THIRD JOHN

The third letter was from the “older man” to Gaius, with greetings to others in the congregation. It was written in customary letter style. It is so like the first and second letters in style and material that it was clearly written by the same person, namely, the apostle John. Just who Gaius was is not certain. While there are several persons by this name mentioned in the Scriptures, this may have been yet another Gaius, since the letter was written thirty years or more after the letters by Paul, Peter, James and Jude.

John urges Christian hospitality, and says that one Diotrephes, who liked to have the first place in the congregation, did not receive the messages from John or other responsible ones with respect, nor did he demonstrate any respect for other traveling representatives of the early Christian congregation. He even wanted to throw out of the congregation those who did receive such brothers hospitably. Therefore John mentioned that if he came personally, as he hoped to do, he would set this matter straight. (Vss. 9, 10) He commends to Gaius a faithful brother named Demetrius, who may have been the bearer of the letter, urging Gaius to receive hospitably those who went forth to build up the Christian congregations.

OUTLINE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction: The older man to Gaius, who is walking in the truth (1-4)

II. Gaius commended for showing hospitality to brothers visiting the congregation on a Christian mission (5-8)

A. Counseled to send them on their way with the same hospitality (6, 7)

B. Such hospitality is a Christian obligation (8)

III. Diotrephes, ambitious for position, shows disrespect for theocratic authority and tries to throw out those who receive the traveling brothers with respect; the writer confident he will set matters straight by a personal visit (9, 10)

IV. Gaius counseled to be an imitator of good; Demetrius mentioned as one to whom witness is borne (11, 12)

V. Closing words of peace and greetings (13, 14)

Throughout the three letters we find emphasized Christian unity, love for God by keeping his commandments, avoiding the darkness and walking in the light, showing love for the brothers and continuing to walk in the truth. Even in his old age this “older man” John was thus a great source of encouragement and strength to the congregations in Asia Minor, and to all Christians reading his letters.—See the book “All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial,” pp. 254-258.

JOIADA

(Joiʹa·da) [shortened form of Jehoiada, meaning “Jehovah knows”].

1. Son of Paseah who helped repair the Gate of the Old City when Nehemiah had Jerusalem’s wall rebuilt.—Neh. 3:6.

2. Great-grandson of Jeshua and father of Johanan (Jonathan) in the postexilic high-priestly line. (Neh. 12:10, 11, 22) One of Joiada’s sons defiled himself and his priesthood by marrying a daughter of Sanballat the Horonite, for which Nehemiah chased him away.—Neh. 13:28, 29.

JOIAKIM

(Joiʹa·kim) [Jehovah raises up].

Son and successor of postexilic High Priest Jeshua. (Neh. 12:10, 12, 26) According to Josephus, he held office at the time Ezra returned (Antiquities of the Jews, Book XI, chap. V, par. 1) However, by the time of Nehemiah’s arrival later (455 B.C.E.), Joiakim’s son Eliashib had become high priest.—Neh. 3:1.

JOIARIB

(Joiʹa·rib) [Jehovah pleads or contends].

A paternal house of priests. (1 Chron. 24:6, 7; see JEHOIARIB.) Representatives of this house (or another priest with the same name) returned with Zerubbabel to Jerusalem, where they remained down through the time of Ezra, Nehemiah and High Priest Jeshua’s successor Joiakim.—Neh. 12:1, 6; 11:4, 10; 12:12, 19, 26; see JEDAIAH No. 4.

JOKDEAM

(Jokʹde·am.) [people’s burning].

A city in the mountainous region of Judah. (Josh. 15:20, 48, 56) It may be the same as Jorkeam (1 Chron. 2:44), for in Vatican Manuscript No. 1209 this name replaces “Jokdeam” at Joshua 15:56. The site is perhaps to be identified with Khirbet Raqaʽ, about four and a half miles (c. 7 kilometers) S of Hebron.

JOKIM

(Joʹkim) [shortened form of Jehoiakim, meaning “Jehovah raises up”].

A descendant of Judah through his third son Shelah.—1 Chron. 2:3; 4:21, 22.

JOKMEAM

(Jokʹme·am) [let the people arise].

