" (; , ; ).
Jesse
Firm, or a gift, a son of Obed, the son of Boaz and Ruth (, ; , ; ). He was the father of eight sons, the youngest of whom was David (). The phrase "stem of Jesse" is used for the family of David (), and "root of Jesse" for the Messiah (; ). Jesse was a man apparently of wealth and position at Bethlehem (, , ; ). The last reference to him is of David's procuring for him an asylum with the king of Moab ().
Jesus
(1.) Joshua, the son of Nun (; ; R.V., "Joshua").
(2.) A Jewish Christian surnamed Justus ().
Je'sus, the proper, as Christ is the official, name of our Lord. To distinguish him from others so called, he is spoken of as "Jesus of Nazareth" (), and "Jesus the son of Joseph" ().
This is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua, which was originally Hoshea (, ), but changed by Moses into Jehoshua (; ), or Joshua. After the Exile it assumed the form Jeshua, whence the Greek form Jesus. It was given to our Lord to denote the object of his mission, to save ().
The life of Jesus on earth may be divided into two great periods, (1) that of his private life, till he was about thirty years of age; and (2) that of his public life, which lasted about three years.
In the "fulness of time" he was born at Bethlehem, in the reign of the emperor Augustus, of Mary, who was betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter (; ; comp. ). His birth was announced to the shepherds (). Wise men from the east came to Bethlehem to see him who was born "King of the Jews," bringing gifts with them (). Herod's cruel jealousy led to Joseph's flight into Egypt with Mary and the infant Jesus, where they tarried till the death of this king (), when they returned and settled in Nazareth, in Lower Galilee (2:23; comp. ; , etc.). At the age of twelve years he went up to Jerusalem to the Passover with his parents. There, in the temple, "in the midst of the doctors," all that heard him were "astonished at his understanding and answers" (, etc.).
Eighteen years pass, of which we have no record beyond this, that he returned to Nazareth and "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man" ().
He entered on his public ministry when he was about thirty years of age. It is generally reckoned to have extended to about three years. "Each of these years had peculiar features of its own. (1.) The first year may be called the year of obscurity, both because the records of it which we possess are very scanty, and because he seems during it to have been only slowly emerging into public notice. It was spent for the most part in Judea. (2.) The second year was the year of public favour, during which the country had become thoroughly aware of him; his activity was incessant, and his frame rang through the length and breadth of the land. It was almost wholly passed in Galilee. (3.) The third was the year of opposition, when the public favour ebbed away. His enemies multiplied and assailed him with more and more pertinacity, and at last he fell a victim to their hatred. The first six months of this final year were passed in Galilee, and the last six in other parts of the land.", Stalker's Life of Jesus Christ, p. 45.
The only reliable sources of information regarding the life of Christ on earth are the Gospels, which present in historical detail the words and the work of Christ in so many different aspects. (See [316]CHIRST.)
Jether
Surplus; excellence. (1.) Father-in-law of Moses ( marg.), called elsewhere Jethro (q.v.).
(2.) The oldest of Gideon's seventy sons ().
(3.) The father of Amasa, David's general (, ); called Ithra ().
(4.) .
(5.) ; one of Judah's posterity.
(6.) .
Jetheth
A peg, or a prince, one of the Edomitish kings of Mount Seir ().
Jethlah
Suspended; high, a city on the borders of Dan ().
Jethro
His excellence, or gain, a prince or priest of Midian, who succeeded his father Reuel. Moses spent forty years after his exile from the Egyptian court as keeper of Jethro's flocks. While the Israelites were encamped at Sinai, and soon after their victory over Amalek, Jethro came to meet Moses, bringing with him Zipporah and her two sons. They met at the "mount of God," and "Moses told him all that the Lord had done unto Pharaoh" (). On the following day Jethro, observing the multiplicity of the duties devolving on Moses, advised him to appoint subordinate judges, rulers of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, to decide smaller matters, leaving only the weightier matters to be referred to Moses, to be laid before the Lord. This advice Moses adopted (Ex. 18). He was also called Hobab (q.v.), which was probably his personal name, while Jethro was an official name. (See [317]MOSES.)
