The fourth of the catholic or "general"
epistles.
1. It was evidently written by John the evangelist, and
probably also at Ephesus, and when the writer was in advanced age.
2. The purpose of the apostle 1Jo 1:1-4 is to declare the
Word of Life to those to whom he writes, in order that they might be united in
fellowship with the Father and his Son Jesus Christ. He shows that the means of
union with God are,
a. On the part of Christ
1. His atoning work 1Jo 1:7 2:2 3:5 4:10,14 5:11,12
2. His advocacy 1Jo 2:1
b. on the part of man
1. Holiness 1Jo 1:6
2. obedience 1Jo 2:3
3. Purity 1Jo 3:3
4. Faith 1Jo 3:23 4:3 5:5
5. Love 1Jo 2:7,8 3:14 4:7 5:1
1. The genuineness of this Gospel, i.e., the fact that
the apostle John was its author, is beyond all reasonable doubt. In recent
times, from about 1820 many attempts have been made to impugn its genuineness,
but without success.
2. The design of John in writing this Gospel is stated by
himself Joh 20:31 It was at one time supposed that he wrote for the purpose of
supplying the omissions of the synoptical, i.e., of the first three, Gospels,
but there is no evidence for this. "There is here no history of Jesus and
his teaching after the manner of the other evangelists. But there is in
historical form a representation of the Christian faith in relation to the
person of Christ as its central point; and in this representation there is a
picture on the one hand of the antagonism of the world to the truth revealed in
him, and on the other of the spiritual blessedness of the few who yield
themselves to him as the Light of life" (Reuss).
3. Structure
a. The prologue Joh 1:1-5
b. The historical part of the book begins with verse 6
and consists of two parts.
1. The first part (1:6-ch. 12) contains the history of
our Lord's public ministry from the time of his introduction to it by John the
Baptist to its close.
2. The second part (ch. 13-21) presents our Lord in the
retirement of private life and in his intercourse with his immediate followers
(13-17) and gives an account of his sufferings and of his appearances to the
disciples after his resurrection (18-21).
4. The peculiarities of this Gospel are the place it
gives
a. to the mystical relation of the Son to the Father, and
b. of the Redeemer to believers
c. the announcement of the Holy Ghost as the Comforter;
d. the prominence given to love as an element in the
Christian character.
e. It was obviously addressed primarily to Christians.
f. It was probably written at Ephesus, which, after the
destruction of Jerusalem (A.D. 70) became the centre of Christian life and
activity in the East, about A.D. 90
Is addressed to "the elect lady, "and closes
with the words, "The children of thy elect sister greet thee; "but
some would read instead of "lady" the proper name Kyria. Of the
thirteen verses composing this epistle seven are in the First Epistle. The
person addressed is commended for her piety, and is warned against false
teachers.
The "forerunner of our Lord." We have but
fragmentary and imperfect accounts of him in the Gospels. He was of priestly
descent. His father, Zacharias, was a
priest of the course of Abia 1Ch 24:10 and his mother, Elisabeth, was of the
daughters of Aaron Lu 1:5 The mission of John was the subject of prophecy Mt
3:3 Isa 40:3 Mal 3:1 His birth, which took place six months before that of
Jesus, was foretold by an angel. Zacharias, deprived of the power of speech as
a token of God's truth and a reproof of his own incredulity with reference to
the birth of his son, had the power of speech restored to him on the occasion
of his circumcision Lu 1:64 After this no more is recorded of him for thirty
years than what is mentioned in Lu 1:80 John was a Nazarite from his birth Lu
1:15 Nu 6:1-12 He spent his early years in the mountainous tract of Judah lying
between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea Mt 3:1-12 At length he came forth into
public life, and great multitudes from "every quarter" were attracted
to him. The sum of his preaching was the necessity of repentance. He denounced
the Sadducees and Pharisees as a "generation of vipers, "and warned
them of the folly of trusting to external privileges Lu 3:8 "As a
preacher, John was eminently practical and discriminating. Self-love and covetousness were the
prevalent sins of the people at large. On them, therefore, he enjoined charity
and consideration for others. The publicans he cautioned against extortion, the
soldiers against crime and plunder." His doctrine and manner of life
roused the entire south of Palestine, and the people from all parts flocked to
the place where he was, on the banks of the Jordan. There he baptized thousands
unto repentance. The fame of John reached the ears of Jesus in Nazareth Mt 3:5
and he came from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John, on the special
ground that it became him to "fulfil all righteousness" Mt 3:15
John's special office ceased with the baptism of Jesus, who must now
"increase" as the King come to his kingdom. He continued, however,
for a while to bear testimony to the Messiahship of Jesus. He pointed him out
to his disciples, saying, "Behold the Lamb of God." His public
ministry was suddenly (after about six months probably) brought to a close by
his being cast into prison by Herod, whom he had reproved for the sin of having
taken to himself the wife of his brother Philip Lu 3:19 He was shut up in the
castle of Machaerus (q.v.), a fortress on the southern extremity of Peraea, 9
miles east of the Dead Sea, and here he was beheaded. His disciples, having consigned the headless body to the grave,
went and told Jesus all that had occurred Mt 14:3-12 John's death occurred
apparently just before the third Passover of our Lord's ministry. Our Lord
himself testified regarding him that he was a "burning and a shining
light" Joh 5:35
Is addressed to Caius, or Gaius, but whether to the Christian
of that name in Macedonia Ac 19:29 or in Corinth Ro 16:23 or in Derbe Ac 20:4
is uncertain. It was written for the purpose of commending to Gaius some
Christians who were strangers in the place where he lived, and who had gone
thither for the purpose of preaching the gospel 3Jo 1:7 The Second and Third
Epistles were probably written soon after the First, and from Ephesus.
(whom Jehovah favours) Jehoiada.
1. Ne 3:6
2. One of the high priests Ne 12:10,11,22
(whom Jehovah has set up) Jehoiakim, a high priest, the
son and successor of Jeshua Ne 12:10,12,26
(whom Jehovah defends) Jehoiarib.
1. The founder of one of the courses of the priests Ne
11:10
2. Ne 11:5 a descendant of Judah.
3. Ne 12:6
4. Ezr 8:16 a "man of understanding" whom Ezra
sent to "bring ministers for the house of God."
A city in the mountains of Judah Jos 15:56
Whom Jehovah has set up, one of the descendants of Shelah
1Ch 4:22
Gathering of the people, a city of Ephraim, which was given
with its suburbs to the Levites 1Ch 6:68 It lay somewhere in the Jordan valley
1Ki 4:12 R.V.; but in A.V. incorrectly "Jokneam".
Gathered by the people, Jos 19:11 21:34 a city "of
Carmel" Jos 12:22 i.e., on Carmel, allotted with its suburbs to the
Merarite Levites. It is the modern Tell Kaimon, about 12 miles south-west of
Nazareth, on the south of the river Kishon.
Snarer, the second son of Abraham and Keturah Ge 25:2,3
1Ch 1:32
Little, the second of the two sons of Eber Ge 10:25 1Ch
1:19 There is an Arab tradition that Joktan (Arab. Kahtan) was the progenitor
of all the purest tribes of Central and Southern Arabia.
Subdued by God.
1. A city of Judah near Lachish Jos 15:38 Perhaps the
ruin Kutlaneh, south of Gezer.
2. Amaziah, king of Judah, undertook a great expedition
against Edom 2Ch 25:5-10 which was completely successful. He routed the
Edomites and slew vast numbers of them. So wonderful did this victory appear to
him that he acknowledged that it could have been achieved only by the special
help of God, and therefore he called Selah (q.v.), their great fortress city,
by the name of Joktheel 2Ki 14:7
=Jehon'adab.
1. The son of Rechab, and founder of the Rechabites
(q.v.), 2Ki 10:15 Jer 35:6,10
2. The son of Shimeah, David's brother 2Sa 13:3 He was
"a very subtil man."
