in the cave of Machpelah, with Abraham and Isaac, and, “gathering his
feet into the bed, he yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his
people,” Gen. xlix, 33. Joseph, having closed the eyes of his father,
and wept over him, commanded the physicians to embalm the body. After a
general mourning of seventy days, he solicited the king’s permission to
go with the remains of Jacob into Canaan, to which Pharaoh consented;
and with Joseph went up all the state officers and principal nobility of
Egypt, so that when they came to the place of interment, the Canaanites
were astonished, and said, “This is a grievous mourning to the
Egyptians,” Gen. l, 1–11.
JACOBITES, a denomination of eastern Christians, who first made their
appearance in the fifth century, and were called Monophysites. Jacob
Albardai, or Baradæus, who flourished about A. D. 530, restored the
sect, then almost expiring, to its former vigour, and modelled it anew;
and hence from him they obtained the name of Jacobites. See HYPOSTATICAL
UNION.
JACOB’s WELL, or fountain, a well near Shechem, at which our Saviour
conversed with the woman of Samaria, John iv, 12. Jacob dwelt near this
place, before his sons slew the inhabitants of Shechem. If any thing,
says Dr. E. D. Clarke, connected with the remembrance of past ages be
calculated to awaken local enthusiasm, the land around this city is
preëminently entitled to consideration. The sacred story of events
transacted in the fields of Sichem, Gen. xxxvii, from our earliest
years, is remembered with delight; but with the territory before our
eyes, where those events took place, and in the view of objects existing
as they were described above three thousand years ago, the grateful
impression kindles into ecstacy. Along the valley may still be seen, as
in the days of Reuben and Judah, “a company of Ishmaelites coming from
Gilead, with their camels bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh,” who
would gladly purchase another Joseph of his brethren, and convey him as
a slave to some Potiphar in Egypt. Upon the hills around, flocks and
herds are seen feeding as of old; nor in the simple garb of the
shepherds of Samaria, at this day, is there any thing repugnant to the
notions we may entertain of the appearance formerly presented by the
sons of Jacob. In the time of Alexander the Great, Sichem, or Napolose,
as it is now called, was considered as the capital of Samaria. Its
inhabitants were called Samaritans, not merely as people of Samaria, but
as a sect at variance with the Jews; and they have continued to maintain
their peculiar tenets to this day. The inhabitants, according to
Procopius, were much favoured by the Emperor Justinian, who restored
their sanctuaries, and added largely to the edifices of the city. The
principal object of veneration among them is Jacob’s well, over which a
church was formerly erected. This is situated at a small distance from
the town in the road to Jerusalem, and has been visited by pilgrims of
all ages, but particularly since the Christian era, as the place where
Christ revealed himself to the woman of Samaria. The spot is so
distinctly marked by the evangelist, John iv, and so little liable to
uncertainty from the circumstance of the well itself, and the features
of the country, that, if no tradition existed to identify it, the site
of it could scarcely be mistaken. Perhaps no Christian scholar ever read
the fourth chapter of St. John’s Gospel attentively, without being
struck with the numerous internal evidences of truth which crowd upon
the mind in its perusal. Within so small a compass, it is impossible to
find in other writings so many sources of reflection and of interest.
Independently of its importance as a theological document, it
concentrates so much information, that a volume might be filled with the
illustration it reflects upon the history of the Jews, and upon the
geography of their country. All that can be gathered from Josephus on
these subjects seems to be as a comment to illustrate this chapter. The
journey of our Lord from Judea into Galilee; the cause of it; his
passage through the territory of Samaria; his approach to the metropolis
of that country; its name; his arrival at the Amorite field, which
terminates the narrow valley of Sichem; the ancient custom of halting at
a well; the female employment of drawing water; the disciples sent into
the city for food, by which its situation out of the town is so
obviously implied; the question of the woman referring to existing
prejudices which separated the Jews from the Samaritans; the depth of
the well; the oriental allusion contained in the expression, “living
water;” the history of the well, and the customs illustrated by it; the
worship upon Mount Gerizim:--all these occur within the space of twenty
verses; and if to these be added that remarkable circumstance mentioned
in the fifty-first verse of the chapter, where it is stated that “as he
was now going _down_, his servants met him,” his whole route from Cana
being a continual _descent_ toward Capernaum, we may consider it as a
record, signally confirmed in its veracity by circumstances which remain
in indelible character, to give them evidence, to this day.
