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Jabin is a Biblical name meaning 'discerner', or 'the wise'. It may refer to:
(Hebrew"holds the heel"),
According to the Book of Mormon narrative, Jacob was born in the wilderness during his father Lehi's journey from Jerusalem to the promised land (the Americas - the actual landmasses of North America and South America [NOT to be confused with the "promised land" that was promised by God, according to the Hebrew Bible, to the Israelites.] ) sometime between 600 B.C. and 592 B.C. Jacob and his family eventually traveled to the Americas via boat constructed by his brother, Nephi. Jacob went on to be a righteous leader, and succeeded Nephi as prophet to the Nephites. Jacob is the author of the Book of Jacob in the Book of Mormon. Jacob (Book of Mormon prophet) Teachings Three sermons of Jacob are recorded in the Book of Mormon. In them, Jacob gives clear explanation of core LDS doctrines—including the salvation through Christ of those ignorant of God's commandments—and stances definitively against racism and against practices including polygamy, except when specifically commanded by the Lord. The first sermon is the longest in the LDS Standard Works, and draws on Isaiah's teachings to invite individuals and nations to return from rejecting Christ and receive His mercies. He clarifies sin as knowing God's commandments and doing otherwise, and offers the generous doctrine that "where there is no law given there is no punishment [,] no condemnation[,] and the mercies of the Holy One of Israel have claim upon them, because of the atonement; for they are delivered by the power of him." In his second sermon, Jacob decries greed and lust. He upends racist Nephite self-righteousness, saying of the Lamanites, who were ignorant of the finer points of the law, "their husbands love their wives, and their wives love their husbands; and their husbands and their wives love their children" and prophesies that the Lord would be merciful to the Lamanites because of their righteousness in this regard. He explained the Lord's standard of sexual purity as "that they should have save it were one wife, and concubines they should have none, and there should not be whoredoms committed among them" unless directed by God via revelation for the purpose of "rais[ing] up seed unto me".
In Jacob's third sermon, Jacob
quotes an allegory of the scattering and gathering of Israel (see
Parable of the Olive Tree), which he attributes to another prophet,
Zenos. In it, what may have been perceived as the Lord's punishment
is re-framed as the Lord's devoted effort to save His original
covenant people, as well as to spread his covenant and the blessings
that accompany it, to all other nations. Christ is seen as a
mediator, calling on the Master of the Vineyard to forebear casting
the wicked "into the fire", saying instead "Let us
prune it, and dig about it, and nourish it a little longer".
Lest the Lord of the Vineyard's mercy be questioned, the allegory
later records that "the Lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto
the servant: What could I have done more for my vineyard?. . .
Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it? Nay, I have
nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I
have dunged it; and I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the
day long, and the end draweth nigh. And it grieveth me that I should
hew down all the trees of my vineyard, and cast them into the fire
that they should be burned."
Jacob is the third Biblical Patriarch. Jacob was the son of Isaac with Rebekah, the twin brother of Esau, and grandson of Abraham. Jacob played a major part in some of the later events in The Book of Genesis. He was born probably at Lahai-roi, when his father was fifty-nine and Abraham one hundred and fifty-nine years old. Like his father, he was of a quiet and gentle disposition, and when he grew up followed the life of a shepherd, while his brother Esau became an enterprising hunter. His dealing with Esau, however, showed much mean selfishness and cunning (Gen. 25:29-34). When Isaac was about 160 years of age, Jacob and his mother conspired to deceive the aged patriarch (Gen. 27), with the view of procuring the transfer of the birthright to himself. The birthright secured to him who possessed it; 1.superior rank in his family (Gen. 49:3) 2.a double portion of the paternal inheritance (Deut. 21:17) 3.the priestly office in the family (Num. 8:17-19) 4.the promise of the Seed in which all nations of the earth were to be blessed (Gen. 22:18). Soon after his acquisition of his father's blessing (Gen. 27), Jacob became conscious of his guilt; and afraid of the anger of Esau, at the suggestion of Rebekah Isaac sent him away to Haran, 400 miles or more, to find a wife among his cousins, the family of Laban, the Syrian (Gen. 28). There he met with Rachel (Gen. 29). Laban would not consent to give him his daughter in marriage till he had served seven years; but to Jacob these years "seemed but a few days, for the love he had to her." But when the seven years were expired, Laban craftily deceived Jacob, and gave him his daughter Leah. Other seven years of service had to be completed probably before he obtained the beloved Rachel. But "life-long sorrow, disgrace, and trials, in the retributive providence of God, followed as a consequence of this double union." At the close of the fourteen years of service, Jacob desired to return to his parents, but at the entreaty of Laban he tarried yet six years with him, tending his flocks (31:41). He then set out with his family and property "to go to Isaac his father in the land of Canaan" (Gen. 31). Laban was angry when he heard that Jacob had set out on his journey, and pursued after him, overtaking him in seven days. The meeting was of a painful kind. After much recrimination and reproach directed against Jacob, Laban is at length pacified, and taking an affectionate farewell of his daughters, returns to his home in Padanaram. And now all connection of the Israelites with Mesopotamia is at an end. Soon after parting with Laban he is met by a company of angels, as if to greet him on his return and welcome him back to the Land of Promise (32:1-2). He called the name of the place Mahanaim, i.e., "the double camp," probably his own camp and that of the angels. The vision of angels was the counterpart of that he had formerly seen at Bethel, when, twenty years before, the weary, solitary traveller, on his way to Padan-aram, saw the angels of God ascending and descending on the ladder whose top reached to heaven (28:12). He now hears with dismay of the approach of his brother Esau with a band of 400 men to meet him. In great agony of mind he prepares for the worst. He feels that he must now depend only on God, and he betakes himself to him in earnest prayer, and sends on before him a munificent present to Esau, "a present to my lord Esau from thy servant Jacob." Jacob's family were then transported across the Jabbok; but he himself remained behind, spending the night in communion with God. While thus engaged, there appeared one in the form of a man who wrestled with him. In this mysterious contest Jacob prevailed, and as a memorial of it his name was changed to Israel (wrestler with God); and the place where this occured he called Peniel, "for", said he, "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved" (32:25-31). After this anxious night, Jacob went on his way, halting, mysteriously weakened by the conflict, but strong in the assurance of the divine favor. Esau came forth and met him; but his spirit of revenge was appeased, and the brothers met as friends, and during the remainder of their lives they maintained friendly relations. After a brief sojourn at Succoth, Jacob moved forward and pitched his tent near Shechem (q.v.), 33:18; but at length, under divine directions, he moved to Bethel, where he made an altar unto God (35:6-7), and where God appeared to him and renewed the Abrahamic covenant. While journeying from Bethel to Ephrath (the Canaanitish name of Bethlehem), Rachel died in giving birth to her second son Benjamin (35:16-20), fifteen or sixteen years after the birth of Joseph. He then reached the old family residence at Mamre, to wait on the dying bed of his father Isaac. The complete reconciliation between Esau and Jacob was shown by their uniting in the burial of the patriarch (35:27-29). Jacob was soon after this deeply grieved by the loss of his beloved son Joseph through the jealousy of his brothers (37:33). Then follows the story of the famine, and the successive goings down into Egypt to buy corn (42), which led to the discovery of the long-lost Joseph, and the patriarch's going down with all his household, numbering about seventy souls (Ex. 1:5; Deut. 10:22; Acts 7:14), to sojourn in the land of Goshen. Here Jacob, "after being strangely tossed about on a very rough ocean, found at last a tranquil harbor, where all the best affections of his nature were gently exercised and largely unfolded" (Gen. 48). At length the end of his checkered course draws nigh, and he summons his sons to his bedside that he may bless them. Among his last words he repeats the story of Rachel's death, although forty years had passed away since that event took place, as tenderly as if it had happened only yesterday; and when "he had made an end of charging his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost" (49:33). His body was embalmed and carried with great pomp into the land of Canaan, and buried beside his wife Leah in the cave of Machpelah, according to his dying charge. There, probably, his embalmed body remains to this day (50:1-13). The history of Jacob is referred to by the prophets Hosea (12:3-4, 12) and Malachi (1:2). In Micah 1:5 the name is a poetic synonym for Israel, the kingdom of the ten tribes. There are, besides the mention of his name along with those of the other patriarchs, distinct references to events of his life in Paul's epistles (Rom. 9:11-13; Hebrews 12:16; 11:21). See references to his vision at Bethel and his possession of land at Shechem in John 1:51; 4:5, 12; also to the famine which was the occasion of his going down into Egypt in Acts 7:12 Relatives
Grandfather: Abraham
A later man named Jacob was the
father of Joseph, the foster-father of Jesus Christ (Matthew
1:15-16). Nothing more is known about him.
Jah-Havah, Ja-Heva, Jah-Hovah.
Also Jah-Eve, etc. Western Qabbalist term designating Jah or Yah as
the masculine aspect and Hovah (or Eve) as the feminine aspect of
Jehovah: the two when joined forming an androgynous being; it also
refers to the time when humanity was androgynous, later separating
into sexes.
Jah Hovah "Jair the Gileadite came after him (Tola) and judged Israel twenty-two years. He had thirty sons who rode on thirty saddle-asses and possessed thirty cities in the land of Gilead; these are called Havvoth-jair to the present day. Jair died and was buried in Kamon."(Judges 10:3-5).
That's all the Bible says about
Jair, the eigth Judge of Israel.
Of the brothers, the next oldest after Jesus was James (Matt. 13:55-56; Mark 6:3). Other verses which indicate the existence of Mary and Joseph's other children: Matthew 1:25; 12:47; Luke 2:7; John 2:12; Acts 1:14. The Bible reveals that there was some initial skepticism in Christ's family about his ministry (Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21; John 7:5). This later changed when James witnessed the fact of his brother's resurrection from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:7). James personally talked to Jesus after his resurrection (1 Cor. 15:7). James became a strong believer and follower of Jesus, and the leader of the Jerusalem church (1 Corinthians 9:5; Galatians 2:9). In Galatians 1:19, Paul referred to James as an apostle, like himself. James also endorsed Paul's ministry (Galatians 2:1-10). James presided over the council held to decide whether the Gentile Christians should follow the rules of the Jews (Acts 12:17; 15:13-29: 21:18-24).
Note: Jesus' other brothers
apparently became missionaries (1 Corinthians 9:5). James Hastings was a Scottish Presbyterian minister and biblical scholar. He was born in Huntly, Aberdeenshire. Hastings studied the classics at the University of Aberdeen, attended the Free Church Divinity College in Aberdeen, and was ordained a Free Church minister in 1884. He was founder and editor of the Expository Times. James Hastings Works (as editor)
James Hudson See James
Thompson
James The Great See James,
son of Zebedee James the Less is a figure of early Christianity. He is also called "the minor", "the little", "the lesser", or "the younger", according to translation. James the Less is almost universally identified with James, son of Alphaeus, one of the TwelveApostles. The title, "the Less", is used to differentiate James from other people named James. Since it means that he is either the younger or shorter of two, he seems to be compared to one other James. In the lists of the twelve apostles in the synoptic Gospels, there are two apostles called James, who are differentiated there by their fathers: James, son of Zebedee, and James, son of Alphaeus. Long-standing tradition identifies James, the son of Alphaeus, as James the Less. James, son of Zebedee, is then called "James the Great", which is not a name found anywhere in the New Testament. If James the Less is neither James, the son of Alphaeus, whom some propose was the same man as Cleophas or at least the husband of Mary Clopas, nor James the Just, then the only fact known about him is that his mother is named Mary. He is often confused with James the Great and may or may not be James the Just.
For more information on these
possible identities, see Saint James, son of Alphaeus was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. He is often identified with James the Less and commonly known by that name in church tradition. James, the son of Alphaeus, is rarely mentioned in the New Testament, but he is sometimes identified with James the Just, an important leader in the New Testament church. He is clearly distinguished from James, son of Zebedee, another one of the Twelve Apostles.
James, son of Alphaeus, only
appears four times in the New Testament, each time in a list of the Twelve
Apostles.
James, son of Zebedee
Born: 1st century Son of Zebedee, apostle, James The Apostle, brother of John the Apostle. He is also called James the Greater, sometimes called "James the Great", to distinguish him from James, son of Alphaeus, who is also known as James the Lesser.
Saint James, son of Zebedee (d.
44) or Yaakov Ben-Zebdi/Bar-Zebdi, was one of the Disciples of Jesus.
He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John
the Apostle.
He is called Saint James the Greater to distinguish him from James,
son of Alphaeus, who is also known as James the Less. James is
described as one of the first Disciples to join Jesus. The synoptic
gospels state that James and John were with their father by the
seashore when Jesus called them to follow him. According to the
Gospel of Mark, James and John were called Boanerges, or the
"Sons of Thunder". James was one of only three Apostles
whom Jesus selected to bear witness to his Transfiguration. Acts
of the Apostles records that Agrippa I had James executed by
sword, making him the first of the Apostles
to be martyred. Martyr, born in or near York; having nearly all his life in that city, died there, 28 November, 1582.
He arrived at Dr. Allen's college
at Reims 19 September, 1580, and in May of the next year, by virtue
of a dispensation, was admitted at Soissons, with one Nicholas Fox,
to all Sacred orders within twelve days, although at the time he was
so ill that he could hardly stand. He was sent on the mission the
following 10 August, and was arrested at York on 11 August, 1582. On
being taken before the Council of the North he frankly confessed his
priesthood, to the astonishment of his fellow citizens who knew that
he had not been away more than a year. He was then loaded with double
irons and was imprisoned, first in a private prison, till his money
was exhausted, and then in the castle. On 25 November he was brought
to the bar and condemned to the penalties of high treason. Three days
later he suffered with great joy and tranquillity at the Knavesmire,
protesting that he had never plotted against the queen, and that he
died in and for Catholic Faith. While he was hanging, he first raised
his hands to heaven, then beat his breast with his right hand, and
finally made a great sign of the cross. In spite of his sentence, he
was neither disembowelled nor quartered, but was buried under the gallows.
Jamin was a son of Simeon
according to Genesis 46:10, Exodus 6:15, and Numbers 26:12. He was
one of the 70 souls to migrate to Egypt with Jacob. Jannes and Jambres and The Hebrew Bible Jannes and Jambres are not mentioned by name in the Tanakh or the Old Testament, however, according to Exodus 7:10-12 (KJV) And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods. Jannes and Jambres and The New Testament These names appear in 2 Timothy 3:8 in the New Testament. Origen says that there was an apocryphal book called The Book of Jannes and Jambres, containing details of their exploits, and that The Apostle Paul's epistle was quoting from it. This book has not been rediscovered. Pliny and Jannes and Jambres They also appear in Pliny the Elder's Natural History, together with Moses, as famous magicians of antiquity; Pliny's citation is also referred to in Apuleius. Numerius, a Pythagorean philosopher, calls them sacred Egyptian scribes. Targums and Jannes and Jambres Jannes and Jambres are mentioned in the Old Testament Targum Jonathan Exodus 7:11-8:19. Jewish traditions in the Targums preserve other half-legendary lore about the pair. They are called the sons of Balaam, the unwitting prophet of Peor. It was also claimed that they converted to Judaism, and that they left Egypt at the Exodus to accompany Moses and the Israelites; however, they perished on the way, either at the Red Sea, or the destruction of the Golden Calf, or at the slaughter of Korah and his followers. Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres The Magicians The Apocryphon of Jannes and Jambres the magicians is a manuscript among the Chester Beatty Papyri No XVI, which has been edited and translated by Albert Pietersma. Kabbalah and Jannes and Jambres Apart from their opposition to Moses there are other legends about these two Egyptian sorcerers; it was said that during the end of their days they had necessary occult knowledge to embark on a journey to the Judeo-Christian heavens. They were not welcomed and the angels of the first few heavens fought them vigorously but they could not evict them due to the potent talismans that were worn by the wizards. As they entered the fourth heaven they were met by Michael and Gabriel; legends say that the battle was very evenly balanced, but in the end it was the angels who had to fall back. Upon entering the fifth heaven they were met by none other than Metatron, who did not come at them with defiance or anger, but appeared accommodating, considering the circumstances; after conversing for a short time the angel was successful in convincing Jannes and Jambres to remove their talismans, leaving them thus vulnerable. Metatron was quick to act and threw them out of heaven with a wave of his hand. It is said that they lost all memory of the event after that. "Book of Jasher" and Jannes and Jambres
Among the various pseudepigraphic
texts called "Book of Jasher" the 16th Century Hebrew Sefer
haYashar (midrash) (first edition 1552, later popular among early
Mormons) mentions the magicians.