A dove, the son of Amittai of Gath-hepher. He was a
prophet of Israel, and predicted the restoration of the ancient boundaries 2Ki
14:25-27 of the kingdom. He exercised his ministry very early in the reign of
Jeroboam II., and thus was contemporary with Hosea and Amos; or possibly he
preceded them, and consequently may have been the very oldest of all the
prophets whose writings we possess. His personal history is mainly to be
gathered from the book which bears his name. It is chiefly interesting from the
two-fold character in which he appears,
1. as a missionary to heathen Nineveh, and
2. as a type of the "Son of man."
This book professes to give an account of what actually
took place in the experience of the prophet. Some critics have sought to
interpret the book as a parable or allegory, and not as a history. They have done so for various reasons. Thus:
1. some reject it on the ground that the miraculous
element enters so largely into it, and that it is not prophetical but narrative
in its form;
2. others, denying the possibility of miracles
altogether, hold that therefore it cannot be true history.
Jonah and his story is referred to by our Lord Mt
12:39,40 Lu 11:29 a fact to which the greatest weight must be attached. It is
impossible to interpret this reference on any other theory. This one argument
is of sufficient importance to settle the whole question. No theories devised
for the purpose of getting rid of difficulties can stand against such a proof
that the book is a veritable history.
There is every reason to believe that this book was
written by Jonah himself. It gives an account of
1. his divine commission to go to Nineveh, his
disobedience, and the punishment following Jon 1:1-17
2. his prayer and miraculous deliverance Jon 2:1-10
3. the second commission given to him, and his prompt
obedience in delivering the message from God, and its results in the repentance
of the Ninevites, and God's long-sparing mercy toward them Jon 3:1-10
4. Jonah's displeasure at God's merciful decision, and
the rebuke tendered to the impatient prophet Jon 4:1-11 Nineveh was spared
after Jonah's mission for more than a century. The history of Jonah may well be
regarded "as a part of that great onward movement which was before the Law
and under the Law; which gained strength and volume as the fulness of the times
drew near.", Perowne's Jonah.
1. Greek form of Jonah Mt 12:39,40,41 etc.
2. The father of the apostles Peter Joh 21:15-17 and
Andrew; but the reading should be (also in) Joh 1:42 as in the Revised Version,
"John, "instead of Jonas.
Whom Jehovah gave, the name of fifteen or more persons
that are mentioned in Scripture. The chief of these are,
1. A Levite descended from Gershom Jud 18:30 His history
is recorded in Jud 17:7-13 18:30 The Rabbins changed this name into Manasseh
"to screen the memory of the great lawgiver from the stain of having so
unworthy an apostate among his near descendants." He became priest of the
idol image at Dan, and this office continued in his family till the Captivity.
2. The eldest son of king Saul, and the bosom friend of
David. He is first mentioned when he was about thirty years of age, some time
after his father's accession to the throne 1Sa 13:2 Like his father, he was a
man of great strength and activity 2Sa 1:23 and excelled in archery and
slinging 1Ch 12:2 2Sa 1:22 The affection that evidently subsisted between him
and his father was interrupted by the growth of Saul's insanity. At length,
"in fierce anger, "he left his father's presence and cast in his lot
with the cause of David 1Sa 20:34 After an eventful career, interwoven to a
great extent with that of David, he fell, along with his father and his two
brothers, on the fatal field of Gilboa 1Sa 31:2,8 He was first buried at
Jabesh-gilead, but his remains were afterwards removed with those of his father
to Zelah, in Benjamin 2Sa 21:12-14 His death was the occasion of David's famous
elegy of "the Song of the Bow" 2Sa 1:17-27 He left one son five years
old, Merib-baal, or Mephibosheth 2Sa 4:4 comp. 1Ch 8:34
3. Son of the high priest Abiathar, and one who adhered
to David at the time of Absalom's rebellion 2Sa 15:27,36 He is the last
descendant of Eli of whom there is any record.
4. Son of Shammah, and David's nephew, and also one of
his chief warriors 2Sa 21:21 He slew a giant in Gath.
Dove of the dumbness of the distance; i.e., "the
silent dove in distant places", title of Ps 56:1 This was probably the
name of some well known tune or melody to which the psalm was to be sung.
Beauty, a town in the portion of Dan Jos 19:46 A.V.,
"Japho", on a sandy promontory between Caesarea and Gaza, and at a distance
of 30 miles north-west from Jerusalem. It is one of the oldest towns in Asia.
It was and still is the chief sea-port of Judea. It was never wrested from the
Phoenicians. It became a Jewish town only in the second century B.C. It was
from this port that Jonah "took ship to flee from the presence of the
Lord" Jon 1:3 To this place also the wood cut in Lebanon by Hiram's men
for Solomon was brought in floats 2Ch 2:16 and here the material for the
building of the second temple was also landed Ezr 3:7 At Joppa, in the house of
Simon the tanner, "by the sea-side, "Peter resided "many days,
"and here, "on the house-top, "he had his "vision of
tolerance" Ac 9:36-43 It bears the modern name of Jaffa, and exibits all
the decrepitude and squalor of cities ruled over by the Turks. "Scarcely
any other town has been so often overthrown, sacked, pillaged, burned, and
rebuilt." Its present population is said to be about 16,000 It was taken
by the French under Napoleon in 1799 who gave orders for the massacre here of 4,000
prisoners. It is connected with Jerusalem by the only carriage road that exists
in the country, and also by a railway completed in 1892 It is noticed on
monuments B.C. 1600 and was attacked by Sannacharib B.C. 702.
=Jeho'ram.
1. One of the kings of Israel 2Ki 8:16,25,28 He was the
son of Ahab.
2. Jehoram, the son and successor of Jehoshaphat on the
throne of Judah 2Ki 8:24
Heb. Yarden, "the descender; "Arab.
Nahr-esh-Sheriah, "the watering-place" the chief river of Palestine.
It flows from north to south down a deep valley in the centre of the country.
The name descender is significant of the fact that there is along its whole
course a descent to its banks; or it may simply denote the rapidity with which
it "descends" to the Dead Sea. It originates in the snows of Hermon,
which feed its perennial fountains. Two sources are generally spoken of.
1. From the western base of a hill on which once stood
the city of Dan, the northern border-city of Palestine, there gushes forth a
considerable fountain called the Leddan, which is the largest fountain in Syria
and the principal source of the Jordan.
2. Beside the ruins of Banias, the ancient Caesarea
Philippi and the yet more ancient Panium, is a lofty cliff of limestone, at the
base of which is a fountain. This is the other source of the Jordan, and has
always been regarded by the Jews as its true source. It rushes down to the
plain in a foaming torrent, and joins the Leddan about 5 miles south of Dan
(Tell-el-Kady).
3. But besides these two historical fountains there is a
third, called the Hasbany, which rises in the bottom of a valley at the western
base of Hermon, 12 miles north of Tell-el-Kady. It joins the main stream about
a mile below the junction of the Leddan and the Banias.
The river thus formed is at this point about 45 feet
wide, and flows in a channel from 12 to 20 feet below the plain. After this it
flows, "with a swift current and a much-twisted course, "through a
marshy plain for some 6 miles, when it falls into the Lake Huleh, "the
waters of Merom" (q.v.). During
this part of its course the Jordan has descended about 1,100 feet. At Banias it
is 1,080 feet above sea-level. Flowing from the southern extremity of Lake
Huleh, here almost on a level with the sea, it flows for 2 miles "through
a waste of islets and papyrus, "and then for 9 miles through a narrow
gorge in a foaming torrent onward to the Sea of Galilee (q.v.). "In the
whole valley of the Jordan from the Lake Huleh to the Sea of Galilee there is
not a single settled inhabitant. Along the whole eastern bank of the river and
the lakes, from the base of Hermon to the ravine of Hieromax, a region of great
fertility, 30 miles long by 7 or 8 wide, there are only some three inhabited
villages. The western bank is almost as desolate. Ruins are numerous enough.
