BIBLES NET. COM
Dictionary]
Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Ishbi-benob – my seat at Nob, one
of the Rephaim, whose spear was three hundred shekels in
weight. He was slain by Abishai (2 Sam. 21:16, 17).
humiliation, the youngest of Saul’s four sons, and the
only one who survived him (2 Sam. 2-4). His name was
originally Eshbaal (1 Chr. 8:33; 9:39). He was about forty
years of age when his father and three brothers fell at the
battle of Gilboa. Through the influence of Abner,
Saul’s cousin, he was acknowledged as successor to the
throne of Saul, and ruled over all Israel, except the tribe
of Judah (over whom David was king), for two years, having
Mahanaim, on the east of Jordan, as his capital (2 Sam.
2:9). After a troubled and uncertain reign he was murdered
by his guard, who stabbed him while he was asleep on his
couch at mid-day (2 Sam. 4:5-7); and having cut off his
head, presented it to David, who sternly rebuked them for
this cold-blooded murder, and ordered them to be
immediately executed (9-12).
Ishi – my husband, a symbolical
name used in Hos. 2:16
Abraham’s eldest son, by Hagar the concubine (Gen.
16:15; 17:23). He was born at Mamre, when Abraham was
eighty-six years of age, eleven years after his arrival in
Canaan (16:3; 21:5). At the age of thirteen he was
circumcised (17:25). He grew up a true child of the desert,
wild and wayward. On the occasion of the weaning of Isaac
his rude and wayward spirit broke out in expressions of
insult and mockery (21:9, 10); and Sarah, discovering this,
said to Abraham, “Expel this slave and her son.”
Influenced by a divine admonition, Abraham dismissed Hagar
and her son with no more than a skin of water and some
bread. The narrative describing this act is one of the most
beautiful and touching incidents of patriarchal life (Gen.
21:14-16).
Ishmael settled in the land of Paran, a region lying
between Canaan and the mountains of Sinai; and “God
was with him, and he became a great archer” (Gen.
21:9-21). He became a great desert chief, but of his
history little is recorded. He was about ninety years of
age when his father Abraham died, in connection with whose
burial he once more for a moment reappears. On this
occasion the two brothers met after being long separated.
“Isaac with his hundreds of household slaves, Ishmael
with his troops of wild retainers and half-savage allies,
in all the state of a Bedouin prince, gathered before the
cave of Machpelah, in the midst of the men of Heth, to pay
the last duties to the ‘father of the faithful,’
would make a notable subject for an artist” (Gen.
25:9). Of the after events of his life but little is known.
He died at the age of one hundred and thirty-seven years,
but where and when are unknown (25:17). He had twelve sons,
who became the founders of so many Arab tribes or colonies,
the Ishmaelites, who spread over the wide desert spaces of
Northern Arabia from the Red Sea to the Euphrates (Gen.
37:25, 27, 28; 39:1), “their hand against every man,
and every man’s hand against them.”
(2.) The son of Nethaniah, “of the seed royal”
(Jer. 40:8, 15). He plotted against Gedaliah, and
treacherously put him and others to death. He carried off
many captives, “and departed to go over to the
Ammonites.”
Ishmaiah – heard by Jehovah. (1.)
A Gibeonite who joined David at Ziklag, “a hero among
the thirty and over the thirty” (1 Chr. 12:4).
(2.) Son of Obadiah, and viceroy of Zebulun under David and
Solomon (1 Chr. 27:19).
Ishmeelites – (Gen. 37:28; 39:1,
A.V.) should be “Ishmaelites,” as in the Revised
Version.
Ishtob – man of Tob, one of the
small Syrian kingdoms which together constituted Aram (2
Sam. 10:6,8).
land,” as opposed to water) occurs in its usual
signification (Isa. 42:4, 10, 12, 15, comp. Jer. 47:4), but
more frequently simply denotes a maritime region or
sea-coast (Isa. 20:6, R.V.,” coastland;” 23:2, 6;
Jer. 2:10; Ezek. 27:6, 7). The shores of the Mediterranean are called
the “islands of the sea” (Isa. 11:11), or the
“isles of the Gentiles” (Gen. 10:5), and
sometimes simply “isles” (Ps. 72:10); Ezek.
26:15, 18; 27:3, 35; Dan. 11:18).
Israel – the name conferred on
Jacob after the great prayer-struggle at Peniel (Gen.
32:28), because “as a prince he had power with God and
prevailed.” This is the common name given to Jacob’s
descendants. The whole people of the twelve tribes are
called “Israelites,” the “children of
Israel” (Josh. 3:17; 7:25; Judg. 8:27; Jer. 3:21), and
the “house of Israel” (Ex. 16:31; 40:38).
This name Israel is sometimes used emphatically for the
true Israel (Ps. 73:1: Isa. 45:17; 49:3; John 1:47; Rom.
9:6; 11:26).
After the death of Saul the ten tribes arrogated to
themselves this name, as if they were the whole nation (2
Sam. 2:9, 10, 17, 28; 3:10, 17; 19:40-43), and the kings of
the ten tribes were called “kings of Israel,”
while the kings of the two tribes were called “kings
of Judah.”
After the Exile the name Israel was assumed as designating
the entire nation.
975-B.C. 722). Soon after the death of Solomon,
Ahijah’s prophecy (1 Kings 11:31-35) was fulfilled, and
the kingdom was rent in twain. Rehoboam, the son and
successor of Solomon, was scarcely seated on his throne
when the old jealousies between Judah and the other tribes
broke out anew, and Jeroboam was sent for from Egypt by the
malcontents (12:2,3). Rehoboam insolently refused to
lighten the burdensome taxation and services which his
father had imposed on his subjects (12:4), and the
rebellion became complete. Ephraim and all Israel raised
the old cry, “Every man to his tents, O Israel”
(2 Sam. 20:1). Rehoboam fled to Jerusalem (1 Kings 12:1-18;
2 Chr. 10), and Jeroboam was proclaimed king over all
Israel at Shechem, Judah and Benjamin remaining faithful to
Solomon’s son. War, with varying success, was carried
on between the two kingdoms for about sixty years, till
Jehoshaphat entered into an alliance with the house of
Ahab.