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus (Latin: Ianus) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, doorways, passages, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces, since he looks to the future and to the past. It is conventionally thought that the month of January is named for Janus (Ianuarius), but according to ancient Roman farmers' almanacs Juno was the tutelary deity of the month. Janus presided over the beginning and ending of conflict, and hence war and peace. The doors of his temple were open in time of war, and closed to mark the peace. As a god of transitions, he had functions pertaining to birth and to journeys and exchange, and in his association with Portunus, a similar harbor and gateway god, he was concerned with travelling, trading and shipping. Janus had no flamen or specialised priest (sacerdos) assigned to him, but the King of the Sacred Rites (rex sacrorum) himself carried out his ceremonies. Janus had a ubiquitous presence in religious ceremonies throughout the year, and was ritually invoked at the beginning of each one, regardless of the main deity honored on any particular occasion. The ancient Greeks had no equivalent to Janus, whom the Romans claimed as distinctively their own. Three etymologies were proposed by ancient erudites, each of them bearing implications about the nature of the god. The first one is based on the definition of Chaos given by Paul the Deacon: hiantem, hiare, be open, from which word Ianus would derive by loss of the initial aspirate. In this etymology the notion of Chaos would define the primordial nature of the god. Another etymology proposed by Nigidius Figulus is related by Macrobius: Ianus would be Apollo and Diana Iana, by the addition of a D for the sake of euphony. This explanation has been accepted by A. B. Cook and J. G. Frazer. It supports all the assimilations of Janus to the bright sky, the sun and the moon. It supposes a former *Dianus, formed on *dia- < *dy-eð2 from Indo-European root *dey- shine represented in Latin by dies day, Diovis and Iuppiter. However the form Dianus postulated by Nigidius is not attested. The interpretation of Janus as the god of beginnings and transitions is based on a third etymology indicated by Cicero, Ovid and Macrobius, which explains the name as Latin, deriving it from the verb ire ("to go"). Modern scholars have conjectured that it derives from the Indo-European root meaning transitional movement (cf. Sanskrit "yana-" or Avestan "yah-", likewise with Latin "i-" and Greek "ei-".). Ianus would then be an action name expressing the idea of going, passing, formed on the root *ya- < *y-eð2- theme II of the root *ey- go from which eo, e?µ?. Other modern scholars object to an Indo-European etymology either from Dianus or from root *ya-. From Ianus derived ianua ("door"), and hence the English word "janitor" (Latin, ianitor). Janus Theology and Functions While the fundamental nature of Janus is debated, in most modern scholars' view the god's functions may be seen as being organized around a single principle: presiding over all beginnings and transitions, whether abstract or concrete, sacred or profane. Interpretations concerning the god's fundamental nature either limit it to this general function or emphasize a concrete or particular aspect of it (identifying him with light the sun, the moon, time, movement, the year, doorways, bridges etc.) or else see in the god a sort of cosmological principle, interpreting him as a uranic deity. Almost all of these modern explanations were originally formulated by the ancients. Janus God of Beginnings and Passages The function god of beginnings has been clearly expressed in numerous ancient sources, among them most notably Cicero, Ovid, and Varro. As a god of motion, Janus looks after passages, causes actions to start and presides over all beginnings. Since movement and change are interconnected, he has a double nature, symbolised in his two headed image. He has under his tutelage the stepping in and out of the door of homes, the ianua, which took its name from him, and not vice versa. Similarly, his tutelage extends to the covered passages named iani and foremost to the gates of the city, including the cultic gate of the Argiletum, named Ianus Geminus or Porta Ianualis from which he protects Rome against the Sabines. He is also present at the Sororium Tigillum, where he guards the terminus of the ways into Rome from Latium. He has an altar, later a temple near the Porta Carmentalis, where the road leading to Veii ended, as well as being present on the Janiculum, a gateway from Rome out to Etruria. The connection of the notions of beginning (principium), movement, transition (eundo), and thence time has been clearly expressed by Cicero. In general, Janus is at the origin of time as the guardian of the gates of Heaven: Jupiter himself can move forth and back because of Janus's working. In one of his temples, probably that of Forum Holitorium, the hands of his statue were positioned to signify the number 355 (the number of days in a year), later 365, symbolically expressing his mastership over time. He presides over the concrete and abstract beginnings of the world, such as religion and the gods themselves, he too holds the access to Heaven and to other gods: this is the reason why men must invoke him first, regardless of the god they want to pray or placate. He is the initiator of human life, of new historical ages, and financial enterprises: according to myth he was the first to mint coins and the as, first coin of the liberal series, bears his effigy on one face. Janus God of Change and Time Janus frequently symbolized change and transitions such as the progress of future to past, from one condition to another, from one vision to another, and young people's growth to adulthood. He represented time, because he could see into the past with one face and into the future with the other. Hence, Janus was worshipped at the beginnings of the harvest and planting times, as well as at marriages, deaths and other beginnings. He represented the middle ground between barbarism and civilization, rural and urban space, youth and adulthood. Having jurisdiction over beginnings Janus had an intrinsic association with omens and auspices. Janus Position in The Pantheon Leonhard Schmitz suggests that he was likely the most important god in the Roman archaic pantheon. He was often invoked together with Iuppiter (Jupiter). Janus Temples Numa built the Ianus geminus (also Janus Bifrons, Janus Quirinus or Portae Belli), a passage ritually opened at times of war, and shut again when Roman arms rested. It formed a walled enclosure with gates at each end, situated between the old Roman Forum and that of Julius Caesar, which had been consecrated by Numa Pompilius himself. About the exact location and aspect of the temple there has been much debate among scholars. In wartime the gates of the Janus were opened, and in its interior sacrifices and vaticinia were held, to forecast the outcome of military deeds. The doors were closed only during peacetime, an extremely rare event. The function of the Ianus Geminus was supposed to be a sort of good omen: in time of peace it was said to close the wars within or to keep peace inside; in times of war it was said to be open to allow the return of the people on duty. A temple of Janus is said to have been consecrated by the consul Gaius Duilius in 260 BC after the Battle of Mylae in the Forum Holitorium. It contained a statue of the god with the right hand showing the number 300 and the left the number 65—i.e., the length in days of the solar year, and twelve altars, one for each month. The four-sided structure known as the Arch of Janus in the Forum Transitorium dates from the 1st century CE: according to common opinion it was built by the Emperor Domitian. However American scholars L. Ross Taylor and L. Adams Holland on the grounds of a passage of Statius maintain that it was an earlier structure (tradition has it the Ianus Quadrifrons was brought to Rome from Falerii) and that Domitian only surrounded it with his new forum. In fact the building of the Forum Transitorium was completed and inaugurated by Nerva in 96 CE. Janus Cult Epithets One way of investigating the complex nature of Janus is by systematically analysing his cultic epithets: religious documents may preserve a notion of a deity's theology more accurately than other literary sources. The main sources of Janus's cult epithets are the fragments of the Carmen Saliare preserved by Varro in his work De Lingua Latina, a list preserved in a passage of Macrobius's Saturnalia (I 9, 15-16), another in a passage of Johannes Lydus's De Mensibus (IV 1), a list in Cedrenus's Historiarum Compendium (I p. 295 7 Bonn), partly dependent on Lydus's, and one in Servius Honoratus's commentary to the Aeneis (VII 610). Literary works also preserve some of Janus's cult epithets, such as Ovid's long passage of the Fasti devoted to Janus at the beginning of Book I (89-293), Tertullian, Augustine and Arnobius. Janus Carmen Saliare As may be expected the opening verses of the Carmen, are devoted to honouring Janus, thence were named versus ianuli. Paul the Deacon mentions the versus ianuli, iovii, iunonii, minervii. Only part of the versus ianuli and two of the iovii are preserved. The manuscript has: (paragraph 26): "cozeulodorieso. omia uo adpatula coemisse./ ian cusianes duonus ceruses. dun; ianusue uet põmelios eum recum"; (paragraph 27): "diuum êpta cante diuum deo supplicante." "ianitos". Many reconstructions have been proposed: they vary widely in dubious points and are all tentative, nonetheless one can identify with certainty some epithets: Cozeiuod orieso. Omnia vortitod Patulti; oenus es iancus (or ianeus), Iane, es, duonus Cerus es, duonus Ianus. Veniet potissimum melios eum recum. Diuum eum patrem (or partem) cante, diuum deo supplicate. ianitos. The epithets that can be identified are: Cozeuios, i.e. Conseuius the Sower, which opens the carmen and is attested as an old form of Consivius in Tertullian; Patultius: the Opener; Iancus or Ianeus: the Gatekeeper; Duonus Cerus: the Good Creator; rex king (potissimum melios eum recum: the most powerful and best of kings); diuum patrem (partem): father of the gods (or part of the gods); diuum deus: god of the gods; ianitos: the Janitor, Gatekeeper. Janus and Other Sources The above-mentioned sources give: Ianus Geminus, I. Pater, I. Iunonius, I. Consivius, I. Quirinus, I. Patulcius and Clusivius (Macrobius above I 9, 15): (Lydus above IV 1); (Cedrenus Historiarum Compendium I p. 295 7 Bonn); I. Clusiuius, I. Patulcius, I. Iunonius, I. Quirinus (Servius Aen. VII 610). Even though the lists overlap to a certain extent (five epithets are common to Macrobius's and Lydus's list), the explanations of the epithets differ remarkably. Macrobius's list and explanation are probably based directly on Cornelius Labeo's work, as he cites this author often in his Saturnalia, as when he gives a list of Maia's cult epithets and mentions one of his works, Fasti. In relating Janus' epithets Macrobius states: "We invoke in the sacred rites". Labeo himself, as it is stated in the passage on Maia, read them in the lists of indigitamenta of the libri pontificum. On the other hand, Lydus's authority cannot have consulted these documents precisely because he offers different (and sometimes bizarre) explanations for the common epithets: it seems likely he received a list with no interpretations appended and his interpretations are only his own. Janus / Pater Pater is perhaps the most frequent epithet of Janus, found also in the composition Ianuspater. While numerous gods share this cultic epithet it seems the Romans felt it was typically pertinent to Janus. When invoked along with other gods, usually only he is called pater. For Janus the title is not just a term of respect; principally it marks his primordial role. He is the first of the gods and thus their father: the formula quasi deorum deum corresponds to diuum deus of the carmen Saliare. Similarly, in the expression duonus Cerus, Cerus means creator and is considered a masculine form related to Ceres. Lydus gives (Patricius) and explains it as autóchthon: since he does not give another epithet corresponding to Pater it may be inferred that Lydus understands Patricius as a synonym of Pater. There is no evidence connecting Janus to gentilician cults or identifying him as a national god particularly venerated by the oldest patrician families. Janus / Geminus Geminus is the first epithet in Macrobius's list. Although the etymology of the word is unclear, it is certainly related to his most typical character, that of having two faces or heads. The proof are the numerous equivalent expressions. The origin of this epithet might be either concrete, referring directly to the image of the god reproduced on coins and supposed to have been introduced by king Numa in the sanctuary at the lowest point of the Argiletum, or to a feature of the Ianus of the Porta Belli, the double gate ritually opened at the beginning of wars, or abstract, deriving metaphorically from the liminal, intermediary functions of the god themselves: both in time and space passages connected two different spheres, realms or worlds. The Janus quadrifrons or quadriformis, brought according to tradition from Falerii in 241 BC and installed by Domitian in the Forum Transitorium, although having a different meaning, seems to be connected to the same theological complex, as its image purports an ability to rule over every direction, element and time of the year. It did not give rise to a new epithet though. Janus / Patulcius and Clusivius Patulcius and Clusivius or Clusius are epithets related to an inherent quality and function of doors, that of standing open or shut. Janus as the Gatekeeper has jurisdiction over every kind of door and passage and the power of opening or closing them. Servius interprets Patulcius in the same way. Lydus gives an incorrect translation, which however reflects one of the attributes of the god, that of being the protector of roads. Elsewhere Lydus cites the epithet to justify the key held by Janus. The antithetical quality of the two epithets is meant to refer to the alterning opposite conditions and is commonly found in the indigitamenta: in relation to Janus, Macrobius cites instances of Antevorta and Postvorta, the personifications of two indigitations of Carmentis. These epithets are associated with the ritual function of Janus in the opening of the Porta Ianualis or Porta Belli. The rite might go back to times pre-dating the founding of Rome. Poets tried to explain this rite by imagining that the gate closed either war or peace inside the ianus, but in its religious significance it might have been meant to propitiate the return home of the victorious soldiers. Janus / Quirinus Quirinus is a debated epithet. According to some scholars, mostly Francophone, it looks to be strictly related to the ideas of the passage of the Roman people from war back to peace, from the condition of miles, soldier, to that of quiris, citizen occupied in peaceful business, as the rites of the Porta Belli imply. This is in fact the usual sense of the word quirites in Latin. Other scholars, mainly Germanophone, think it is related on the contrary to the martial character of the god Quirinus, an interpretation supported by numerous ancient sources: Lydus, Cedrenus, Macrobius, Ovid, Plutarch and Paul the Daecon. Schilling and Capdeville counter that it is his function of presiding over the return to peace that gave Janus this epithet, as confirmed by his association on 30 March with Pax, Concordia and Salus, even though it is true that Janus as god of all beginnings presides also over that of war and is thus often called belliger, bringer of war as well as pacificus. This use is also discussed by Dumézil in various works concerning the armed nature of the Mars qui praeest paci, the armed quality of the gods of the third function and the arms of the third function. C. Koch on the other hand sees the epithet Janus Quirinus as a reflection of the god's patronage over the two months beginning and ending the year, after their addition by king Numa in his reform of the calendar. This interpretation too would befit the liminal nature of Janus. The compound term Ianus Quirinus was particularly in vogue at the time of Augustus, its peaceful interpretation complying particularly well with the Augustan ideology of the Pax Romana. The compound Ianus Quirinus is to be found also in the rite of the spolia opima, a lex regia ascribed to Numa, which prescribed that the third rank spoils of a king or chief killed in battle, those conquered by a common soldier, be consecrated to Ianus Quirinus. Schilling believes the reference of this rite to Ianus Quirinus to embody the original prophetic interpretation, which ascribes to this deity the last and conclusive spoils of Roman history. Janus (Popanon, Libo?) The epithet (Popanon) is attested only by Lydus, who cites Varro as stating that on the day of the kalendae he was offered a cake which earned him this title. There is no surviving evidence of this name in Latin, although the rite is attested by Ovid for the kalendae of January and by Paul. This cake was named ianual but the related epithet of Janus could not plausibly have been Ianualis: it has been suggested Libo which remains purely hypothetical. The context could allow an Etruscan etymology. Janus / Iunonius Janus owes the epithet Iunonius to his function as patron of all kalends, which are also associated with Juno. In Macrobius's explanation: "Iunonium, as it were, not only does he hold the entry to January, but to all the months: indeed all the kalends are under the jurisdiction of Juno". At the time when the rising of the new moon was observed by the pontifex minor the rex sacrorum assisted by him offered a sacrifice to Janus in the Curia Calabra while the regina sacrorum sacrificed to Juno in the regia. Some scholars have maintained that Juno was the primitive paredra of the god. This point bears on the nature of Janus and Juno and is at the core of an important dispute: was Janus a debased ancient uranic supreme god, or were Janus and Jupiter co-existent, their distinct identities structurally inherent to their original theology? Among Francophone scholars Grimal and (implicitly and partially) Renard and Basanoff have supported the view of a uranic supreme god against Dumézil and Schilling. Among Anglophone scholars Frazer and Cook have suggested an interpretation of Janus as uranic supreme god. Whatever the case, it is certain that Janus and Juno show a peculiar reciprocal affinity: while Janus is Iunonius, Juno is Ianualis, as she presides over childbirth and the menstrual cycle, and opens doors. Moreover, besides the kalends Janus and Juno are also associated at the rite of the Tigillum Sororium of 1 October, in which they bear the epithets Ianus Curiatius and Iuno Sororia. These epithets, which swap the functional qualities of the gods, are the most remarkable apparent proof of their proximity. The rite is discussed in detail in the section below. Janus / Consivius Consivius sower, is an epithet that reflects the tutelary function of the god at the first instant of human life and of life in general, conception. This function is a particular case of his function of patron of beginnings. As far as man is concerned it is obviously of the greatest importance, even though both Augustine and some modern scholars see it as minor. Augustine shows astonishment at the fact that some of the dii selecti may be engaged in such tasks: "In fact Janus himself first, when pregnancy is conceived,... opens the way to receiving the semen" . Varro on the other hand had clear the relevance of the function of starting a new life by opening the way to the semen and therefore started his enumeration of the gods with Janus, following the pattern of the Carmen Saliare. Macrobius gives the same interpretation of the epithet in his list: "Consivius from sowing (conserendo), i. e. from the propagation of the human genre, that is disseminated by the working of Janus." as the most ancient form. He though does not consider Conseuius to be an epithet of Janus but a theonym in its own right. Lydus understands Consivius as consiliarius owing to a conflation with Consus through Ops Consiva or Consivia. The interpretation of Consus as god of advice is already present in Latin authors and is due to a folk etymology supported by the story of the abduction of the Sabine women, (which happened on the day of the Consualia aestiva), said to have been advised by Consus. However no Latin source cites relationships of any kind between Consus and Janus Consivius. Moreover, both the passages that this etymology requires present difficulties, particularly as it seems Consus cannot be etymologically related to adjective consivius or conseuius, found in Ops Consivia and thence the implied notion of sowing. Janus (Coenulus)
