The negative answer made Jehoram turn to flee, but Jehu shot an arrow through his heart. Thus “this son of a murderer” (2 Ki. 6:32) was executed, his dead body being pitched into the field of Naboth.—2 Ki. 9:14-26.

3. The firstborn son of Jehoshaphat who, at the age of thirty-two, became king of Judah. (2 Chron. 21:1-3, 5, 20) It appears that for some five years prior to this Jehoram may have been co-ruler with his father. (2 Ki. 1:17; 8:16) As sole ruler of Judah he reigned eight years from 913 to 905 B.C.E. (2 Ki. 8:17) So during these years both the northern and southern kingdoms had rulers with the same name. They were also brothers-in-law due to the fact that Jehoram of Judah married Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel and sister of Jehoram of Israel.—2 Ki. 8:18, 25, 26; see No. 2 above.

At least partially due to the bad influence of his wife Athaliah, Jehoram did not pursue the righteous ways of his father Jehoshaphat. (2 Ki. 8:18) Jehoram not only murdered his six brothers and some of the princes of Judah, but also turned his subjects away from Jehovah to false gods. (2 Chron. 21:1-6, 11-14) His whole reign was marred by both internal trouble and external strife. First, Edom rebelled; then Libnah revolted against Judah. (2 Ki. 8:20-22) In a letter to Jehoram, the prophet Elijah warned: “Look! Jehovah is dealing a great blow to your people and to your sons and to your wives and to all your goods.” Moreover, you, King Jehoram, “will be with many sicknesses, with a malady of your intestines, until your intestines have come out because of the sickness day by day.”—2 Chron. 21:12-15.

It all occurred just that way. Jehovah allowed Arabs and Philistines to overrun the land and take Jehoram’s wives and sons captive. God permitted only Jehoram’s youngest son, Jehoahaz (also called Ahaziah), to escape, a concession made, however, only for the sake of the kingdom covenant made with David. “After all this Jehovah plagued [Jehoram] in his intestines with a sickness for which there was no healing.” Two years later “his intestines came out” and he gradually died. So ended the life of this wicked man, who “went away without being desired.” He was buried in the city of David, “but not in the burial places of the kings.” Ahaziah his son became king in his stead.—2 Chron. 21:7, 16-20; 22:1; 1 Chron. 3:10, 11.

JEHOSHABEATH

(Je·ho·shabʹe·ath) [Jehovah is an oath].

Daughter of King Jehoram and wife of High Priest Jehoiada. She is also called Jehosheba.—2 Chron. 22:10-12; 2 Ki. 11:1-3; see JEHOSHEBA.

JEHOSHAPHAT

(Je·hoshʹa·phat) [Jehovah is Judge].

1. Son of Ahilud serving as recorder during the reigns of David and Solomon.—2 Sam. 8:16; 20:24; 1 Ki. 4:3; 1 Chron. 18:15.

2. One of King Solomon’s twelve deputies. For a month each year this “son of Paruah” supplied the food for the king and his household from the territory of Issachar.—1 Ki. 4:7, 17.

3. Son of Judean King Asa by Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. At the age of thrity-five Jehoshaphat succeeded his father to the throne and ruled for twenty-five years (936-911 B.C.E.). (1 Ki. 22:42; 2 Chron. 20:31) His good reign was contemporaneous with that of Israelite Kings Ahab, Ahaziah and Jehoram. (1 Ki. 22:41, 51; 2 Ki. 3:1, 2; 2 Chron. 17:3, 4) It was marked by stability, prosperity, glory and relative peace with neighboring lands. Jehoshaphat received presents from his subjects and tribute from the Philistines and Arabs.—2 Chron. 17:5, 10, 11.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

This Judean king strengthened his position by putting military forces in Judah’s fortified cities, and garrisons both in the land of Judah and in Israelite territory captured by his father Asa. At Jerusalem a large body of valiant warriors served the royal interests, and in Judah fortified places and storage cities were built.—2 Chron. 17:1, 2, 12-19.

Unlike the Israelite kings of the northern kingdom, Jehoshaphat manifested great concern for true worship. (2 Chron. 17:4) He commissioned certain princes, Levites and priests to teach Jehovah’s law in the cities of Judah. (2 Chron. 17:7-9) Jehoshaphat also sanctified holy offerings (2 Ki. 12:18) and personally traveled throughout his realm, directing his subjects to return to Jehovah in faithfulness. (2 Chron. 19:4) Courageously Jehoshaphat continued the campaign against idolatry started by Asa, and high places, sacred poles and the remaining male temple prostitutes began to disappear from Judah. (1 Ki. 22:46; 2 Chron. 17:6) But improper worship at high places was so entrenched among the Israelites that Jehoshaphat’s efforts did not completely and permanently eradicate it.—1 Ki. 22:43; 2 Chron. 20:33.