Every mile or two is an old site of town or village, now well nigh hid
beneath a dense jungle of thorns and thistles. The words of Scripture here
recur to us with peculiar force: 'I will make your cities waste, and bring your
sanctuaries unto desolation. And I will bring the land into desolation: and
your enemies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it. And your land shall
be desolate, and your cities waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as
long as it lieth desolate'" Le 26:31-34 Dr. Porter's Handbook. From the
Sea of Galilee, at the level of 682 feet below the Mediterranean, the river
flows through a long, low plain called "the region of Jordan" Mt 3:5
and by the modern Arabs the Ghor, or "sunken plain." This section is
properly the Jordan of Scripture. Down through the midst of the "plain of
Jordan" there winds a ravine varying in breadth from 200 yards to half a
mile, and in depth from 40 to 150 feet. Through it the Jordan flows in a rapid,
rugged, tortuous course down to the Dead Sea. The whole distance from the
southern extremity of the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea is in a straight line
about 65 miles, but following the windings of the river about 200 miles, during
which it falls 618 feet. The total length of the Jordan from Banias is about
104 miles in a straight line, during which it falls 2,380 feet. There are two considerable affluents which
enter the river between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, both from the
east.
1. The Wady Mandhur, called the Yarmuk by the Rabbins and
the Hieromax by the Greeks. It formed the boundary between Bashan and Gilead.
It drains the plateau of the Hauran.
2. The Jabbok or Wady Zerka, formerly the northern
boundary of
Ammon. It enters the Jordan about 20 miles north of
Jericho. The first historical notice of the Jordan is in the account of the
separation of Abraham and Lot Ge 13:10 "Lot beheld the plain of Jordan as
the garden of the Lord." Jacob crossed and recrossed "this
Jordan" Ge 32:10 The Israelites passed over it as "on dry
ground" Jos 3:17 Ps 114:3 Twice afterwards its waters were miraculously
divided at the same spot by Elijah and Elisha 2Ki 2:8,14
The Jordan is mentioned in the Old Testament about one
hundred and eighty times, and in the New Testament fifteen times. The chief events
in gospel history connected with it are
1. John the Baptist's ministry, when "there went out
to him Jerusalem, and all Judaea, and were baptized of him in Jordan" Mt
3:6
2. Jesus also "was baptized of John in Jordan"
Mr 1:9
Remover or increaser.
1. The elder of the two sons of Jacob by Rachel Ge
30:23,24 who, on the occasion of his birth, said, "God hath taken away
[Heb. 'asaph] my reproach." "The Lord shall add [Heb. yoseph] to me
another son" Ge 30:24 He was a child of probably six years of age when his
father returned from Haran to Canaan and took up his residence in the old
patriarchal town of Hebron. "Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his
children, because he was the son of his old age, "and he "made him a
long garment with sleeves" Ge 37:3 R.V. marg., i.e., a garment long and
full, such as was worn by the children of nobles. This seems to be the correct
rendering of the words. The phrase, however, may also be rendered, "a coat
of many pieces", i.e., a patchwork of many small pieces of divers colours.
When he was about seventeen years old Joseph incurred the jealous hatred of his
brothers Ge 37:4 They "hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him."
Their anger was increased when he told them his dreams Ge 37:11 Jacob desiring
to hear tidings of his sons, who had gone to Shechem with their flocks, some 60
miles from Hebron, sent Joseph as his messenger to make inquiry regarding them.
Joseph found that they had left Shechem for Dothan, whither he followed them.
As soon as they saw him coming they began to plot against him, and would have
killed him had not Reuben interposed. They ultimately sold him to a company of
Ishmaelite merchants for twenty pieces (shekels) of silver (about 10s.), ten
pieces less than the current value of a slave, for "they cared little what
they had for him, if so be they were rid of him." These merchants were
going down with a varied assortment of merchandise to the Egyptian market, and
thither they conveyed him, and ultimately sold him as a slave to Potiphar, an
"officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard" Ge 37:36 "The
Lord blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake, "and Potiphar made
him overseer over his house. At length a false charge having been brought
against him by Potiphar's wife, he was at once cast into the state prison Ge
39:1-40:23 where he remained for at least two years. After a while the
"chief of the cupbearers" and the "chief of the bakers" of Pharaoh's
household were cast into the same prison Ge 40:2 Each of these new prisoners
dreamed a dream in the same night, which Joseph interpreted, the event
occurring as he had said. This led to
Joseph's being remembered subsequently by the chief butler when Pharaoh also
dreamed. At his suggestion Joseph was brought from prison to interpret the
king's dreams. Pharaoh was well pleased with Joseph's wisdom in interpreting
his dreams, and with his counsel with reference to the events then predicted;
and he set him over all the land of Egypt Ge 41:46 and gave him the name of
Zaphnath-paaneah. He was married to Asenath, the daughter of the priest of On,
and thus became a member of the priestly class. Joseph was now about thirty
years of age. As Joseph had interpreted, seven years of plenty came, during
which he stored up great abundance of corn in granaries built for the purpose.
These years were followed by seven years of famine "over all the face of
the earth, "when "all countries came into Egypt to Joseph to buy corn"
Ge 41:56,57 47:13,14 Thus "Joseph gathered up all the money that was in
the land of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, for the corn which they
bought." Afterwards all the cattle and all the land, and at last the
Egyptians themselves, became the property of Pharaoh. During this period of
famine Joseph's brethren also came down to Egypt to buy corn. The history of his dealings with them, and
of the manner in which he at length made himself known to them, is one of the
most interesting narratives that can be read Ge 42:1-45:15 Joseph directed his
brethren to return and bring Jacob and his family to the land of Egypt, saying,
"I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat
of the land. Regard not your stuff; for the good of all the land is yours."
Accordingly Jacob and his family, to the number of threescore and ten souls,
together with "all that they had, "went down to Egypt. They were
settled in the land of Goshen, where Joseph met his father, and "fell on
his neck, and wept on his neck a good while" Ge 46:29 The excavations of
Dr. Naville have shown the land of Goshen to be the Wady Tumilat, between
Ismailia and Zagazig. In Goshen (Egyptian Qosem) they had pasture for their
flocks, were near the Asiatic frontier of Egypt, and were out of the way of the
Egyptian people. An inscription speaks of it as a district given up to the
wandering shepherds of Asia. Jacob at length died, and in fulfilment of a
promise which he had exacted, Joseph went up to Canaan to bury his father in
"the field of Ephron the Hittite" Ge 47:29-31 50:1-14 This was the
last recorded act of Joseph, who again returned to Egypt. "The 'Story of
the Two Brothers, 'an Egyptian romance written for the son of the Pharaoh of
the Oppression, contains an episode very similar to the Biblical account of
Joseph's treatment by Potiphar's wife. Potiphar and Potipherah are the Egyptian
Pa-tu-pa-Ra, 'the gift of the sun-god.' The name given to Joseph,
Zaphnath-paaneah, is probably the Egyptian Zaf-nti-pa-ankh, 'nourisher of the
living one, 'i.e., of the Pharaoh. There are many instances in the inscriptions
of foreigners in Egypt receiving Egyptian names, and rising to the highest
offices of state." By his wife Asenath, Joseph had two sons, Manasseh and
Ephraim Ge 41:50 Joseph having obtained a promise from his brethren that when
the time should come that God would "bring them unto the land which he
sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, "they would carry up his bones
out of Egypt, at length died, at the age of one hundred and ten years; and
"they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin" Ge 50:26 This promise
was faithfully observed. Their descendants, long after, when the Exodus came,
carried the body about with them during their forty years' wanderings, and at
length buried it in Shechem, in the parcel of ground which Jacob bought from
the sons of Hamor Jos 24:32 comp. Ge 33:19 With the death of Joseph the
patriarchal age of the history of Israel came to a close. The Pharaoh of
Joseph's elevation was probably Apepi, or Apopis, the last of the Hyksos kings.
Some, however, think that Joseph came to Egypt in the reign of Thothmes III.