Coenulus and Cibullius are not attested by Latin sources. The second epithet is not to be found in Lydus's manuscripts and is present in Cedrenus along with its explanation concerning food and nurture. The editor of Lydus R. Wünsch has added Cedrenus's passage after Lydus's own explanation of Coenulus as good host at a banquet. Capdeville considers Cedrenus' text to be due to a paleographic error: only Coenulus is indubitably an epithet of Janus and the adjective used to explain it, meaning to present and to treat well at dinner, was used in a ritual invocation before meals, wishing the diners to make good flesh. This is one of the features of Janus as shown by the myth that associates him with Carna, Cardea, Crane. Janus / Curiatius The epithet Curiatius is found in association with Iuno Sororia as designating the deity to which one of the two altars behind the Tigillum Sororium was dedicated. Festus and other ancient authors explain Curiatius by the aetiological legend of the Tigillum: the expiation undergone by P. Horatius after his victory over the Alban Curiatii for the murder of his own sister, by walking under a beam with his head veiled. Capdeville sees this epithet as related exclusively to the characters of the legend and the rite itself: he invokes the analysis by Dumézil as his authority. Schilling supposes it was probably a sacrum originally entrusted to the gens Horatia that allowed the desacralisation of the iuvenes at the end of the military season, later transferred to the state. Janus's patronage of a rite of passage would be natural. The presence of Juno would be related to the date (Kalends), her protection of the iuvenes, soldiers, or the legend itself. Renard connects the epithet's meaning to the cu(i)ris, the spear of Juno Curitis as here she is given the epithet of Sororia, corresponding to the usual epithet Geminus of Janus and to the twin or feminine nature of the passage between two coupled posts. Schilling opines that it is related to curia, as the Tigillum was located not far from the curiae veteres: however this interpretation, although supported by an inscription (lictor curiatius ) is considered unacceptable by Renard because of the different quantity of the u, short in curiatius, curis and Curitis and long in curia. Moreover, it is part of the different interpretation of the meaning of the ritual of the Tigillum Sororium proposed by Herbert Jennings Rose, Kurt Latte and Robert Schilling himself. However the etymology of Curiatius remains uncertain. On the role of Janus in the rite of the Tigillum Sororium see also the section below. Janus Rites The rites concerning Janus were numerous. Owing to the versatile and far reaching character of his basic function marking all beginnings and transitions, his presence was ubiquitous and fragmented. Apart from the rites solemnizing the beginning of the new year and of every month, there were the special times of the year which marked the beginning and closing of the military season, in March and October respectively. These included the rite of the arma movere on 1 March and that of the arma condere at the end of the month performed by the Salii, and the Tigillum Sororium on 1 October. Janus Quirinus was closely associated with the anniversaries of the dedications of the temples of Mars on 1 June (a date that corresponded with the festival of Carna, a deity associated with Janus: see below) and of that of Quirinus on 29 June (which was the last day of the month in the pre-Julian calendar). These important rites are discussed in detail below. Any rite or religious act whatever required the invocation of Janus first, with a corresponding invocation to Vesta at the end (Janus primus and Vesta extrema). Instances are to be found in the Carmen Saliare, the formula of the devotio, the lutration of the fields and the sacrifice of the porca praecidanea, the Acta of the Arval Brethren. Although Janus had no flamen, he was closely associated with the rex sacrorum who performed his sacrifices and took part in most of his rites: the rex held the first place in the ordo sacerdotum, hierarchy of priests. The flamen of Portunus performed the ritual greasing of the spear of the god Quirinus on 17 August, day of the Portunalia, on the same date that the temple of Janus in the Forum Holitorium had been consecrated by consul Gaius Duilius in 260 BC. Janus - Beginning of The Year The Winter solstice was thought to occur on 25 December. January 1 was new year day: the day was consecrated to Janus since it was the first of the new year and of the month (kalends) of Janus: the feria had an augural character as Romans believed the beginning of anything was an omen for the whole. Thus on that day it was customary to exchange cheerful words of good wishes. For the same reason everybody devoted a short time to his usual business, exchanged dates, figs and honey as a token of well wishing and made gifts of coins called strenae. Cakes made of spelt (far) and salt were offered to the god and burnt on the altar. Ovid states that in most ancient times there were no animal sacrifices and gods were propitiated with offerings of spelt and pure salt. This libum was named ianual and it was probably correspondent to the summanal offered the day before the Summer solstice to god Summanus, which however was sweet being made with flour, honey and milk. Shortly afterwards, on 9 January, on the feria of the Agonium of January the rex sacrorum offered the sacrifice of a ram to Janus. Janus - Beginning of the Month At the kalends of each month the rex sacrorum and the pontifex minor offered a sacrifice to Janus in the curia Calabra, while the regina offered a sow or a she lamb to Juno. Janus - Beginning of the Day Morning belonged to Janus: men started their daily activities and business. Horace calls him Matutine Pater, morning father. G. Dumézil thinks this custom is at the origin of the learned interpretations of Janus as a solar deity. Janus and Space Janus was also involved in spatial transitions, presiding over home doors, city gates and boundaries. Numerous toponyms of places located at the boundary between the territory of two communities, especially Etrurians and Latins or Umbrians, are named after the god. The most notable instance is the Ianiculum which marked the access to Etruria from Rome. Since borders often coincided with rivers and the border of Rome (and other Italics) with Etruria was the Tiber, it has been argued that its crossing had a religious connotation; it would have involved a set of rigorous apotropaic practices and a devotional attitude. Janus would have originally regulated particularly the crossing of this sacred river through the pons sublicius. The name of the Ianiculum is not derived by that of the god, but from the abstract noun ianus, -us. Adams Holland opines it would have been originally the name of a small bridge connecting the Tiber Island (on which she supposes the first shrine of Janus stood) with the right bank of the river. However Janus was the protector of doors, gates and roadways in general, as is shown by his two symbols, the key and the staff. The key too was a sign that the traveller had come to a harbour or ford in peace in order to exchange his goods. The rite of the bride's oiling the posts of the door of her new home with wolf fat at her arrival, though not mentioning Janus explicitly, is a rite of passage related to the ianua. Janus - Rites of the Salii The rites of the Salii marked the springtime beginning of the war season in March and its closing in October. The structure of the patrician sodalitas, made up by the two groups of the Salii Palatini, who were consecrated to Mars and whose institution was traditionally ascribed to Numa (with headquarter on the Palatine), and the Salii Collini or Agonales, consecrated to Quirinus and whose foundation was ascribed to Tullus Hostilius, (with headquarter on the Quirinal) reflects in its division the dialectic symbolic role they played in the rites of the opening and closing of the military season. So does the legend of their foundation itself: the peace- loving king Numa instituted the Salii of Mars Gradivus, foreseeing the future wars of the Romans while the warmonger king Tullus, in a battle during a longstanding war with the Sabines, swore to found a second group of Salii should he obtain victory. The paradox of the pacifist king serving Mars and passage to war and of the warmonger king serving Quirinus to achieve peace under the expected conditions highlights the dialectic nature of the cooperation between the two gods, inherent to their own function. Because of the working of the talismans of the sovereign god they guaranteed alternatively force and victory, fecundity and plenty. It is noteworthy that the two groups of Salii did not split their competences so that one group only opened the way to war and the other to peace: they worked together both at the opening and the conclusion of the military season, marking the passage of power from one god to the other. Thus the Salii enacted the dialectic nature present in the warring and peaceful aspect of the Roman people, particularly the iuvenes. This dialectic was reflected materially by the location of the temple of Mars outside the pomerium and of the temple of Quirinus inside it. The annual dialectic rhythm of the rites of the Salii of March and October was also further reflected within the rites of each month and spatially by their repeated crossing of the pomerial line. The rites of March started on the fist with the ceremony of the ancilia movere, developed through the month on the 14th with Equirria in the Campus Martius (and the rite of Mamurius Veturius marking the expulsion of the old year), the 17th with the Agonium Martiale, the 19th with the Quinquatrus in the Comitium (which correspond symmetrically with the Armilustrium of 19 October), on the 23rd with the Tubilustrium and they terminated at the end of the month with the rite of the ancilia condere. Only after this month-long set of rites was accomplished was it fas to undertake military campaigns. While Janus sometimes is named belliger and sometimes pacificus in accord with his general function of beginner, he is mentioned as Janus Quirinus in relation to the closing of the rites of March at the end of the month together with Pax, Salus and Concordia: This feature is a reflection of the aspect of Janus Quirinus which stresses the quirinal function of bringing peace back and the hope of soldiers for a victorious return. As the rites of the Salii mimic the passage from peace to war and back to peace by moving between the two poles of Mars and Quirinus in the monthly cycle of March, so they do in the ceremonies of October, the Equus October ("October Horse") taking place on the Campus Martius the Armilustrium, purification of the arms, on the Aventine, and the Tubilustrium on the 23rd. Other correspondences may be found in the dates of the founding of the temples of Mars on 1 June and of that of Quirinus on 29 June, in the pre-Julian calendar the last day of the month, implying that the opening of the month belonged to Mars and the closing to Quirinus. The reciprocity of the two gods' situations is subsumed under the role of opener and closer played by Janus as Ovid states: "Why are you hidden in peace, and open when the arms have been moved?" Another analogous correspondence may be found in the festival of the Quirinalia of February, last month of the ancient calendar of Numa. The rite of the opening and closure of the Janus Quirinus would thus reflect the idea of the reintegretation of the miles into civil society, i.e. the community of the quirites, by playing a lustral role similar to the Tigillum Sororium and the porta triumphalis located at the south of the Campus Martius. In Augustan ideology this symbolic meaning was strongly emphasised. Janus / Tigillum Sororium This rite was supposed to commemorate the expiation of the murder of his own sister by Marcus Horatius. The young hero with his head veiled had to pass under a beam spanning an alley. The rite was repeated every year on 1 October. The tigillum consisted of a beam on two posts. It was kept in good condition at public expenses to the time of Livy. Behind the tigillum, on opposite sides of the alley, stood the two altars of Janus Curiatius and Juno Sororia. Its location was on the vicus leading to the Carinae, perhaps at the point of the crossing of the pomerium. The rite and myth have been interpreted by Dumezil as a purification and desacralization of the soldiers from the religious pollution contracted in war, and a freeing of the warrior from furor, wrath, as dangerous in the city as it is necessary on campaign. The rite took place on the kalends of October, the month marking the end of the yearly military activity in ancient Rome. Scholars have offered different interpretations of the meaning of Janus Curiatius and Juno Sororia. The association of the two gods with this rite is not immediately clear. It is however apparent that they exchanged their epithets, as Curiatius is connected to (Juno) Curitis and Sororia to (Janus) Geminus. Renard thinks that while Janus is the god of motion and transitions he is not concerned directly with purification, while the arch is more associated with Juno. This fact would be testified by the epithet Sororium, shared by the tigillum and the goddess. Juno Curitis is also the protectress of the iuvenes, the young soldiers. Paul the Deacon states that the sororium tigillum was a sacer (sacred) place in honour of Juno. Another element linking Juno with Janus is her identification with Carna, suggested by the festival of this deity on the kalends (day of Juno) of June, the month of Juno. Carna was a nymph of the sacred lucus of Helernus, made goddess of hinges by Janus with the name of Cardea, and had the power of protecting and purifying thresholds and the doorposts. This would be a further element in explaining the role of Juno in the Tigillum. It was also customary for new brides to oil the posts of the door of their new homes with wolf fat. In the myth of Janus and Carna (see section below) Carna had the habit when pursued by a young man of asking him out of shyness for a hidden recess and thereupon fleeing: but two headed Janus saw her hiding in a crag under some rocks. Thence the analogy with the rite of the Tigillum Sororium would be apparent: both in the myth and in the rite Janus, the god of motion, goes through a low passage to attain Carna as Horatius passes under the tigillum to obtain his purification and the restitution to the condition of citizen eligible for civil activities, including family life. The purification is then the prerequisite for fertility. The custom of attaining lustration and fertility by passing under a gap in rocks, a hole in the soil or a hollow in a tree is widespread. The veiled head of Horatius could also be explained as an apotropaic device if one considers the tigillum the iugum of Juno, the feminine principle of fecundity. Renard concludes that the rite is under the tutelage of both Janus and Juno, being a rite of transition under the patronage of Janus and of desacralisation and fertility under that of Juno: through it the iuvenes coming back from campaign were restituted to their fertile condition of husbands and peasants. Janus is often associated with fecundity in myths, representing the masculine principle of motion, while Juno represents the complementary feminine principle of fertility: the action of the first would allow the manifestation of the other. Myths Concerning Janus In discussing myths about Janus, one should be careful in distinguishing those which are ancient and originally Latin and those others which were later attributed to him by Greek mythographers. In the Fasti Ovid relates only the myths that associate Janus with Saturn, whom he welcomed as a guest and with whom he eventually shared his kingdom in reward for teaching the art of agriculture, and to the nymph Crane Grane or Carna, whom Janus raped and made the goddess of hinges as Cardea, while in the Metamorphoses he records his fathering with Venilia the nymph Canens, loved by Picus, first legendary king of the Aborigines. The myth of Crane has been studied by M. Renard and G. Dumezil. The first scholar sees in it a sort of parallel with the theology underlying the rite of the Tigillum Sororium. Crane is a nymph of the sacred wood of Helernus, located at the issue of the Tiber, whose festival of 1 February corresponded with that of Juno Sospita: Crane might be seen as a minor imago of the goddess. Her habit of deceiving her male pursuers by hiding in crags in the soil reveals her association not only with vegetation but also with rocks, caverns, and underpassages. Her nature looks to be also associated with vegetation and nurture: G. Dumezil has proved that Helernus was a god of vegetation, vegetative lushness and orchards, particularly associated with vetch. As Ovid writes in his Fasti, 1 June was the festival day of Carna, besides being the kalendary festival of the month of Juno and the festival of Juno Moneta. Ovid seems to purposefully conflate and identify Carna with Cardea in the aetiologic myth related above. Consequently, the association of both Janus and the god Helernus with Carna-Crane is highlighted in this myth: it was customary on that day to eat ivetch and lard, which were supposed to strengthen the body. Cardea had also magic powers for protecting doorways (by touching thresholds and posts with wet hawthorn twigs) and newborn children by the aggression of the striges (in the myth the young Proca). M. Renard sees the association of Janus with Crane as reminiscent of widespread rites of lustration and fertility performed through ritual walking under low crags or holes in the soil or natural hollows in trees, which in turn are reflected in the lustrative rite of the Tigillum Sororium. Macrobius relates that Janus was supposed to have shared a kingdom with Camese in Latium, in a place then named Camesene. He states that Hyginus recorded the tale on the authority of a Protarchus of Tralles. In Macrobius Camese is a male: after Camese's death Janus reigned alone. However Greek authors make of Camese Janus's sister and spouse: Atheneus citing a certain Drakon of Corcyra writes that Janus fathered with his sister Camese a son named Aithex and a daughter named Olistene. Servius Danielis states Tiber (i.e., Tiberinus) was their son. Arnobius writes that Fontus was the son of Janus and Juturna. The name itself proves that this is a secondary form of Fons modelled on Janus, denouncing the late character of this myth: it was probably conceived because of the proximity of the festivals of Juturna (11 January) and the Agonium of Janus (9 January) as well as for the presence of an altar of Fons near the Janiculum and the closeness of the notions of spring and of beginning. Plutarch writes that according to some Janus was a Greek from Perrhebia. When Romulus and his men kidnapped the Sabine women, Janus caused a volcanic hot spring to erupt, resulting in the would-be attackers being buried alive in the deathly hot, brutal water and ash mixture of the rushing hot volcanic springs that killed, burned, or disfigured many of Tatius's men. This spring is called Lautolae by Varro. Later on, however, the Sabines and Romans agreed on creating a new community together. In honor of this, the doors of a walled roofless structure called 'The Janus' (not a temple) were kept open during war after a symbolic contingent of soldiers had marched through it. The doors were closed in ceremony when peace was concluded. Origin, Legends, and History of Janus In accord with his fundamental character of being the Beginner Janus was considered by Romans the first king of Latium, sometimes along with Camese. He would have received hospitably god Saturn, who, expelled from Heaven by Jupiter, arrived on a ship to the Janiculum. Janus would have also effected the miracle of turning the waters of the spring at the foot of the Viminal from cold to scorching hot in order to fend off the assault of the Sabines of king Titus Tatius, come to avenge the kidnapping of their daughters by the Romans. His temple named Janus Geminus had to stand open in times of war. It was said to have been built by king Numa Pompilius, who kept it always shut during his reign as there were no wars. After him it was closed very few times, one after the end of the first Punic War, three times under Augustus and once by Nero. It is recorded that emperor Gordianus III opened the Janus Geminus. It is a noteworthy curiosity that the opening of the Janus was perhaps the last act connected to the ancient religion in Rome: Procopius writes that in 536 CE, during the Gothic War, while general Belisarius was under siege in Rome, at night somebody opened the Janus Geminus stealthily, which had long stayed closed since 390, year on which Theodosius I's edict banned the ancient cults. Janus was faithful to his liminal role also in the marking of this last act. The uniqueness of Janus in Latium has suggested to L. Adams Holland and J. Gagé the hypothesis of a cult brought from far away by sailors and strictly linked to the amphibious life of the primitive communities living on the banks of the Tiber. In the myth of Janus the ship of Saturn as well as the myth of Carmenta and Evander are remininscent of an ancient Preroman sailing life. The elements that seem to connect Janus to sailing are presented in two articles by J. Gagé summarised here below. 1. The boat of Janus and the beliefs of the primitive sailing techniques. a) The proximity of Janus and Portunus and the functions of the flamen Portunalis. The temple of Janus was dedicated by Gaius Duilius on 17 August, day of the Portunalia. The key was the symbol of both gods and was also meant to signify that the boarding boat was a peaceful merchant boat. The flamen Portunalis oiled the arms of Quirinus with an ointment kept in a peculiar container named persillum, term perhaps derived from Etruscan persie. A similar object seems to be represented in a fresco picture of the Calendar of Ostia on which young boys prepare to apply a resin contained in a basin to a boat on a cart, i.e. yet to be launched. b) The Tigillum Sororium would be related to a gentilician cult of wood of the Horatii, as surmised by the episodes of the pons sublicius defended by Horatius Cocles and of the posts of the main entrance of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, on which Marcus Horatius Pulvillus lay his hand during the dedication rite. Gagé thinks the magic power of the Tigillum Sororium should be ascribed to the lively and burgeoning nature of wood. 2. Religious quality of trees as the wild olive and the Greek or Italic lotus (Celtis Australis), analogous to that of corniolum and wild fig, to sailing communities: its wood does not rot in sea water, thence it was used in shipbuilding and in the making of rolls for hauling of ships overland. 3. Janus and the depiction of Boreas as Bifrons: climatological elements. a) The calendar of Numa and the role of Janus. Contradictions of the ancient Roman calendar on the beginning of the new year: originally March was the first month and February the last one. January, the month of Janus, became the first afterwards and through several manipulations. The liminal character of Janus is though present in the association to the Saturnalia of December, reflecting the strict relationship between the two gods Janus and Saturn and the rather blurred distinction of their stories and symbols. The initial role of Janus in the political-religious operations of January: the nuncupatio votorum spanning the year, the imperial symbol of the boat in the opening rite of the sailing season, the vota felicia: Janus and his myths allow for an ancient interpretation of the vota felicia, different from the Isiadic one. b) The idea of the Seasons in the ancient traditions of the Ionian Islands. The crossing of the Hyperborean myths. Cephalonia as a place at the cross of famous winds. Application of the theory of winds for the navigation in the Ionian Sea. The type Boreas Bifrons as probable model of the Roman Janus. This observation was made first by the Roscher Lexicon: "Ianus is he too, doubtlessly, a god of wind" and repeated in the RE Pauly-Wissowa s.v. Boreas by Rapp. P. Grimal has taken up this interpretation connecting it to a vase with red figures representing Boreas pursuing the nymph Oreithyia: Boreas is depicted as a two headed winged demon, the two faces with beards, one black and the other fair, perhaps symbolising the double movement of the winds Boreas and Antiboreas. This proves that the Greeks of the 5th century BC knew the image of Janus. Gagé feels compelled to mention here another parallel with Janus to be found in the figure of Argos with one hundred eyes and in his association with his murderer Hermes. c) Solar, solsticial and cosmological elements. While there is no direct proof of an original solar meaning of Janus, this being the issue of learned speculations of the Roman erudits initiated into the mysteries and of emperors as Domitian, the derivation from a Syrian cosmogonic deity proposed by P. Grimal looks more acceptable. Gagé though sees an ancient, preclassical Greek mythic substratum to which belong Deucalion and Pyrrha and the Hyperborean origins of the Delphic cult of Apollo as well as the Argonauts. The beliefs in the magic power of trees is reflected in the use of the olive wood, as for the rolls of the ship Argos: the myth of the Argonauts has links with Corcyra, remembered by Lucius Ampelius. 