Extent of the kingdom. In the time of Solomon the area of
Palestine, excluding the Phoenician territories on the
shore of the Mediterranean, did not much exceed 13,000
square miles. The kingdom of Israel comprehended about
9,375 square miles. Shechem was the first capital of this
kingdom (1 Kings 12:25), afterwards Tirza (14:17). Samaria
was subsequently chosen as the capital (16:24), and
continued to be so till the destruction of the kingdom by
the Assyrians (2 Kings 17:5). During the siege of Samaria
(which lasted for three years) by the Assyrians,
Shalmaneser died and was succeeded by Sargon, who himself
thus records the capture of that city: “Samaria I
looked at, I captured; 27,280 men who dwelt in it I carried
away” (2 Kings 17:6) into Assyria. Thus after a
duration of two hundred and fifty-three years the kingdom
of the ten tribes came to an end. They were scattered
throughout the East.
“Judah held its ground against Assyria for yet one
hundred and twenty-three years, and became the
rallying-point of the dispersed of every tribe, and
eventually gave its name to the whole race. Those of the
people who in the last struggle escaped into the
territories of Judah or other neighbouring countries
naturally looked to Judah as the head and home of their
race. And when Judah itself was carried off to Babylon,
many of the exiled Israelites joined them from Assyria, and
swelled that immense population which made Babylonia a
second Palestine.”
After the deportation of the ten tribes, the deserted land
was colonized by various eastern tribes, whom the king of
Assyria sent thither (Ezra 4:2, 10; 2 Kings 17:24-29).
In contrast with the kingdom of Judah is that of Israel.
(1.) “There was no fixed capital and no religious
centre. (2.) The army was often insubordinate. (3.) The
succession was constantly interrupted, so that out of
nineteen kings there were no less than nine dynasties, each
ushered in by a revolution. (4.) The authorized priests
left the kingdom in a body, and the priesthood established
by Jeroboam had no divine sanction and no promise; it was
corrupt at its very source.” (Maclean’s O. T.
Hist.)
Issachar – hired (Gen. 30:18).
“God hath given me,” said Leah, “my hire
(Heb. sekhari)…and she called his name Issachar.” He
was Jacob’s ninth son, and was born in Padan-aram
(comp. 28:2). He had four sons at the going down into Egypt
(46:13; Num. 26:23, 25).
Issachar, Tribe of, during the journey through the
wilderness, along with Judah and Zebulun (Num. 2:5),
marched on the east of the tabernacle. This tribe contained
54,400 fighting men when the census was taken at Sinai.
After the entrance into the Promised Land, this tribe was
one of the six which stood on Gerizim during the ceremony
of the blessing and cursing (Deut. 27:12). The allotment of
Issachar is described in Josh. 19:17-23. It included the
plain of Esdraelon (=Jezreel), which was and still is the
richest portion of Palestine (Deut. 33:18, 19; 1 Chr.
12:40).
The prophetic blessing pronounced by Jacob on Issachar
corresponds with that of Moses (Gen. 49:14, 15; comp. Deut.
33:18, 19).
Italian band – the name of the
Roman cohort to which Cornelius belonged (Acts 10:1), so
called probably because it consisted of men recruited in
Italy.
Italy – Acts 18:2; 27:1, 6; Heb.
13:24), like most geographical names, was differently used
at different periods of history. As the power of Rome
advanced, nations were successively conquered and added to
it till it came to designate the whole country to the south
of the Alps. There was constant intercourse between
Palestine and Italy in the time of the Romans.
Ithamar – palm isle, the fourth
and youngest son of Aaron (1 Chr. 6:3). He was consecrated
to the priesthood along with his brothers (Ex. 6:23); and
after the death of Nadab and Abihu, he and Eleazar alone
discharged the functions of that office (Lev. 10:6, 12;
Num. 3:4). He and his family occupied the position of
common priest till the high priesthood passed into his
family in the person of Eli (1 Kings 2:27), the reasons for
which are not recorded.
warriors so designated (2 Sam. 23:38; 1 Chr. 11:40).
Ittai – near; timely; or, with
the Lord. (1.) A Benjamite, one of David’s thirty
heroes (2 Sam. 23:29).
(2.) A native of Gath, a Philistine, who had apparently the
command of the six hundred heroes who formed David’s
band during his wanderings (2 Sam. 15:19-22; comp. 1 Sam.
23:13; 27:2; 30:9, 10). He is afterwards with David at
Mahanaim, holding in the army equal rank with Joab and
Abishai (2 Sam. 18:2, 5, 12). He then passes from view.
north-east of Palestine, forming, along with the adjacent
territory of Trachonitis, the tetrarchy of Philip (Luke
3:1). The present Jedur comprehends the chief part of
Ituraea. It is bounded on the east by Trachonitis, on the
south by Gaulanitis, on the west by Hermon, and on the
north by the plain of Damascus.
Ivah – overturning, a city of the
Assyrians, whence colonists were brought to Samaria (2
Kings 18:34; 19:13). It lay on the Euphrates, between
Sepharvaim and Henah, and is supposed by some to have been
the Ahava of Ezra (8:15).
Ivory – (Heb. pl. shenhabbim, the
“tusks of elephants”) was early used in
decorations by the Egyptians, and a great trade in it was
carried on by the Assyrians (Ezek. 27:6; Rev. 18:12). It
was used by the Phoenicians to ornament the box-wood
rowing-benches of their galleys, and Hiram’s skilled
workmen made Solomon’s throne of ivory (1 Kings 10:18).