1. An Ephraimite city given to the Kohathites. (1 Chron. 6:66, 68) At Joshua 21:22 Jokmeam is evidently called “Kibzaim,” perhaps another or earlier name for the same site. Its location is today unknown.

2. A region bordering on the territory under the jurisdiction of Ahilud’s son Baana, one of Solomon’s twelve deputies. (1 Ki. 4:12) It is apparently the same as Jokneam.—See JOKNEAM.

JOKNEAM

(Jokʹne·am) [possibly, let the people acquire].

A city in Carmel conquered by Joshua. (Josh. 12:7, 22) Originally assigned to the tribe of Zebulun (Josh. 19:10, 11), Jokneam subsequently was given to the Merarite Levites. (Josh. 21:34) Today it is usually identified with Tell Qeimun. This mound at the foot of Mount Carmel lies some seven miles (11 kilometers) NW of Megiddo and overlooks the Valley of Jezreel. At 1 Kings 4:12 “Jokmeam” is generally viewed as a spelling error for “Jokneam.”

JOKSHAN

(Jokʹshan) [possibly, fowler].

A descendant of Abraham by Keturah and the progenitor of Sheba and Dedan.—Gen. 25:1-3; 1 Chron. 1:32.

JOKTAN

(Jokʹtan) [possibly, younger son].

A descendant of Eber, brother of Peleg, and “father” of thirteen “sons.” (Gen. 10:25-29; 1 Chron. 1:19-23) The names of some of Joktan’s descendants appear to have survived at various places in S and SW Arabia. It has been suggested that Joktan was the progenitor of the original peoples of Arabia, as distinguished from the tribes descended from the sons of Abraham by Hagar and Keturah. The geographical limits of the territory inhabited by Joktan’s descendants are Biblically described as running “from Mesha as far as Sephar” (Gen. 10:30), but the exact area covered is uncertain.

JOKTHEEL

(Jokʹthe·el).

1. A city of Judah in the Shephelah (Josh. 15:20, 33, 38), the exact location of which city is today unknown.

2. The Edomite city of Sela, which was conquered by Judean King Amaziah and renamed Joktheel. (2 Ki. 14:1, 7) It has been linked with Umm el-Bayyarah, an acropolis located some fifty miles (80 kilometers) S of the Dead Sea.

JONADAB

See JEHONADAB, JONADAB.

JONAH

(Joʹnah) [dove].

1. “Son of Amittai”; a prophet of Jehovah from Gath-hepher (2 Ki. 14:25), a border city in the territory of Zebulun. (Josh. 19:10, 13) In fulfillment of Jehovah’s word spoken through Jonah, Israel’s King Jeroboam (II) succeeded in restoring “the boundary of Israel from the entering in of Hamath clear to the sea of the Arabah [the Salt Sea].” (2 Ki. 14:23-25; compare Deuteronomy 3:17.) So it appears that Jonah served as a prophet to the ten-tribe kingdom sometime during the reign of Jeroboam (II). He is evidently the same person Jehovah commissioned to proclaim judgment against Nineveh (Jonah 1:1, 2) and, therefore, also the writer of the book bearing his name.

Rather than following through on his assignment to preach to the Ninevites, Jonah decided to run away from it. At the seaport of Joppa he secured passage on a ship bound for Tarshish (generally associated with Spain) over 2,200 miles (3,500 kilometers) W of Nineveh.—Jonah 1:1-3; 4:2.

After boarding the decked vessel, Jonah fell fast asleep in its “innermost parts.” Meanwhile, the mariners, faced with a divinely sent tempestuous wind that threatened to wreck the ship, cried to their gods for aid and cast articles overboard to lighten the vessel. The ship captain awakened Jonah, urging him also to call on his “god.” Finally the mariners cast lots to determine on whose account the storm had arisen. Evidently Jehovah then caused the lot to single out Jonah. Upon being questioned, Jonah confessed to having been unfaithful to his commission. Not wanting others to perish on his account, he requested to be thrown into the sea. When all efforts to get back to land failed, the mariners did to Jonah according to his word and the sea stopped its raging.—Jonah 1:4-15.