JAH, one of the names of God, which we meet with in the composition of
many Hebrew words; as, _Adonijah_, _Allelujah_, _Malachiah_; that is,
“My Lord,” Praise the Lord,” “The Lord is my King.”
JAIR, of the family of Manasseh. He possessed a large canton beyond
Jordan; the whole country of Argob, as far as the borders of Geshur and
Maachathi, Judges x, 3. He succeeded Tola in the judicature or
government of the Israelites, and was himself succeeded by Jephthah. His
government continued twenty-two years; from A. M. 2795 to 2817. Jair had
thirty sons, who rode on asses, and were lords or governors of thirty
towns, called Havoth-jair. He was buried at Camon beyond Jordan.
JAMES, Ἰάκωβος, of the same import as Jacob. James, surnamed the greater
or, the elder, to distinguish him from James the younger, was brother to
John the evangelist, and son to Zebedee and Salome, Matt. iv, 21. He was
of Bethsaida, in Galilee, and left all to follow Christ. Salome
requested our Saviour, that her two sons, James and John, might sit at
his right hand, when he should be in possession of his kingdom. Our
Saviour answered, that it belonged to his heavenly Father alone to
dispose of these places of honour, Matt. xx, 21. Before their vocation,
James and John followed the trade of fishermen with their father
Zebedee; and they did not quit their profession till our Saviour called
them, Mark i, 18, 19. They were witnesses of our Lord’s transfiguration,
Matt. xvii, 2. When certain Samaritans refused to admit Jesus Christ,
James and John wished for fire from heaven to consume them, Luke ix, 54;
and for this reason, it is thought, the name of Boanerges, or sons of
thunder, was given them. Some days after the resurrection of our
Saviour, James and John went to fish in the sea of Tiberias, where they
saw Jesus. They were present at the ascension of our Lord. St. James is
said to have preached to all the dispersed tribes of Israel; but for
this there is only report. His martyrdom is related, Acts xii, 1, 2,
about A. D. 42, or 44, for the date is not well ascertained. Herod
Agrippa, king of the Jews, and grandson of Herod the Great, caused him
to be seized and executed at Jerusalem. Clemens Alexandrinus informs us,
that he who brought St. James before the judges was so much affected
with his constancy in confessing Jesus Christ, that he also declared
himself a Christian, and was condemned, as well as the Apostle, to be
beheaded.
JAMES THE LESS, surnamed the brother of our Lord, Gal. i, 19, was the
son of Cleophas, otherwise called Alpheus, and Mary, sister to the
blessed virgin; consequently, he was cousin-german to Jesus Christ. He
was surnamed the Just, on account of the admirable holiness and purity
of his life. He is said to have been a priest, and to have observed the
laws of the Nazarites from his birth. Our Saviour appeared to James the
less, eight days after his resurrection, 1 Cor. xv, 7. He was at
Jerusalem, and was considered as a pillar of the church, when St. Paul
first came thither after his conversion, Gal. i, 19, A. D. 37. In the
council of Jerusalem, held in the year 51, St. James gave his vote last;
and the result of the council was principally formed from what St. James
said, who, though he observed the ceremonies of the law, and was careful
that others should observe them, was of opinion, that such a yoke was
not to be imposed on the faithful converted from among the Heathens,
Acts xv, 13, &c.
James the less was a person of great prudence and discretion, and was
highly esteemed by the Apostles and other Christians. Such, indeed, was
his general reputation for piety and virtue, that, as we learn, from
Origen, Eusebius, and Jerom, Josephus thought, and declared it to be the
common opinion, that the sufferings of the Jews, and the destruction of
their city and temple, were owing to the anger of God, excited by the
murder of James. This must be considered as a strong and remarkable
testimony to the character of this Apostle, as it is given by a person
who did not believe that Jesus was the Christ. The passages of Josephus,
referred to by those fathers upon this subject, are not found in his
works now extant.