It was brought by the caravans of Dedan (Isa. 21:13), and
from the East Indies by the navy of Tarshish (1 Kings
10:22). Many specimens of ancient Egyptian and Assyrian
ivory-work have been preserved. The word habbim is
derived from the Sanscrit ibhas, meaning
“elephant,” preceded by the Hebrew article (ha);
and hence it is argued that Ophir, from which it and the
other articles mentioned in 1 Kings 10:22 were brought, was
in India.
Izhar – oil, one of the sons of
Kohath, and grandson of Levi (Ex. 6:18, 21; Num. 16:1).
Izrahite – the designation of one
of David’s officers (1 Chr. 27:8).
Jaakan – he twists, one of the
sons of Ezer, the son of Seir the Horite (1 Chr. 1:42).
Jaakobah – heel-catcher, a form
of the name Jacob, one of the descendants of Simeon (1 Chr.
4:36).
Jaala – a wild she-goat, one of
the Nethinim, whose descendants returned from the Captivity
(Neh. 7:58).
Jaalam – concealer, the second of
Esau’s three sons by Aholibamah (Gen. 36:5, 14).
chief Gadites (1 Chr. 5:12).
weavers, a Bethlehemite (2 Sam. 21:19), and the father of
Elhanan, who slew Goliath. In 1 Chr. 20:5 called JAIR.
Jaasau – fabricator, an Israelite
who renounced his Gentile wife after the Return (Ezra
10:37).
David’s body-guard, the son of Abner (1 Chr. 27:21),
called Jasiel in 1 Chr. 11:47.
Jaaz-aniah – heard by Jehovah.
(1.) The son of Jeremiah, and one of the chief Rechabites
(Jer. 35:3).
(2.) The son of Shaphan (Ezek. 8:11).
(3.) The son of Azur, one of the twenty-five men seen by
Ezekiel (11:1) at the east gate of the temple.
(4.) A Maachathite (2 Kings 25:23; Jer. 40:8; 42:1). He is
also called Azariah (Jer. 43:2).
Jaazer – he (God) helps, a city
of the Amorites on the east of Jordan, and assigned, with
neighbouring places in Gilead, to Gad (Num. 32:1, 35; Josh.
13:25). It was allotted to the Merarite Levites (21:39). In
David’s time it was occupied by the Hebronites, i.e.,
the descendants of Kohath (1 Chr. 26:31). It is mentioned
in the “burdens” proclaimed over Moab (Isa. 16:8,
9; Jer. 48:32). Its site is marked by the modern ruin
called Sar or Seir, about 10 miles west of Amman, and 12
from Heshbon. “The vineyards that once covered the
hill-sides are gone; and the wild Bedawin from the eastern
desert make cultivation of any kind impossible.”
Jaaziah – comforted by Jehovah, a
descendant of Merari the Levite (1 Chr. 24:26,27).
Levitical musician (1 Chr. 15:18).
Jabal – a stream, a descendant of
Cain, and brother of Jubal; “the father of such as
dwell in tents and have cattle” (Gen. 4:20). This
description indicates that he led a wandering life.
wrestling, one of the streams on the east of Jordan, into
which it falls about midway between the Sea of Galilee and
the Dead Sea, or about 45 miles below the Sea of Galilee.
It rises on the eastern side of the mountains of Gilead,
and runs a course of about 65 miles in a wild and deep
ravine. It was the boundary between the territory of the
Ammonites and that of Og, king of Bashan (Josh. 12:1-5;
Num. 21:24); also between the tribe of Reuben and the half
tribe of Manasseh (21:24; Deut. 3:16). In its course
westward across the plains it passes more than once
underground. “The scenery along its banks is probably
the most picturesque in Palestine; and the ruins of town
and village and fortress which stud the surrounding
mountain-side render the country as interesting as it is
beautiful.” This river is now called the Zerka, or
blue river.
Jabesh-Gilead (1 Sam. 11:3,9,10).
(2.) The father of Shallum (2 Kings 15:10, 13, 14), who
usurped the throne of Israel on the death of Zachariah.
east of Jordan, on the top of one of the green hills of
Gilead, within the limits of the half tribe of Manasseh,
and in full view of Beth-shan. It is first mentioned in
connection with the vengeance taken on its inhabitants
because they had refused to come up to Mizpeh to take part
with Israel against the tribe of Benjamin (Judg. 21:8-14).
After the battles at Gibeah, that tribe was almost
extinguished, only six hundred men remaining. An expedition
went against Jabesh-Gilead, the whole of whose inhabitants
were put to the sword, except four hundred maidens, whom
they brought as prisoners and sent to “proclaim
peace” to the Benjamites who had fled to the crag
Rimmon. These captives were given to them as wives, that
the tribe might be saved from extinction (Judg. 21).
This city was afterwards taken by Nahash, king of the
Ammonites, but was delivered by Saul, the newly-elected
king of Israel. In gratitude for this deliverance, forty
years after this, the men of Jabesh-Gilead took down the
bodies of Saul and of his three sons from the walls of
Beth-shan, and after burning them, buried the bones under a
tree near the city (1 Sam. 31:11-13). David thanked them
for this act of piety (2 Sam. 2:4-6), and afterwards
transferred the remains to the royal sepulchre (21:14). It
is identified with the ruins of ed-Deir, about 6 miles
south of Pella, on the north of the Wady Yabis.
descendant of Judah, of whom it is recorded that “God
granted him that which he requested” (1 Chr. 4:9,
10).
(2.) A place inhabited by several families of the scribes
(1 Chr. 2:55).
Jabin – discerner; the wise. (1.)
A king of Hazor, at the time of the entrance of Israel into
Canaan (Josh. 11:1-14), whose overthrow and that of the
northern chief with whom he had entered into a confederacy
against Joshua was the crowning act in the conquest of the
land (11:21-23; comp. 14:6-15). This great battle, fought
at Lake Merom, was the last of Joshua’s battles of
which we have any record. Here for the first time the
Israelites encountered the iron chariots and horses of the
Canaanites.