Jetur
An enclosure, one of the twelve sons of Ishmael ().
Jeuel
Snatched away by God, a descendant of Zerah ().
Jeush
Assembler. (1.) The oldest of Esau's three sons by Aholibamah (, , ).
(2.) A son of Bilhan, grandson of Benjamin ().
(3.) A Levite, one of the sons of Shimei (, ).
(4.) One of the three sons of Rehoboam ().
(5.) .
Jew
The name derived from the patriarch Judah, at first given to one belonging to the tribe of Judah or to the separate kingdom of Judah (; ; ; ; ; ), in contradistinction from those belonging to the kingdom of the ten tribes, who were called Israelites.
During the Captivity, and after the Restoration, the name, however, was extended to all the Hebrew nation without distinction (, ; , ; ; , ).
Originally this people were called Hebrews (; ; ; ; ; , , etc.), but after the Exile this name fell into disuse. But Paul was styled a Hebrew (; ).
The history of the Jewish nation is interwoven with the history of Palestine and with the narratives of the lives of their rulers and chief men. They are now [1897] dispersed over all lands, and to this day remain a separate people, "without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image [R.V. pillar,' marg. obelisk'], and without an ephod, and without teraphim" (). Till about the beginning of the present century [1800] they were everywhere greatly oppressed, and often cruelly persecuted; but now their condition is greatly improved, and they are admitted in most European countries to all the rights of free citizens. In 1860 the "Jewish disabilities" were removed, and they were admitted to a seat in the British Parliament. Their number in all is estimated at about six millions, about four millions being in Europe.
There are three names used in the New Testament to designate this people, (1.) Jews, as regards their nationality, to distinguish them from Gentiles. (2.) Hebrews, with regard to their language and education, to distinguish them from Hellenists, i.e., Jews who spoke the Greek language. (3.) Israelites, as respects their sacred privileges as the chosen people of God. "To other races we owe the splendid inheritance of modern civilization and secular culture; but the religious education of mankind has been the gift of the Jew alone."
Jewess
A woman of Hebrew birth, as Eunice, the mother of Timothy (; ), and Drusilla (), wife of Felix, and daughter of Herod Agrippa I.
Jezebel
Chaste, the daughter of Ethbaal, the king of the Zidonians, and the wife of Ahab, the king of Israel (). This was the "first time that a king of Israel had allied himself by marriage with a heathen princess; and the alliance was in this case of a peculiarly disastrous kind. Jezebel has stamped her name on history as the representative of all that is designing, crafty, malicious, revengeful, and cruel. She is the first great instigator of persecution against the saints of God. Guided by no principle, restrained by no fear of either God or man, passionate in her attachment to her heathen worship, she spared no pains to maintain idolatry around her in all its splendour. Four hundred and fifty prophets ministered under her care to Baal, besides four hundred prophets of the groves [R.V., 'prophets of the Asherah'], which ate at her table (). The idolatry, too, was of the most debased and sensual kind." Her conduct was in many respects very disastrous to the kingdom both of Israel and Judah (21:1-29). At length she came to an untimely end. As Jehu rode into the gates of Jezreel, she looked out at the window of the palace, and said, "Had Zimri peace, who slew his master?" He looked up and called to her chamberlains, who instantly threw her from the window, so that she was dashed in pieces on the street, and his horses trod her under their feet. She was immediately consumed by the dogs of the street (), according to the word of Elijah the Tishbite ().
Her name afterwards came to be used as the synonym for a wicked woman ().
It may be noted that she is said to have been the grand-aunt of Dido, the founder of Carthage.
Jeziel
Assembled by God, a son of Azmaveth. He was one of the Benjamite archers who joined David at Ziklag ().