4. The sites of the cults of Janus at Rome and his associations in ancient Latium. a) Argiletum. Varro gives either the myth of the killing of Argos as an etymology of the word Argi-letum (death of Argos), which looks to be purely fantastic, or that of place located upon a soil of clay, argilla in Latin. The place so named stood at the foot of the Viminal, the hill of the reeds. It could also be referred to the white willow tree, used to make objects of trelliswork. b) The Janiculum may have been inhabited by people who were not Latin but had close alliances with Rome. The right bank of the Tiber would constitute a typical, convenient, commodious landing place for boats and the cult of Janus would have been double insofar as amphibious. c) Janus's cultic alliances and relations in Latium would show a Prelatin character. Janus has no association in cult (calendar or prayer formulae) with any other entity. Even though he bears the epithet of Pater he is no head of a divine family; however some testimonies lend him a companion, sometimes female, and a son and/or a daughter. They belong to the family of the nymphs or genies of springs. Janus intervenes in the miracle of the hot spring during the battle between Romulus and Tatius: Juturna and the nymphs of the springs are clearly related to Janus as well as Venus, that in Ovid's Metamorphoses cooperates in the miracle and may have been confused with Venilia, or perhaps the two might have been originally one. Janus has a direct link only to Venilia, with whom he fathered Canens. The magic role of the wild olive tree (oleaster) is prominent in the description of the duel between Aeneas and Turnus reflecting its religious significance and powers: it was sacred to sailors, also those who had shipwrecked as a protecting guide to the shore. It was probably venerated by a Prelatin culture in association with Faunus. In the story of Venulus coming back from Apulia too one may see the religious connotation of the wild olive: the king discovers one into which a local shepherd had been turned for failing to respect the nymphs he had come across in a nearby cavern, apparently Venilia, who was the deity associated with the magic virtues of such tree. Gagé finds it remarkable that the characters related to Janus are in the Aeneis on the side of the Rutuli. In the poem Janus would be represented by Tiberinus. Olistene, the daughter of Janus with Camese, may reflect in her name that of the olive or oleaster, or of Oreithyia. Camese may be reflected in Carmenta: Evander's mother is from Arcadia, comes to Latium as an exile migrant and has her two festivals in January: Camese's name at any rate does not look Latin. 5. Sociological remarks. a) The vagueness of Janus's association with the cults of primitive Latium and his indifference towards the social composition of the Roman State suggest that he was a god of an earlier amphibious merchant society in which the role of the guardian god was indispensable. b) Janus bifrons and the Penates. Even though the cult of Janus cannot be confused with that of the Penates, related with Dardanian migrants from Troy, the binary nature of the Penates and of Janus postulates a correspondent ethnic or social organisation. Here the model is thought to be provided by the cult of the Magni Dei or Cabeiri preserved at Samothrace and worshipped particularly among sailing merchants. The aetiological myth is noteworthy too: at the beginning one finds Dardanos and his brother Iasios appearing as auxiliary figures in a Phrygian cult to a Great Mother. In Italy there is a trace of a conflict between worshippers of the Argive Hera (Diomedes and the Diomedians of the south) and of the Penates. The cult of Janus looks to be related to social groups remained at the fringe of the Phrygian ones. They might or might not have been related to the cult of the Dioscuri. Janus and the Relationship with Other gods Janus and Juno The relationship between Janus and Juno is defined by the closeness of the notions of beginning and transition and the functions of conception and delivery, result of youth and vital force. The reader is referred to the above sections Cult epithets and Tigillum Sororium of this article and the corresponding section of article Juno. Janus and Quirinus Quirinus is a god that incarnates the quirites, i.e. the Romans in their civil capacity of producers and fathers. He is surnamed Mars tranquillus peaceful Mars, Mars qui praeest paci Mars who presides on peace. His function of custos guardian is highlighted by the location of his temple inside the pomerium but not far from the gate of Porta Collina or Quirinalis, near the shrines of Sancus and Salus. As a protector of peace he is nevertheless armed, in the same way as the quirites are, as they are potentially milites soldiers: his staue represents him is holding a spear. For this reason Janus, god of gates, is concerned with his function of protector of the civil community. For the same reason the flamen Portunalis oiled the arms of Quirinus, implying that they were to be kept in good order and ready even though they were not to be used immediately. Dumézil and Schilling remark that as a god of the third function Quirinus is peaceful and represents the ideal of the pax romana i. e. a peace resting on victory. Janus and Portunus Portunus may be defined as a sort of duplication inside the scope of the powers and attributes of Janus. His original definition shows he was the god of gates and doors and of harbours. In fact it is debated whether his original function was only that of god of gates and the function of god of harbours was a later addition: Paul the Deacon writes: "... he is depicted holding a key in his hand and was thought to be the god of gates". Varro would have stated that he was the god of harbours and patron of gates. His festival day named Portunalia fell on 17 August, and he was venerated on that day in a temple ad pontem Aemilium and ad pontem Sublicium that had been dedicated on that date. Portunus, unlike Janus, had his own flamen, named Portunalis. It is noteworthy that the temple of Janus in the Forum Holitorium had been consecrated on the day of the Portunalia and that the flamen Portunalis was in charge of oiling the arms of the statue of Quirinus. Janus and Vesta The relationship between Janus and Vesta touches on the question of the nature and function of the gods of beginning and ending in Indo-European religion. While Janus has the first place Vesta has the last, both in theology and in ritual (Ianus primus, Vesta extrema). The last place implies a direct connexion with the situation of the worshipper, in space and in time. Vesta is thence the goddess of the hearth of homes as well as of the city. Her inextinguishable fire is a means for men (as individuals and as a community) to keep in touch with the realm of gods. Thus there is a reciprocal link between the god of beginnings and unending motion, who bestows life to the beings of this world (Cerus Manus) as well as presiding over its end, and the goddess of the hearth of man, which symbolises through fire the presence of life. Vesta is a virgin goddess but at the same time she is considered the mother of Rome: she is thought to be indispensable to the existence and survival of the community. Janus in Etruria It has long been believed that Janus was present among the theonyms on the outer rim of the Piacenza Liver in case 3 under the name of Ani. This fact created a problem as the god of beginnings looked to be located in a situation other than the initial, i.e. the first case. After the new readings proposed by A. Maggiani, in case 3 one should read TINS: the difficulty has thus dissolved. Ani has thence been eliminated from Etruscan theology as this was his only attestation. Maggiani remarks that this earlier identification was in contradiction with the testimony ascribed to Varro by Johannes Lydus that Janus was named caelum among the Etruscans. On the other hand, as expected Janus is present in region I of Martianus Capella's division of Heaven and in region XVI, the last one, are to be found the Ianitores terrestres (along with Nocturnus), perhaps to be identified in Forculus, Limentinus and Cardea, deities strictly related to Janus as his auxiliaries (or perhaps even no more than concrete subdivisions of his functions) as the meaning of their names implies: Forculus is the god of the forca, a iugum, low passage, Limentinus the guardian of the limes, boundary, Cardea the goddess of hinges, here of the gates separating Earth and Heaven. The problem posed by the qualifying adjective terrestres earthly, can be addressed in two different ways. One hypothesis is that Martianus's depiction implies a descent from Heaven onto Earth. However Martianus's depiction does not look to be confined to a division Heaven-Earth as it includes the Underworld and other obscure regions or remote recesses of Heaven. Thence one may argue that the articulation Ianus-Ianitores could be interpreted as connected to the theologem of the Gates of Heaven (the Synplegades) which open on the Heaven on one side and on Earth or the Underworld on the other. From other archaeological documents though it has become clear that the Etruscans had another god iconographically corresponding to Janus: Culsans, of which there is a bronze statuette from Cortona (now at Cortona Museum). While Janus is a bearded adult Culsans may be an unbearded youth, making his identification with Hermes look possible. His name too is connected with the Etruscan word for doors and gates. According to Capdeville he may also be found on the outer rim of the Piacenza Liver on case 14 in the compound form CULALP, i.e., "of Culsans and of Alpan(u)" on the authority of Pfiffig, but perhaps here it is the female goddess Culsu, the guardian of the door of the Underworld. Although the location is not strictly identical there is some approximation in his situations on the Liver and in Martianus' system. A. Audin connects the figure of Janus to Culsans and Turms (Etruscan rendering of Hermes, the Greek god mediator between the different worlds, brought by the Etruscan from the Aegean Sea), considering these last two Etruscan deities as one. This interpretation would then identify Janus with Greek god Hermes. Etruscan medals from Volterra too show the double headed god and the Janus Quadrifrons from Falerii may have an Etruscan origin. Janus and the Association with Non-Roman gods Roman and Greek authors maintained Janus was an exclusively Roman god. This claim is excessive according to R. Schilling, at least as far as iconography is concerned. The god with two faces appeared repeatedly in Babylonian art. Reproductions of the image of such a god, named Usmu, on cylinders in Sumero-Accadic art is to be found in H. Frankfort's work Cylinder seals (London 1939) especially in plates at p. 106, 123, 132, 133, 137, 165, 245, 247, 254. On plate XXI, c, Usmu is seen while introducing worshippers to a seated god. Janus-like heads of gods related to Hermes have been found in Greece, perhaps suggesting a compound god. William Betham argued that the cult arrived from the Middle East and that Janus corresponds to the Baal-ianus or Belinus of the Chaldeans, sharing a common origin with the Oannes of Berosus. P. Grimal considers Janus a conflation of a Roman god of doorways and an ancient Syro-Hittite uranic cosmogonic god. The Roman statue of the Janus of the Argiletum, traditionally ascribed to Numa, was possibly very ancient, perhaps a sort of xoanon, like the Greek ones of the 8th century BC. In Hinduism the image of double or four faced gods is quite common, as it is a symbolic depiction of the divine power of seeing through space and time. The supreme god Brahma is represented with four faces. Another instance of a four faced god is the Slavic god Svetovid. Other analogous or comparable deities of the prima in Indoeuropean religions have been analysed by G. Dumézil. They include the Indian goddess Aditi who is called two faced as she is the one who starts and concludes ceremonies, and Scandinavian god Heimdallr. The theological features of Heimdallr look similar to Janus's: both in space and time he stands at the limits. His abode is at the limits of Earth, at the extremity of Heaven; he is the protector of the gods; his birth is at the beginning of time; he is the forefather of mankind, the generator of classes and the founder of the social order. Nonetheless he is inferior to the sovereign god Oðinn: the Minor Völuspá defines his relationship to Oðinn almost with the same terms as those in which Varro defines that of Janus, god of the prima to Jupiter, god of the summa: Heimdallr is born as the firstborn (primigenius, var einn borinn í árdaga), Oðinn is born as the greatest (maximus, var einn borinn öllum meiri). Analogous Iranian formulae are to be found in an Avestic gatha (Gathas). In other towns of ancient Latium the function of presiding over beginnings was probably performed by other deities of feminine sex, notably the Fortuna Primigenia of Praeneste. The Janus Legacy
In the Middle Ages, Janus was also
taken as the symbol of Genoa, whose Medieval Latin name was Ianua, as
well as of other European communes. The comune of Selvazzano di
Dentro near Padua has a grove and an altar of Janus depicted on its
standard, but their existence is unproved. Personal name meaning, “may he have space.” In Arabic citations, his name is normally given as Yafeth ibn Nuh (Japheth son of Noah).
Jared (jay' dehd) or Jered Personal name meaning, “slave.”
Of those children, only Enoch is named specifically, born when Jared was 162 years old (Genesis 5:18, 5:22a, 5:24, Hebrews 11:5b, Jude 14-15). Enoch went on to marry Edna, according to Jubilees, and the sole named grandchild of Jared is Enoch's son Methuselah, the longest-living human mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 5:18, 5:21, 5:27). Additionally, Jared was a forefather of Noah and his three sons. Jared's age was given as 962 years old when he died, making him the second-oldest person mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint. In the Samaritan Pentateuch, his age was 62 at fatherhood and only 847 at death, making Noah the oldest and Jared the seventh-oldest.
According to the Book of Enoch,
Mahalalel named his son Jared "descent" because during his
lifetime the angels of the Lord who were called Watchers descended to
earth to teach mankind and to do what is just and upright upon the earth". Jarom relates that he received "revelations" and prophesied, and that there were many wars between the two Book of Mormon peoples the Nephites and the Lamanites. Before his death, record keeping was handed over to his son Omni.
He was one of the Plates
of Nephi Caretakers
Javan is also found in apocalyptic literature in the Book of Daniel, 8:21-22 and 11:2, in reference to the King of Greece -most commonly interpreted as a reference to Alexander the Great. While Javan is generally associated with the ancient Greeks and Greece (cf. Gen. 10:2, Dan. 8:21, Zech.9:13, etc.), his sons (as listed in Genesis 10) are usually associated with locations in the Northeastern Mediterranean Sea and Anatolia: Elishah (modern Cyprus), Tarshish (modern southern Turkey), Kittim (modern Cyprus), and Dodanim (alt. 1 Chron. 1:7 'Rodanim,' the island of Rhodes, west of modern Turkey between Cyprus and the mainland of Greece).
Jechoniah (in New
Revised Standard Version) See Jeconiah
King
of Judah also known as:
Jechoniah (in New Revised Standard Version) Jeconiah also known as Coniah and as Jehoiachin, was a king of Judah who was dethroned by the King of Babylon in the 6th Century BC and was taken into captivity. "It was Jechoniah whose sins caused God to cut his seed off from ever sitting on David's throne (Jeremiah 22:24-30) - Jechoniah's royal line of descendants is listed here to show the legal right of Joseph, the foster father of Jesus, to David's throne (Matthew 1:16). Neither Joseph nor any others of Jechoniah's seed could ever have the spiritual right to the throne. That right must be carried through Mary's ancestry" Most of what is known about Jeconiah is found in the Hebrew Bible. After many excavations in Iraq, records of Jeconiah's existence have been unearthed, such as the Jehoiachin's Rations Tablets. These tablets were excavated near the Ishtar Gate in Babylon and have been dated to c. 592 BC. Written in Cuneiform, they mention Jeconiah ("Ia-'-ú-kinu") and his five sons as recipients of food ration in Babylon. Comparing Babylonian records with date references found in Hebrew biblical texts, the length of Jeconiah's captivity can accurately be determined. To some extent, even the dating of the Fall of Jerusalem can be established to 597 BC. King Jeconiah reigned three months and ten days, from December 9, 598 to March 15/16, 597 BC. He succeeded his father, Jehoiakim, King of Judah[2Ki.24:6] in December 598, after raiders from surrounding lands invaded Jerusalem[2Ki.24:2] and killed Jehoiakim, his father. It is likely that the King of Babylon was behind this effort, as a response to Jehoiakim's revolt, starting sometime after 601 BC. Three months and ten days after Jeconiah was established King, the armies of Nebuchadnezzar II seized Jerusalem that following spring. The intention was to take high class Judian captives and assimilate them into Babylonian society. On March 15/16th, 597 BC, Jeconiah, his entire household and three thousand prestigious Jews, were exiled to Babylon. Comparing certain sources, there is an age discrepancy as to how old Jeconiah was when he began his rule. Masoretic Text versions of 2 Chronicles 36:9 say that his rule began at the age of eighteen. The Septuagint and Syriac versions of 2 Chronicles 36:9, have his rulership starting at the age of eight. Of the Vulgate, Challenor's note in the Douay-Rheims Bible, reconciles this discrepancy: "He was associated by his father to the kingdom, when he was but eight years old; but after his father's death, when he reigned alone, he was eighteen years old." After being deposed as king, Jeconiah's uncle, Zedekiah,[2Ki.24:17] was allowed by Nebuchadnezzar, to rule Judah. However, while in captivity, the deported Jews still regarded Jeconiah as their legitimate king. Jeconiah would later be regarded as the first of the exilarchs. Even in the book of Ezekiel, the author refers to Jeconiah as king and dates certain events by the number of years he was in exile. The author identifies himself as Ezekiel, a contemporary of Jeconiah, and he never mentions, by name, the successor to the Kingdom of Judah: Zedekiah. According to 2 Kings 25:27, Jeconiah was released from prison "in the 37th year of the exile", in the year that Amel-Marduk (Evil-Merodach) came to the throne. The reference to "the year of the exile" is a reference to an era year number, and not an anniversary period, with the years running in accordance with the Hebrew calendar from autumn 1 Tishri, the start of the Hebrew civil or regnal year. Babylonian records show that Amel-Marduk began his reign in October 562 BC. However, the Babylonian regnal year began on 1 Nisan (in the spring), so that Amel-Marduk's accession year officially started on 1 Nisan 562. According to 2 Kings 25:27, Jeconiah was released from prison "on the 27th day of the twelfth month". However, it is not clear whether the Judahite or Babylonian year is being referred to. If Amel-Marduk's accession year was being referred to, the date of release would fall in the spring of 561 BC. This would result in the first year of captivity being 598/597 BC, according to Judah's Tishri-based calendar, so that his release from prison "in the 37th year" could be in the 562/561 BC Tishri-based year. Jeconiah was the son of Jehoiakim with Nehushta, the daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem. He had at least seven children: Shealtiel, Malkiram, Pedaiah, Shenazzar, Jekamiah, Hoshama and Nedabiah. (1 Chronicles 3:17-18) Matthew 1:11 lists Josiah as the father of Jeconiah: "Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the Babylonian exile." It has been suggested that the word "son" here should be taken in the sense of "grandson," since 2 Kings 24:6 says his father was Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah. A list of his descendants is given in 1 Chronicles 3:17-24. Jeremiah (22:28-30) cursed Jeconiah that none of his descendants would ever sit on the throne of Israel: Thus says the LORD: 'Write this man down as childless, A man who shall not prosper in his days; For none of his descendants shall prosper, Sitting on the throne of David, And ruling anymore in Judah.'"
Jeconiah is one of the kings
mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, and
after Jeconiah the genealogical line continues through his son,
Shealtiel. Jeconiah does not feature as one of the blood-ancestors of
Jesus in Luke's genealogy which follows the line from Nathan (son of
David) to Heli. However, because of this curse upon Jeconiah, Joseph
would never be able to sit upon the throne of David, nor have any of
his blood-descendants sit upon the throne of David. Queen of Amon and mother of the good king Josiah. (2 Kings 22:1)
Daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath (2
Kings 22:1). Jehoahaz or Joachaz was the name of several people mentioned in the Hebrew Bible.
Not to be confused with Ahaziah of Judah, who is refered to as Jehoahaz in 2 Chronicles.
Regnal titles Jehoahaz in the Douay-Rheims and some other English translations was king of Judah (3 months in 609 BC) and the third son of king Josiah whom he succeeded and Hamautal, daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. He was born in 633/632 BC and his birth name was Shallum (1 Chronicles 3:15). Reign of Jehoahaz of Judah Although he was two years younger than his brother, Eliakim, he was elected to succeed his father on the throne at the age of twenty-three, under the name Jehoahaz. He reigned for only three months, before being deposed by the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho II (2 Kings 23:31-34) and taken into Egyptian captivity. He disregarded the reforms of his father Josiah. (2 Kings 23:32; Jeremiah 22:15-16)
Both William F. Albright and E. R.
Thiele dated his reign to 609 BC, making his birth in 633/632 BC.
Jehoahaz was the first king of Judah to die in exile.
He reigned seventeen years. His
account in 2 Kings states that he was initially faithful to Yahweh,
but his people followed the religious practices of the house of
Jeroboam, which included the worship of a cultic pole of Asherah in
Samaria. The kings of the Arameans, Hazael and Ben-hadad, prevailed
over him, leaving him an army of 50 horsemen, 10 chariots and 10,000
foot soldiers (2 Kings 13:1-9). Jehoahaz besought the Lord for a
deliverer to relieve Israel from Aramean oppression. Just when that
savior appeared or who he was is not determined. But in II Kings 13.
