JAPHLET

(Japhʹlet) [may Jah deliver].

A descendant of Asher through Beriah and Heber. Three “sons of Japhlet” are included in the genealogy.—1 Chron. 7:30-33.

JAPHLETITES

(Japhʹle·tites).

An ancient people occupying territory on Ephraim’s boundary when the Israelites moved into the Promised Land. (Josh. 16:3) There is no evidence linking the Japhletites with the descendant of Asher named Japhlet. (1 Chron. 7:30, 32) Secular history provides no additional information about them.

JAR

See VESSELS.

JARAH

(Jaʹrah) [honeycomb].

A descendant of Saul through Jonathan and, according to this genealogy, himself a father of three sons. (1 Chron. 9:39-42) He is called Jehoaddah at 1 Chronicles 8:36.

JARED

(Jaʹred) [descent].

Father of Enoch and a pre-Flood ancestor of Jesus Christ; the fifth generation after Adam. (1 Chron. 1:2; Luke 3:37) Jared, the son of Mahalalel, lived 962 years (3566-2604 B.C.E.), second only to his grandson Methuselah in longevity. He had a number of sons and daughters, becoming father to Enoch at the age of 162.—Gen. 5:15-20.

JARHA

(Jarʹha).

An Egyptian slave of Judah’s descendant Sheshan. Since Sheshan had no sons, he gave his daughter in marriage to Jarha, enabling Jarha to father Attai and thus preserve Sheshan’s family line through him.—1 Chron. 2:34, 35.

JARIB

(Jaʹrib) [Jah contends, takes (our) part, conducts (our) case].

1. A son of Simeon (1 Chron. 4:24), elsewhere apparently called Jachin.—Gen. 46:10; see JACHIN No. 1.

2. One of the nine headmen whom Ezra sent to encourage Levites and Nethinim to come to the river Ahava and join the others on the journey to Jerusalem.—Ezra 8:15-20.

3. One of the listed relatives of the priests who “promised by shaking hands” that they would dismiss their foreign wives in response to Ezra’s bidding.—Ezra 10:18, 19.

JARMUTH

(Jarʹmuth) [a height].

1. One of five Amorite cities involved in the attempted punitive expedition against the Gibeonites. Its king, Piram, and his allies were defeated by Joshua. Thereafter this city of the Shephelah was assigned to Judah. (Josh. 10:3-5, 23-25; 12:7, 11; 15:20, 33, 35) After the Babylonian exile Judeans again resided at Jarmuth. (Neh. 11:25, 29) Khirbet Yarmuk, some sixteen miles (c. 26 kilometers) SW of Jerusalem, seems to be the ancient site. Situated on a hilltop, it overlooks the coastal plains as far as Gaza by the Mediterranean Sea.

2. A city in Issachar assigned to the Gershonites. (Josh. 21:27-29) It is believed to be the same as Ramoth (1 Chron. 6:73) and Remeth.—Josh. 19:21; see RAMOTH.

JAROAH

(Ja·roʹah) [soft, delicate].

A descendant of Gad who resided in the territory of Bashan.—1 Chron. 5:11, 14.

JASHAR, BOOK OF

See BOOK.

JASHEN

(Jaʹshen) [sleeping].

The expression “the sons of Jashen” is found in the list of David’s mighty men. (2 Sam. 23:32) The parallel list at 1 Chronicles 11:34 calls him Hashem the Gizonite.

JASHOBEAM

(Ja·shoʹbe·am) [the people return].

1. A Korahite warrior who joined David’s forces at Ziklag. (1 Chron. 12:1, 6) Possibly the same as No. 2 below.

2. The head one of David’s three most outstanding mighty men. Jashobeam once used his spear to fight off several hundred of the enemy and was also one of the three to force their way into the Philistine camp to get water for David from the cistern of Bethlehem. (1 Chron. 11:11, 15-19) In the course of events, Jashobeam was appointed head of the first monthly division of 24,000. (1 Chron. 27:1, 2) He was a son of Zabdiel; a Hachmonite. His name is spelled Josheb-basshebeth at 2 Samuel 23:8.—See JOSHEB-BASSHEBETH.

JASHUB

(Jaʹshub) [he returns].

1. The third-listed son of Issachar and founder of the Jashubite division of his tribe. (1 Chron. 7:1; Num. 26:23, 24) He is called Iob at Genesis 46:13.

2. One of “the sons of Bani” who, after returning from the Babylonian exile, took but then dismissed foreign wives.—Ezra 10:29, 44.

JASHUBITES

(Jashʹu·bites).

Descendants of Issachar’s son Jashub (Iob), and one of the four major family divisions of the tribe.—Num. 26:23-25; Gen. 46:13.

JASHUBI-LEHEM

(Jashʹu·bi-leʹhem).

A name in the genealogies of Judah, possibly a descendant of Shelah. However, some translators think this means “returned to Lehem,” that is, “to Bethlehem.”—1 Chron. 4:21, 22; AT, Dy, JB, Mo.