(2.) Another king of Hazor, called “the king of
Canaan,” who overpowered the Israelites of the north
one hundred and sixty years after Joshua’s death, and
for twenty years held them in painful subjection. The whole
population were paralyzed with fear, and gave way to
hopeless despondency (Judg. 5:6-11), till Deborah and Barak
aroused the national spirit, and gathering together ten
thousand men, gained a great and decisive victory over
Jabin in the plain of Esdraelon (Judg. 4:10-16; comp. Ps.
83:9). This was the first great victory Israel had gained
since the days of Joshua. They never needed to fight
another battle with the Canaanites (Judg. 5:31).
Jabneel – built by God. (1.) A
town in the north boundary of Judah (Josh. 15:11), called
afterwards by the Greeks Jamnia, the modern Yebna, 11 miles
south of Jaffa. After the fall of Jerusalem (A.D. 70), it
became one of the most populous cities of Judea, and the
seat of a celebrated school.
(2.) A town on the border of Naphtali (Josh. 19:33). Its
later name was Kefr Yemmah, “the village by the
sea,” on the south shore of Lake Merom.
Jabneh – building, (2 Chr. 26:6),
identical with Jabneel (Josh. 15:11).
chief Gadite “brothers” in Bashan (1 Chr.
5:13).
Jachin – firm. (1.) The fourth
son of Simeon (Gen. 46:10), called also Jarib (1 Chr.
4:24).
(2.) The head of one of the courses (the twenty-first) of
priests (1 Chr. 24:17).
(3.) One of the priests who returned from the Exile (1 Chr.
9:10).
Jachin and Boaz – the names of
two brazen columns set up in Solomon’s temple (1 Kings
7:15-22). Each was eighteen cubits high and twelve in
circumference (Jer. 52:21, 23; 1 Kings 7:17-21). They had
doubtless a symbolical import.
Jacinth – properly a flower of a
reddish blue or deep purple (hyacinth), and hence a
precious stone of that colour (Rev. 21:20). It has been
supposed to designate the same stone as the ligure (Heb.
leshem) mentioned in Ex. 28:19 as the first stone of the
third row in the high priest’s breast-plate. In Rev.
9:17 the word is simply descriptive of colour.
another’s heels; supplanter, (Gen. 25:26; 27:36; Hos.
12:2-4), the second born of the twin sons of Isaac by
Rebekah. He was born probably at Lahai-roi, when his father
was fifty-nine and Abraham one hundred and fifty-nine years
old. Like his father, he was of a quiet and gentle
disposition, and when he grew up followed the life of a
shepherd, while his brother Esau became an enterprising
hunter. His dealing with Esau, however, showed much mean
selfishness and cunning (Gen. 25:29-34).
When Isaac was about 160 years of age, Jacob and his mother
conspired to deceive the aged patriarch (Gen. 27), with the
view of procuring the transfer of the birthright to
himself. The birthright secured to him who possessed it (1)
superior rank in his family (Gen. 49:3); (2) a double
portion of the paternal inheritance (Deut. 21:17); (3) the
priestly office in the family (Num. 8:17-19); and (4) the
promise of the Seed in which all nations of the earth were
to be blessed (Gen. 22:18).
Soon after his acquisition of his father’s blessing
(Gen. 27), Jacob became conscious of his guilt; and afraid
of the anger of Esau, at the suggestion of Rebekah Isaac
sent him away to Haran, 400 miles or more, to find a wife
among his cousins, the family of Laban, the Syrian (28).
There he met with Rachel (29). Laban would not consent to
give him his daughter in marriage till he had served seven
years; but to Jacob these years “seemed but a few
days, for the love he had to her.” But when the seven
years were expired, Laban craftily deceived Jacob, and gave
him his daughter Leah. Other seven years of service had to
be completed probably before he obtained the beloved
Rachel. But “life-long sorrow, disgrace, and trials,
in the retributive providence of God, followed as a
consequence of this double union.”
At the close of the fourteen years of service, Jacob
desired to return to his parents, but at the entreaty of
Laban he tarried yet six years with him, tending his flocks
(31:41). He then set out with his family and property
“to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan”
(Gen. 31). Laban was angry when he heard that Jacob had set
out on his journey, and pursued after him, overtaking him
in seven days. The meeting was of a painful kind. After
much recrimination and reproach directed against Jacob,
Laban is at length pacified, and taking an affectionate
farewell of his daughters, returns to his home in
Padanaram. And now all connection of the Israelites with
Mesopotamia is at an end.
Soon after parting with Laban he is met by a company of
angels, as if to greet him on his return and welcome him
back to the Land of Promise (32:1, 2). He called the name
of the place Mahanaim, i.e., “the double camp,”
probably his own camp and that of the angels. The vision of
angels was the counterpart of that he had formerly seen at
Bethel, when, twenty years before, the weary, solitary
traveller, on his way to Padan-aram, saw the angels of God
ascending and descending on the ladder whose top reached to
heaven (28:12).
He now hears with dismay of the approach of his brother
Esau with a band of 400 men to meet him. In great agony of
mind he prepares for the worst. He feels that he must now
depend only on God, and he betakes himself to him in
earnest prayer, and sends on before him a munificent
present to Esau, “a present to my lord Esau from thy
servant Jacob.” Jacob’s family were then
transported across the Jabbok; but he himself remained
behind, spending the night in communion with God. While
thus engaged, there appeared one in the form of a man who
wrestled with him. In this mysterious contest Jacob
prevailed, and as a memorial of it his name was changed to
Israel (wrestler with God); and the place where this
occured he called Peniel, “for”, said he, “I
have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved”
(32:25-31).