25, and 14. 27, Jehoahaz's son Joash and his grandson Jeroboam II.
would seem to fulfil the requirements. It is also true that
Adad-nirari III, King of Assyria (812-783 B.C.), made campaigns into
the west (804-797), and on one of the incursions captured and sacked
the city of Damascus, thus removing the worst enemy of Israel's prosperity. Jehoash or Joash or Joas (in the Biblical cases) may refer to:
Joash
the Abiezrite (fl. 2nd millennium BC), Hebrew religious leader
House of Jehoshaphat
Regnal titles Preceded by Jehoahaz Succeeded by Jeroboam II Jehoash was a king of the ancient Kingdom of Israel and the son of Jehoahaz. He was the 12th king of Israel and reigned for 16 years. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 801 BC – 786 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 798 BC – 782 BC. When he ascended the throne, the Kingdom of Israel was suffering from the predations of the Arameans, whose king Hazael was reducing the amount of land controlled by Israel. Jehoash was king of Israel for 16 years and led the Israelites through some decisive battles. According to the second book of Kings, Jehoash was sinful and did evil in the eyes of Yahweh for tolerating the worship of the golden calves, yet outwardly at least he worshiped Yahweh. Jehoash went to visit the prophet Elisha, who was sick with the illness that would eventually lead to his death. He held the prophet Elisha in honor, and wept by his bedside while he was dying. Jehoash pleased Elisha, addressing him in the words Elisha himself had used when Elijah was carried up into heaven: "O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof". When Jehoash failed to completely obey Elisha’s instructions, Elisha predicted that Jehoash would only defeat the Arameans three times rather than five or six times, which may have been enough to end the Syrian threat. In three signal and successive victories Jehoash overcame the Syrians, and retook from them the towns which Hazael had captured from Israel. Later in his reign, Jehoash led the men of Israel in the defeat of King Amaziah of Judah. Amaziah had begun to worship some of the idols he had taken from the Edomites, which the author of Chronicles believes led to his ruin and his defeat by Jehoash, whom he had challenged to battle. Jehoash had warned Amaziah, saying: “A thistle in Lebanon sent a message to a cedar in Lebanon, 'Give your daughter to my son in marriage.' Then a wild beast in Lebanon came along and trampled the thistle underfoot. You have indeed defeated Edom and now you are arrogant. Glory in your victory, but stay at home! Why ask for trouble and cause your own downfall and that of Judah also?" Jehoash utterly defeated Amaziah at Beth-shemesh, on the borders of Dan and Philistia. Jehoash then advanced on Jerusalem, broke down a portion of the wall, and carried away the treasures of the Temple and the palace. Jehoash took Amaziah as a prisoner. Amaziah's defeat was followed by a conspiracy that took his life. Jehoash also took hostages to assure good conduct. After the battle he soon died and was buried in Samaria. The sins of Jeroboam are summarized in 1 Kings: You have done more evil than all who lived before you. You have made for yourself other gods, idols made of metal; you have provoked me to anger and thrust me behind your back. — 1 Kings 14:9 NIV
Jeroboam also angered the LORD by
condoning the worship of golden calves. Not only did he condone it,
but offered sacrifices to the calves that he himself had made.
“He instituted a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth
month, like the festival held in Judah, and offered sacrifices on the
altar. This he did in Bethel, sacrificing to the calves he had made.
And at Bethel he also installed priests at the high places he had
made.” Jehoash, too did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam,
his great-grandfather, and Israel continued in them as well. For
example, Jehoash condoned the worship of the golden calves among the
Israelites. Also, late in his reign Jehoash worshipped the gods of Edom.
King
of Judah Preceded by Athaliah Succeeded by Amaziah Jehoash or Joas (in Douay-Rheims) was the eighth king of Judah since his fourth great-grandfather Rehoboam, and the sole surviving son of Ahaziah. His mother was Zibiah of Beersheba. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 837 – 800 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 835 – 796 BC. He is one of the four kings omitted by Matthew (1:8) in the genealogy of Jesus, the other three being Ahaziah, Amaziah, and Jehoiakim. The extermination of the male descendants of David was considered a divine retribution for David's responsibility for the extermination of the priests by Saul, who had commanded his servant Doeg to perform this task (comp. 1 Sam. 22:17-23). Joash escaped death because in the latter case one priest, Abiathar, survived (Sanh. 95b). The hiding-place of Joash was, according to R. Eleazar, one of the chambers behind the Holy of Holies; according to R. Samuel b. Nah.man, one of the upper chambers of the Temple (Cant. R. i. 66). Although a king who is the son of a king need not be anointed, exception was made in the case of Joash, as well as of Solomon and Zedekiah, the succession of each of whom was contested (Lev. R. x. 8). Particular mention is made of the crown placed on Joash's head (2 Kings 11:12), because it fitted exactly, showing that he was qualified for kingship (Ab. Zarah 44a).
He was assassinated by two of his
servants, one of whom was a son of an Ammonite woman and the other
the offspring of a Moabite (2 Chron. 24:26); for God said: "Let
the descendants of the two ungrateful families chastise the
ungrateful Joash" (Yalk., Ex. 262). Ironically, Moab and Ammon
were the two offspring of Lot's tryst with his two daughters as
described in Gen. 19:30-38.
Regnal titles Son of Josiah and Zebidah, and king of Judah (608-598 B.C.). At the age of 25 he was made king by Pharaoh Necho in place of his brother Jehoahaz, who was deposed and exiled to Egypt. Necho changed his name from Eliakim to Jehoiakim (II Kgs 23:34; II Chr 36:4) and exacted heavy tribute from Judah (II Kgs 23:33; II Chr 36:3), which Jehoiakim collected by the imposition of crushing land taxes (II Kgs 23:35). Jehoiakim is described as an evil and oppressive king (II Kgs 24:3; II Chr 36:5; Jer 22:18-23). In the fourth year of his reign (605 B.C.), Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylonia met Necho in Battle at Carchemish. The Egyptian pharaoh was defeated and Babylonia took control of his countries including Judah (Jer 25:1; 46:2). At first Jehoiakim accepted the suzerainty of the new ruler but three years later, he rebelled (II Kgs 24:1). Nebuchadnezzar sent Moabite, Syrian, Ammonite and Chaldean troops to invade Judah. Jerusalem was later captured (II Kgs 24:2) and a large number of the people along with part of the Temple treasure, were sent to Babylonia (II Chr 36:7). Many of these events are now attested by the extra-biblical source of the Babylonian Chronicle.
According to II Kings 24:6,
Jehoiakim died peacefully. However, in Josephus' account (Antiq. x,
97) his body was thrown out over the gates of Jerusalem, as
prophesied by Jeremiah (Jer 22:18-19; 36:30). It is recorded in
Chronicles that Jehoiakim was sent to Babylon in fetters but no
mention is made of his subsequent death (I Chr 36:6). Jehoram was the name of several individuals in the Tanakh. The female version of this name is Athaliah.
Jehoram was a king of the northern Kingdom of Israel. (2 Kings 8:16, 8:25-28) He was the son of Ahab and Jezebel, and brother to King Ahaziah. According to 2 Kings 8:16, in the fifth year of Joram of Israel, (another) Jehoram became king of Judah, when his father Jehoshaphat was (still) king of Judah, indicating a co-regency. The author of Kings also speaks of both Jehoram of Israel and Jehoram of Judah in the same passage, which can be confusing. Jehoram of Israel Reign Jehoram began to reign in Israel in the 18th year of Jehoshaphat of Judah, and ruled 12 years. (2 Kings 3:1) William F. Albright has dated his reign to 849 BC–842 BC, while E. R. Thiele offers the dates 852 BC–841 BC. Like his predecessors, Jehoram worshiped Baal. With Jehoshaphat of Juda and the King of Edom, Jehoram attacked Mesha, King of Moab. In the war between Syria and Israel, Elisha befriended Jehoram, revealing to him the plans of the enemy. Subsequently, when Ben-hadad besieged Samaria, reducing the city almost to starvation, Jehoram sought to kill the prophet. The latter, however, foretold a period of plenty, which quickly came, and the old relation between the king and the prophet was restored. When Hazael, king of the Arameans, revolted in Damascus, as Elisha had predicted (II Kings viii. 12), Jehoram made an alliance with his nephew Ahaziah, King of Judah. The two kings set forth to take Ramoth-gilead from Syria. The project failed; Jehoram was wounded in the fighting, and he withdrew to Jezreel to recover. It is likely that his defeat at Ramoth-Gilead was a disaster. As a result, while Jehoram was recuperating at Jezreel, his general Jehu incited a revolt. Jehu murdered Jehoram and had his body thrown into the field of Naboth the Jezreelite, as punishment for his parent's sin in stealing the former's land. With the death of Jehoram the dynasty of Omri became extinct. Jehu claimed the throne of Israel as his own.
The author of the Tel Dan Stele
(found in 1993-94 during archaeological excavations of the site of
Laish) claimed to have slain both Ahaziah and Jehoram. Hazael is the
most likely to have written it.
House of David
Regnal titles Preceded by Jehoshaphat Succeeded by Ahaziah Jehoram of Judah was the king of the southern Kingdom of Judah, and the son of Jehoshaphat. William F. Albright has dated his reign to 849 BC – 842 BC. Edwin Thiele placed a coregency of Jehoram with his father Jehoshaphat, starting in 853/852 BC, with the beginning of his sole reign occurring in 848/847 and his death in 841/840 BC. As explained in the Rehoboam article, Thiele's chronology for the first kings of Judah contained an internal inconsistency that later scholars corrected by dating these kings one year earlier, so that Jehoram's dates are taken as one year earlier in the present article: coregency beginning in 854/853, sole reign commencing in 849/848, and death in 842/841 BC. Reign of Jehoram of Judah According to 2 Kings 8:16, Jehoram became king of Judah in the fifth year of Jehoram of Israel, when his father Jehoshaphat was (still) king of Judah, indicating a co-regency. The author of Kings also speaks of both Jehoram of Israel and Jehoram of Judah in the same passage, which can be confusing. Jehoram took the throne at the age of 32 and reigned for eight years.To secure his position Jehoram killed his six brothers. Jehoram formed an alliance with the Kingdom of Israel by marrying Athaliah, the daughter of Ahab. Despite this alliance with the stronger northern kingdom, Jehoram's rule of Judah was shaky. Edom revolted, and when Jehoram marched against this people, his army fled before the Edomites, and he was forced to acknowledge their independence. The town of Libnah revolted during his reign, according to 2 Chronicles 21:10, because he "had abandoned Yahweh, God of his fathers."
2 Chronicles relates that a raid
consisting of Philistines, Arabs and Ethiopians looted the king's
house, and carried off all of his family except for his youngest son
Jehoahaz. During this time the king received a letter of warning from
Elijah. After this, Jehoram suffered a painful inflammation of the
abdomen, and he died two years. Meaning: Jehovah-judged Jehoshaphat was the fourth king of the Kingdom of Judah, and successor of his father Asa, king of Judah. His children included Jehoram of Judah. Historically, his name has sometimes been connected with the Valley of Jehosaphat, where, according to Joel 3:2, the God of Israel will gather all nations for judgment. Jehoshaphat took the throne at the age of thirty-five (1 Kings 22:42). William F. Albright has dated the reign of Jehoshaphat to 873 - 849 BC. E. R. Thiele held that he became coregent with his father Asa in Asa's thirty-ninth year, 872/871 BC, the year Asa was afflicted with a severe disease in his feet, and then became sole regent when Asa died of the disease in 870/869 BC, his own death occurring in 848/847 BC. As explained in the Rehoboam article, Thiele's chronology for the first kings of Judah contained an internal inconsistency that later scholars corrected by dating these kings one year earlier, so that Jehoshaphat's dates are taken as one year earlier in the present article: coregency beginning in 873/871, sole reign commencing in 871/870, and death in 849/848 BC.
Jehoshaphat spent the first years
of his reign fortifying his kingdom against Israel (2 Chronicles
17:1, 2). The Bible lauds the king for the repression of sodomitic
activity (1 Kings 22:46), and for destroying the cult images or
"idols"of Baal in the land (1 Kings 22:43). In the third
year of his reign Jehoshaphat sent out priests and Levites over the
land to instruct the people in the Law (2 Chr. 17:7-9), an activity
that was commanded for a Sabbatical year in Deuteonomy 31:10-13. The
author of 2 Chronicles generally praises his reign, stating that the
kingdom enjoyed a great measure of peace and prosperity, the blessing
of God resting on the people "in their basket and their store."
Jehoshuah See Joshua Jehovah is translated as "The Existing One"or "Lord."The chief meaning of Jehovah is derived from the Hebrew word Havah meaning "to be"or "to exist."It also suggests "to become"or specifically "to become known"- this denotes a God who reveals Himself unceasingly. also Yehowah, is an English reading of , the most frequent form of the Tetragrammaton , the principal and personal name of God in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). It is a direct phonetic transliteration based on the Hebrew Bible text with vowel points handed down by the Masoretes. By long tradition, in modern Jewish culture the Tetragrammaton is not pronounced. Instead the above vocalization indicates to the reverent Jewish reader that the term Adonai is to be used. In places where the preceding or following word already is Adonai, the reading Elohim is used instead, indicated by a different vocalization of the Tetragrammaton. It is generally refered, in line with the Jewish tradition, that (Jehovah) is a "hybrid form", created when the Masoretes added the vowel pointing of Adonai to the consonants of YHWH. Early English translators, thought to have been unacquainted with Jewish tradition, read this word as they would any other word, and transcribed it (in very few places, namely those where the Name itself was referred to) as Jehovah. The form thus achieved wide currency in the translations of the Protestant Reformation, though it was already in use by Roman Catholic authors. As an Adonist Hebraist, John Drusius critiqued this form of God's name in 1604 A.D., and later regarded by both Jews and some Christians as a mispronunciation, it has nevertheless found a place in Christian liturgical and theological usage. It is the regular English rendition of in the American Standard Version, and occurs seven times in the King James Version. It is also used in Christian hymns such as "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah". The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 8, 1910 edition, page 329, states: "Jehovah, the proper name of God in the Old Testament." The name Jehovah is used by Jehovah's Witnesses as the personal name of God. They give the following position: The truth is, nobody knows for sure how the name of God was originally pronounced. Nevertheless, many prefer the pronunciation Jehovah. Why? Because it has a currency and familiarity that Yahweh does not have. Would it not, though, be better to use the form that might be closer to the original pronunciation? Not really, for that is not the custom with Bible names. To take the most prominent example,consider the name of Jesus. Do you know how Jesus' family and friends addressed him in day-to-day conversation while he was growing up in Nazareth? The truth is, no human knows for certain, although it may have been something like Yeshua (or perhaps Yehoshua). It certainly was not Jesus.) Some however question the received view that the vowels of Jehovah originate with the word Adonai rather than an ancient pronunciation of YHWH. They note that details of vocalization differ between the various early extant manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, and note that the vowel points of Jehovah and Adonai are not precisely the same, and that scholars are not in total agreement as to why this should be. See also
According to The Book of Genesis, Jehovah-jireh (Jehovah/YHVH will see) was the place in the land of Moriah where God told Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham named this place after Jehovah provided a ram to sacrifice in place of Isaac. Genesis 22:14 The contemporary English Translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible contains, "The Lord hath seen."Some translations render it "the LORD will provide", with "LORD"taking the place of the Tetragrammaton. One Latin version of the Bible rendered the name in Latin as Dominus videt ("The Lord sees") See also
See also
Jehovah Nisi See Jehovah-nissi
Jehovahnissi See Jehovah-nissi Variant spellings: Jehovah Nisi; Jehovahnissi In the Old Testament Jehovah-Nissi occurs only once in Exd 17:15. Jehovah is translated as "The Existing One"or "Lord."The chief meaning of Jehovah is derived from the Hebrew word Havah meaning "to be"or "to exist."It also suggests "to become"or specifically "to become known"- this denotes a God who reveals Himself unceasingly. Nes (nês), from which Nissi derived, means "banner"in Hebrew. In Exd 17:15, Moses, recognizing that the Lord was Israel's banner under which they defeated the Amalekites, builds an altar named Jehovah-Nissi (the Lord our Banner). Nes is sometimes translated as a pole with an insignia attached. In battle opposing nations would fly their own flag on a pole at each of their respective front lines. This was to give their soldiers a feeling of hope and a focal point. This is what God is to us: a banner of encouragement to give us hope and a focal point. According to the Book of Exodus, Jehovah-Nissi is the name of the memorial altar erected by Moses after the nation of Israel won the battle against the Amalekites at Rephidim in Exodus 17:8,13-16. In modern Biblical translations, such as the New International Version, the name is translated "the Lord is my banner."The Septuagint translators believed nis·si to be derived from nus (flee for refuge) and rendered it "Jehovah Is My Refuge", while in the Vulgate it was thought to be derived from na·sas (hoist; lift up) and was rendered "Jehovah Is My Exaltation". See also
Jehovah Rapha The LORD Who Heals In the Old Testament Jehovah-Rapha is used in Ex 15:26. Variant spellings: Jehovah-Rophe; Jehovah Rophecha; Jehovah Raphah Rapha (râpâ') means "to restore", "to heal"or "to make healthful"in Hebrew. When the two words Jehovah and Rapha are combined - Jehovah Rapha - it can be translated as "Jehovah Who Heals."(cf. Jer 30:17; Jer 3:22; Isa 30:26; Isa 61:1; Psa 103:3). Jehovah is the Great Physician who heals the physical and emotional needs of His people. See also
Jehovah Raphah See Jehovah Rapha Jehovah-Rophe See Jehovah Rapha
Jehovah Rophecha
See Jehovah Rapha Charles Spurgeon preached his New Year sermon in 1891 on this text, declaring: It is esteemed by the prophet to be the highest blessing that could come upon a city that its name should be, JEHOVAH-SHAMMAH, The Lord is there. See also
Jehu son of Hanani was a prophet in the Hebrew Bible, who was active in the 9th century BC. According to the Bible, Jehu condemned the house of Baasha, king of Israel, accusing him of leading the people into sin like his predecessor Jeroboam. Jehu's words were fulfilled in the reign of Elah, Baasha's son, when the traitor Zimri assassinated Elah and murdered all of Baasha's family and associates. (1 Kings 16:1,7,12) Jehu also challenged Jehoshaphat, king of Judah. Jehoshaphat's alliance with Ahab ended in the latter's death at the Battle of Ramoth-Gilead. Jehoshaphat returned safely, but Jehu rebuked him for helping the wicked. He went on to say that nevertheless the Lord found good in the king, as he had removed the Asherah poles from the land and set his heart to seek God. (2 Chron 19:2-3)
Jekonjah See Jeconiah Jephthah had made a vow to God, that if he was able to return home in triumph from war, he would sacrifice whoever first appeared at the door of his house. Unfortunately, it was his daughter, his only child, who greeted his victorious return "with timbrels and with dances."Jephthah tore his clothing in distress as he realized the terrible rashness of his vow. The following verses seem to indicate he followed through on his vow, but some scholars believe the verse means she was kept as a virgin dedicated to special service to the Lord for the rest of her life.