JAMES, GENERAL EPISTLE OF. Clement of Rome and Hermas allude to this
epistle; and it is quoted by Origen, Eusebius, Athanasius, Jerom,
Chrysostom, Augustine, and many other fathers. But though the antiquity
of this epistle had been always undisputed, some few formerly doubted
its right to be admitted into the canon. Eusebius says, that in his time
it was generally, though not universally, received as canonical; and
publicly read in most, but not in all, churches; and Estius affirms,
that after the fourth century, no church or ecclesiastical writer is
found who ever doubted its authenticity; but that, on the contrary, it
is included in all subsequent catalogues of canonical Scripture, whether
published by councils, churches, or individuals. It has, indeed, been
the uniform tradition of the church, that this epistle was written by
James the Just; but it was not universally admitted till after the
fourth century, that James the Just was the same person as James the
less, one of the twelve Apostles; that point being ascertained, the
canonical authority of this epistle was no longer doubted. It is evident
that this epistle could not have been written by James the elder, for he
was beheaded by Herod Agrippa in the year 44, and the errors and vices
reproved in this epistle show it to be of a much later date; and the
destruction of Jerusalem is also here spoken of as being very near at
hand, James v, 8, 9. It has always been considered as a circumstance
very much in favour of this epistle, that it is found in the Syriac
version, which was made as early as the end of the first century, and
for the particular use of converted Jews,--the very description of
persons to whom it was originally addressed. Hence we infer, that it was
from the first acknowledged by those for whose instruction it was
intended; and “I think,” says Dr. Doddridge, “it can hardly be doubted
but they were better judges of the question of its authenticity than the
Gentiles, to whom it was not written; among whom, therefore, it was not
likely to be propagated so early; and who at first might be prejudiced
against it, because it was inscribed to the Jews.”
The immediate design of this epistle was to animate the Jewish
Christians to support with fortitude and patience any sufferings to
which they might be exposed, and to enforce the genuine doctrine and
practice of the Gospel, in opposition to the errors and vices which then
prevailed among them. St. James begins by showing the benefits of trials
and afflictions, and by assuring the Jewish Christians that God would
listen to their sincere prayers for assistance and support; he reminds
them of their being the distinguished objects of divine favour, and
exhorts them to practical religion; to a just and impartial regard for
the poor, and to a uniform obedience to all the commands of God, without
any distinction or exception; he shows the inefficacy of faith without
works, that is, unless followed by moral duties; he inculcates the
necessity of a strict government of the tongue, and cautions them
against censoriousness, strife, malevolence, pride, indulgence of their
sensual passions, and rash judgment; he denounces threats against those
who make an improper use of riches; he intimates the approaching
destruction of Jerusalem; and concludes with exhortations to patience,
devotion, and a solicitous concern for the salvation of others. This
epistle is written with great perspicuity and energy, and it contains an
excellent summary of those practical duties and moral virtues which are
required of Christians. Although the author wrote to the Jews dispersed
throughout the world, yet the state of his native land passed more
immediately before his eyes. Its final overthrow was approaching; and
oppressions, factions, and violent scenes troubled all ranks, and
involved some professing Christians in suffering, others in guilt.
JANNES and JAMBRES, or, as Pliny calls them, Jamne and Jotape, two
magicians, who resisted Moses in Egypt, 2 Tim. iii, 8. He speaks,
likewise, of the faction or sect of magicians, of which, he says, Moses,
Jannes, and Jocabel, or Jopata, were heads. By this last word he meant
probably the patriarch Joseph, whom the Egyptians considered as one of
their most celebrated sages. The Mussulmans have several particulars to
the same purpose. The paraphrast Jonathan says they were the sons of
Balaam, who accompanied him to Balak, king of Moab. They are called by
several names in several translations; by the Septuagint, φαρμακοὶ,
_poisoners_, and ἐπαοιδοὶ, _enchanters_; by Sulpitius Severus,
_Chaldæans_, that is, astrologers; by others, _sapientes_ and
_malefici_, wise men, that is, so esteemed among the Egyptians,
philosophers, and witches. Artapanus tells us, that Pharaoh sent for
magicians from Upper Egypt to oppose Moses. Ambrosiaster, or Hilary, the
deacon, says they were brothers. He cites a book entitled “Jannes and
Mambres,” which is likewise quoted by Origen, and ranked as apocryphal
by Pope Gelasius. Some of the Hebrews call them Janes and Jambres;
others, Jochana and Mamré, or Jonas and Jombros. Jerom translates their
names Johannes and Mambres; and there is a tradition, they say, in the
Talmud, that Juhanni and Mamré, chief of Pharaoh’s physicians, said to
Moses, “Thou bringest straw into Egypt where abundance of corn grew;”
that is, to bring your magical arts hither is to as much purpose as to
bring water to the Nile. Some say their names are the same as John and
Ambrose. Some will have it that they fled away with their father;
others, that they were drowned in the Red Sea with the Egyptians;
others, that they were killed by Phinehas in the war against the
Midianites. Numenius, cited by Aristobulus, says that Jannes and Jambres
were sacred scribes of the Egyptians, who excelled in magic at the time
when the Jews were driven out of Egypt. See PLAGUES OF EGYPT.