Jehoshaphat’s reign also witnessed the institution of a better judicial system. The king himself impressed upon the judges the importance of being impartial and free from bribery, since they were judging, not for man, but for Jehovah.—2 Chron. 19:5-11.

Jehoshaphat proved himself to be a king who relied fully on Jehovah. When Judah was threatened by the combined forces of Ammon, Moab and the mountainous region of Seir, he humbly acknowledged the nation’s weakness in the face of this danger and prayed to Jehovah for help. Thereafter Jehovah fought for Judah by striking confusion into the ranks of the enemy so that they slaughtered one another. Consequently the surrounding nations became fearful and Judah continued to enjoy peace.—2 Chron. 20:1-30.

RELATIONSHIP WITH THE TEN-TRIBE KINGDOM

Jehoshaphat maintained peace with the northern kingdom and formed a marriage alliance with Ahab. (1 Ki. 22:44; 2 Chron. 18:1) For this reason on several occasions he was drawn into other alliances with the kingdom of Israel.

During a visit in the northern kingdom sometime after the marriage of Ahab’s daughter Athaliah to his firstborn Jehoram, Jehoshaphat agreed to accompany King Ahab in a military venture to recover Ramoth-gilead from the Syrians. However, before actually starting out, Jehoshaphat requested that Ahab inquire of Jehovah. Four hundred prophets assured Ahab of success. But Jehovah’s true prophet Micaiah, hated by Ahab but called at Jehoshaphat’s insistence, foretold certain defeat. Nevertheless, Jehoshaphat, perhaps so as not to go back on his original promise to accompany Ahab, went into battle dressed in his royal garments. Since Ahab had taken the precaution to disguise himself, the Syrians mistakenly concluded that Jehoshaphat was Israel’s king and therefore subjected him to the heaviest attack. Jehoshaphat barely escaped with his life, and Ahab, despite the disguise, was mortally wounded. (1 Ki. 22:2-37; 2 Chron. chap. 18) Upon returning to Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat was censured for unwisely allying himself with wicked Ahab, the visionary Jehu saying to him: “Is it to the wicked that help is to be given, and is it for those hating Jehovah that you should have love? And for this there is indignation against you from the person of Jehovah.”—2 Chron. 19:2.

Later, Jehoshaphat became partner to King Ahaziah, Ahab’s successor, in a shipbuilding enterprise at Ezion-geber on the Gulf of Aqabah. But Jehovah disapproved of this maritime alliance with wicked Ahaziah. Therefore, in fulfillment of prophecy, the ships were wrecked.—1 Ki. 22:48, 49; 2 Chron. 20:35-37; see AHAZIAH No. 1.

Sometime after this Jehoshaphat joined Ahaziah’s successor to the throne, Jehoram, and the king of Edom in a military offensive to put down Moabite King Mesha’s revolt against the ten-tribe kingdom. But the armies of the alliance became entrapped in a waterless wilderness. Jehoshaphat therefore called for a prophet of Jehovah. Only out of regard for Jehoshaphat did the prophet Elisha seek divine inspiration, and his subsequent advice saved the three kings and their armies from disaster.—2 Ki. 3:4-25.

JEHORAM BECOMES KING

While Jehoshaphat was still alive he gave the kingship to his firstborn Jehoram, but to his other sons he gave precious gifts and fortified cities in Judah. (2 Ki. 8:16; 2 Chron. 21:3) Particularly after Jehoshaphat’s death and burial in the city of David did the marriage alliance with the house of Ahab prove to be disastrous for the kingdom of Judah. Under the influence of Athaliah, Jehoram abandoned the right course of his father and revived idolatrous practices.—1 Ki. 22:50; 2 Chron. 21:1-7, 11.

4. Father of Israelite King Jehu.—2 Ki. 9:2, 14.

JEHOSHAPHAT, LOW PLAIN OF

Evidently a symbolic place, also called the “low plain of the decision.” (Joel 3:2, 14) Since it relates to God’s execution of judgment, it is appropriately designated as the “low plain of Jehoshaphat,” for the name “Jehoshaphat” means “Jehovah is Judge.” Also, during Jehoshaphat’s reign Jehovah delivered Judah and Jerusalem from the combined forces of Ammon, Moab and the mountainous region of Seir, causing the enemy forces to become confused and to slaughter one another.—2 Chron. 20:1-29.

At the symbolic “low plain of Jehoshaphat” Jehovah judges the nations as worthy of execution on account of their mistreatment of his people. The low plain itself serves as a huge symbolic winepress for crushing the nations like bunches of grapes. To link the “low plain of Jehoshaphat” literally with the Kidron Valley or the Valley of Hinnom, as some have done, is hardly plausible. Neither one of these valleys would be large enough to accommodate “all” the nations.—Joel 3:1-3, 12-14; compare Revelation 14:18-20.