Before his six years of judging
had ended, Jephthah had to put down an uprising by the men of
Ephraim, his fellow Israelites, who were angry by his failure to ask
them to join the fight against the Ammonites.
The two armies went to battle, and Jephthah's army, the Gileadites,
killed 42,000 Ephraimites. Although, his weakness was his rash,
thoughtless behavior, he's listed in the Book of Hebrews as one of
the heros of faith (Heb. 11:32). After his death, he was buried in a
city of Gilead. Jephthah's story is found in Judges chapter 11, and
chap. 12:1-7. Meaning: According to Matthew G. Easton (nimble, or a beholder). According to Dr. Judson Comwall and Dr. Stelman Smith [He will be beheld; i.e., cared for by God; for whom it is prepared; it will be prepared; he that beholds; appearing; regarding. He will be turned (prepared)]. Jephunneh is the name of two biblical men:
Fourth son of Joktan the son of
Eber in the genealogy of the family of Adam according to Genesis
10:26, 1 Chronicles 1:20; it is generally considered that the name
denotes a place in the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. The name Jerahmeel appears several times in the Tanakh.
There are probably three distinct
persons of that name in the Tanakh.[1][2][3] In order of their
lifetimes they are:
In some deuterocanonical and apocryphal writings there are references to an archangel variously called Jeremiel, Eremiel, Remiel, Ramiel etc. The Hebrew name Jerahmeel, which appears several times in the Tanakh (see the article Jerahmeel), also appears in various forms as the name of an archangel in books of the intertestamental and early Christian periods. In the deuterocanonical book 2 Esdras, also known as 4 Ezra, which has come down to us in Latin and appears as an appendix to the Vulgate, there is a reference in chapter 4 verse 36, to Jeremiel (in the Latin Hieremihel), which, however, does not occur in all the manuscripts. Other versions have Remihel, Oriel or Uriel. In this passage the angel or angels (Uriel is also there) are answering Ezra's many questions about heaven and hell. In the Apocalypse of Zephaniah, an apocryphal book which has come down to us in Coptic, the angel referred to as Eremiel tells Zephaniah. I am the great angel, Eremiel, who is over the abyss and Hades, the one in which all of the souls are imprisoned from the end of the Flood, which came upon the earth, until this day. In two or three places in the Book of Enoch, available in Ethiopic, there are lists of angels. Included are Rame'el and Ram'el (in the same list). There are occasional references, in various spellings, in other apocryphal manuscripts.
Jered See Jared "Yah Exalts", also called the "Weeping prophet", Jeremiah was one of the 'greater prophets' of the Hebrew Bible. He was the son of Hilkiah, a priest of Anathoth. Jeremiah is also famous as "the broken-hearted prophet"(who wrote or dictated a "broken-hearted book", which has been difficult for scholars to put into chronological order), whose heart-rending life, and true prophecies of dire warning went largely unheeded by the people of Israel. God told Jeremiah, "You will go to them; but for their part, they will not listen to you". Jeremiah was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. Jeremiah is traditionally credited with authoring the Book of Jeremiah, 1 Kings, 2 Kings and the Book of Lamentations, with the assistance and under the editorship of Baruch ben Neriah, his scribe and disciple. Judaism considers the Book of Jeremiah part of its canon, and regards Jeremiah as the second of the major prophets. Islam considers Jeremiah a prophet, and he is listed as a major prophet in Ibn Kathir's canonical collection of Annals of the Prophets. Christianity also regards Jeremiah as a prophet and he is quoted in the New Testament. It has been interpreted that Jeremiah "spiritualized and individualized religion and insisted upon the primacy of the individual's relationship with God."
About a year after King Josiah of
Judah had turned the nation toward repentance from the widespread
idolatrous practices of his father and grandfather, Jeremiah's sole
purpose was to reveal the sins of the people and explain the reason
for the impending disaster (destruction by the Babylonian army and
captivity), "And when your people say, 'Why has the Lord our God
done all these things to us?' you shall say to them, 'As you have
forsaken me and served foreign gods in your land, so you shall serve
foreigners in a land that is not yours.'" God's personal message
to Jeremiah, "Attack you they will, overcome you they
can't," was fulfilled many times in the Biblical narrative:
Jeremiah was attacked by his own brothers, beaten and put into the
stocks by a priest and false prophet, imprisoned by the king,
threatened with death, thrown into a cistern by Judah's officials,
and opposed by a false prophet. When Nebuchadnezzar seized Jerusalem
in 586 BC, he ordered that Jeremiah be freed from prison and treated well.
(yarobh`am; Hieroboam in the Septuagint; commonly held to have been derived from riyb and `am, and signifying "the people contend,"or, "he pleads the people's cause"- alternatively translated to mean "his people are many"or "he increases the people"; or even "he that opposes the people") Jeroboam was the first king of the break-away ten tribes or Northern Kingdom of Israel, over whom he reigned twenty-two years. Jeroboam was the first king of the northern Israelite Kingdom of Israel after the revolt of the ten northern Israelite tribes against Rehoboam that put an end to the United Monarchy. Jeroboam reigned for 22 years. William F. Albright has dated his reign from 922 to 901 BC, while Edwin R. Thiele offers the dates 931 to 910 BC. He was the son of a widow of Zereda, and while still young was promoted by Solomon to be chief superintendent of the "burnden", i.e. the bands of forced laborers. According to 1 Kings 11:26-39, Jeroboam was born the son of Nebat an Ephraimite of Zereda whose mother's name was Zeruah (who later became a widow, and could have been leperous as her name translates). Influenced by the words of the prophet Ahijah, he began to form conspiracies with the view of becoming king of the ten tribes; but these having been discovered, he fled to Egypt (1 Kings 11:29-40), where he remained for a length of time under the protection of Shoshenq I. On the death of Solomon, the ten tribes, having revolted, sent to invite him to become their king. The conduct of Rehoboam favored the designs of Jeroboam, and he was accordingly proclaimed "king of Israel"(1 Kings 12:1-20). He rebuilt and fortified Shechem as the capital of his kingdom. He at once adopted means to perpetuate the division thus made between the two parts of the kingdom, and erected at Dan and Bethel, the two extremities of his kingdom, "golden calves,"which he set up as symbols of God, enjoining the people not any more to go up to worship at Jerusalem, but to bring their offerings to the shrines he had erected. Thus he became distinguished as the man "who made Israel to sin."This policy was followed by all the succeeding kings of Israel.
According to 1 Kings 13:1-6, 9,
while he was engaged in offering incense at Bethel, a prophet from
Judah appeared before him with a warning message from the Lord.
Attempting to arrest the prophet for his bold words of defiance, his
hand was "dried up,"and the altar before which he stood was
rent asunder. At his urgent entreaty his "hand was restored him
again"(1 Kings 13:1-6, 9; compare 2 Kings 23:15); but the
miracle made no abiding impression on him. His reign was one of
constant war with the house of Judah. He died soon after his son
Abijah (1 Kings 14:1-18). William F. Albright has dated his reign to 786 BC – 746 BC, while E. R. Thiele says he was coregent with Jehoash 793 BC to 782 BC and sole ruler 782 BC to 753 BC. He was victorious over the Syrians (2Kings 14:26, 27), conquered Damascus (14:28), and extended Israel to its former limits, from "the entering of Hamath to the sea of the plain". In 1910, G. A. Reisner found sixty-three inscribed potsherds while excavating the royal palace at Samaria, which were later dated to the reign of Jeroboam II and mention regnal years extending from the ninth to the 17th of his reign. These ostraca, while unremarkable in themselves, contain valuable information about the script, language, religion and administrative system of the period. Archaeological evidence confirms the biblical account of his reign as the most prosperous that Israel had yet known. By the late 8th century BC the territory of Israel was the most densely settled in the entire Levant, with a population of about 350,000. This prosperity was built on trade in olive oil, wine, and possibly horses, with Egypt and especially Assyria providing the markets. According to the prophet Amos, the triumphs of the king had engendered a haughty spirit of boastful overconfidence at home (Amos vi. 13). Oppression and exploitation of the poor by the mighty, luxury in palaces of unheard-of splendor, and a craving for amusement were some of the internal fruits of these external triumphs. Under Jeroboam II Yhwh was worshiped at Dan and Beth-el and at other old Israelitish shrines, but through actual images, such as the golden calf. These services at Dan and Beth-el, at Gilgal and Beer-sheba, were of a nature to arouse the indignation of the prophets, and the foreign cults (Amos v.), both numerous and degrading, contributed still further to arousing of the prophetic spirit. Jeroboam's reign was the period of the prophets Hosea, Joel, Jonah and Amos, all of whom condemned the materialism and selfishness of the Israelite elite of their day: "Woe unto those who lie upon beds of ivory. . . eat lambs from the flock and calves. . . [and] sing idle songs. . . " The book of Kings, written a century later condemns Jeroboam for doing "evil in the eyes of the Lord", meaning both the oppression of the poor and his continuing support of the cult centres of Dan and Bethel, in opposition to the temple in Jerusalem. Earthquake in Israel ca. 760 BC (Jeroboam II) A major earthquake had occurred in Israel ca. 760 BC, which may have been during the time of Jeroboam II, towards the end of his rule. This earthquake is mentioned in the Book of Amos as having occurred during the rule of "Jeroboam son of Jehoash" (Amos 1:1). Geologists believe they have found evidence of this big earthquake in sites throughout Israel and Jordan. Archeologists Yigael Yadin and Israel Finkelstein date the earthquake level at Tel Hazor to 760 BC based on stratigraphic analysis of the destruction debris. Similarly, David Ussishkin arrives at the same date based on the "sudden destruction" level at Lachish. According to Steven A. Austin, the magnitude of this earthquake may have been at least 7.8, but more likely as high as 8.2. "This magnitude 8 event of 750 B.C. appears to be the largest yet documented on the Dead Sea transform fault zone during the last four millennia." The epicenter of this earthquake may have been 200-300 km north of present-day Israel. Multiple biblical references exist to this earthquake in the Book of Amos (3:14, 6:11, 8:8, 9:1), and also in Zechariah 14:5. Indirect references may be found in Isaiah 2:19, Joel 3:16, and Hebrews 12:28. Jeroboam II In the Bible
His name occurs in the Old
Testament only in 2 Kings 13:13; 14:16, 23, 27, 28, 29; 15:1, 8; 1
Chronicles 5:17; Hosea 1:1; and Amos 1:1; 7:9, 10, 11. In all other
passages it is Jeroboam I, the son of Nebat that is meant.
Born: c. 340-347, Stridon, on the
border of Dalmatia and Pannonia Saint Jerome was a Christian priest and Christian apologist best known for translating the Vulgate. He is recognized by the Catholic Church as a canonized saint and Doctor of the Church, and his version of the Bible is still an important text in Catholicism. He is also recognized as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church, where he is known as St Jerome of Stridonium or Blessed Jerome. He is presumed by some to have been an Illyrian, but this may just be conjecture.
In the Catholic Church, it has
been usual to represent him (the patron of theological learning)
anachronistically, as a cardinal, by the side of Saint Augustine of
Hippo, Ambrose, and Pope Gregory I. Even when he is depicted as a
half-clad anchorite, with cross, skull and Bible for the only
furniture of his cell, the red hat or some other indication of his
rank as cardinal is as a rule introduced somewhere in the picture. He
is also often depicted with a lion, due to a medieval story in which
he removed a thorn from a lion's paw, and less often with an owl, the
symbol of wisdom and scholarship. Writing materials and the trumpet
of final judgment are also part of his iconography. He is
commemorated on 30 September with a memorial. Jesse is the father of the Biblical David, who became the king of the nation of Israel. His son David is sometimes called simply "Son of Jesse"(ben yishay). Jesse was the son of Obed and he was the grandson of Ruth. He was a Bethlehemite.
Jesse is important in Judaism
because he was the father of one of the most famous kings of Israel.
Jesse is important in Christianity because, in part, he is mentioned
in the genealogy of Jesus Christ. English form of Inoouc (Iesous), which was the Greek form of the Aramaic name (Yeshu'a). Yeshu'a is itself a contracted form of Yehoshua. Yeshua ben Yoseph, better known as Jesus Christ. "Jesus" is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Joshua (Yehoshua) which was originally Hoshea (Oshea) (Num. 13:8, 16 - the King James Version of the Bible spells it "Oshea"), but changed by Moses into Jehoshua (Num. 13:16; 1 Chr. 7:27), or Joshua. After the Exile it assumed the form Jeshua, from which came the Greek form Jesus. It was given to our Lord to denote the object of his mission, to save. An angel told Joseph (his foster-father), "You are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). Several usage of the name Jesus:
Jesus Christ in Greek: “Jesus Christ” appears in several other names of Jesus including “Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul sometimes used the reverse title, “Christ Jesus,” though it is unclear why he did so. There are many names of Jesus formed from combinations of the name Jesus with “Christ” and “Lord.” Consider the two words which compose Jesus Christ Jesus The word Jesus is the Latin form of the Greek Iesous, which in turn is the transliteration of the Hebrew Jeshua, or Joshua, or again Jehoshua, meaning "Jehovah is salvation." Though the name in one form or another occurs frequently in the Old Testament, it was not borne by a person of prominence between the time of Josue, the son of Nun and Josue, the high priest in the days of Zorobabel. It was also the name of the author of Ecclesiaticus, of one of Christ's ancestors mentioned in the genealogy, found in the Third Gospel (Luke 3:29), and one of the St. Paul's companions (Colossians 4:11). During the Hellenizing period, Jason, a purely Greek analogon of Jesus, appears to have been adopted by many (1 Maccabees 8:17; 12:16; 14:22; 2 Maccabees 1:7; 2:24; 4:7-26; 5:5-10; Acts 17:5-9; Romans 16:21). The Greek name is connected with verb iasthai, to heal; it is therefore, not surprising that some of the Greek Fathers allied the word Jesus with same root (Eusebius, "Dem. Ev.", IV; cf. Acts 9:34; 10:38). Though about the time of Christ the name Jesus appears to have been fairly common (Josephus, "Ant.", XV, ix, 2; XVII, xiii, 1; XX, ix, 1; "Bel. Jud.", III, ix, 7; IV, iii, 9; VI, v, 5; "Vit.", 22) it was imposed on our Lord by God's express order (Luke 1:31; Matthew 1:21), to foreshow that the Child was destined to "save his people from their sins." Philo ("De Mutt. Nom.", 21) is therefore, right when he explains Iesous as meaning soteria kyrion; Eusebius (Dem., Ev., IV, ad fin.; P.G., XXII, 333) gives the meaning Theou soterion; while St. Cyril of Jerusalem interprets the word as equivalent to soter (Catechetical Lectures X.13). This last writer, however, appears to agree with Clement of Alexandria in considering the word Iesous as of Greek origin (The Pedagogue III.12); St. Chrysostom emphasizes again the Hebrew derivation of the word and its meaning soter (Homily 2 on Matthew, No. 2), thus agreeing with the exegesis of the angel speaking to St. Joseph (Matthew 1:21). Christ The word Christ, Christos, the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew Messias, means "anointed." According to the Old Law, priests (Exodus 29:29; Leviticus 4:3), kings (1 Samuel 10:1; 24:7), and prophets (Isaiah 61:1) were supposed to be anointed for their respective offices; now, the Christ, or the Messias, combined this threefold dignity in His Person. It is not surprising, therefore, that for centuries the Jews had referred to their expected Deliverer as "the Anointed"; perhaps this designation alludes to Isaias 61:1, and Daniel 9:24-26, or even to Psalms 2:2; 19:7; 44:8. Thus the term Christ or Messias was a title rather than a proper name: "Non proprium nomen est, sed nuncupatio potestatis et regni", says Lactantius (Divine Institutes IV.7). The Evangelists recognize the same truth; excepting Matthew 1:1, 1:18; Mark 1:1; John 1:17; 17:3; 9:22; Mark 9:40; Luke 2:11; 22:2, the word Christ is always preceded by the article. Only after the Resurrection did the title gradually pass into a proper name, and the expression Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus became only one designation. But at this stage the Greeks and Romans understood little or nothing about the import of the word anointed; to them it did not convey any sacred conception. Hence they substituted Chrestus, or "excellent", for Christus or "anointed", and Chrestians instead of "Christians." There may be an allusion to this practice in 1 Peter 2:3; hoti chrestos ho kyrios, which is rendered "that the Lord is sweet." Justin Martyr (First Apology 4), Clement of Alexandria (Stromata II.4.18), Tertullian (To the Nations II), and Lactantius (Divine Institutes IV.7), as well as St. Jerome (In Gal., V, 22), are acquainted with the pagan substitution of Chrestes for Christus, and are careful to explain the new term in a favourable sense. The pagans made little or no effort to learn anything accurate about Christ and the Christians; Suetonius, for instance, ascribes the expulsion of the Jews from Rome under Claudius to the constant instigation of sedition by Chrestus, whom he conceives as acting in Rome the part of a leader of insurgents. The use of the definite article before the word Christ and its gradual development into a proper name show the Christians identified the bearer with the promised Messias of the Jews. He combined in His person the offices of prophet (John 6:14; Matthew 13:57; Luke 13:33; 24:19) of king (Luke 23:2; Acts 17:7; 1 Corinthians 15:24; Apocalypse 15:3), and of priest (Hebrews 2:17; etc.); he fulfilled all the Messianic predictions in a fuller and a higher sense than had been given them by the teachers of the Synagogue.
See also Jesus
of Nazareth “Jesus Christ of Nazareth” includes the Greek word “Christ,” which translates the Hebrew word “Messiah.”
Jesus Christ of Nazareth in Greek:
NASB has Jesus Christ the Nazarene
in these verses. KJV and NIV have the listed name.
Jesus Christ the Righteous
in Greek:
Similar names of Jesus are Holy
and Righteous One and simply the Righteous One.