After this anxious night, Jacob went on his way, halting,
mysteriously weakened by the conflict, but strong in the
assurance of the divine favour. Esau came forth and met
him; but his spirit of revenge was appeased, and the
brothers met as friends, and during the remainder of their
lives they maintained friendly relations. After a brief
sojourn at Succoth, Jacob moved forward and pitched his
tent near Shechem (q.v.), 33:18; but at length, under
divine directions, he moved to Bethel, where he made an
altar unto God (35:6,7), and where God appeared to him and
renewed the Abrahamic covenant. While journeying from
Bethel to Ephrath (the Canaanitish name of Bethlehem),
Rachel died in giving birth to her second son Benjamin
(35:16-20), fifteen or sixteen years after the birth of
Joseph. He then reached the old family residence at Mamre,
to wait on the dying bed of his father Isaac. The complete
reconciliation between Esau and Jacob was shown by their
uniting in the burial of the patriarch (35:27-29).
Jacob was soon after this deeply grieved by the loss of his
beloved son Joseph through the jealousy of his brothers
(37:33). Then follows the story of the famine, and the
successive goings down into Egypt to buy corn (42), which
led to the discovery of the long-lost Joseph, and the
patriarch’s going down with all his household,
numbering about seventy souls (Ex. 1:5; Deut. 10:22; Acts
7:14), to sojourn in the land of Goshen. Here Jacob,
“after being strangely tossed about on a very rough
ocean, found at last a tranquil harbour, where all the best
affections of his nature were gently exercised and largely
unfolded” (Gen. 48). At length the end of his
checkered course draws nigh, and he summons his sons to his
bedside that he may bless them. Among his last words he
repeats the story of Rachel’s death, although forty
years had passed away since that event took place, as
tenderly as if it had happened only yesterday; and when
“he had made an end of charging his sons, he gathered
up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost”
(49:33). His body was embalmed and carried with great pomp
into the land of Canaan, and buried beside his wife Leah in
the cave of Machpelah, according to his dying charge.
There, probably, his embalmed body remains to this day
(50:1-13).
The history of Jacob is referred to by the prophets Hosea
(12:3, 4, 12) and Malachi (1:2). In Micah 1:5 the name is a
poetic synonym for Israel, the kingdom of the ten tribes.
There are, besides the mention of his name along with those
of the other patriarchs, distinct references to events of
his life in Paul’s epistles (Rom. 9:11-13; Heb. 12:16;
11:21). See references to his vision at Bethel and his
possession of land at Shechem in John 1:51; 4:5, 12; also
to the famine which was the occasion of his going down into
Egypt in Acts 7:12 (See LUZ ¯T0002335;
This is one of the few sites in Palestine about which there
is no dispute. It was dug by Jacob, and hence its name, in
the “parcel of ground” which he purchased from
the sons of Hamor (Gen. 33:19). It still exists, but
although after copious rains it contains a little water, it
is now usually quite dry. It is at the entrance to the
valley between Ebal and Gerizim, about 2 miles south-east
of Shechem. It is about 9 feet in diameter and about 75
feet in depth, though in ancient times it was no doubt much
deeper, probably twice as deep. The digging of such a well
must have been a very laborious and costly undertaking.
“Unfortunately, the well of Jacob has not escaped that
misplaced religious veneration which cannot be satisfied
with leaving the object of it as it is, but must build over
it a shrine to protect and make it sacred. A series of
buildings of various styles, and of different ages, have
cumbered the ground, choked up the well, and disfigured the
natural beauty and simplicity of the spot. At present the
rubbish in the well has been cleared out; but there is
still a domed structure over it, and you gaze down the
shaft cut in the living rock and see at a depth of 70 feet
the surface of the water glimmering with a pale blue light
in the darkness, while you notice how the limestone blocks
that form its curb have been worn smooth, or else furrowed
by the ropes of centuries” (Hugh Macmillan).
At the entrance of the enclosure round the well is planted
in the ground one of the wooden poles that hold the
telegraph wires between Jerusalem and Haifa.
Jaddua – known. (1.) One of the
chiefs who subscribed the covenant (Neh. 10:21).
(2.) The last high priest mentioned in the Old Testament
(Neh. 12:11, 22), sons of Jonathan.
Jadon – judge, a Meronothite who
assisted in rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem (Neh.
3:7).
Jael – mountain-goat, the wife of
Heber the Kenite (Judg. 4:17-22). When the Canaanites were
defeated by Barak, Sisera, the captain of Jabin’s army,
fled and sought refuge with the friendly tribe of Heber,
beneath the oaks of Zaanaim. As he drew near, Jael invited
him to enter her tent. He did so, and as he lay wearied on
the floor he fell into a deep sleep. She then took in her
left hand one of the great wooden pins (“nail”)
which fastened down the cords of the tent, and in her right
hand the mallet, or “hammer,” used for driving it
into the ground, and stealthily approaching her sleeping
guest, with one well-directed blow drove the nail through
his temples into the earth (Judg. 5:27). She then led
Barak, who was in pursuit, into her tent, and boastfully
showed him what she had done.
Jagur – place of sojourn, a city
on the southern border of Judah (Josh. 15:21).
Jah – a contraction for Jehovah
(Ps. 68:4).
Shimei, and grandson of Gershom (1 Chr. 23:10).
(2.) One of the sons of Shelomoth, of the family of Kohath
(1 Chr. 24:22).
(3.) A Levite of the family of Merari, one of the overseers
of the repairs of the temple under Josiah (2 Chr. 34:12).
