New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters

Zondervan, Paul D. Gardner

• Publisher: Zondervan
• Year: 2015
• ISBN:
  9780310529507
• Topic: Théologie et religion
• Subtopic: Référence biblique

The New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters is a complete index of every person named in the Bible, from Aaron to Zurishadai.

Discover the roles that men and women—from the obscure to the famous to the infamous—have played in the unfolding story of Scripture. Entries range from one-line biblical references for minor characters to full-length articles that address the theological significance of over forty major figures.

With entries based on the New International Version?today's most read, most trusted Bible translation?this easy-to-use volume will help pastors, teachers, students, and church workers quickly and easily identify and understand the importance of every person in the Bible.

The New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters features contributions from top biblical scholars of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

In addition to the alphabetic name-entries, twenty supporting articles shed light on topics of particular interest and relevance, such as:

• Kings of Judah and Israel
• Women in the Bible
• Children in the Bible
• The Apostles
• Pharisees
• The Elderly in the Bible
• Angels in the Bible
• Jewish Genealogies

—ZONDERVAN'S UNDERSTAND THE BIBLE REFERENCE SERIES—

This four-volume series supplies users of today's most popular modern Bible translation, and New International Version, with scholarly, economical, and uncompromisingly evangelical study tools. It includes:

• New International Bible Commentary
• New International Encyclopedia of Bible Words
• New International Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties
• New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters

J

JAAKOBAH (Heb., 'protection'). A clan leader of the tribe of Simeon, mentioned in 1 Chron. 4:36.

JAALA was one of Solomon's servants whose descendants returned from the Exile in Babylon in company with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:56; Neh. 7:58).

JAARE-OREGIM The father of Elhanan, who was credited with killing 'Goliath the Gittite'. He came from Bethlehem (2 Sam. 21:19). For the problem of whether this was the same Goliath whom David killed, see Elhanan.

JAARESHIAH A son of Jeroham and clan leader. He was a Benjamite who lived in Jerusalem (1 Chron. 8:27).

JAASIEL (Heb., 'made by God').

1. Listed in 1 Chron. 11:47 as a 'Mezobaite', he was one of David's famous 'mighty men' who were valiant warriors.

2. The administrator over the tribal area of Benjamin and a leader of his tribe during the reign of King David. His father was Abner (1 Chron. 27:21). He may be the same as 1. above.

JAASU was among the descendants of Bani. At the time of return from the Exile in Babylon, Shecaniah confessed to Ezra that many men and even descendants of the priests of Judah had married wives from other tribes and nations. Ezra and the people repented and made a covenant to serve the LORD (Ezra 10:2). Jaasu is listed in Ezra 10:37 as one who divorced his foreign wife.

JAAZANIAH (Heb., 'God hears').

1. Jaazaniah and his family were tested by the prophet Jeremiah who brought them into a room and offered them wine to drink. They refused to drink the wine because their forefather, Jonadab son of Recab, had ordered them not to drink wine and to continue to live in tents. This, he had told them, would lead to blessings for their family. Their obedience to their forefather, seen in their refusal to drink the offered wine, was used by Jeremiah as a picture of the problem of the disobedience of the people of Judah and Jerusalem at the time of the Babylonian invasion. While the Recabites provided an example of long-term obedience, the people of Judah had not listened to the prophets and had not obeyed the LORD and were therefore being judged. On the other hand, the Recabites were promised that they would 'never fail to have a man to serve' the LORD (Jer. 35:3, 19).

2. A Maacathite army officer who gathered with other officers at Mizpah on hearing about the appointment of Gedaliah by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon. Gedaliah became governor of Judah (2 Kings 25:23; Jer. 40:8) and, until he was assassinated some time later, these officers supported him.

3. Jaazaniah son of Shaphan was one of 70 elders of Israel seen by Ezekiel in a vision. Each of the 70 had a censer in his hand and incense was rising (Ezek. 8:11). Jaazaniah was probably the most important, as he alone is mentioned by name. These elders were involved in very serious idolatry in the Temple, 'each at the shrine of his own idol' (v. 12). The vision was given by the LORD so that the prophet would understand the depth of sin and idolatry for which Judah was to be judged (vv. 17–18). God's judgment is thus seen to be just and righteous for it is poured out on those who continue to rebel and worship other gods.

4. Jaazaniah son of Azzur is mentioned in Ezek. 11:1 and was an elder of the Judean people. The LORD showed the prophet Ezekiel that this leader, together with 25 others, was to be judged and condemned for leading the people astray with false prophecies and giving wicked advice to those in Jerusalem. Apart from the fearful judgment that is always promised in the Scriptures for false prophets who lead people away from the LORD's will, Jaazaniah's judgment was also deserved because the elders had 'conformed to the standards of the nations around' (v. 12).

p.d.g.

JAAZIAH (Heb., 'the LORD strengthens'). One of the sons of Merari, a Levite clan leader, whose descendants are listed as serving in the Tabernacle in the time of King David (1 Chron. 24:26–27).

JAAZIEL (Heb., 'God strengthens'). After the ark of the covenant had been brought by David to Jerusalem, the worship of God was properly organized by King David. Jaaziel was one of the family of Merarite Levites who were gatekeepers. The particular job he and his brothers were given was to be musicians and to play the harps and lyres before the ark of the covenant as it was moved to Jerusalem (1 Chron. 15:18, 20; in v. 20 he is called Aziel).

JABAL was the first son born to Lamech and Adah (Gen. 4:20). He was the earliest nomad mentioned in Scripture: 'the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock'.

