• Ithamar
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    • ITHAMAR

      (Ithʹa·mar) [probably, isle of palms].

      The fourth listed of Aaron’s sons. (Ex. 6:23; Num. 26:60; 1 Chron. 6:3) After having supervised the inventory of tabernacle materials, Ithamar, with his father and brothers, was installed into the priesthood in the ceremony detailed at Exodus 29. (Ex. 28:1; 38:21; 40:12-15) When his two older brothers, Nadab and Abihu, were later executed for offering “illegitimate fire,” Ithamar and his third brother Eleazar were told not to mourn for them. Later, Ithamar and Eleazar received a greater portion of priestly duties as Jehovah progressively outlined these. (Lev. 10:1-20) Ithamar was made overseer of the various tabernacle services performed by the Gershonites and Merarites.—Num. 3:2-4; 4:28, 33; 7:8.

      Ithamar’s descendants continued as priests, and during the reigns of Saul, David and Solomon, the house of Ithamar’s descendant Eli temporarily officiated as high priest. When David organized the temple service, eight of the twenty-four priestly divisions were of the house of Ithamar. (1 Chron. 24:1-6; 1 Sam. 14:3; 22:9; see HIGH PRIEST.) Sons of Ithamar were also enrolled among the paternal houses of Israel after the Babylonian exile.—Ezra 8:2.

  • Ithlah
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    • ITHLAH

      (Ithʹlah) [a hanging or lofty place].

      One of the border cities of Dan. (Josh. 19:40, 42) Its exact location is uncertain. Some link Ithlah with Beit Thul, about nine miles (c. 14 kilometers) W-NW of Jerusalem.

  • Ittai
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    • ITTAI

      (Itʹtai) [with me is Jehovah].

      1. A Gittite warrior, presumably from the Philistine city of Gath, who was very loyal to David. When David and his cortege were fleeing Jerusalem due to Absalom’s rebellion, six hundred Gittites, including Ittai, came along. David tried to dissuade Ittai from leaving the city, but the warrior expressed his great devotion in these terms: “As Jehovah is living and as my lord the king is living, in the place where my lord the king may come to be, whether for death or for life, there is where your servant will come to be!” David then permitted Ittai to continue accompanying him.—2 Sam. 15:18-22.

      After numbering his forces, David appointed this non-Israelite Ittai, along with Joab and Abishai, as chiefs, each over one-third of the army.—2 Sam. 18:2, 5, 12.

      2. One of David’s mighty men; a Benjamite and the son of Ribai of Gibeah. (2 Sam. 23:29) He is called Ithai at 1 Chronicles 11:31.

  • Ituraea
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    • ITURAEA

      (It·u·raeʹa) [pertaining to Jetur].

      A small territory of varying and undefined boundaries located NE of the Sea of Galilee. The name “Ituraea” is thought to derive from Ishmael’s son Jetur, whose descendants residing E of the Jordan were defeated by the Israelites. (Gen. 25:15, 16; 1 Chron. 1:31; 5:18-23) Toward the close of the second century B.C.E. the Maccabean king Aristobulus I successfully warred against Ituraea and added much of its territory to Judea. To remain in the country, the inhabitants of Ituraea had to submit to circumcision and obey Jewish law. (Antiquities of the Jews, Book XIII, chap. XI, par. 3) Later, Ituraea was one of the territories comprising the tetrarchy of Philip, inherited from his father Herod the Great.—Luke 3:1.

  • Ivory
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    • IVORY

      The creamy-white tusks of the elephant, hippopotamus, walrus and other animals. Though hard, and having a density about three-and-a-half times as great as seasoned cedarwood, it is highly elastic and is easily carved or tooled. Its fine grain gives it a pleasing touch and finish that has remarkable durability. The intersecting layers of dentine, alternating in shade, add to its utility a beauty all its own. Non-Biblical writings tell that herds of elephants roamed over the Near and Middle East in the first and second millenniums B.C.E., while archaeological findings confirm the rather extensive use of ivory by the nation of Israel and her neighbors.

      Ivory has been associated with the luxuries of life—fine art, elegant furnishings, treasured riches. Solomon’s ships, once every three years, brought great quantities of ivory from faraway places. (1 Ki. 10:22; 2 Chron. 9:21) Befitting his glory and greatness, Solomon “made a great ivory throne and overlaid it with refined gold.” (1 Ki. 10:18; 2 Chron. 9:17) The Psalms mention “the grand ivory palace” in connection with stringed instruments of music. (Ps. 45:8) In the lovely Song of Solomon the writer uses ivory as a metaphor and a simile to express beauty: “His abdomen is an ivory plate covered with sapphires,” “Your neck is like an ivory tower.” (Song of Sol. 5:14; 7:4) King Ahab also built himself a palace using costly ivory, making it a veritable “house of ivory.” (1 Ki. 22:39) In the days of Amos houses and couches were constructed with ivory.—Amos 3:15; 6:4.