JEHOSHEBA

(Je·hoshʹe·ba) [Jehovah is an oath].

Wife of High Priest Jehoiada; daughter of King Jehoram of Judah, though not necessarily by his wife Athaliah. Her name is also spelled “Jehosha-beath.” (2 Chron. 22:11) After the death of her brother (or half-brother) King Ahaziah, Jehosheba took his infant son Jehoash into hiding to escape Athaliah’s slaughter of the royal offspring. Jehoiada and Jehosheba kept their nephew hidden in their temple quarters for six years before Jehoiada brought him out to be proclaimed king. (2 Ki. 11:1-3; 2 Chron. 22:10-12) Jehosheba’s action, along with that of her husband, providentially preserved the royal lineage from David to the Messiah.

JEHOSHUA

(Je·hoshʹu·a) [Jehovah is salvation].

Son of Nun; an Ephraimite who succeeded Moses and led the Israelites into the Promised Land. His original name was Hoshea, but Moses called him Jehoshua or Joshua (a short form for Jehoshua).—Num. 13:8, 16; Deut. 34:9; Josh. 1:1, 2; see JOSHUA No. 1.

JEHOVAH

(Je·hoʹvah).

The personal name of God. (Isa. 42:8; 54:5) Though Scripturally designated by such descriptive titles as “God,” “Lord”, “Creator,” “Father,” “the Almighty,” “the Most High” and others, his personality and attributes—who and what he is—are fully summed up and expressed only in this personal name.—Ps. 83:18.

CORRECT PRONUNCIATION OF THE DIVINE NAME

“Jehovah” is the best known English pronunciation of the divine name, although “Yahweh” is favored by most Hebrew scholars. The oldest Hebrew manuscripts present the name in the form of four consonants, commonly called the Tetragrammaton (from Greek teʹtra, meaning “four,” and gramʹma, “letter”). These four letters (written from right to left) are יהוה and may be transliterated into English as YHWH (or, according to some, YHVH).

The Hebrew consonants of the name are therefore known. The question is as to which vowels are to be combined with those consonants. Vowel points did not come into use in Hebrew until the second half of the first millennium C.E. (See HEBREW, II.) The vowel pointing found in Hebrew manuscripts from that time forward does not provide the key, however, for determining which vowels should appear in the divine name, because of a religious superstition that had begun centuries earlier.

Superstition hides the name

At some point a superstitious idea arose among the Jews that it was wrong even to pronounce the divine name (represented by the Tetragrammaton). Just what basis was originally assigned for discontinuing the use of the name is not definitely known. Some hold the teaching arose that the name was too sacred for imperfect lips to speak. Yet the Hebrew Scriptures themselves give no evidence that any of God’s true servants ever felt any hesitancy about speaking his name. Non-Biblical Hebrew documents, such as the so-called Lachish Letters, show the name was used in regular correspondence in Palestine during the latter part of the seventh century B.C.E. And the Elephantine Papyri, documents from a Jewish colony in Upper Egypt dating from the fifth century B.C.E., also contain the divine name, de spite the fact that these documents are mainly of a secular nature.

Another view is that the intent was to keep non-Jewish peoples from knowing the name and possibly misusing it. However, Jehovah himself said that he would ‘have his name declared in all the earth’ (Ex. 9:16; compare 1 Chronicles 16:23, 24; Psalm 113:3; Malachi 1:11, 14), to be known even by his adversaries. (Isa. 64:2) The name was in fact known and used by pagan nations both in pre-Common Era times and in the early centuries of the Common Era. (The Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. XII, p. 119) Another claim is that the purpose was to protect the name from use in magical rites. If so, this was poor reasoning, as it is obvious that the more mysterious the name became through disuse the more it would suit the purposes of practicers of magic.

When did the superstition take hold?

Just as the reason or reasons originally advanced for discontinuing the use of the divine name are uncertain, so, too, there is much uncertainty as to when this superstitious view really took hold. Some claim that it began following the Babylonian exile (607-537 B.C.E.). This theory, however, is based on a supposed reduction in the use of the name by the later writers of the Hebrew Scriptures, a view that does not hold up under examination. Malachi, for example, was evidently one of the last books of the Hebrew Scriptures written (in the latter half of the fifth century B.C.E.) and it gives great prominence to the divine name.

Many reference works have suggested that the name ceased to be used by about 300 B.C.E. Evidence for this date supposedly was found in the absence of the Tetragrammaton (or a transliteration of it) in the Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Scriptures