Jahaz – trodden down (called also
Jahaza, Josh. 13:18; Jahazah, 21:36; Jahzah, 1 Chr. 6:78),
a town where Sihon was defeated, in the borders of Moab and
in the land of the Ammonites beyond Jordan, and north of
the river Arnon (Num. 21:23; Deut. 2:32). It was situated
in the tribe of Reuben, and was assigned to the Merarite
Levites (Josh. 13:18; 21:36). Here was fought the decisive
battle in which Sihon (q.v.) was completely routed, and his
territory (the modern Belka) came into the possession of
Israel. This town is mentioned in the denunciations of the
prophets against Moab (Isa. 15:4; Jer. 48:34).
Jahaziel – beheld by God. (1.)
The third son of Hebron (1 Chr. 23:19).
(2.) A Benjamite chief who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chr.
12:4).
(3.) A priest who accompanied the removal of the ark to
Jerusalem (1 Chr. 16:6).
(4.) The son of Zechariah, a Levite of the family of Asaph
(2 Chr. 20:14-17). He encouraged Jehoshaphat against the
Moabites and Ammonites.
Jahdai – grasper, a descendant of
Caleb, of the family of Hezron (1 Chr. 2:47).
Jahzeel – allotted by God, the
first of the sons of Naphtali (Gen. 46:24).
Jahzerah – returner, the son of
Meshullam, and father of Adiel (1 Chr. 9:12).
16:23. The conversion of the Roman jailer, a man belonging
to a class “insensible as a rule and hardened by
habit, and also disposed to despise the Jews, who were the
bearers of the message of the gospel,” is one of those
cases which illustrate its universality and power.
Jair – enlightener. (1.) The son
of Segub. He was brought up with his mother in Gilead,
where he had possessions (1 Chr. 2:22). He distinguished
himself in an expedition against Bashan, and settled in the
part of Argob on the borders of Gilead. The small towns
taken by him there are called Havoth-jair, i.e.,
“Jair’s villages” (Num. 32:41; Deut. 3:14;
Josh. 13:30).
(2.) The eighth judge of Israel, which he ruled for
twenty-two years. His opulence is described in Judg.
10:3-5. He had thirty sons, each riding on “ass
colts.” They had possession of thirty of the sixty
cities (1 Kings 4:13; 1 Chr. 2:23) which formed the ancient
Havoth-jair.
(3.) A Benjamite, the father of Mordecai, Esther’s
uncle (Esther 2:5).
(4.) The father of Elhanan, who slew Lahmi, the brother of
Goliath (1 Chr. 20:5).
Jairus – a ruler of the synagogue
at Capernaum, whose only daughter Jesus restored to life
(Mark 5:22; Luke 8:41). Entering into the chamber of death,
accompanied by Peter and James and John and the father and
mother of the maiden, he went forward to the bed whereon
the corpse lay, and said, Talitha cumi, i.e., “Maid,
arise,” and immediately the spirit of the maiden came
to her again, and she arose straightway; and “at once
to strengthen that life which had come back to her, and to
prove that she was indeed no ghost, but had returned to the
realities of a mortal existence, he commanded to give her
something to eat” (Mark 5:43).
Jakeh – pious, the father of Agur
(Prov. 30:1). Nothing is known of him.
Jakim – establisher. (1.) Chief
of the twelfth priestly order (1 Chr. 24:12).
(2.) A Benjamite (1 Chr. 8:19).
(3.) Margin in Matt. 1:11 means Jehoiakim.
Jalon – lodger, the last of the
four sons of Ezra, of the tribe of Judah (1 Chr. 4:17).
opposed Moses in Egypt (2 Tim. 3:8).
James – (1.) The son of Zebedee
and Salome; an elder brother of John the apostle. He was
one of the twelve. He was by trade a fisherman, in
partnership with Peter (Matt. 20:20; 27:56). With John and
Peter he was present at the transfiguration (Matt. 17:1;
Mark 9:2), at the raising of Jairus’s daughter (Mark
5:37-43), and in the garden with our Lord (14:33). Because,
probably, of their boldness and energy, he and John were
called Boanerges, i.e., “sons of thunder.” He was
the first martyr among the apostles, having been beheaded
by King Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:1, 2), A.D. 44. (Comp. Matt.
4:21; 20:20-23).
(2.) The son of Alphaeus, or Cleopas, “the
brother” or near kinsman or cousin of our Lord (Gal.
1:18, 19), called James “the Less,” or “the
Little,” probably because he was of low stature. He is
mentioned along with the other apostles (Matt. 10:3; Mark
3:18; Luke 6:15). He had a separate interview with our Lord
after his resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7), and is mentioned as
one of the apostles of the circumcision (Acts 1:13). He
appears to have occupied the position of head of the Church
at Jerusalem, where he presided at the council held to
consider the case of the Gentiles (Acts 12:17; 15:13-29:
21:18-24). This James was the author of the epistle which
bears his name.
James, Epistle of – (1.) Author
of, was James the Less, the Lord’s brother, one of the
twelve apostles. He was one of the three pillars of the
Church (Gal. 2:9).
(2.) It was addressed to the Jews of the dispersion,
“the twelve tribes scattered abroad.”
(3.) The place and time of the writing of the epistle were
Jerusalem, where James was residing, and, from internal
evidence, the period between Paul’s two imprisonments
at Rome, probably about A.D. 62.
(4.) The object of the writer was to enforce the practical
duties of the Christian life. “The Jewish vices
against which he warns them are, formalism, which made the
service of God consist in washings and outward ceremonies,
whereas he reminds them (1:27) that it consists rather in
active love and purity; fanaticism, which, under the cloak
of religious zeal, was tearing Jerusalem in pieces (1:20);
fatalism, which threw its sins on God (1:13); meanness,
which crouched before the rich (2:2); falsehood, which had
made words and oaths play-things (3:2-12); partisanship
(3:14); evil speaking (4:11); boasting (4:16); oppression
(5:4). The great lesson which he teaches them as Christians
is patience, patience in trial (1:2), patience in good
works (1:22-25), patience under provocation (3:17),
patience under oppression (5:7), patience under persecution
(5:10); and the ground of their patience is that the coming
of the Lord draweth nigh, which is to right all wrong
(5:8).”