See PHARAOH long after the expulsion of the Hyksos. The name Joseph denotes the
two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh in De 33:13-17 the kingdom of Israel in Eze
37:16,19 Am 5:6 and the whole covenant people of Israel in Ps 81:4
2. One of the sons of Asaph, head of the first division
of sacred musicians 1Ch 25:2,9
3. The son of Judah, and father of Semei Lu 3:26 Other
two of the same name in the ancestry of Christ are also mentioned Lu 3:24,30
4. The foster-father of our Lord Mt 1:16 Lu 3:23 He lived
at Nazareth in Galilee Lu 2:4 He is called a "just man." He was by
trade a carpenter Mt 13:55 He is last mentioned in connection with the journey
to Jerusalem, when Jesus was twelve years old. It is probable that he died
before Jesus entered on his public ministry. This is concluded from the fact
that Mary only was present at the marriage feast in Cana of Galilee. His name
does not appear in connection with the scenes of the crucifixion along with
that of Mary (q.v.), Joh 19:25
5. A native of Arimathea, probably the Ramah of the Old
Testament 1Sa 1:19 a man of wealth, and a member of the Sanhedrim Mt 27:57 Lu
23:50 an "honourable counsellor, who waited for the kingdom of God." As
soon as he heard the tidings of Christ's death, he "went in boldly"
(lit. "having summoned courage, he went") "unto Pilate, and
craved the body of Jesus." Pilate having ascertained from the centurion
that the death had really taken place, granted Joseph's request, who
immediately, having purchased fine linen Mr 15:46 proceeded to Golgotha to take
the body down from the cross. There, assisted by Nicodemus, he took down the
body and wrapped it in the fine linen, sprinkling it with the myrrh and aloes
which Nicodemus had brought Joh 19:39 and then conveyed the body to the new
tomb hewn by Joseph himself out of a rock in his garden hard by. There they
laid it, in the presence of Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Joses, and other
women, and rolled a great stone to the entrance, and departed Lu 23:53,55 This
was done in haste, "for the Sabbath was drawing on" (comp.) Isa 53:9
6. Surnamed Barsabas Ac 1:23 also called Justus. He was
one of those who "companied with the apostles all the time that the Lord
Jesus went out and in among them" Ac 1:21 and was one of the candidates
for the place of Judas.
Jehovah is his help, or Jehovah the Saviour. The son of
Nun, of the tribe of Ephraim, the successor of Moses as the leader of Israel.
He is called Jehoshua in Nu 13:16 (A.V.), and Jesus in Ac 7:45 Heb 4:8 (R.V.,
Joshua). He was born in Egypt, and was probably of the age of Caleb, with whom
he is generally associated. He shared in all the events of the Exodus, and held
the place of commander of the host of the Israelites at their great battle
against the Amalekites in Rephidim Ex 17:8-16 He became Moses' minister or
servant, and accompanied him part of the way when he ascended Mount Sinai to receive
the two tables Ex 32:17 He was also one of the twelve who were sent on by Moses
to explore the land of Canaan Nu 13:16,17 and only he and Caleb gave an
encouraging report. Under the direction of God, Moses, before his death,
invested Joshua in a public and solemn manner with authority over the people as
his successor De 31:23 The people were encamped at Shittim when he assumed the
command Jos 1:1 and crossing the Jordan, they encamped at Gilgal, where, having
circumcised the people, he kept the Passover, and was visited by the Captain of
the Lord's host, who spoke to him encouraging words Jos 1:1-9 Now began the
wars of conquest which Joshua carried on for many years, the record of which is
in the book which bears his name. Six nations and thirty-one kings were
conquered by him Jos 11:18-23 12:24 Having thus subdued the Canaanites, Joshua
divided the land among the tribes, Timnath-serah in Mount Ephraim being
assigned to himself as his own inheritance.
See SHILOH See PRIEST
His work being done, he died, at the age of one hundred
and ten years, twenty-five years after having crossed the Jordan. He was buried
in his own city of Timnath-serah Jos 24:1ff. and "the light of Israel for
the time faded away." Joshua has been regarded as a type of Christ Heb 4:8
in the following particulars:
1. In the name common to both;
2. Joshua brings the people into the possession of the
Promised Land, as Jesus brings his people to the heavenly Canaan; and
3. as Joshua succeeded Moses, so the Gospel succeeds the
Law. The character of Joshua is thus well sketched by Edersheim:, "Born a
slave in Egypt, he must have been about forty years old at the time of the
Exodus. Attached to the person of Moses, he led Israel in the first decisive
battle against Amalek Ex 17:9,13 while Moses in the prayer of faith held up to
heaven the God-given 'rod.' It was no doubt on that occasion that his name was
changed from Oshea, 'help, 'to Jehoshua, 'Jehovah is help' Nu 13:16 And this
name is the key to his life and work. Alike in bringing the people into Canaan,
in his wars, and in the distribution of the land among the tribes, from the
miraculous crossing of Jordan and taking of Jericho to his last address, he was
the embodiment of his new name, 'Jehovah is help.' To this outward calling his character
also corresponded. It is marked by singleness of purpose, directness, and
decision. He sets an object before him, and unswervingly follows it"
(Bible Hist., iii. 103)
Contains a history of the Israelites from the death of
Moses to that of Joshua. It consists of three parts:
1. The history of the conquest of the land (1-12)
2. The allotment of the land to the different tribes,
with the appointment of cities of refuge, the provision for the Levites (13-22)
and the dismissal of the eastern tribes to their homes. This section has been
compared to the Domesday Book of the Norman conquest.
3. The farewell addresses of Joshua, with an account of
his death (23, 24)
This book stands first in the second of the three
sections,
1. the Law,
2. the Prophets,
3. the "other writings" Hagiographa, into which
the Jewish Church divided the Old Testament.
There is every reason for concluding that the uniform
tradition of the Jews is correct when they assign the authorship of the book to
Joshua, all except the concluding section; the last verses Jos 24:29-33 were
added by some other hand. There are two difficulties connected with this book
which have given rise to much discussion,
1. The miracle of the standing still of the sun and moon
on Gibeon. The record of it occurs in Joshua's impassioned prayer of faith, as
quoted Jos 10:12-15 from the "Book of Jasher" (q.v.). There are many
explanations given of these words. They need, however, present no difficulty if
we believe in the possibility of God's miraculous interposition in behalf of
his people. Whether it was caused by the refraction of the light, or how, we
know not.
2. Another difficulty arises out of the command given by
God utterly to exterminate the Canaanites. "Shall not the Judge of all the
earth do right?" It is enough that Joshua clearly knew that this was the
will of God, who employs his terrible agencies, famine, pestilence, and war, in
the righteous government of this world. The Canaanites had sunk into a state of
immorality and corruption so foul and degrading that they had to be rooted out
of the land with the edge of the sword. "The Israelites' sword, in its
bloodiest executions, wrought a work of mercy for all the countries of the
earth to the very end of the world." This book resembles the Acts of the
Apostles in the number and variety of historical incidents it records, and in
its many references to persons and places; and as in the latter case the epistles
of Paul (see Paley's Horae Paul.) confirm its historical accuracy by their
incidental allusions and "undesigned coincidences, "so in the former
modern discoveries confirm its historicity. The Amarna tablets See ADONIZEDEC
are among the most remarkable discoveries of the age. Dating from about B.C.
1480 down to the time of Joshua, and consisting of official communications from
Amorite, Phoenician, and Philistine chiefs to the king of Egypt, they afford a
glimpse into the actual condition of Palestine prior to the Hebrew invasion,
and illustrate and confirm the history of the conquest. A letter, also still
extant, from a military officer, "master of the captains of Egypt,
"dating from near the end of the reign of Rameses II., gives a curious
account of a journey, probably official, which he undertook through Palestine
as far north as to Aleppo, and an insight into the social condition of the
country at that time. Among the things brought to light by this letter and the
Amarna tablets is the state of confusion and decay that had now fallen on
Egypt. The Egyptian garrisons that had held possession of Palestine from the
time of Thothmes III., some two hundred years before, had now been withdrawn.