JASON

(Jaʹson) [One of the Greek forms of Joshua, “Jehovah is salvation”].

A prominent Christian in Thessalonica who had ‘received Paul and Silas hospitably’ on their first journey into Macedonia. A mob of jealous Jews set about to take Paul and Silas from Jason’s house, but, not finding them there, they took Jason instead, and made him the principal defendant in charges of sedition against Caesar. Jason and the others with him were released after giving “sufficient security,” perhaps in the form of bail.—Acts 17:5-10; 1 Thess. 2:18.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, written from Corinth on his next trip through Macedonia and Greece, Jason is one whose greetings are included. (Rom. 16:21) If he is the same person as the Jason in Thessalonica, he apparently had come to Corinth, possibly with Paul. He is called a ‘relative’ of Paul, which can mean that he was a “fellow-countryman,” though the primary meaning of the Greek word is “blood relative of the same generation.” If a close fleshly relative of Paul, he was naturally the one with whom Paul would stay in Thessalonica. The name Jason, one of the Greek equivalents of Joshua, was adopted by many Jews living under the influence of Greek culture.

JASPER

A jasper stone representing one of Israel’s twelve tribes was placed in the last position in the second row of stones on Aaron’s “breastpiece of judgment.” (Ex. 28:2, 15, 18, 21; 39:11) The jeweled “covering” worn by the king of Tyre was adorned with jasper. (Ezek. 28:12, 13) In the vision of Jehovah’s heavenly throne of splendor, John observed that “the one seated is, in appearance, like a jasper stone and a precious red-colored stone.” (Rev. 4:1-3, 10, 11) “The holy city, New Jerusalem” is described as having a radiance “like a most precious stone, as a jasper stone shining crystal-clear.” The structure of the holy city’s wall was jasper, as was the first foundation stone.—Rev. 21:2, 10, 11, 18, 19.

Modern jasper is an opaque variety of quartz containing an admixture of iron oxide. Its colors, often arranged in layers, are white, red, yellow, brown or black. Jasper is harder than glass and is found in metamorphic rocks in mass or as distinct crystals. The best grades are used for gemstones and can be highly polished. Some scholars, however, believe that the jasper referred to in the Christian Greek Scriptures was not the modern jasper. Since the jasper at Revelation 21:11 is called a “most precious stone . . . shining crystal-clear,” the ancient stone may have been of greater rarity and value than the comparatively inexpensive modern jasper, and brilliantly translucent rather than opaque. Some scholars have suggested that the Greek term in reality refers to the diamond.

JATHNIEL

(Jathʹni·el) [God hires].

One of the Levitical gatekeepers for the house of Jehovah; the fourth son of Meshelemiah, a Korahite.—1 Chron. 26:1, 2.

JATTIR

(Jatʹtir) [possibly, preeminence].

A priestly city in the mountainous region of Judah. (Josh. 15:20, 48; 21:9, 10, 14; 1 Chron. 6:54, 57) It was to Jattir that David sent a portion of the spoils of victory taken from Amalekite raiders. Perhaps this was in appreciation for hospitality and friendship accorded to him, a fugitive from King Saul.—1 Sam. 30:17-20, 26, 27, 31.

Jattir is usually identified with Khirbet ʽAttir, about thirteen miles (c. 21 kilometers) SW of Hebron.

JAVAN

(Jaʹvan).

Fourth-listed son of Japheth and the father of Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim and Dodanim (or Rodanim). As post-Flood descendants of Noah, they are included among those populating “the isles of the nations,” which phrase can also refer to the coastlands and not simply to islands surrounded by water. (Gen. 10:2, 4, 5; 1 Chron. 1:5, 7) Historical evidence indicates that the descendants of Javan and his four sons settled in the islands and coastlands of the Mediterranean Sea from Cyprus (Kittim) to perhaps as far W as Spain.—See DODANIM; ELISHAH; KITTIM; TARSHISH No. 1.

Javan (Heb., Ya·wanʹ) is identified as the progenitor of the ancient Ionians, called by some “the parent tribe of the Greeks.” (Keil-Delitzsch, The Pentateuch, Vol. I, p. 163) The name I·aʹo·nes is used by the poet Homer (of at least the seventh century B.C.E.) as referring to the early Greeks, and, beginning with Sargon II (seventh century B.C.E.), the name Iavanu begins to appear in Assyrian inscriptions. Persian Emperor Darius also mentions them (as Iauna), and the name is to be found in a similar form in ancient Egyptian records referring to the Ionians.

In course of time the name Ionia came to be restricted to Attica (the region around Athens), the western coast of Asia Minor (corresponding to the coasts of the later provinces of Lydia and Caria), and the neighboring islands of the Aegean Sea. The sea that lies between southern Greece and southern Italy still retains the name “Ionian,” and this name is acknowledged to be of very ancient origin, supporting the view that this form of the name of Javan once applied to the mainland of Greece as well as the later smaller area designated Ionia.