Jezreel
God scatters. (1.) A town of Issachar (), where the kings of Israel often resided (; ; ). Here Elijah met Ahab, Jehu, and Bidkar; and here Jehu executed his dreadful commission against the house of Ahab (; ). It has been identified with the modern Zerin, on the most western point of the range of Gilboa, reaching down into the great and fertile valley of Jezreel, to which it gave its name.
(2.) A town in Judah (), to the south-east of Hebron. Ahinoam, one of David's wives, probably belonged to this place ().
(3.) A symbolical name given by Hosea to his oldest son (), in token of a great slaughter predicted by him, like that which had formerly taken place in the plain of Esdraelon (comp. , ).
Jezreel, Blood of
The murder perpetrated here by Ahab and Jehu (; comp. ; ).
Jezreel, Day of
The time predicted for the execution of vengeance for the deeds of blood committed there ().
Jezreel, Ditch of
(; comp. 13), the fortification surrounding the city, outside of which Naboth was executed.
Jezreel, Fountain of
Where Saul encamped before the battle of Gilboa (). In the valley under Zerin there are two considerable springs, one of which, perhaps that here referred to, "flows from under a sort of cavern in the wall of conglomerate rock which here forms the base of Gilboa. The water is excellent; and issuing from crevices in the rocks, it spreads out at once into a fine limpid pool forty or fifty feet in diameter, full of fish" (Robinson). This may be identical with the "well of Harod" (; comp. ), probably the Ain Jalud, i.e., the "spring of Goliath."
Jezreel, Portion of
The field adjoining the city (, , , ). Here Naboth was stoned to death ().
Jezreel, Tower of
One of the turrets which guarded the entrance to the city ().
Jezreel, Valley of
Lying on the northern side of the city, between the ridges of Gilboa and Moreh, an offshoot of Esdraelon, running east to the Jordan (; ; ). It was the scene of the signal victory gained by the Israelites under Gideon over the Midianites, the Amalekites, and the "children of the east" (). Two centuries after this the Israelites were here defeated by the Philistines, and Saul and Jonathan, with the flower of the army of Israel, fell ().
This name was in after ages extended to the whole of the plain of Esdraelon (q.v.). It was only this plain of Jezreel and that north of Lake Huleh that were then accessible to the chariots of the Canaanites (comp. ; ).
Joab
Jehovah is his father. (1.) One of the three sons of Zeruiah, David's sister, and "captain of the host" during the whole of David's reign (; ; ; ). His father's name is nowhere mentioned, although his sepulchre at Bethlehem is mentioned (). His two brothers were Abishai and Asahel, the swift of foot, who was killed by Abner (), whom Joab afterwards treacherously murdered (3:22-27). He afterwards led the assault at the storming of the fortress on Mount Zion, and for this service was raised to the rank of "prince of the king's army" (; ). His chief military achievements were, (1) against the allied forces of Syria and Ammon; (2) against Edom (, ); and (3) against the Ammonites (; , ). His character is deeply stained by the part he willingly took in the murder of Uriah (11:14-25). He acted apparently from a sense of duty in putting Absalom to death (18:1-14). David was unmindful of the many services Joab had rendered to him, and afterwards gave the command of the army to Amasa, Joab's cousin (; ). When David was dying Joab espoused the cause of Adonijah in preference to that of Solomon. He was afterwards slain by Benaiah, by the command of Solomon, in accordance with his father's injunction (; ), at the altar to which he had fled for refuge. Thus this hoary conspirator died without one to lift up a voice in his favour. He was buried in his own property in the "wilderness," probably in the north-east of Jerusalem (, ). Benaiah succeeded him as commander-in-chief of the army.
(2.) .
(3.) .
Joah
Jehovah his brother; i.e., helper. (1.) One of the sons of Obed-edom (), a Korhite porter.