•Born: c. 5 B.C. Commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ Jesus of Nazareth is the central figure of the Christian religion, a savior believed to be both God incarnate and a human being. He is also known as Jesus Christ, the term "Christ" meaning anointed or chosen one. Most of the details of his life are unclear, and much of what is known about his life comes from the four Gospels of the New Testament. The Gospels tell the story of Jesus's auspicious birth in a stable in Bethlehem, and then of his life as an adult, a teacher with miraculous powers who foretold his own death to his closest followers, called Apostles. Jesus, betrayed by the apostle Judas, was crucified by the Romans, and his resurrection three days after his death was taken as proof of his divinity. Christian doctrine holds that by his crucifixion and resurrection he paid for the sins of all mankind. He was born a Jew in Bethlehem before the death of Herod the Great in 4 BC, and he died while Pontius Pilate was Roman governor of Judaea (AD 28 – 30). The date of Jesus's birth to Mary is celebrated each December 25th as Christmas Day. The occasion was used as the base year for the modern Christian calendar, though researchers now believe that earlier estimates were inexact and that Jesus was actually born between 4 B.C. and 7 B.C. The date of the crucifixion is now marked as Good Friday, and the resurrection celebrated as Easter. His mother, Mary, was married to Joseph, a carpenter of Nazareth. Of his childhood after the birth narratives in Matthew and Luke, nothing is known, except for one visit to Jerusalem with his parents. He began his ministry about age 30, becoming a preacher, teacher, and healer. He gathered disciples in the region of Galilee, including the 12 Apostles, and preached the imminent arrival of the kingdom of God. His moral teachings, outlined in the Sermon on the Mount, and his reported miracles won him a growing number of followers, who believed that he was the promised messiah. On Passover he entered Jerusalem on a donkey, where he shared the Last Supper with his disciples and was betrayed to the Roman authorities by Judas Iscariot. Arrested and tried, he was condemned to death as a political agitator and was crucified and buried. Three days later visitors to his tomb found it empty. According to the Gospels, he appeared several times to his disciples before ascending into heaven. Most critical historians agree that Jesus was a Galilean Jewish Rabbi who was regarded as a teacher and healer in Judaea, that he was baptized by John the Baptist, and that he was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect, Pontius Pilate, on the charge of sedition against the Roman Empire. Critical Biblical scholars and historians have offered competing descriptions of Jesus as a self-described Messiah, as the leader of an apocalyptic movement, as an itinerant sage, as a charismatic healer, and as the founder of an independent religious movement. Most contemporary scholars of the historical Jesus consider him to have been an independent, charismatic founder of a Jewish restoration movement, anticipating a future apocalypse. Other prominent scholars, however, contend that Jesus' "Kingdom of God" meant radical personal and social transformation instead of a future apocalypse. Christians traditionally believe that Jesus was born of a virgin, performed miracles, founded the Church, died sacrificially to achieve atonement, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, from which he will return. The majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, and "the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity". A few Christian groups, however, reject Trinitarianism, wholly or partly, believing it to be non-scriptural. Most Christian scholars today present Jesus as the awaited Messiah promised in the Old Testament and as God, arguing that he fulfilled many Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. Judaism rejects assertions that Jesus was the awaited Messiah, arguing that he did not fulfill the Messianic prophecies in the Tanakh. In Islam, Jesus (in Islamic usage, commonly transliterated as Isa) is considered one of God's important prophets, a bringer of scripture, and the product of a virgin birth, but not the victim of crucifixion. Islam and the Bahá'í Faith use the title "Messiah" for Jesus, but do not teach that he was God incarnate.
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Jesus in Islam is a
messenger of God who had been sent to guide the Children of Israel
with a new scripture, the Injil (Gospel). The Qur'an, believed by
Muslims to be God's final revelation, states that Jesus was born to
Mary (Arabic: Maryam) as the result of virginal conception, a
miraculous event which occurred by the decree of God (Arabic: Allah).
To aid him in his quest, Jesus was given the ability to perform
miracles, all by the permission of God. According to Islamic texts,
Jesus was neither killed nor crucified, but rather he was raised
alive up to Heaven. Islamic traditions narrate that he will return to
earth near the day of judgment to restore justice and defeat
("the false Messiah", also known as the Antichrist).
Like all prophets in Islam, Jesus is considered to have been a
Muslim, as he preached for people to adopt the straight path in
submission to God's will. Islam rejects that Jesus was God incarnate
or the son of God, stating that he was an ordinary man who, like
other prophets, had been divinely chosen to spread God's message.
Islamic texts forbid the association of partners with God (shirk),
emphasizing the notion of God's divine oneness (tawhid). Numerous
titles are given to Jesus in the Qur'an, such as al-Masi? ("the
Messiah; the anointed one"i.e. by means of blessings), although
it does not correspond with the meaning accrued in Christian belief.
Jesus is seen in Islam as a precursor to Muhammad, and is believed by
Muslims to have foretold the latter's coming. Jethro was a prince or priest of Midian, who succeeded his father Reuel. In the Hebrew Bible, Jethro is the father-in-law of Moses, a Kenite shepherd and priest of El Shaddai. In the book of Judges, Mose's father-in-law is recorded as having the name Hobab. In Islam, Jethro is identified with Shoaib, one of the prophets in the Qur'an. He is also revered as a prophet in his own right in the Druze religion. Moses spent forty years after his exile from the Egyptian court as keeper of Jethro's flocks.
While the Israelites were encamped
at Sinai, and soon after their victory over Amalek, Jethro came to
meet Moses, bringing with him Zipporah and her two sons. They met at
the "mount of God," and "Moses told him all that the
Lord had done unto Pharaoh" (Ex. 18:8). On the following day
Jethro, observing the multiplicity of the duties devolving on Moses,
advised him to appoint subordinate judges, rulers of thousands, of
hundreds, of fifties, and of tens, to decide smaller matters, leaving
only the weightier matters to be referred to Moses, to be laid before
the Lord. This advice Moses adopted (Ex. 18). He was also called
Hobab (q.v.), which was probably his personal name, while Jethro was
an official name. The Hebrew text portrays Jezebel as a power behind the throne. Ahab and Jezebel allow temples of Baal to operate in Israel, and that religion receives royal patronage. After Ahab's death, Ahaziah and Jehoram, his sons by Jezebel, accede to the throne. The prophet Elisha has one of his servants anoint Jehu as king to overthrow the house of Ahab. Jehu kills Jehoram as he attempts to flee in his war chariot.
Jehu confronts Jezebel in
Jezreel, where he incites her court officials to murder the queen via
defenestration and leave her corpse to be eaten by dogs. Jezebel
became associated with false prophets. In some interpretations, her
dressing in finery and putting on makeup before her death led to the
association of use of cosmetics with "painted women"or prostitutes. Personal name meaning, “he cries or is sleepless.”
Son of Nahor and Milcah, Nahor is Abraham's
brother (Genesis 22:22). Saint Joachim was the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus in the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Anglican traditions. The story of Joachim and Anne appears first in the apocryphal Gospel of James. Joachim and Anne are not mentioned in the Bible. Though few commentators adhere to the view of St. Luke's genealogy, the name of Mary's father, Heli, agrees with the name given to Our Lady's father in a tradition founded upon the report of the Protoevangelium of James, an apocryphal Gospel which dates from the end of the second century. According to this document the parents of Mary are Joachim and Anna. Now, the name Joachim is only a variation of Heli or Eliachim, substituting one Divine name (Yahweh) for the other (Eli, Elohim). The tradition as to the parents of Mary, found in the Gospel of James, is reproduced by St. John Damascene, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Germanus of Constantinople, pseudo-Epiphanius, pseudo-Hilarius, and St. Fulbert of Chartres. Some of these writers add that the birth of Mary was obtained by the fervent prayers of Joachim and Anna in their advanced age. As Joachim belonged to the royal family of David, so Anna is supposed to have been a descendant of the priestly family of Aaron; thus Christ the Eternal King and Priest sprang from both a royal and priestly family.
Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from Koine Greek Io-anna from Hebrew Yôh.a-nna-h meaning 'God is gracious'. Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne.
The earliest recorded occurrence of the name Joanna,
in Luke 8:3, refers to the disciple "Joanna
the wife of Chuza," who was an associate of Mary
Magdalene. Her name as given is Greek in form, although it
ultimately originated from the Hebrew masculine name
Yehôh.a-na-n or Yôh.a-na-n meaning 'God is gracious'.
Joash Joash, an Abiezrite of the Tribe of Manasseh, was the father of Gideon according to Judges 6 - 8. His family was poor and lived in Ophrah. After Gideon tore down the altar of Baal and cut down the grove, the men of Ophrah sought to kill Gideon. Joash stood against them, saying, "He that will plead for [Baal], let him be put to death whilst it is yet morning: if he be a god, let him plead for himself, because one hath cast down his altar." Job From the Hebrew name 'Iyyov, which means "persecuted, hated". In the Book of Job in the Old Testament he is a patient man who is tested by God. Job is a character in the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible, as well as a prophet in Islam. In brief, the book begins with an introduction to Job's character - he is described as a blessed man who lives righteously. Satan, however, challenges Job's integrity, arguing that Job serves God simply because of the "hedge"with which God protects him. God progressively removes that protection, allowing Satan to take his wealth, his children, and his physical health. Job remains loyal throughout, and does not curse God. The main portion of the text consists of the discourse of Job and his three friends concerning why Job was so punished, after which God steps in to answer Job and his friends. The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning and he lived 140 years (Job 42:10,17). Job evidently lived about the time of Abraham. Except for the first eleven chapters of Genesis, which almost certainly were originally written by Adam, Noah, the sons of Noah, and Terah, then eventually edited by Moses, the book of Job is probably the oldest book in the Bible. It contains more references to Creation, The Flood and other primeval events than any book of the Bible except Genesis, and provides more insight into the age-long conflict between God and Satan than almost any other book. Remarkably, it also seems to contain more modern scientific insights than any other book of the Bible.
Uniform Jewish tradition ascribed
the book of Job to Moses and also accepted it as part of the true
canon of Scripture. This ascription seems quite reasonable if Moses
is regarded as the editor and original sponsor of Job's book rather
than its author. Undoubtedly, Job himself was the original author
(Job 19:23,24), writing down his memoirs, so to speak, after his
restoration to health and prosperity. Moses most likely came into
possession of Job's record during his forty-year exile from Egypt in
the land of Midian (not far from Job's own homeland in Uz), and
quickly recognized its great importance, perhaps editing it slightly
for the benefit of his own contemporaries. It was all probably
similar to how he compiled and organized the primeval records from
which he has also given us The Book of Genesis.
Although Adam Clarke maintains a different position, many notable Bible scholars identify Jobab with the Biblical character Job. A book by David J. Gibson entitled Whence Came the Hyksos, Kings of Egypt offers a detailed defense of the theory based on numerous Scriptures from the Book of Job, personal names, geography, occupation, and contemporaries.
The date of his reign are unknown,
and there is much dispute concerning whether the supposed connection
with Job is even valid. the wife of Amram, and the mother of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses (Num. 26:59)
She is spoken of as the sister of
Kohath, Amram's father (Ex. 6:20; compare 16, 18; 2:1-10). Joel or Yoel may refer to:
Joel was a prophet of ancient Israel whose prophecies are recorded in the brief Biblical book that bears his name. His name occurs only once in the Old Testament. According to the New Testament, just after his prophesy of the outpouring of God's Spirit upon all flesh is quoted by the apostle Peter in Acts chapter 2. He lived anywhere from the 9th century BC to the 5th century BC. Certain date is unknown. Joel is the second of the twelve minor prophets and the author of the Book of Joel. He was the son of Pethuel. His personal history is known only from his book. The name Joel means "Jehovah is el (god)". On the Eastern Orthodox liturgical calendar, his feast day is October 19. He is commemorated with the other Minor prophets in the Calendar of saints of the Armenian Apostolis Church on July 31.
Despite it's Biblical and Middle
Eastern origins, Joel is a common name in many Modern Western countries.
The firstborn son of the prophet
Samuel. According to I Samuel chapter 8, Joel and his brother Abijah
were appointed by Samuel to be judges in Beersheba. However, Joel and
Abijah "walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre,
and took bribes, and perverted judgment" prompting the
Israelites to demand that Samuel give them a king. Johanan ben Zakkai was the youngest among the numerous disciples of the great Hillel and also of Hillel's opponent Shammai. It therefore appears that Johanan was born about 15 B.C. He evidently lived to a ripe old age, for he survived the destruction of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem (A.D. 70). Tradition speaks of his span of life as 120 years. His brilliant mind and diligence enabled him to become conversant with every field of Jewish learning. Johanan ben Zakkai was a member of the Great Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, the assembly of 71 ordained scholars that functioned both as supreme court and as a legislature. In that body, Johanan, a Pharisee, often debated his Sadducean colleagues on issues of Jewish law. While in Jerusalem, he also presided over an important yeshiva. Johanan foresaw that the Jews could not be victorious in their desperate struggle against Rome; he was determined, however, that Judaism should not perish even if the Jewish state and the Temple were destroyed. While Jerusalem was under siege, Johanan was unable to receive permission to leave the city. He therefore had his pupils carry him out of Jerusalem in a coffin, presumably for burial. Once outside the city, Johanan went to see Vespasian and asked the Roman general to spare the town of Yavneh on the Mediterranean coast, together with its scholars. According to a Talmudic tradition, Johanan predicted to Vespasian that he would soon be chosen emperor, and when this came true, Vespasian granted the rabbi his requests. This was a turning point in Jewish history, for in this unimportant town of Yavneh, Johanan established an academy that had immense influence. Johanan was not formally designated as Nasi, prince or head of the Sanhedrin, probably because he was not a descendant of Hillel or of Davidic stock, as Hillel was. He nonetheless assumed the duties of this office and the title of Rabban, meaning "our master," which was commonly attached to the rank of Nasi. Yavneh replaced Jerusalem as the new seat of a reconstituted Sanhedrin, which reestablished its authority and became a means of reuniting Jewry. With the Temple gone, a substitute was necessary for the sacrificial cult. The aged Johanan suggested that the Temple worship be replaced by benevolent deeds; under his influence, the synagogue and house of study replaced the Temple. The important principle was thus established that Judaism does not depend for its existence on land or sanctuary but rather on the preservation of the Jewish spiritual heritage - the Torah and its teachings. This principle played a vital role in the survival of Judaism in the Diaspora.
True to the ideals of his master
Hillel, Rabban Johanan advocated peace among men and nations. He was
scrupulously ethical in all his dealings and behavior. He taught that
the best character attribute a man could possess is a good heart,
which he believed included all other virtues. His lofty attitudes and
doctrines made Rabban Johanan ben Zakkai the most revered teacher of
his times.
Hyrcanus was the youngest son of Simon
Maccabeus and thus a member of the Hasmonean dynasty (so-called
after an ancestor named Hasmoneus). In 137 bc he and his brother
Judas commanded the force that heroically repelled the invasion of
Judaea led by Cendebeus, the general of the Syrian king Antiochus VII
Sidetes. In 135 Hyrcanus’ brother-in-law, Ptolemy, the governor
of Jericho, assassinated Hyrcanus’ father and two elder
brothers; Hyrcanus then succeeded to the high priesthood and the
supreme authority in Judaea. The remainder of Hyrcanus’ reign
was marked by his efforts to punish his enemies, ward off the
Syrians, and enlarge Judaea’s boundaries. Although he struggled
in vain to destroy Ptolemy, he successfully thwarted Syrian
incursions by alliance with Rome and conquered the unfriendly
neighbouring territories of Samaria and Idumaea (Edom). He forced
Idumaea to convert to Judaism, the first example of conversion
imposed by the Jews in their history. Upon his death Hyrcanus was
succeeded by his eldest son, Aristobulus I. Hyrcanus’ reign was
the last under which Judaea was a powerful, united state. No not John and Paul from The Beatles John and Paul are saints in the Roman Catholic Church. They were martyred at Rome on 26 June. They should not be confused with the famous apostles of the same name (see Saint Paul; Saint John the Apostle). The year of their martyrdom is uncertain according to their Acts; it occurred under Julian the Apostate (361–3). In the second half of the fourth century, Byzantius, the Roman senator, and Saint Pammachius, his son, fashioned their house on the Cælian Hill into a Christian basilica. In the fifth century the presbyteri tituli Byzantii (priests of the church of Byzantius) are mentioned in an inscription and among the signatures of the Roman Council of 499. The church was also called the titulus Pammachii after Byzantius's son, the pious friend of St. Jerome. In the ancient apartments on the ground-floor of the house of Byzantius, which were still retained under the basilica, the tomb of two Roman martyrs, John and Paul, was the object of veneration as early as the fifth century. The Sacramentarium Leonianum already indicates in the preface to the feast of the saints, that they rested within the city walls ("Sacr. Leon.", ed. Feltoe, Cambridge, 1896, 34), while, in one of the early itineraries to the tombs of the Roman martyrs, their grave is assigned to the church on the Cælian (De rossi, "Roma sotterrania", I, 138, 175). The titulus Byzantii or Pammachii was consequently known at a very early date by the names of the two martyrs (titulus SS. Joannis et Pauli). That the two saints are martyrs of the Roman Church is historically certain; as to how and when their bodies found a resting-place in the house of Pammachius under the basilica, we only know that it certainly occurred in the fourth century. The year and circumstances of their martyrdom are likewise unknown. According to their Acts, the martyrs were eunuchs of Constantina, daughter of Constantine the Great, and became acquainted with a certain Gallicanus, who built a church in Ostia. At the command of Julian the Apostate, they were beheaded secretly by Terentianus in their house on the Caelian Hill, where their church was subsequently erected, and where they themselves were buried. The rooms on the ground-floor of the above-mentioned house of Pammachius were rediscovered under the Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo in Rome. They are decorated with important and interesting frescoes, while the original tomb (confessio) of Sts. John and Paul is covered with paintings of which the martyrs are the subject. The rooms and the tomb form one of the most important early Christian memorials in Rome. Since the erection of the basilica, the two saints have been greatly venerated, and their names have been inserted in the Canon of the Mass. Their feast is kept on 26 June.
The Acts of Saints John and Paul
are also connected with the legend of St Bibiana, which has no
historical claim to belief. John Calvin was an influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of Christian theology later called Calvinism. Originally trained as a humanist lawyer, he broke from the Roman Catholic Church around 1530. After religious tensions provoked a violent uprising against Protestants in France, Calvin fled to Basel, Switzerland, where he published the first edition of his seminal work The Institutes of the Christian Religion in 1536. In that year, Calvin was recruited by William Farel to help reform the church in Geneva. The city council resisted the implementation of Calvin and Farel's ideas, and both men were expelled. At the invitation of Martin Bucer, Calvin proceeded to Strasbourg, where he became the minister of a church of French refugees. He continued to support the reform movement in Geneva, and was eventually invited back to lead its church. Following his return, Calvin introduced new forms of church government and liturgy, despite the opposition of several powerful families in the city who tried to curb his authority. During this time, the trial of Michael Servetus was extended by libertines in an attempt to harass Calvin. However, since Servetus was also condemned and wanted by the Inquisition, outside pressure from all over Europe forced the trial to continue. Following an influx of supportive refugees and new elections to the city council, Calvin's opponents were forced out. Calvin spent his final years promoting the Reformation both in Geneva and throughout Europe. Calvin was a tireless polemic and apologetic writer who generated much controversy. He also exchanged cordial and supportive letters with many reformers, including Philipp Melanchthon and Heinrich Bullinger. In addition to the Institutes, he wrote commentaries on most books of the Bible, as well as theological treatises and confessional documents. He regularly preached sermons throughout the week in Geneva. Calvin was influenced by the Augustinian tradition, which led him to expound the doctrine of predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in salvation of the human soul from death and eternal damnation.