The way was thus opened for the Hebrews. In the history of the conquest there
is no mention of Joshua having encountered any Egyptian force. The tablets
contain many appeals to the king of Egypt for help against the inroads of the
Hebrews, but no help seems ever to have been sent. Is not this just such a
state of things as might have been anticipated as the result of the disaster of
the Exodus? In many points, as shown under various articles, the progress of
the conquest is remarkably illustrated by the tablets. The value of modern
discoveries in their relation to Old Testament history has been thus well
described: "The difficulty of establishing the charge of lack of
historical credibility, as against the testimony of the Old Testament, has of
late years greatly increased. The outcome of recent excavations and explorations
is altogether against it. As long as these books contained, in the main, the
only known accounts of the events they mention, there was some plausibility in
the theory that perhaps these accounts were written rather to teach moral
lessons than to preserve an exact knowledge of events. It was easy to say in
those times men had not the historic sense. But the recent discoveries touch
the events recorded in the Bible at very many different points in many
different generations, mentioning the same persons, countries, peoples, events
that are mentioned in the Bible, and showing beyond question that these were
strictly historic. The point is not that the discoveries confirm the
correctness of the Biblical statements, though that is commonly the case, but
that the discoveries show that the peoples of those ages had the historic
sense, and, specifically, that the Biblical narratives they touch are
narratives of actual occurrences."
Healed by Jehovah, or Jehovah will support. The son of
Amon, and his successor on the throne of Judah 2Ki 22:1 2Ch 34:1 His history is
contained in 2Ki 22:1-23:30 He stands foremost among all the kings of the line
of David for unswerving loyalty to Jehovah 2Ki 23:25 He "did that which
was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his
father." He ascended the throne at the early age of eight years, and it
appears that not till eight years afterwards did he begin "to seek after
the God of David his father." At that age he devoted himself to God. He
distinguished himself by beginning a war of extermination against the
prevailing idolatry, which had practically been the state religion for some
seventy years 2Ch 34:3 comp. Jer 25:3,11,29 In the eighteenth year of his reign
he proceeded to repair and beautify the temple, which by time and violence had
become sorely dilapidated 2Ki 22:3,5,6 23:23 2Ch 34:11 While this work was
being carried on, Hilkiah, the high priest, discovered a roll, which was probably
the original copy of the law, the entire Pentateuch, written by Moses. When
this book was read to him, the king was alarmed by the things it contained, and
sent for Huldah, the "prophetess, "for her counsel. She spoke to him
words of encouragement, telling him that he would be gathered to his fathers in
peace before the threatened days of judgment came. Josiah immediately gathered
the people together, and engaged them in a renewal of their ancient national
covenant with God. The Passover was then celebrated, as in the days of his
great predecessor, Hezekiah, with unusual magnificence. Nevertheless, "the
Lord turned not from the fierceness of his great wrath wherewith his anger was
kindled against Judah" 2Ki 22:3-20 23:21-27 2Ch 35:1-19 During the progress
of this great religious revolution Jeremiah helped it on by his earnest
exhortations. Soon after this, Pharaoh-Necho II. (q.v.), king of Egypt, in an
expedition against the king of Assyria, with the view of gaining possession of
Carchemish, sought a passage through the territory of Judah for his army. This
Josiah refused to permit. He had probably entered into some new alliance with
the king of Assyria, and faithful to his word he sought to oppose the progress
of Necho. The army of Judah went out and encountered that of Egypt at Megiddo,
on the verge of the plain of Esdraelon. Josiah went into the field in disguise,
and was fatally wounded by a random arrow. His attendants conveyed him toward
Jerusalem, but had only reached Hadadrimmon, a few miles south of Megiddo, when
he died 2Ki 23:28,30 comp. 2Ch 35:20-27 after a reign of thirty-one years. He
was buried with the greatest honours in fulfilment of Huldah's prophecy 2Ki
22:20 comp. Jer 34:5 Jeremiah composed
a funeral elegy on this the best of the kings of Israel La 4:20 2Ch 35:25 The
outburst of national grief on account of his death became proverbial Zec 12:11
comp. Re 16:16
Or Iota, the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet, used
metaphorically or proverbially for the smallest thing Mt 5:18 or it may be yod,
which is the smallest of the Hebrew letters.
Jehovah is perfect.
1. The youngest of Gideon's seventy sons. He escaped when
the rest were put to death by the order of Abimelech Jud 9:5 When "the
citizens of Shechem and the whole house of Millo" were gathered together
"by the plain of the pillar" (i.e., the stone set up by Joshua,)Jos
24:26 comp. Ge 35:4 "that was in Shechem, to make Abimelech king,
"from one of the heights of Mount Gerizim he protested against their doing
so in the earliest parable, that of the bramble-king. His words then spoken
were prophetic. There came a recoil in the feelings of the people toward
Abimelech, and then a terrible revenge, in which many were slain and the city
of Shechem was destroyed by Abimelech Jud 9:45 Having delivered his warning,
Jotham fled to Beer from the vengeance of Abimelech Jud 9:7-21
2. The son and successor of Uzziah on the throne of
Judah. As during his last years Uzziah was excluded from public life on account
of his leprosy, his son, then twenty-five years of age, administered for seven
years the affairs of the kingdom in his father's stead 2Ch 26:21,23 27:1 After
his father's death he became sole monarch, and reigned for sixteen years (B.C.
759) He ruled in the fear of God, and his reign was prosperous. He was
contemporary with the prophets Isaiah, Hosea, and Micah, by whose ministrations
he profited. He was buried in the sepulchre of the kings, greatly lamented by
the people 2Ki 15:38 2Ch 27:7-9
1. A day's journey in the East is from 16 to 20 miles Nu
11:31
2. A Sabbath-day's journey is 2,000 paces or yards from
the city walls Ac 1:12 According to Jewish tradition, it was the distance one
might travel without violating the law of Ex 16:29
See SABBATH
Whom Jehovah bestows.
1. One of the Benjamite archers who joined David at
Ziklag 1Ch 12:4
2. A chief of the tribe of Manasseh 1Ch 12:20
Jehovah-remembered, one of the two servants who
assassinated Jehoash, the king of Judah, in Millo 2Ki 12:21 He is called also
Zabad 2Ch 24:26
Jubilee, music, Lamech's second son by Adah, of the line
of Cain. He was the inventor of "the harp" (Heb. kinnor, properly
"lyre") and "the organ" (Heb. 'ugab, properly
"mouth-organ" or Pan's pipe), Ge 4:21
A joyful shout or clangour of trumpets, the name of the
great semi-centennial festival of the Hebrews. It lasted for a year. During
this year the land was to be fallow, and the Israelites were only permitted to
gather the spontaneous produce of the fields Le 25:11,12 All landed property
during that year reverted to its original owner Le 25:13-34 27:16-24 and all
who were slaves were set free Le 25:39-54 and all debts were remitted. The
return of the jubilee year was proclaimed by a blast of trumpets which sounded
throughout the land. There is no record in Scripture of the actual observance
of this festival, but there are numerous allusions Isa 5:7,8,9,10 61:1,2 Eze
7:12,13 Ne 5:1-19 2Ch 36:21 which place it beyond a doubt that it was observed.
The advantages of this institution were manifold:
1. It would prevent the accumulation of land on the part
of a few to the detriment of the community at large.
2. It would render it impossible for any one to be born
to absolute poverty, since every one had his hereditary land.
3. It would preclude those inequalities which are
produced by extremes of riches and poverty, and which make one man domineer
over another.
4. It would utterly do away with slavery.
5. It would afford a fresh opportunity to those who were
reduced by adverse circumstances to begin again their career of industry in the
patrimony which they had temporarily forfeited.
6. It would periodically rectify the disorders which
crept into the state in the course of time, preclude the division of the people
into nobles and plebeians, and preserve the theocracy inviolate."
Was the Jubille Every 50 or 49 Years?
There is a difference of opinion as to when the year of
jubilee commenced. To understand the Jubilee you must also understand the
Sabbatical Year, which occurred every seven years.
``Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou
shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; but in the seventh
year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for Jehovah: thou
shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard''Le 25:3,4
These tables represent the last seven years before the
Jubilee.