JABESH (Heb., 'dry'). The father of Shallum. Towards the end of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Shallum killed King Zechariah and took the throne by force. He, in turn, was assassinated by Menahem after only one month in power in Samaria (2 Kings 15:10, 13–14). The phrase 'Shallum son of Jabesh' could possibly indicate that Jabesh was the town from which Shallum came.

JABEZ The tribe of Judah was extending its life through the generations (1 Chron. 4:1–8), unconsciously making its way towards the crown of its existence (Heb. 7:14), when one man, making his only appearance in Scripture, achieved distinction because he prayed (1 Chron. 4:9–10). He discovered that ordinary, personal everyday needs can be brought to God: he 'cried out' and 'God granted his request'. Often in the Bible names must be taken seriously for, given seriously (as in this case, reflecting the circumstances of his birth) or thoughtlessly, they can become indexes of the person concerned. 'Jabez' means 'pain, sorrow' and he seems to have lived in dread that his name would be prophetic, a case of coming events casting their shadow before them. So he prayed about it and God granted his request. It was an inherited problem but prayer solved it. Jabez was also aware of material need: for some reason he needed more land and prayer solved this too: 'God granted his request'. All our needs - however this-worldly - are God's concerns. In addition, Jabez knew that he needed God to be with him and so he prayed 'Let your hand be with me' - the personal presence of God in power - and this also 'God granted'. 'We do not have because we do not ask' (James 4:2).

j.a.m.

JABIN (Heb., 'intelligent, discerning'). This word is possibly a royal title (similar to the Egyptian word 'Pharaoh').

1. A king of Hazor, the major city in northern Palestine, who led an alliance of princes against Joshua (Josh. 11:1–12). But the LORD showed Joshua how to take the coalition by surprise, and Jabin was defeated at the waters of Merom. His city was taken and burned, and then he was slain.

2. Another king of Hazor (called 'king of Cannan' in Judg. 4:2) who 'cruelly oppressed' the Israelites for 20 years during the time of the Judges because of their idolatry (see Judges). Deborah and Barak defeated Sisera, Jabin's general and freed the Israelites from his tyranny (Judg. 4:2–24). Deborah sang praises to God for this great victory (Judg. 5), which is mentioned again in Ps. 83:9.

p.d.w.

JACAN A clan leader who was head of one of the seven Gadite clans settled in the area of Gilead and Bashan (1 Chron. 5:13).

JACOB

His birth (Gen. 25:21–34; 27:1–45)

Jacob was born in answer to prayer (Gen. 25:21) and on the wings of a promise (vv. 22–23). Did Isaac and Rebekah share the terms of this promise with the twins as they grew up? Did they let them know from the earliest days that according to the will of God 'the older will serve the younger'? They should have done, but the evidence suggests that they did not - for, as things turned out, the mode of Jacob's birth ('grasping', Gen. 25:26) and the name they gave him (Jacob, 'the heel-gripper') was for a long time the hallmark of his character - an opportunist, seizing the advantage by fair means and foul. Furthermore, Rebekah herself, faced with the possibility that Esau might achieve pre-eminence, did not resort to trust in the divine promise, but to her own form of unscrupulous opportunism (Gen. 27:5–17), and in this case it was 'like mother, like son'.

Esau was a bluff, easy-going activist, taking nothing very seriously and greatly given to an exaggerated demand for instant living. Jacob saw his chance. Esau returned from a day's hunting with roaring appetite and Jacob had the house filled with the aroma of a rich casserole. To Esau it was 'no contest' to hand over his rights as firstborn in return for a dinner- and one can see Jacob's quiet smile of satisfaction in a job well done (Gen. 25:27–34)!

The patriarchal family was the repository of the LORD's blessing for the world (see 'Abraham', Gen. 12:2–3) and the traumatic experience of Gen. 22:1–18 must have impressed this blessing on Isaac. When, therefore, he sensed his approaching death (Gen. 27:1–2) - quite mistakenly, as is not unusual with the elderly (Gen. 35:27–29) - it was a matter of supreme importance to secure the transmission of the blessing. What tragedies would be avoided if only we would live in clear consciousness of the promises and the word of God! Rebekah felt it was incumbent on her to engineer the fulfilment of the promise made at the twins' birth, Isaac plainly forgot it altogether. A dreadful deceit was perpetrated, with Rebekah corrupting that positive approach which was such a charming mark of her girlhood (Gen. 24:57) and Jacob fearing discovery rather than the sin he was committing (Gen. 27:12). The consequences were enmity between the twins (Gen. 27:41), Rebekah's loss of her dear Jacob (Gen. 25:28; 27–45), never in fact to see him again on earth, and Jacob's exchange of a secure home for an unknown future (Gen. 28:1–2, 10).

A deal with God (Gen. 28:1–22)

No sooner had Jacob begun to feel the desolation he had brought on himself than the LORD came to him with reassurances. For even though Jacob had wangled his way into the divine promise the LORD did not depart from his declared purpose. Much of the rest of the story of Jacob centres on this tension between the purpose of God to bless and the determination of Jacob to succeed by his own astuteness. The NIV margin is possibly nearer the meaning than NIV text when if offers 'There beside him' (Gen. 28:13), for the Bethel-blessing was 'I am with you ... I will not leave you' (v. 15) and this suggests that the ladder is a picture of God descending to be with the man to whom he makes his promises (vv. 13–14). It was...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• Introduction
• Contributors
• A
• B
• C
• D
• E
• F
• G
• H
• I
• J
• K
• L
• M
• N
• O
• P
• Q
• R
• S
• T
• U
• V
• W
• X
• Z