      Egypt too used this natural “plastic” in making such things as combs, fan handles, dishes, ointment boxes, chair legs, game boards, statuettes and sculptured works of art. The city of Tyre, in her great sea commerce, inlaid the prows of her boats with ivory. Ivory is also listed among the costly things of ancient Tyre’s traders, as well as in the stock of the “traveling merchants of the earth” who weep over the fall of Babylon the Great.—Ezek. 27:6, 15; Rev. 18:11, 12.

      [Picture on page 857]

      Ivory carving found at Samaria and dated by some to the time of Ahab

  • Iye-abarim
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    • IYE-ABARIM

      (Iʹye-abʹa·rim) [Iyim (heaps, ruins) of the Abarim (borderland, regions beyond); hence called simply “Iyim” at Numbers 33:45].

      One of Israel’s wilderness encampments. Its exact location is uncertain, but it was evidently on the southern border of Moab and near the torrent valley of Zered. (Num. 21:11, 12; 33:44) Perhaps Iye-abarim marked the southernmost point of the Abarim region.—Num. 33:47, 48; see ABARIM.

  • Izhar
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    • IZHAR

      (Izʹhar).

      Two names, spelled quite similarly in Hebrew, are transliterated the same way into English but are of different meaning.

      1. Yits·harʹ [from a root meaning shine]. The second listed of Kohath’s four sons; therefore a grandson of Levi. (Ex. 6:16, 18; Num. 3:17, 19; 1 Chron. 6:2, 18) One of Izhar’s three sons, Korah, was executed in the wilderness for rebellion.—Ex. 6:21; Num. 16:1, 32.

      Izhar founded the Levitical family of Izharites. (Num. 3:27) Under King David, some of the Izharites, whose headman was Shelomith, were appointed singers, officers and judges, while others performed regular Levitical duties.—1 Chron. 6:31-38; 23:12, 18; 24:20-22; 26:23, 29.

      2. Yitsʹhhar [possibly, reddish gray]. A descendant of Judah; a son of Ashhur and Helah. (1 Chron. 4:1, 5, 7) In the margin of the Masoretic text and in the Septuagint the name is spelled Zohar.

  • Izrahiah
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    • IZRAHIAH

      (Iz·ra·hiʹah) [Jehovah will arise, or, shine].

      1. A descendant of Issachar through Tola whose five sons each became heads of populous families.—1 Chron. 7:1-5.

      2. An overseer of the singers who helped celebrate the completion of Nehemiah’s rebuilding of Jerusalem’s wall.—Neh. 12:42.

  • Izri
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    • IZRI

      (Izʹri) [perhaps, contraction for “Jehovah has formed”].

      The leader of the fourth course of twelve musicians at Jehovah’s sanctuary under David’s reorganization. (1 Chron. 25:7, 8, 11) Without the Hebrew letter yohdh at the beginning, his name is spelled “Zeri” in verse 3, where he is identified as a son of Jeduthun.

  • Jaare-oregim
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    • JAARE-OREGIM

      (Jaʹa·re-orʹe·gim).

      A name appearing only at 2 Samuel 21:19. It is generally believed that scribal error has given rise to this name and that the correct reading is preserved in the parallel text at 1 Chronicles 20:5. “Jaare” is considered to be an alteration of “Jair,” and “oregim” (ʼor·ghimʹ, “weavers” or “loom workers”) is thought to have been copied inadvertently from a line below in the same verse.

  • Jaazaniah
    Aid to Bible Understanding

    • JAAZANIAH

      (Ja·az·a·niʹah) [Jehovah hears].

      Toward the end of the kingdom of Judah it seems that this was a rather common name; all four men mentioned in the Bible by this name lived within the same short period of time. The name has also been found in the Lachish Letters, and on a seal found at Tell en—Nasbeh the words “Yaʼazan·jahu, servant [officer] of the king” appear. There is no direct evidence, however, that such inscription identifies any of the following persons.

      1. A leader of the Rechabites when the prophet Jeremiah tested their integrity by offering them wine, which they refused. Jaazaniah was the son of another Jeremiah.—Jer. 35:3, 5, 6.

      2. Son of Shaphan; the only individual named in Ezekiel’s vision (612 B.C.E.) of the seventy men who offered incense before carved idolatrous symbols in the temple at Jerusalem.—Ezek. 8:1, 10, 11.

      3. Son of Azzur; one of the twenty-five men seen in Ezekiel’s vision standing at the eastern gate of Jehovah’s temple. Jaazaniah and his companions were “scheming hurtfulness and advising bad counsel against this city” and Ezekiel was commanded to prophesy against them.—Ezek. 11:1-4.

      4. A military chief of Judah in the brief period immediately following the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians. Jaazaniah (Jezaniah, as his name was sometimes spelled) was one of several who readily supported the appointment of Governor Gedaliah. (2 Ki. 25:23; Jer. 40:7, 8) He was presumably included when “all the chiefs of the military forces” warned Gedaliah of Ishmael’s threat on his life and,