(2.) A Levite of the family of Gershom (), probably the same as Ethan (42).
(3.) The son of Asaph, and "recorder" (q.v.) or chronicler to King Hezekiah (, , ).
(4.) Son of Joahaz, and "recorder" (q.v.) or keeper of the state archives under King Josiah ().
Joahaz
(), a contracted form of Jehoahaz (q.v.).
Joanna
Whom Jehovah has graciously given. (1.) The grandson of Zerubbabel, in the lineage of Christ (); the same as Hananiah ().
(2.) The wife of Chuza, the steward of Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee (). She was one of the women who ministered to our Lord, and to whom he appeared after his resurrection (; ).
Joash
Whom Jehovah bestowed. (1.) A contracted form of Jehoash, the father of Gideon (, ; , , ).
(2.) One of the Benjamite archers who joined David at Ziklag ().
(3.) One of King Ahab's sons ().
(4.) King of Judah (; , ). (See [318]JEHOASH [1].)
(5.) King of Israel (, , , ). (See [319]JEHOASH [2].)
(6.) .
(7.) One who had charge of the royal stores of oil under David and Solomon ().
Job
Persecuted, an Arabian patriarch who resided in the land of Uz (q.v.). While living in the midst of great prosperity, he was suddenly overwhelmed by a series of sore trials that fell upon him. Amid all his sufferings he maintained his integrity. Once more God visited him with the rich tokens of his goodness and even greater prosperity than he had enjoyed before. He survived the period of trial for one hundred and forty years, and died in a good old age, an example to succeeding generations of integrity (, ) and of submissive patience under the sorest calamities (). His history, so far as it is known, is recorded in his book.
Jobab
Dweller in the desert. (1.) One of the sons of Joktan, and founder of an Arabian tribe (). (2.) King of Edom, succeeded Bela (, ). (3.) A Canaanitish king () who joined the confederacy against Joshua.
Job, Book of
A great diversity of opinion exists as to the authorship of this book. From internal evidence, such as the similarity of sentiment and language to those in the Psalms and Proverbs (see Ps. 88 and 89), the prevalence of the idea of "wisdom," and the style and character of the composition, it is supposed by some to have been written in the time of David and Solomon. Others argue that it was written by Job himself, or by Elihu, or Isaiah, or perhaps more probably by Moses, who was "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and mighty in words and deeds" (). He had opportunities in Midian for obtaining the knowledge of the facts related. But the authorship is altogether uncertain.
As to the character of the book, it is a historical poem, one of the greatest and sublimest poems in all literature. Job was a historical person, and the localities and names were real and not fictious. It is "one of the grandest portions of the inspired Scriptures, a heavenly-repleished storehouse of comfort and instruction, the patriarchal Bible, and a precious monument of primitive theology. It is to the Old Testament what the Epistle to the Romans is to the New." It is a didactic narrative in a dramatic form.
This book was apparently well known in the days of Ezekiel, B.C. 600 (). It formed a part of the sacred Scriptures used by our Lord and his apostles, and is referred to as a part of the inspired Word (; ).
The subject of the book is the trial of Job, its occasion, nature, endurance, and issue. It exhibits the harmony of the truths of revelation and the dealings of Providence, which are seen to be at once inscrutable, just, and merciful. It shows the blessedness of the truly pious, even amid sore afflictions, and thus ministers comfort and hope to tried believers of every age. It is a book of manifold instruction, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness ().
It consists of,
(1.) An historical introduction in prose (ch. 1, 2).
(2.) The controversy and its solution, in poetry (ch. 3-42:6).
Job's desponding lamentation (ch. 3) is the occasion of the controversy which is carried on in three courses of dialogues between Job and his three friends. The first course gives the commencement of the controversy (ch. 4-14); the second the growth of the controversy (15-21); and the third the height of the controversy (22-27). This is followed by the solution of the controversy in the speeches of Elihu and the address of Jehovah, followed by Job's humble confession (42:1-6) of his own fault and folly.