“Justification by works,” which James contends
for, is justification before man, the justification of our
profession of faith by a consistent life. Paul contends for
the doctrine of “justification by faith;” but
that is justification before God, a being regarded and
accepted as just by virtue of the righteousness of Christ,
which is received by faith.
Jannes – one of the Egyptians who
“withstood Moses” (2 Tim. 3:8).
(1.) A town on the north-eastern border of Ephraim, in the
Jordan valley (Josh. 16:6, 7). Identified with the modern
Yanun, 8 miles south-east of Nablus.
(2.) A town of Northern Palestine, within the boundaries of
Naphtali. It was taken by the king of Assyria (2 Kings
15:29).
Janum – slumber, a town in the
mountains of Judah (Josh. 15:53).
“God shall enlarge Japheth” (Heb. Yaphat Elohim
le-Yephet, Gen. 9:27. Some, however, derive the name from
yaphah, “to be beautiful;” hence white),
one of the sons of Noah, mentioned last in order (Gen.
5:32; 6:10; 7:13), perhaps first by birth (10:21; comp.
9:24). He and his wife were two of the eight saved in the
ark (1 Pet. 3:20). He was the progenitor of many tribes
inhabiting the east of Europe and the north of Asia (Gen.
10:2-5). An act of filial piety (9:20-27) was the occasion
of Noah’s prophecy of the extension of his
posterity.
After the Flood the earth was re-peopled by the descendants
of Noah, “the sons of Japheth” (Gen. 10:2),
“the sons of Ham” (6), and “the sons of
Shem” (22). It is important to notice that modern
ethnological science, reasoning from a careful analysis of
facts, has arrived at the conclusion that there is a
three-fold division of the human family, corresponding in a
remarkable way with the great ethnological chapter of the
book of Genesis (10). The three great races thus
distinguished are called the Semitic, Aryan, and Turanian
(Allophylian). “Setting aside the cases where the
ethnic names employed are of doubtful application, it
cannot reasonably be questioned that the author [of Gen.
10] has in his account of the sons of Japheth classed
together the Cymry or Celts (Gomer), the Medes (Madai), and
the Ionians or Greeks (Javan), thereby anticipating what
has become known in modern times as the ‘Indo-European
Theory,’ or the essential unity of the Aryan (Asiatic)
race with the principal races of Europe, indicated by the
Celts and the Ionians. Nor can it be doubted that he has
thrown together under the one head of ‘children of
Shem’ the Assyrians (Asshur), the Syrians (Aram), the
Hebrews (Eber), and the Joktanian Arabs (Joktan), four of
the principal races which modern ethnology recognizes under
the heading of ‘Semitic.’ Again, under the heading
of ‘sons of Ham,’ the author has arranged
‘Cush’, i.e., the Ethiopians; ‘Mizraim,’
the people of Egypt; ‘Sheba and Dedan,’ or certain
of the Southern Arabs; and ‘Nimrod,’ or the ancient
people of Babylon, four races between which the latest
linguistic researches have established a close
affinity” (Rawlinson’s Hist. Illustrations).
Japhia – splendid. (1.) The king
of Lachish, who joined in the confederacy against Joshua
(Josh. 10:3), and was defeated and slain. In one of the
Amarna tablets he speaks of himself as king of Gezer.
Called also Horam (Josh. 10:33).
(2.) One of the sons of David (2 Sam. 5:15), born in
Jerusalem.
(3.) A town in the southern boundary of Zebulum (Josh.
19:12); now Yafa, 2 miles south-west of Nazareth.
Japho – beauty, a sea-port in Dan
(Josh. 19:46); called Joppa (q.v.) in 2 Chr. 2:16; Ezra
3:7; Jonah 1:3; and in New Testament.
Jared – descent. (1.) The fourth
antediluvian patriarch in descent from Seth (Gen. 5:15-20;
Luke 3:37), the father of Enoch; called Jered in 1 Chr.
1:2.
(2.) A son of Ezra probably (1 Chr. 4:18).
Jarib – an adversary. (1.) A son
of Simeon (1 Chr. 4:24).
(2.) One of the chiefs sent by Ezra to bring up the priests
to Jerusalem (Ezra 8:16).
(3.) Ezra 10:18.
Jarmuth – height. (1.) A town in
the plain of Judah (Josh. 15:35), originally the residence
of one of the Canaanitish kings (10:3, 5, 23). It has been
identified with the modern Yarmuk, a village about 7 miles
north-east of Beit-Jibrin.
(2.) A Levitical city of the tribe of Issachar (Josh.
21:29), supposed by some to be the Ramah of Samuel (1 Sam.
19:22).
Jashen – sleeping, called also
Hashem (1 Chr. 11:34); a person, several of whose sons were
in David’s body-guard (2 Sam. 23:32).
of Jasher,” rendered in the LXX. “the Book of the
Upright One,” by the Vulgate “the Book of Just
Ones,” was probably a kind of national sacred
song-book, a collection of songs in praise of the heroes of
Israel, a “book of golden deeds,” a national
anthology. We have only two specimens from the book, (1)
the words of Joshua which he spake to the Lord at the
crisis of the battle of Beth-horon (Josh. 10:12, 13); and
(2) “the Song of the Bow,” that beautiful and
touching mournful elegy which David composed on the
occasion of the death of Saul and Jonathan (2 Sam.
1:18-27).
people; or to whom the people turn, the Hachmonite (1 Chr.
11:11), one of David’s chief heroes who joined him at
Ziklag (12:6). He was the first of the three who broke
through the host of the Philistines to fetch water to David
from the well of Bethlehem (2 Sam. 23:13-17). He is also
called Adino the Eznite (8).
Jashub – returner. (1.) The third
of Issachar’s four sons (1 Chr. 7:1); called also Job
(Gen. 46:13).