Table A Table B
50
Year Cycle 49 Year Cycle
Year Month
1 1-12
1st Year** 1st Year**
2
1-12 2nd Year* 2nd Year*
3 1-12
3rd Year* 3rd Year*
4 1-12
4th Year* 4th Year*
5 1-12
5th Year* 5th Year*
6 1-12
6th Year* 6th Year*
7 1-6 Sabbatical Year*** Sabbatical Year***
7-12 " " Jubilee
8 1-5
Jubilee***
Jubilee
6-12 " 1st Year**
9 1-12
1st Year** 2nd Year*
* -Harvest,
Ingathering, Sowing
**-No
Harvest, Ingathering, Sowing
***-No
Harvest, No Ingathering, No Sowing
The above passage speaks of six years of sowing, and six
years of pruning the vineyard and gathering in the fruit thereof, but does not
speak of six years of harvest. In the above tables it will be seen there would
have been only "five" harvests in the seven years. Then the question
arises, Did the Jubilee commence at the end of the seventh Sabbatical year, as
in table A? If so there would be then three years without any harvest. If this was what God intended, he would have
provided for his obedient people. Some, like Ussher, however judge that the
Jubilee year was really half of the seventh Sabbatical year, and half of the first
year of the following seven, as in table B. This seems confirmed by the trumpet
being sounded on the 10th day of the seventh month. Still it is called the
fiftieth year. Le 25:8-11
Page 455-6, "Concise Bible Dictionary", Bible
Truth Publishers,
59 Industrial Road, Addison, Ill, 60101.
1. The patriarch Judah, son of Jacob Lu 3:33 Heb 7:14.
2. The tribe of Judah Lu 1:39 Heb 7:14 Re 5:5 7:5.
3. The father of Simeon in Christ's maternal ancestry Lu
3:30
4. Son of Joanna, and father of Joseph in Christ's
maternal ancestry Lu 3:26 probably identical with Abiud Mt 1:13 and with
Obadiah 1Ch 3:21
5. One of the Lord's "brethren" Mr 6:3
Praise, the fourth son of Jacob by Leah. The name
originated in Leah's words of praise to the Lord on account of his birth:
"Now will I praise [Heb. odeh] Jehovah, and she called his name
Yehudah" Ge 29:35 It was Judah that interposed in behalf of Joseph, so
that his life was spared Ge 37:26,27 He took a lead in the affairs of the
family, and "prevailed above his brethren" Ge 43:3-10 44:14,16-34
46:28 1Ch 5:2 Soon after the sale of Joseph to the Ishmaelites, Judah went to
reside at Adullam, where he married a woman of Canaan.
See ONAN See TAMAR
After the death of his wife Shuah, he returned to his
father's house, and there exercised much influence over the patriarch, taking a
principal part in the events which led to the whole family at length going down
into Egypt. We hear nothing more of him till he received his father's blessing
Ge 49:8-12
When the disruption took place at Shechem, at first only
the tribe of Judah followed the house of David. But very soon after the tribe
of Benjamin joined the tribe of Judah, and Jerusalem became the capital of the
new kingdom Jos 18:28 which was called the kingdom of Judah. It was very small
in extent, being only about the size of the Scottish county of Perth. For the
first sixty years the kings of Judah aimed at re-establishing their authority
over the kingdom of the other ten tribes, so that there was a state of
perpetual war between them. For the next eighty years there was no open war
between them. For the most part they were in friendly alliance, co-operating
against their common enemies, especially against Damascus. For about another
century and a half Judah had a somewhat checkered existence after the
termination of the kingdom of Israel till its final overthrow in the
destruction of the temple (B.C. 588) by Nebuzar-adan, who was captain of
Nebuchadnezzar's body-guard 2Ki 25:8-21 The kingdom maintained a separate
existence for three hundred and eighty-nine years. It occupied an area of 3,435
square miles.
See ISRAEL, KINGDOM OF See EXILE
Judah and his three surviving sons went down with Jacob into
Egypt Ge 46:12 Ex 1:2 At the time of the Exodus, when we meet with the family
of Judah again, they have increased to the number of 74,000 males Nu 1:26,27
Its number increased in the wilderness Nu 26:22 Caleb, the son of Jephunneh,
represented the tribe as one of the spies Nu 13:6 34:19 This tribe marched at
the van on the east of the tabernacle Nu 2:3-9 10:14 its standard, as is
supposed, being a lion's whelp. Under Caleb, during the wars of conquest, they
conquered that portion of the country which was afterwards assigned to them as
their inheritance. This was the only case in which any tribe had its
inheritance thus determined Jos 14:6-15 15:13-19 The inheritance of the tribe
of Judah was at first fully one-third of the whole country west of Jordan, in
all about 2,300 square miles Jos 15:1ff. But there was a second distribution,
when Simeon received an allotment, about 1,000 square miles, out of the portion
of Judah Jos 19:9 That which remained to Judah was still very large in
proportion to the inheritance of the other tribes. The boundaries of the
territory are described in Jos 15:20-63 This territory given to Judah was
divided into four sections.
1. The south (Heb. negeb), the undulating pasture-ground
between the hills and the desert to the south Jos 15:21 This extent of
pasture-land became famous as the favourite camping-ground of the old
patriarchs.
2. The "valley" Jos 15:33 or lowland (Heb.
shephelah), a broad strip lying between the central highlands and the
Mediterranean. This tract was the garden as well as the granary of the tribe.
3. The "hill-country, "or the mountains of
Judah, an elevated plateau stretching from below Hebron northward to Jerusalem.
"The towns and villages were generally perched on the tops of hills or on
rocky slopes. The resources of the soil were great. The country was rich in
corn, wine, oil, and fruit; and the daring shepherds were able to lead their
flocks far out over the neighbouring plains and through the mountains."
The number of towns in this district was thirty-eight Jos 15:48-60
4. The "wilderness, "the sunken district next
the Dead Sea Jos 15:61 "averaging 10 miles in breadth, a wild, barren,
uninhabitable region, fit only to afford scanty pasturage for sheep and goats, and
a secure home for leopards, bears, wild goats, and outlaws" 1Sa 17:34 22:1
Mr 1:13 It was divided into the "wilderness of En-gedi" 1Sa 24:1 the
"wilderness of Judah" Jud 1:16 Mt 3:1 between the Hebron mountain
range and the Dead Sea, the "wilderness of Maon" 1Sa 23:24 It
contained only six cities. Nine of the
cities of Judah were assigned to the priests Jos 21:9-19
The Authorized Version, following the Vulgate, has this
rendering in Jos 19:34 It has been suggested that, following the Masoretic
punctuation, the expression should read thus, "and Judah; the Jordan was
toward the sun-rising." The sixty cities (Havoth-jair,) Nu 32:41 on the
east of Jordan were reckoned as belonging to Judah, because Jair, their
founder, was a Manassite only on his mother's side, but on his father's side of
the tribe of Judah 1Ch 2:5,21-23
The Graecized form of Judah.
1. The patriarch Mt 1:2,3
2. Son of Simon Joh 6:71 13:2,26 surnamed Iscariot, i.e.,
a man of Kerioth Jos 15:25 His name is uniformly the last in the list of the
apostles, as given in the synoptic (i.e., the first three) Gospels. The evil of
his nature probably gradually unfolded itself till "Satan entered into
him" Joh 13:27 and he betrayed our Lord Joh 18:3 Afterwards he owned his
sin with "an exceeding bitter cry, "and cast the money he had
received as the wages of his iniquity down on the floor of the sanctuary, and
"departed and went and hanged himself" Mt 27:5 He perished in his
guilt, and "went unto his own place" Ac 1:25 The statement in Ac 1:18
that he "fell headlong and burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels
gushed out, "is in no way contrary to that in Mt 27:5 The sucide first
hanged himself, perhaps over the valley of Hinnom, "and the rope giving
way, or the branch to which he hung breaking, he fell down headlong on his
face, and was crushed and mangled on the rocky pavement below." Why such a
man was chosen to be an apostle we know not, but it is written that "Jesus
knew from the beginning who should betray him" Joh 6:64 Nor can any answer
be satisfactorily given to the question as to the motives that led Judas to
betray his Master. "Of the motives that have been assigned we need not
care to fix on any one as that which simply led him on. Crime is, for the most
part, the result of a hundred motives rushing with bewildering fury through the
mind of the criminal."