(3.) The third division is the historical conclusion, in prose (42:7-15).
Sir J. W. Dawson in "The Expositor" says: "It would now seem that the language and theology of the book of Job can be better explained by supposing it to be a portion of Minean [Southern Arabia] literature obtained by Moses in Midian than in any other way. This view also agrees better than any other with its references to natural objects, the art of mining, and other matters."
Jochebed
Jehovah is her glory, the wife of Amram, and the mother of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses (). She is spoken of as the sister of Kohath, Amram's father (; comp. 16, 18; 2:1-10).
Joel
Jehovah is his God. (1.) The oldest of Samuel's two sons appointed by him as judges in Beersheba (). (See VASHNI.) (2.) A descendant of Reuben (, ). (3.) One of David's famous warriors (). (4.) A Levite of the family of Gershom (, ). (5.) . (6.) . (7.) The second of the twelve minor prophets. He was the son of Pethuel. His personal history is only known from his book.
Joelah
A Benjamite who joined David at Ziklag ().
Joel, Book of
Joel was probably a resident in Judah, as his commission was to that people. He makes frequent mention of Judah and Jerusalem (1:14; 2:1, 15, 32; 3:1, 12, 17, 20, 21).
He probably flourished in the reign of Uzziah (about B.C. 800), and was contemporary with Amos and Isaiah.
The contents of this book are, (1.) A prophecy of a great public calamity then impending over the land, consisting of a want of water and an extraordinary plague of locusts (1:1-2:11). (2.) The prophet then calls on his countrymen to repent and to turn to God, assuring them of his readiness to forgive (2:12-17), and foretelling the restoration of the land to its accustomed fruitfulness (18-26). (3.) Then follows a Messianic prophecy, quoted by Peter (). (4.) Finally, the prophet foretells portents and judgments as destined to fall on the enemies of God (ch. 3, but in the Hebrew text 4).
Joezer
Jehovah is his help, one of the Korhites who became part of David's body-guard ().
Johanan
Whom Jehovah graciously bestows. (1.) One of the Gadite heroes who joined David in the desert of Judah ().
(2.) The oldest of King Josiah's sons ().
(3.) Son of Careah, one of the Jewish chiefs who rallied round Gedaliah, whom Nebuchadnezzar had made governor in Jerusalem (; ). He warned Gedaliah of the plans of Ishmael against him, a warning which was unheeded (, ). He afterwards pursued the murderer of the governor, and rescued the captives (41:8, 13, 15, 16). He and his associates subsequently fled to Tahpanhes in Egypt (43:2, 4, 5), taking Jeremiah with them. "The flight of Gedaliah's community to Egypt extinguished the last remaining spark of life in the Jewish state. The work of the ten centuries since Joshua crossed the Jordan had been undone."
John
(1.) One who, with Annas and Caiaphas, sat in judgment on the apostles Peter and John (). He was of the kindred of the high priest; otherwise unknown.
(2.) The Hebrew name of Mark (q.v.). He is designated by this name in the acts of the Apostles (12:12, 25; 13:5, 13; 15:37).