(2.) Ezra 10:29.
Jason – he that will cure, the
host of Paul and Silas in Thessalonica. The Jews assaulted
his house in order to seize Paul, but failing to find him,
they dragged Jason before the ruler of the city (Acts
17:5-9). He was apparently one of the kinsmen of Paul (Rom.
16:21), and accompanied him from Thessalonica to
Corinth.
“glittering”), a gem of various colours, one of
the twelve inserted in the high priest’s breast-plate
(Ex. 28:20). It is named in the building of the New
Jerusalem (Rev. 21:18, 19). It was “most
precious,” “clear as crystal” (21:11). It
was emblematic of the glory of God (4:3).
Jattir – pre-eminent, a city in
the mountains of Judah (Josh. 15:48; 21:14).
“son” of Japheth (Gen. 10:2), whose descendants
settled in Greece, i.e., Ionia, which bears the name of
Javan in Hebrew. Alexander the Great is called the
“king of Javan” (rendered “Grecia,”
Dan. 8:21; 10:20; comp. 11:2; Zech. 9:13). This word was
universally used by the nations of the East as the generic
name of the Greek race.
(2.) A town or district of Arabia Felix, from which the
Syrians obtained iron, cassia, and calamus (Ezek. 27:19).
lance, from its flexibility (1 Sam. 18:10, 11; 19:9, 10;
20:33).
(2.) Heb. romah, a lance for heavy-armed troops, so called
from its piercing (Num. 25:7).
Samson a weapon for the great slaughter of the Philistines
(Judg. 15.15), in which he slew a thousand men. In verse 19
the Authorized Version reads, “God clave a hollow
place that was in the jaw, and there came water
thereout.” This is a mis-translation of the words. The
rendering should be as in the Revised Version, “God
clave the hollow place that is in Lehi,” etc., Lehi
(q.v.) being the name of the hill where this conflict was
waged, possibly so called because it was in shape like a
jaw-bone.
wife’s purity, one of the strongest passions (Num.
5:14; Prov. 6:34; Cant. 8:6); also an intense interest for
another’s honour or prosperity (Ps. 79:5; 1 Cor. 10:22;
Zech. 1:14).
idolatrous object, seen in vision by Ezekiel (Ezek. 8:3,
5), which stood in the priests’ or inner court of the
temple. Probably identical with the statue of Astarte (2
Kings 21:7).
Jealousy offering – the name of
the offering the husband was to bring when he charged his
wife with adultery (Num. 5:11-15).
Jealousy, Waters of – water which
the suspected wife was required to drink, so that the
result might prove her guilt or innocence (Num. 5:12-17,
27). We have no record of this form of trial having been
actually resorted to.
Jearim – forests, a mountain on
the border of Judah (Josh. 15:10).
fastness, or “the waterless hill”, the name of
the Canaanitish city which stood on Mount Zion (Josh. 15:8;
18:16, 28). It is identified with Jerusalem (q.v.) in Judg.
19:10, and with the castle or city of David (1 Chr.
11:4,5). It was a place of great natural strength, and its
capture was one of David’s most brilliant achievements
(2 Sam. 5:8).
original inhabitants of Jebus, mentioned frequently among
the seven nations doomed to destruction (Gen. 10:16; 15:21;
Ex. 3:8, 17; 13:5, etc.). At the time of the arrival of the
Israelites in Palestine they were ruled by Adonizedek
(Josh. 10:1, 23). They were defeated by Joshua, and their
king was slain; but they were not entirely driven out of
Jebus till the time of David, who made it the capital of
his kingdom instead of Hebron. The site on which the temple
was afterwards built belonged to Araunah, a Jebusite, from
whom it was purchased by David, who refused to accept it as
a free gift (2 Sam. 24:16-25; 1 Chr. 21:24, 25).
Jecoliah – able through Jehovah,
the wife of King Amaziah, and mother of King Uzziah (2 Chr.
26:3).
Jehovah. The son of Shimri, a chief Simeonite (1 Chr.
4:37).
(2.) One of those who repaired the walls of Jerusalem after
the return from Babylon (Neh. 3:10).
(3.) Knowing Jehovah. The chief of one of the courses of
the priests (1 Chr. 24:7).
(4.) A priest in Jerusalem after the Exile (1 Chr. 9:10).
Jediael – known by God. (1.) One
of the sons of Benjamin, whose descendants numbered 17,200
warriors (1 Chr. 7:6, 10, 11).
(2.) A Shimrite, one of David’s bodyguard (1 Chr.
11:45). Probably same as in 12:20.
(3.) A Korhite of the family of Ebiasaph, and one of the
gate-keepers to the temple (1 Chr. 26:2).
Jedidiah – beloved by Jehovah,
the name which, by the mouth of Nathan, the Lord gave to
Solomon at his birth as a token of the divine favour (2
Sam. 12:25).
Jeduthun – lauder; praising, a
Levite of the family of Merari, and one of the three
masters of music appointed by David (1 Chr. 16:41, 42;
25:1-6). He is called in 2 Chr. 35:15 “the king’s
seer.” His descendants are mentioned as singers and
players on instruments (Neh. 11:17). He was probably the
same as Ethan (1 Chr. 15:17, 19). In the superscriptions to
Ps. 39, 62, and 77, the words “upon Jeduthun”
probably denote a musical instrument; or they may denote
the style or tune invented or introduced by Jeduthun, or
that the psalm was to be sung by his choir.
testimony, the Aramaic or Syriac name which Laban gave to
the pile of stones erected as a memorial of the covenant
between him and Jacob (Gen. 31:47), who, however, called it
in Hebrew by an equivalent name, Galeed (q.v.).
Jehaleleel – praiser of God. (1.)
A descendant of Judah (1 Chr. 4:16).
(2.) A Levite of the family of Merari (2 Chr. 29:12).
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