Following the Genesis account, the descendants of Javan first begin to be mentioned about the latter part of the ninth century B.C.E. by the prophet Joel. The prophet there condemns the Tyrians, Sidonians and Philistines for selling the sons of Judah and Jerusalem in their slave trade with “the sons of the Greeks” (literally, “the sons of Javan”). (Joel 3:4-6) Isaiah, in the eighth century B.C.E., foretells that some of the Jews surviving God’s expression of wrath would travel to many lands, including “Javan,” there proclaiming Jehovah’s glory.—Isa. 66:19.

Slaves and copper articles were listed in the late seventh or early sixth century B.C.E. as items being supplied by “Javan, Tubal and Meshech [these latter places evidently being located in eastern Asia Minor or to the N thereof]” to the wealthy commercial center of Tyre. (Ezek. 27:13) Verse 19 of the same prophecy again mentions Javan, but the fact that the other places mentioned in the context are in Syria, Palestine and Arabia has led some to view the appearance of the name there to be the result of a scribal error. Rather than reading “and Javan from Uzal,” the Greek Septuagint renders Javan as “wine,” thus reading, “and with wine. From Asel [Uzal] . . . ” (LXX, Thompson-Muses) The Revised Standard Version reads “and wine from Uzal.” Others, however, suggest that Javan may here refer to a Greek colony located in Arabia or that it may perhaps be the name of an Arabian tribe or town.

In Daniel’s prophecy “Javan” is usually rendered by translators as “Greece,” since the historical fulfillment of Daniel’s writings makes this meaning evident. (Dan. 8:21; 10:20; 11:2) So, likewise, Zechariah’s prophecy (520-518 B.C.E.), foretelling the successful warfare of the ‘sons of Zion’ against Javan (“Greece”).—Zech. 9:13.

JAVELIN

See ARMS, ARMOR.

JAZER

(Jaʹzer) [perhaps, helpful].

An Amorite city with dependent towns, located E of the Jordan. In the time of Moses, the Israelites took Jazer and the surrounding region. (Num. 21:25, 32) Originally granted to Gad and fortified by that tribe, Jazer was subsequently assigned to the Levites. (Num. 32:1, 3-5, 34, 35; Josh. 13:24, 25; 21:34, 38, 39; 1 Chron. 6:77, 81) It was one of the places mentioned in connection with the route followed by Joab and the chiefs of the military forces when taking the census that David had ordered without having divine authorization. (2 Sam. 24:4, 5) Toward the close of David’s reign certain mighty men of the Hebronites residing at Jazer were assigned administrative duties in Israel’s territory E of the Jordan.—1 Chron. 26:31, 32.

In the eighth century B.C.E. Jazer was in Moabite hands. It seems that the region was then, if not already earlier, famous for its vine culture. Jazer and other Moabite cities were foretold to suffer future calamity.—Isa. 16:8-10; Jer. 48:32, 33.

Various possible identifications have been suggested for ancient Jazer, but its precise location remains unknown.

JAZIZ

(Jaʹziz).

The chief caretaker of King David’s flocks; a Hagrite.—1 Chron. 27:31.

JEALOUS, JEALOUSY

[Heb., qin·ʼahʹ, jealousy, zeal, ardor; Gr., zeʹlos, jealousy, zeal].

“Jealous” is defined as “exacting exclusive devotion,” “intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness; envious, suspicious.” The Hebrew and Greek words can have good or bad connotations and are used in the Bible in both senses.

JEHOVAH’S JEALOUSY

Jehovah describes himself as “a God exacting exclusive devotion.” (Ex. 20:5; Deut. 4:24; 5:9; 6:15) He also says: “Jehovah, whose name is Jealous, he is a jealous God.” (Ex. 34:14) Over what and with what kind of jealousy? Not with the envious, selfish jealousy of humans. It is a jealousy, a zeal or ardor for his holy name, concerning which he himself says: “I will show exclusive devotion for my holy name.”—Ezek. 39:25.

For his name

When one considers what God’s name stands for, the reason for his “insistence on exclusive devotion” becomes clear. (Ezek. 5:13) His name represents all that is right and righteous. He is holy, clean, upright, loyal in the superlative degree. (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8; 16:5) His sovereignty is necessary to the existence of the universe, and allegiance to his sovereignty and laws is essential to the order and peace of all creation. (Prov. 29:2; 1 Cor. 14:33) His jealousy is therefore a pure, clean jealousy, and is altogether for the benefit of his creatures, for their devotion brings him, the Creator, Provider and Giver of all good things, no profit. (Job 41:11; Ps. 145:16; Rom. 11:35; Jas. 1:17; Rev. 4:11) But in his devotion to righteousness his heart is made glad with loving appreciation when his servants stand firm for righteousness and give exclusive devotion to him.—Prov. 23:15, 16; 27:11.