(3.) THE APOSTLE, brother of James the "Greater" (; ; ; ; ). He was one, probably the younger, of the sons of Zebedee () and Salome (; comp. ), and was born at Bethsaida. His father was apparently a man of some wealth (comp. ; ; ). He was doubtless trained in all that constituted the ordinary education of Jewish youth. When he grew up he followed the occupation of a fisherman on the Lake of Galilee. When John the Baptist began his ministry in the wilderness of Judea, John, with many others, gathered round him, and was deeply influenced by his teaching. There he heard the announcement, "Behold the Lamb of God," and forthwith, on the invitation of Jesus, became a disciple and ranked among his followers (, ) for a time. He and his brother then returned to their former avocation, for how long is uncertain. Jesus again called them (; ), and now they left all and permanently attached themselves to the company of his disciples. He became one of the innermost circle (; ; ; ). He was the disciple whom Jesus loved. In zeal and intensity of character he was a "Boanerges" (). This spirit once and again broke out (; ; , ). At the betrayal he and Peter follow Christ afar off, while the others betake themselves to hasty flight (). At the trial he follows Christ into the council chamber, and thence to the praetorium (18:16, 19, 28) and to the place of crucifixion (19:26, 27). To him and Peter, Mary first conveys tidings of the resurrection (20:2), and they are the first to go and see what her strange words mean. After the resurrection he and Peter again return to the Sea of Galilee, where the Lord reveals himself to them (21:1, 7). We find Peter and John frequently after this together (; ). John remained apparently in Jerusalem as the leader of the church there (; ). His subsequent history is unrecorded. He was not there, however, at the time of Paul's last visit (). He appears to have retired to Ephesus, but at what time is unknown. The seven churches of Asia were the objects of his special care (). He suffered under persecution, and was banished to Patmos (1:9); whence he again returned to Ephesus, where he died, probably about A.D. 98, having outlived all or nearly all the friends and companions even of his maturer years. There are many interesting traditions regarding John during his residence at Ephesus, but these cannot claim the character of historical truth.
John, First Epistle of
The fourth of the catholic or "general" epistles. It was evidently written by John the evangelist, and probably also at Ephesus, and when the writer was in advanced age. The purpose of the apostle (1:1-4) is to declare the Word of Life to those to whom he writes, in order that they might be united in fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. He shows that the means of union with God are, (1) on the part of Christ, his atoning work (1:7; 2:2; 3:5; 4:10, 14; 5:11, 12) and his advocacy (2:1); and (2), on the part of man, holiness (1:6), obedience (2:3), purity (3:3), faith (3:23; 4:3; 5:5), and love (2:7, 8; 3:14; 4:7; 5:1).
John, Gospel of
The genuineness of this Gospel, i.e., the fact that the apostle John was its author, is beyond all reasonable doubt. In recent times, from about 1820, many attempts have been made to impugn its genuineness, but without success.
The design of John in writing this Gospel is stated by himself (). It was at one time supposed that he wrote for the purpose of supplying the omissions of the synoptical, i.e., of the first three, Gospels, but there is no evidence for this. "There is here no history of Jesus and his teaching after the manner of the other evangelists. But there is in historical form a representation of the Christian faith in relation to the person of Christ as its central point; and in this representation there is a picture on the one hand of the antagonism of the world to the truth revealed in him, and on the other of the spiritual blessedness of the few who yield themselves to him as the Light of life" (Reuss).
After the prologue (1:1-5), the historical part of the book begins with verse 6, and consists of two parts. The first part (1:6-ch. 12) contains the history of our Lord's public ministry from the time of his introduction to it by John the Baptist to its close. The second part (ch. 13-21) presents our Lord in the retirement of private life and in his intercourse with his immediate followers (13-17), and gives an account of his sufferings and of his appearances to the disciples after his resurrection (18-21).
The peculiarities of this Gospel are the place it gives (1) to the mystical relation of the Son to the Father, and (2) of the Redeemer to believers; (3) the announcement of the Holy Ghost as the Comforter; (4) the prominence given to love as an element in the Christian character. It was obviously addressed primarily to Christians.
It was probably written at Ephesus, which, after the destruction of Jerusalem (A.D. 70), became the centre of Christian life and activity in the East, about A.D. 90.
John, Second Epistle of
Is addressed to "the elect lady," and closes with the words, "The children of thy elect sister greet thee;" but some would read instead of "lady" the proper name Kyria. Of the thirteen verses composing this epistle seven are in the First Epistle. The person addressed is commended for her piety, and is warned against false teachers.
M. G. Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary, third edition (1897). Public domain. Text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library.