JANSENISTS, a denomination of Roman Catholics in France, which was
formed in the year 1640. They follow the opinions of Jansenius, bishop
of Ypres, from whose writings the following propositions are said to
have been extracted:--1. That there are divine precepts which good men,
notwithstanding their desire to observe them, are, nevertheless,
absolutely unable to obey; nor has God given them that measure of grace
which is essentially necessary to render them capable of such obedience.
2. That no person, in this corrupt state of nature, can resist the
influence of divine grace, when it operates upon the mind. 3. That, in
order to render human actions meritorious, it is not requisite that they
be exempt from necessity; but that they be free from constraint. 4. That
the Semi-Pelagians err greatly, in maintaining that the human will is
endowed with the power of either receiving or resisting the aids and
influences of preventing grace. 5. That whoever affirms that Jesus
Christ made expiation, by his sufferings and death, for the sins of
_all_ mankind, is a Semi-Pelagian. Of these propositions, Pope Innocent
X. condemned the first four as heretical, and the last as rash and
impious. But he did this without asserting that these were the doctrines
of Jansenius, or even naming him; which did not satisfy his adversaries,
nor silence him. The next pope, however, Alexander VII. was more
particular, and determined the said propositions to be the doctrines of
Jansenius; which excited no small trouble in the Gallican church.
This denomination was also distinguished from many of the Roman
Catholics, by their maintaining that the Holy Scriptures and public
liturgies should be given to the people in their mother tongue; and they
consider it as a matter of importance to inculcate upon all Christians,
that true piety does not consist in the performance of external
devotions, but in inward holiness and divine love.
As to Jansenius, it must be confessed that he was more diligent in the
search of truth, than courageous in its defence. It is said that he read
through the whole of St. Augustine’s works ten, and some parts thirty,
times. From these he made a number of _excerpta_, [extracts,] which he
collected in his book called “_Augustinus_.” This he had not the courage
to publish; but it was printed after his death, and from it his enemies,
the Jesuits, extracted the propositions above named; but the correctness
and fidelity of their extracts may be justly questioned. Jansenius
himself, undoubtedly, held the opinions of Calvin on unconditional
election, though he seems to have been reserved in avowing them.
The Jansenists of Port Royal may be denominated the evangelical party of
the Catholic church: among their number were the famous Father Quesnel,
Pierre Nicole, Pascal, De Sacy, Duguet, and Arnauld; the last of whom is
styled by Boileau, “the most learned mortal that ever lived.” They
consecrated all their great powers to the service of the cross; and for
their attachment to the grand article of the Protestant
reformation,--justification by faith, with other capital doctrines, they
suffered the loss of all things. The Jesuits, their implacable enemies,
never ceased until they prevailed upon their sovereign, Louis XIV. to
destroy the abbey of Port Royal, and banish its inhabitants. It must be
confessed, however, that all the Jansenists were not like the eminent
men whom we have just mentioned; and even these were tinged with
enthusiasm and superstition. Some of them even pretended to work
miracles, by which their cause was greatly injured.