3. A Jew of Damascus Ac 9:11 to whose house Ananias was
sent. The street called "Straight" in which it was situated is
identified with the modern "street of bazaars, "where is still
pointed out the so-called "house of Judas."
4. A Christian teacher, surnamed Barsabas. He was sent
from Jerusalem to Antioch along with Paul and Barnabas with the decision of the
council Ac 15:22,27,32 He was a "prophet" and a "chief man among
the brethren."
=Judas. Among the apostles there were two who bore this
name,
1. Judas Jude 1:1 Mt 13:55 Joh 14:22 Ac 1:13 called also
Lebbaeus or Thaddaeus Mt 10:3 Mr 3:18
2. Judas Iscariot Mt 10:4 Mr 3:19 He who is called
"the brother of James" Lu 6:16 may be the same with the Judas surnamed
Lebbaeus. The only thing recorded regarding him is in Joh 14:22
After the Captivity this name was applied to the whole of
the country west of the Jordan Hag 1:1,14 2:2 (Juda) But under the Romans, in
the time of Christ, it denoted the southernmost of the three divisions of
Palestine Mt 2:1,5 3:1 4:25 although it was also sometimes used for Palestine
generally Ac 28:21 The province of Judea, as distinguished from Galilee and Samaria,
included the territories of the tribes of Judah, Benjamin, Dan, Simeon, and
part of Ephraim. Under the Romans it was a part of the province of Syria, and
was governed by a procurator.
1. The author was "Judas, the brother of James"
the Less Jude 1:1 called also Lebbaeus Mt 10:3 and Thaddaeus Mr 3:18
2. The genuineness of this epistle was early questioned,
and doubts regarding it were revived at the time of the Reformation; but the
evidences in support of its claims are complete. It has all the marks of having
proceeded from the writer whose name it bears.
3. There is nothing very definite to determine the time
and place at which it was written. It was apparently written in the later
period of the apostolic age, for when it was written there were persons still
alive who had heard the apostles preach Jude 1:17 It may thus have been written
about A.D. 66 or 70 and apparently in Palestine. The epistle is addressed to Christians
in general Jude 1:1 and its design is to put them on their guard against the
misleading efforts of a certain class of errorists to which they were exposed.
4. The style of the epistle is that of an "impassioned
invective, in the impetuous whirlwind of which the writer is hurried along,
collecting example after example of divine vengeance on the ungodly; heaping
epithet upon epithet, and piling image upon image, and, as it were, labouring
for words and images strong enough to depict the polluted character of the
licentious apostates against whom he is warning the Church; returning again and
again to the subject, as though all language was insufficient to give an
adequate idea of their profligacy, and to express his burning hatred of their
perversion of the doctrines of the gospel." The striking resemblance this
epistle bears to 2 Peter suggests the idea that the author of the one had seen
the epistle of the other. The doxology with which the epistle concludes is
regarded as the finest in the New Testament.
(Heb. shophet, pl. shophetim), properly a magistrate or
ruler, rather than one who judges in the sense of trying a cause. This is the
name given to those rulers who presided over the affairs of the Israelites
during the interval between the death of Joshua and the accession of Saul Jud
2:18 a period of general anarchy and confusion. "The office of judges or
regents was held during life, but it was not hereditary, neither could they
appoint their successors. Their authority was limited by the law alone, and in
doubtful cases they were directed to consult the divine King through the priest
by Urim and Thummim Nu 27:21 Their authority extended only over those tribes by
whom they had been elected or acknowledged. There was no income attached to
their office, and they bore no external marks of dignity. The only cases of
direct divine appointment are those of Gideon and Samson, and the latter stood
in the peculiar position of having been from before his birth ordained 'to
begin to deliver Israel.' Deborah was called to deliver Israel, but was already
a judge. Samuel was called by the Lord to be a prophet but not a judge, which
ensued from the high gifts the people recognized as dwelling in him; and as to
Eli, the office of judge seems to have devolved naturally or rather ex officio
upon him." Of five of the judges, Tola Jud 10:1 Jair Jud 10:3 Ibzan, Elon,
and Abdon Jud 12:8-15 we have no record at all beyond the bare fact that they
were judges. Sacred history is not the history of individuals but of the
kingdom of God in its onward progress. In Ex 2:14 Moses is so styled. This fact
may indicate that while for revenue purposes the "taskmasters" were
over the people, they were yet, just as at a later time when under the Romans,
governed by their own rulers.
Is so called because it contains the history of the deliverance
and government of Israel by the men who bore the title of the
"judges." The book of Ruth originally formed part of this book, but
about A.D. 450 it was separated from it and placed in the Hebrew scriptures
immediately after the Song of Solomon. The book contains,
1. An introduction (1-3:6) connecting it with the
previous narrative in Joshua, as a "link in the chain of books."
2. The history of the thirteen judges (3:7-16:31) in the
following order:
a. FIRST
PERIOD (3:7-ch. 5) Years
1.
Servitude under Chushan-rishathaim of Mesopotamia 8
(1)
OTHNIEL delivers Israel, rest 40
2.
Servitude under Eglon of Moab: Ammon, Amalek 18
(2)
EHUD'S deliverance, rest 80
(3)
SHAMGAR Unknown.
3.
Servitude under Jabin of Hazor in Canaan 20
(4)
DEBORAH and, (5) BARAK 40
---
206
b. SECOND
PERIOD (6-10:5)
4.
Servitude under Midian, Amalek, and children of
the
east 7
(6)
GIDEON 40
ABIMELECH, Gideon's son, reigns as king over Israel 3
(7)
TOLA 23
(8)
JAIR 22
---
95
c. THIRD
PERIOD (10:6-ch. 12)
5. Servitude
under Ammonites with the Philistines
18
(9)
JEPHTHAH 6
(10)
IBZAN 7
(11)
ELON
10
(12)
ABDON 8
---
49
d. FOURTH
PERIOD (13-16)
6. Seritude under Philistines 40
(13)
SAMSON
20
---
60
---
In all
410
Samson's exploits probably synchronize with the period
immediately preceding the national repentance and reformation under Samuel 1Sa
7:2-6 After Samson came Eli, who was both high priest and judge. He directed
the civil and religious affairs of the people for forty years, at the close of
which the Philistines again invaded the land and oppressed it for twenty years.
Samuel was raised up to deliver the people from this oppression, and he judged
Israel for some twelve years, when the direction of affairs fell into the hands
of Saul, who was anointed king. If Eli and Samuel are included, there were then
fifteen judges. But the chronology of this whole period is uncertain.
3. The historic section of the book is followed by an
appendix (17-21) which has no formal connection with that which goes before. It
records
a. the conquest (17, 18) of Laish by a portion of the
tribe of Dan; and
b. the almost total extinction of the tribe of Benjamin
by the other tribes, in consequence of their assisting the men of Gibeah
(19-21). This section properly belongs to the period only a few years after the
death of Joshua. It shows the religious and moral degeneracy of the people. The
author of this book was most probably Samuel. The internal evidence both of the
first sixteen chapters and of the appendix warrants this conclusion. It was
probably composed during Saul's reign, or at the very beginning of David's. The
words in Jud 18:30,31 imply that it was written after the taking of the ark by
the Philistines, and after it was set up at Nob 1Sa 21:1-6 In David's reign the
ark was at Gibeon 1Ch 16:39
Gr. praitorion Joh 18:28,33 19:9 Mt 27:27 "common
hall." In all these passages the Revised Version renders
"palace." In Mr 15:16 the word is rendered "Praetorium"
(q.v.), which is a Latin word, meaning literally the residence of the praetor,
and then the governor's residence in general, though not a praetor. Throughout
the Gospels the word "praitorion" has this meaning (comp.) Ac 23:35
Pilate's official residence when he was in Jerusalem was probably a part of the
fortress of Antonia. The trial of our Lord was carried on in a room or office
of the palace. The "whole band" spoken of by Mark were gathered
together in the palace court.