As Jonah sank beneath the waters, sea weeds wound around his head. Finally his drowning sensation ceased and he found himself inside a large fish. Jonah prayed to Jehovah, glorifying him as Savior and promising to pay what he had vowed. On the third day the prophet was vomited out onto dry land.—Jonah 1:17–2:10.

Commissioned a second time to go to Nineveh, he undertook the long journey there. “Finally Jonah started to enter into the city the walking distance of one day, and he kept proclaiming and saying: ‘Only forty days more, and Nineveh will be overthrown.’” (Jonah 3:1-4) Whether Jonah knew Assyrian or was miraculously endowed with ability to speak that language is not revealed in the Bible. He may even have spoken Hebrew, his proclamation later being interpreted by one(s) knowing the language. If spoken in Hebrew, Jonah’s words could have aroused great curiosity, with many wondering just what this stranger was saying.

Some critics think it incredible that the Ninevites, including the king, responded to Jonah’s preaching. (Jonah 3:5-9) In this regard the remarks of commentator C. P. Keil are of interest: “The powerful impression made upon the Ninevites by Jonah’s preaching, so that the whole city repented in sackcloth and ashes, is quite intelligible, if we simply bear in mind the great susceptibility of Oriental races to emotion, the awe of one Supreme Being which is peculiar to all the heathen religions of Asia, and the great esteem in which soothsaying and oracles were held in Assyria from the very earliest times . . . ; and if we also take into calculation the circumstance that the appearance of a foreigner, who, without any conceivable personal interest, and with the most fearless boldness, disclosed to the great royal city its godless ways, and announced its destruction within a very short period with the confidence so characteristic of the God-sent prophets, could not fail to make a powerful impression upon the minds of the people, which would be all the stronger if the report of the miraculous working of the prophets of Israel had penetrated to Nineveh.”—Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament, The Twelve Minor Prophets, Vol. I, pp. 407, 408.

After forty days had passed and still nothing had happened to Nineveh, Jonah was highly displeased that Jehovah had not brought calamity upon the city. He even prayed for God to take away his life. But Jehovah answered Jonah with the question: “Have you rightly become hot with anger?” (Jonah 3:10–4:4) The prophet subsequently left the city and, later, erected a booth for himself. There, to the E of Nineveh, Jonah watched to see what would befall the city.—Jonah 4:5.

When a bottle-gourd plant miraculously grew to provide shade for Jonah, the prophet was very pleased. But his rejoicing was short-lived. During the night a worm injured the plant, causing it to dry up. Deprived of its shade, Jonah was subjected to a parching E wind and the hot sun beating down upon his head. Again, he asked to die.—Jonah 4:6-8.

By means of this bottle-gourd plant Jonah was taught a lesson in mercy. He felt sorry for the bottle-gourd plant, probably wondering why it had to die. Yet Jonah had neither planted nor cared for it. On the other hand, being the Creator and Sustainer of life, Jehovah had much more reason to feel sorry for Nineveh. The value of its inhabitants and that of the cattle was far greater than that of one bottle-gourd plant. Therefore, Jehovah asked Jonah: “For my part, ought I not to feel sorry for Nineveh the great city, in which there exist more than one hundred and twenty thousand men who do not at all know the difference between their right hand and their left, besides many domestic animals?” (Jonah 4:9-11) That Jonah must have gotten the point is indicated by the candid portrayal of his own experiences.

It may be that sometime later Jonah met at least one of the persons who had been aboard the ship from Joppa, possibly at the temple in Jerusalem, and learned from him about the vows made by the mariners after the storm abated.—Jonah 1:16; compare Jonah 2:4, 9; see JONAH, BOOK OF; NINEVEH.

2. Father of the apostles Peter and Andrew (Matt. 16:17; John 1:40-42); also called John at John 1:42; 21:15-17 in certain manuscripts.

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TARSHISH

MEDITERRANEAN SEA

Joppa

Nineveh

JONAH, BOOK OF

The only book in the Hebrew Scriptures dealing exclusively with the commission of a prophet of Jehovah to proclaim a message of doom in and for a non-Israelite city, and which resulted in that city’s repentance. The experiences related in this book were unique to its writer, Jonah the son of Amittai. Evidently being the same person as the