JAPHETH, the son of Noah, who is commonly named the third in order of
Noah’s sons, was born in the five hundredth year of that patriarch,
Genesis v, 32; but Moses, Genesis x, 21, says expressly he was the
oldest of Noah’s sons, according to our translation, and those of the
Septuagint and Symmachus. Abraham was named the first of Terah’s sons,
“not from primogeniture, but from preëminence,” as the father of the
faithful, and the illustrious ancestor of the Israelites, and of the
Jews, whose “seed was Christ,” according to the flesh; with whose
history the Old Testament properly commences: “Now these are the
generations of Terah,” &c, Gen. xi, 27; all the preceding parts of
Genesis being only introductory to this. By the same analogy, Shem, the
second son of Noah, is placed first of his three sons, Gen. v, 32, and
Japheth, “the eldest,” last. Compare Gen. x, 21; xi, 20. Thus Isaac is
put before Ishmael, though fourteen years younger, 1 Chron. i, 28. And
Solomon, the eldest, is reckoned the last of Bathsheba’s children, 1
Chron. iii, 5.
Japheth signifies _enlargement_; and how wonderfully did Providence
enlarge the boundaries of Japheth! His posterity diverged eastward and
westward; from the original settlement in Armenia, through the whole
extent of Asia, north of the great range of Taurus, distinguished by the
general names of Tartary and Siberia, as far as the Eastern Ocean: and
in process of time, by an easy passage across Behring’s straits, the
entire continent of America; and they spread in the opposite direction,
throughout the whole of Europe, to the Atlantic Ocean; thus literally
encompassing the earth, within the precincts of the northern temperate
zone. While the enterprising and warlike genius of this hardy hunter
race frequently led them to encroach on the settlements, and to dwell in
“the tents of Shem,” whose pastoral occupations rendered them more
inactive, peaceable, and unwarlike; as when the Scythians invaded Media,
and overran western Asia southwards, as far as Egypt, in the days of
Cyaxares; and when the Greeks, and afterward the Romans, subdued the
Assyrians, Medes, and Persians, in the east, and the Scythians and Jews
in the south, as foretold by the Assyrian Prophet Balaam:
“And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim,
And shall afflict the Assyrians, and afflict the Hebrews;
But he [the invader] shall perish himself at last.”
Numb. xxiv, 24.
And by Moses: “And the Lord shall bring thee [the Jews] into Egypt [or
bondage] again with ships,” &c, Deut. xxviii, 28. And by Daniel: “For
the ships of Chittim shall come against him” [Antiochus, king of Syria,]
Dan. xi, 30.
In these passages Chittim denotes the southern coasts of Europe,
bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, called the “isles of the Gentiles,”
Gen. x, 5. And, in later times, the Tartars in the east have repeatedly
invaded and subdued the Hindoos and Chinese; while the warlike and
enterprising genius of the British isles has spread their colonies,
their arms, their arts, and their language, and, in some measure, their
religion, from the rising to the setting sun.
The sons of Japheth were Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech, and
Tiras. The Scripture says, that they peopled the isles of the Gentiles,
and settled in different countries, each according to his language,
family, and people, Genesis x, 5. It is supposed that Gomer peopled
Galatia, and that from him the Cimmerians, or Cimbrians, and also the
Phrygians, derived their origin; that Magog was the father of the
Scythians, and Tartars, or Tatars; that Madai was the progenitor of the
Medes, though some make him the founder of a people in Macedonia, called
Macdi; that from Javan sprung the Ionians and Greeks; that Tubal was the
father of the Iberians, and that at least a part of Spain was peopled by
him and his descendants; that Meshech was the founder of the
Cappadocians, from whom proceeded the Muscovites, or Russians; and that
from Tiras the Thracians derived their origin. Japheth was known, by
profane authors, under the name of Japetus. The poets make him father of
heaven and earth. The Greeks believed that Japheth was the father of
their race, and acknowledged nothing more ancient than him.
JAR, the Hebrew month which answers to our April. It consisted but of
twenty-nine days.
JASPER, ישפה, Exod. xxviii, 20; xxxix, 13; and Ezek. xxviii, 13; ἴασπις,
Rev. iv, 3, and xxi, 11, 18, 19. The Greek and Latin name, _jaspis_, as
well as the English jasper, is plainly derived from the Hebrew, and
leaves little room to doubt what species of gem is meant by the original
word. The jasper is usually defined, a hard stone, of a bright,
beautiful, green colour; sometimes clouded with white, and spotted with
red or yellow.