Mt 27:19 a portable tribunal (Gr. bema) which was placed
according as the magistrate might direct, and from which judgment was
pronounced. In this case it was placed on a tesselated pavement, probably in front
of the procurator's residence.
See GABBATHA
1. The secret decisions of God's will Ps 110:5 36:6
2. The revelations of his will Ex 21:1 De 6:20 Ps
119:7-175
3. The infliction of punishment on the wicked Ex 6:6
12:12 Eze 25:11 Re 16:7 such as is mentioned in Ge 7:1ff. Ge 19:24,25 Jud 1:6,7
Ac 5:1-10 etc.
the sentence that will be passed on our actions at the
last day Mt 25:1ff. Ro 14:10,11 2Co 5:10 2Th 1:7-10 The judge is Jesus Christ,
as mediator. All judgment is committed to him Ac 17:31 Joh 5:22,27 Re 1:7
"It pertains to him as mediator to complete and publicly manifest the
salvation of his people and the overthrow of his enemies, together with the
glorious righteousness of his work in both respects." The persons to be
judged are,
1. the whole race of Adam without a single exception Mt
25:31-46 1Co 15:51,52 Re 20:11-15
2. the fallen angels 2Pe 2:4 Jude 1:6
The rule of judgment is the standard of God's law as
revealed to men,
1. The heathen by the law as written on their hearts Lu
12:47,48 Ro 2:12-16
2. The Jew who "sinned in the law shall be judged by
the law" Ro 2:12
3. Persons enjoying the light of revelation, by the will
of God as made known to them Mt 11:20-24 Joh 3:19
Then the secrets of all hearts will be brought to light
1Co 4:5 Lu 8:17 Lu 12:2,3 to vindicate the justice of the sentence
pronounced. The time of the judgment
will be after the resurrection Heb 9:27 Ac 17:31 As the Scriptures represent
the final judgment "as
1. Certain Ec 11:9
2. Universal 2Co 5:10
3. Righteous Ro 2:5
4. Decisive 1Co 15:52
5. Eternal as to its consequences Heb 6:2 let us be concerned
for the welfare of our immortal interests, flee to the refuge set before us,
improve our precious time, depend on the merits of the Redeemer, and adhere to
the dictates of the divine word, that we may be found of him in peace."
Jewess, the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and one of
Esau's wives Ge 26:34 elsewhere called Aholibamah Ge 36:2-14
A Christian woman at Rome to whom Paul sent his
salutations Ro 16:15 supposed to be the wife of Philologus.
The centurion of the Augustan cohort, or the emperor's
body-guard, in whose charge Paul was sent prisoner to Rome Ac 27:1,3,43 He
entreated Paul "courteously, "showing in many ways a friendly regard
for him.
Ro 16:7 a Christian at Rome to whom Paul sends
salutations along with Andronicus.
(Heb. rothem), called by the Arabs retem, and known as
Spanish broom; ranked under the genus genista. It is a desert shrub, and abounds
in many parts of Palestine. In the account of his journey from Akabah to
Jerusalem, Dr. Robinson says: "This is the largest and most conspicuous
shrub of these deserts, growing thickly in the water-courses and valleys. Our
Arabs always selected the place of encampment, if possible, in a spot where it
grew, in order to be sheltered by it at night from the wind; and during the
day, when they often went on in advance of the camels, we found them not
unfrequently sitting or sleeping under a bush of retem to shelter them from the
sun. It was in this very desert, a day's journey from Beersheba, that the
prophet Elijah lay down and slept beneath the same shrub" 1Ki 19:4,5 It
afforded material for fuel, and also in cases of extremity for human food Ps
120:4 Job 30:4 One of the encampments in the wilderness of Paran is called
Rithmah, i.e., "place of broom" Nu 33:18 "The Bedawin of Sinai
still burn this very plant into a charcoal which throws out the most intense
heat."
The principal deity of the ancient Greeks and Romans. He
was worshipped by them under various epithets. Barnabas was identified with
this god by the Lycaonians Ac 14:12 because he was of stately and commanding
presence, as they supposed Jupiter to be. There was a temple dedicated to this
god outside the gates of Lystra Ac 14:13
Is rendering to every one that which is his due. It has
been distinguished from equity in this respect, that while justice means merely
the doing what positive law demands, equity means the doing of what is fair and
right in every separate case.
That perfection of his nature whereby he is infinitely
righteous in himself and in all he does, the righteousness of the divine nature
exercised in his moral government. At first God imposes righteous laws on his
creatures and executes them righteously.
Justice is not an optional product of his will, but an unchangeable
principle of his very nature. His legislative justice is his requiring of his
rational creatures conformity in all respects to the moral law. His rectoral or
distributive justice is his dealing with his accountable creatures according to
the requirements of the law in rewarding or punishing them Ps 89:14 In
remunerative justice he distributes rewards Jas 1:12 2Ti 4:8 in vindictive or
punitive justice he inflicts punishment on account of transgression 2Th 1:6 He
cannot, as being infinitely righteous, do otherwise than regard and hate sin as
intrinsically hateful and deserving of punishment. "He cannot deny himself" 2Ti 2:13 His essential and
eternal righteousness immutably determines him to visit every sin as such with
merited punishment.
A forensic term, opposed to condemnation. As regards its
nature, it is the judicial act of God, by which he pardons all the sins of
those who believe in Christ, and accounts, accepts, and treats them as
righteous in the eye of the law, i.e., as conformed to all its demands. In
addition to the pardon (q.v.) of sin, justification declares that all the
claims of the law are satisfied in respect of the justified. It is the act of a
judge and not of a sovereign. The law is not relaxed or set aside, but is
declared to be fulfilled in the strictest sense; and so the person justified is
declared to be entitled to all the advantages and rewards arising from perfect
obedience to the law Ro 5:1-10 It proceeds on the imputing or crediting to the
believer by God himself of the perfect righteousness, active and passive, of
his Representative and Surety, Jesus Christ Ro 10:3-9 Justification is not the
forgiveness of a man without righteousness, but a declaration that he possesses
a righteousness which perfectly and for ever satisfies the law, namely,
Christ's righteousness 2Co 5:21 Ro 4:6-8 The sole condition on which this
righteousness is imputed or credited to the believer is faith in or on the Lord
Jesus Christ. Faith is called a "condition, "not because it possesses
any merit, but only because it is the instrument, the only instrument by which
the soul appropriates or apprehends Christ and his righteousness Ro 1:17
3:25,26 4:20-22 Php 3:8-11 Ga 2:16 The act of faith which thus secures our
justification secures also at the same time our sanctification (q.v.); and thus
the doctrine of justification by faith does not lead to licentiousness Ro 6:2-7
Good works, while not the ground, are the certain consequence of justification
Ro 6:14 7:6
See GALATIANS, EPISTLE TO
1. Another name for Joseph, surnamed Barsabas. He and
Matthias are mentioned only in Ac 1:23 "They must have been among the
earliest disciples of Jesus, and must have been faithful to the end; they must
have been well known and esteemed among the brethren. What became of them afterwards,
and what work they did, are entirely unknown" (Lindsay's Acts of the
Apostles).
2. A Jewish proselyte at Corinth, in whose house, next
door to the synagogue, Paul held meetings and preached after he left the
synagogue Ac 18:7
3. A Jewish Christian, called Jesus, Paul's only
fellow-labourer at Rome, where he wrote his Epistle to the Colossians Col 4:11
Extended, a Levitical city in the mountains or
hill-country of Judah Jos 15:55 21:16 Its modern name is Yutta, a place about 5
1/2 miles south of Hebron. It is supposed to have been the residence of
Zacharias and Elisabeth, and the birthplace of John the Baptist, and on this
account is annually visited by thousands of pilgrims belonging to the Greek
Church Lu 1:39
See MARY