Calvin's writing and preachings
provided the seeds for the branch of theology that bears his name.
The Reformed and Presbyterian churches, which look to Calvin as a
chief expositor of their beliefs, have spread throughout the world. John Lightfoot was an English churchman, rabbinical scholar, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge and Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge. His first published work, entitled Erubhin, or, Miscellanies , Christian and Judaical, written in his spare time and dedicated to Cotton, appeared in London in 1629. In 1643 Lightfoot published A Handful of Gleanings out of the Book of Exodus. Also in 1643 he was appointed to preach the sermon before the House of Commons on occasion of the public fast of 29 March. It was published under the title of Elias Redivivus, the text being Luke 1. 17; in it a parallel is drawn between the John the Baptist's ministry and the work of reformation which in the preacher's judgment was incumbent on the parliament of his own day. In 1644 the first instalment of an unfinished work was published in London. The full title was The Harmony of the Four Evangelists among themselves, and with the Old Testament, with an explanation of the chiefest difficulties both in Language and Sense: Part I. From the beginning of the Gospels to the Baptism of our Saviour. The second part, From the Baptism of our Saviour to the first Passover after, followed in 1647, and the third, From the first Passover after our Saviour's Baptism to the second, in 1650. On 26 August 1645 he again preached before the House of Commons on the day of their monthly fast. His text was Rev. xx. I, 2. In these books he dated Creation to 3929 BC (see Ussher chronology). His precise year and meaning is complicated by a partially fabricated 1896 misquote of him by Andrew Dickson White. Rejecting the doctrine of the millenarian sects, Lightfoot had various practical suggestions for the repression of current "blasphemies", for a thorough revision of the authorized version of the Scriptures, for the encouragement of a learned ministry, and for a speedy settlement of the church. A Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles, ironic and critical; the Difficulties of the text explained, and the times of the Story cast into annals. From the beginning of the Book to the end of the Twelfth Chapter. With a brief survey of the contemporary Story of the Jews and Romans (down to the third year of Claudius) was published later that year. In 1647 came The Harmony, Chronicle, and Order of the Old Testament, followed in 1655 by The Harmony, Chronicle, and Order of the New Testament, inscribed to Cromwell. He helped Brian Walton with the Polyglot Bible (1657). His own best-known work was the Horæ Hebraicæ et Talmudicæ, in which the volume relating to the Gospel of Matthew appeared in 1658, that relating to the Gospel of Mark in 1663, and those relating to 1 Corinthians, John and Luke, in 1664, 1671 and 1674 respectively. The Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae impensae in Acta Apostolorum et in Ep. S. Pauli ad Romanos were published posthumously. The Works of Lightfoot were first edited, in 2 vols. fol., by George Bright and John Strype in 1684. The Opera Omnia, cura Joh. Texelii, appeared at Rotterdam in 1686 (2 vols. fol.), and again, edited by Johann Leusden, at Franeker in 1699 (3 vols. 101.). A volume of Remains was published at London in 1700. The Hor. Hebr. et Talm. were also edited in Latin by Johann Benedict Carpzov (Leipzig, 1675–1679), and again, in English, by Robert Gandell (Oxford, 1859).
The most complete edition is that
of the Whole Works, in 13 vols. 8vo. edited, with a life, by John
Rogers Pitman (London, 1822–1825). It includes, besides the
works already noticed, numerous sermons, letters and miscellaneous
writings; and also The Temple, especially as it stood in the Days of
our Saviour (London, 1650). John Mark is a character in the New Testament. According to William Lane, an "unbroken tradition" identifies him with Mark the Evangelist. John Mark is mentioned several times in the Acts of the Apostles. The first mention is in Acts 12:12, when Peter is coming to his mother's house:
John Mark himself appears a bit later in the same chapter, in Acts 12:25, as the travel companion of Saul (Apostle Paul) and Barnabas:
John Mark is mentioned for the last time soon after the Council of Jerusalem in Acts 15:37-41. Paul (Saul) does not have a too flattering impression of his former associate, arguing over him with Barnabas in Antioch:
This is apparently the same occurrence that was earlier mentioned in Acts 13:13, this time referring to John Mark simply as "John":
This John had joined their mission in Antioch. Acts 13:4-5 says:
Barnabas' and Paul's showdown in Antioch is probably the same incident that Paul mentions in his Epistle to the Galatians. According to Paul, however, the ultimate reason was a dispute with Peter over acceptance of Gentiles, in which Barnabas had sided with Peter against Paul.
John Mark is also usually
identified with Mark the cousin of Barnabas. John of Patmos is the name given to the author of the Book of Revelation (or Book of the Apocalypse) in the New Testament. According to the text of Revelation, the author, who gives his name as "John,"is living on the Greek island of Patmos. Many believe John was in exile. In Revelation, he writes to the seven Christian churches in Asia to relate two apocalyptic visions he has had. John of Patmos is often referred to as John the Divine, or John the Theologian, and the message he received is considered divine Revelation by most Christians. Apocalypse is a Greek word for revelation or uncovering, and divine an old Anglican usage meaning theologian. He is also known as the Eagle of Patmos and John the Seer. Several Christian denominations regard him as a prophet and a saint. John of Patmos, the author of the Book of Revelation, was traditionally believed to be the same person as both John, the Apostle of Jesus and John the Evangelist, author of the Gospel of John. Justin Martyr, writing in the early 2nd century, was the first to equate the author of Revelation with John the apostle. Some biblical scholars now contend that these were separate individuals.
John the Presbyter, teacher of
Papias, bishop of Hieropolis in the early 2nd century, is often
conflated with John of Patmos or with the Apostle.
Church historian Eusebius of Caesarea, and Dionysius of Alexandria
both identified the John in Revelation as John the Presbyter.
However, since John was a common name among early Christians it
cannot be ruled out that John of Patmos was a John distinct from John
the evangelist, John
the apostle and
John the author of the Johannine epistles.
His book Honest to God caused
controversy, as it called on Christians to view of God as the
"Ground of Being" rather than as a supernatural being
"out there". In his later books, he championed early dates
and apostolic authorship for the gospels, largely without success. He was one, probably the younger, of the sons of Zebedee (Matt. 4:21) and Salome (Matt. 27:56; compare Mark 15:40), and was born at Bethsaida. His father was apparently a man of some wealth (compare Mark 1:20; Luke 5:3; John 19:27). He doubtlessly received the same Hebrew education as did other Jewish youths. When he grew up, he became a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee. When John the Baptist began his ministry in the wilderness of Judea, John, with many others, gathered round him, and was deeply influenced by his teaching. There he heard the announcement, "Behold the Lamb of God,"and forthwith, on the invitation of Jesus, became a Disciple and ranked among his followers (John 1:36,37) for a time. He and his brother then returned to their former avocation, for how long is uncertain. Jesus again called them (Matt. 4:21; Luke 5:1-11), and now they left all and permanently attached themselves to the company of his Disciples. He became one of the innermost circle (Mark 5:37; Matt. 17:1; 26:37; Mark 13:3). He was the Disciple "whom Jesus loved." In zeal and intensity of character he was a "Boanerges"(Mark 3:17). This spirit once and again broke out (Matt. 20:20-24; Mark 10:35-41; Luke 9:49, 54). At the betrayal of Jesus, he and Peter follow Christ afar off, while the others hastily flee (John 18:15). At the trial he boldly follows Christ into the council chamber, and from there to the praetorium (18:16,19, 28) and to the place of crucifixion (19:26,27). To him and Peter, Mary first conveys tidings of the resurrection (20:2), and they are the first to go and see what her strange words mean. After the resurrection he and Peter again return to the Sea of Galilee, where the Lord reveals himself to them (21:1,7). We find Peter and John frequently together after this (Acts 3:1; 4:13). John apparently remained in Jerusalem as the leader of the church there (Acts 15:6; Gal. 2:9). His subsequent history is unrecorded. He was not there, however, at the time of Paul's last visit (Acts 21:15-40). He appears to have retired to Ephesus, but at what time is unknown. The seven churches of Asia were the objects of his special care (Rev. 1:11). He suffered under persecution, and was banished to Patmos (1:9). When he was eventually released, he apparently returned to Ephesus, where he died, probably about A.D. 98, having outlived all or nearly all his friends and companions, even those older than him. Some scholars, differ, believing that this John and the John of Ephesus, were not the same person.
There are many interesting
traditions concerning John during his residence at Ephesus, but these
cannot be confirmed as historical truth. He was 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 (1 Chr. 24:10), and his mother, Elisabeth, was of the daughters of Aaron (Luke 1:5). The mission of John was the subject of prophecy (Matt. 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 (Luke 1:64). After this no more is recorded of him for thirty years than what is mentioned in Luke 1:80. John was a Nazarite from his birth (Luke 1:15; Num. 6:1-12). He spent his early years in the mountainous tract of Judah lying between Jerusalem and the Dead Sea (Matt. 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 (Luke 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 (Matt. 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" (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 (Luke 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 (Matt. 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"(John 5:35).
John the Divine See
John of Patmos The word "evangelist" here means "writer of a gospel", from the Greek word for gospel, e?a??e???? (or in Latin, evangelium). The Gospel of John refers to an otherwise unnamed "disciple whom Jesus loved", who "bore witness to and wrote" the Gospel's message. The composer of the Gospel of John seemed interested in maintaining the internal anonymity of the author's identity, though interpreting the Gospel in the light of the Synoptic Gospels and considering that the author names (and therefore is not claiming to be) both Peter and James, it has generally been accepted that the author either was the Apostle John or was pretending to be. Christian tradition says that John the Evangelist was the Apostle John. The Apostle John was a historical figure, one of the "pillars" of the Jerusalem church after Jesus' death. He was one of Christ's original twelve apostles and is thought to be the only one to live into old age and not be killed for his faith. John is associated with Ephesus, where he is said to have lived and been buried. Some believe that he was exiled (around 95 AD) to Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. However, this is a matter of debate, with some attributing the authorship of Revelation to another man, called John of Patmos, or to John the Presbyter. Orthodox Roman Catholic scholarship, most Protestant Churches, and the entire Eastern Orthodox Church attribute all of the Johannine literature to the same individual, the "Holy Apostle and Evangelist, John the Theologian", whom it identifies with the "Beloved Disciple" in the Gospel of John. Feast Day of St. John the Evangelist
The feast day of Saint John in the
Roman Catholic Church, which calls him "Saint John, Apostle and
Evangelist", and in the Anglican Communion and Lutheran
Calendars, which call him "John, Apostle and Evangelist",
is on 27 December. In the Tridentine Calendar he was commemorated
also on each of the following days up to and including 3 January, the
Octave of the 27 December feast. This Octave was abolished by Pope
Pius XII in 1955. The traditional liturgical color is white. John the Evangelist In Art John the Evangelist is usually depicted as a young man. Christian art usually represents St. John with an eagle, symbolizing the heights to which he rises in the first chapter of his Gospel. The chalice as symbolic of St John, which, according to some authorities, was not adopted until the 13th century, is sometimes interpreted with reference to the Last Supper. It is also connected to the legend according to which St. John was handed a cup of poisoned wine, from which, at his blessing, the poison rose in the shape of a serpent. Perhaps the most natural explanation is to be found in the words of Christ to John and James "My chalice indeed you shall drink" (Matthew 20:23). The painting Saint John the Evangelist by Domenico Zampieri was auctioned in London in December 2009, for an estimated US$16.5 million. it sold for £9,225,250. It is a painting by the Italian Baroque painter Zampieri, and it was on display in the National Gallery, London, on loan from a private collection. John the Evangelist is depicted as a young man accompanied by his traditional symbol the eagle and two putti. His gaze is directed upwards towards God as he receives the inspiration for his gospel, emphasised by the strong chiaroscuro light bearing down upon him. This was typical of the artist's style, continuing in the manner of late Raphael and his own master Annibale Carracci.
The composition is said to have
been inspired by classical sculpture, with some commentators pointing
specifically to The Laocoon. This is also evident in Domenichino's
other large-scale treatments of the subject such as Madonna and Child
with the Saints John the Evangelist and Petronius and the pendentive
in the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle. The painting also includes
an example of the artist's landscape painting, an aspect of his work
that was particularly influential on the likes of Claude Lorrain and
Nicolas Poussin. This element of the work was originally more
compressed into the right-hand section of the canvas, the
architecture taking precedence. However, Domenichino reconsidered
this layout and over painted an extension of the landscape onto the
wall. Other alterations are also visible in the books, the hand of
the right putto and the larger hill of the landscape. The term ‘the Presbyter’ (‘elder’) is applied to himself by the author of 2 and 3 Jn., and Papias refers to a ‘John the Presbyter’. Some scholars think that Papias's evidence suggests the existence at Ephesus of a second John besides St John the Apostle. Of those who hold this view some attribute to the Presbyter the Fourth Gospel and the Johannine Epistles; others 2 and 3 Jn. and possibly Rev. The ‘beloved disciple’ is variously identified with the Apostle and the Presbyter. ‘The Presbyter’ may have been a local designation at Ephesus for the Apostle. John the Presbyter appears in a fragment by Papias, a 2nd century bishop of Hierapolis, who published an "Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord" (Greek — Kyriakôn logiôn exêgêsis) in five volumes. This work is lost but survives in fragments quoted by Irenaeus of Lyons (d. 202) and Eusebius of Caesarea (d. 339). One of these fragments, quoted by Eusebius in his History of the Church (Book III, chapter 39), reads:
The interpretation of that text consists of two basic views: one view, first voiced by Eusebius of Caesarea, distinguishes between two Johns, the Apostle and the presbyter, while the other view, in line with most of Church tradition identifies only one John. The Church historian Eusebius of Caesarea, through whose quotation the above fragment survives, was the first to unequivocally distinguish a Presbyter John from the Apostle John. Accordingly he introduced the quotation with the words:
After quoting Papias, Eusebius continues:
Eusebius identifies John the Presbyter as the author of the Book of Revelation, the canonical status of which he disputed as he disagreed with its content, especially the Chiliasm implied in the "millennial kingdom". The view of Eusebius was taken up by the Church Father Jerome in De viris illustribus (On famous men). In Chapter 9, which deals with the Apostle John and his writings, he ascribes to him both the Gospel and the First Epistle, and continues to say:
In Chapter XVIII, discussing Papias, Jerome repeats the fragment quoted above and continues:
Jerome's attribution of the Second and Third Epistle of John echoes the text of these books, in which the writer refers to himself ho presbyteros, which can be translated as "the presbyter, "the elder", "the ancient", "the old", the same word used by Papias. The Decretum Gelasianum associated with Pope Gelasius I, though of later date, follows Jerome in accepting one letter of "John the apostle" and two letters of the "other John the elder". In modern times, the distinction was frequently revived, mainly - and quite in contrast to Eusebius' views - "to support the denial of the Apostolic origin of the Fourth Gospel", whose "beauty and richness" some scholars had difficulty in ascribing to a "fisherman from Gallilee". Church tradition squarely attributes all the Johannine books of the New Testament to a single author, the Apostle John. The view expounded by Eusebius has not remained uncontested. The Catholic Encyclopedia, for instance, states that the distinction "has no historical basis". To support this view, it relates four main arguments:
Dr. John Thomas was the founder of the Christadelphian movement, a Restorationist religion with doctrines similar in part to some 16th-century Antitrinitarian Rationalist Socinians and the 16th-century Swiss-German pacifist Anabaptists.
Wesley's teachings, known as
Wesleyanism, provided the seeds for both the modern Methodist
movement, the Holiness movement, Pentecostalism, the Charismatic
Movement, and Neo-charismatic churches, which encompass numerous
denominations across the world. In addition, he refined Arminianism
with a strong evangelical emphasis on the Reformed doctrine of
justification by faith. c. 1331 - 31 December 1384 John Wycliffe was an English Scholastic philosopher, theologian, lay preacher, translator, reformer and university teacher at Oxford in England. He was an influential dissident in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. His followers were known as Lollards, a somewhat rebellious movement, which preached anticlerical and biblically-centred reforms. The Lollard movement was a precursor to the Protestant Reformation. He has been characterized as the evening star of scholasticism and the Morning Star of the Reformation. He was one of the earliest opponents of papal authority over secular power. In assessing Wycliffe’s historical role, Lacey Baldwin Smith argues that Wycliffe expounded three doctrines that the established church recognized as major threats. First was his emphasis upon an individual's interpretation of the Bible as the best guide to a moral life, as opposed to the Church’s emphasis on receiving its sacraments as the only way to salvation. Second he insisted that holiness of an individual was more important than official office; that is, a truly pious person was morally superior to a wicked ordained cleric. Wycliffe challenged the privileged status of the clergy, which was central to their powerful role in England. Finally he attacked the exorbitant luxury and pomp of the churches and their ceremonies. Wycliffe was also an early advocate for translation of the Bible into the common language. He completed his translation directly from the Vulgate into vernacular English in the year 1382, now known as Wycliffe's Bible. It is probable that he personally translated the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John; and it is possible he translated the entire New Testament, while his associates translated the Old Testament. Wycliffe's Bible appears to have been completed by 1384, with additional updated versions being done by Wycliffe's assistant John Purvey and others in 1388 and 1395. John Wycliffe's Relation to the English Bible Some members of the nobility possessed the Bible in French, and some portions of the Bible had been translated into English as early as the seventh century under the auspices of the Catholic Church. While Wycliffe is credited, it is not possible exactly to define his part in the translation, which was based on the Vulgate. There is no doubt that it was his initiative, and that the success of the project was due to his leadership. From him comes the translation of the New Testament, which was smoother, clearer, and more readable than the rendering of the Old Testament by his friend Nicholas of Hereford. The whole was revised by Wycliffe's younger contemporary John Purvey in 1388. Thus the cry of his opponents may be heard: "The jewel of the clergy has become the toy of the laity."
In spite of the zeal with which
the hierarchy sought to destroy it due to its alleged mistranslations
and erroneous commentary, there still exist about 150 manuscripts,
complete or partial, containing the translation in its revised form.
From this, one may easily infer how widely diffused it was in the
fifteenth century. For this reason the Wycliffites in England were
often designated by their opponents as "Bible men." Jokshan ("an offense", "hardness", or "a knocking"); most probably Josephus' Jazar. According to the Bible he was the second son of Abraham and his concubine Keturah, whom he wed after the death of Sarah. Jokshan had five other brothers: Zimran, Medan, Midian, Ishbak and Shuah; as well as two half brothers: Ishmael and Isaac. Josephus records that "Abraham contrived to settle them in colonies; and they took possession of Troglodytis and the country of Arabia the Happy, as far as it reaches to the Red Sea." Abraham in all probability, tried to keep them apart from Isaac to avoid conflict while fulfilling God's commission to spread out and inhabit the globe.
Jokshan became the father of Sheba
and Dedan. Dedan had three sons, named Asshurim, Letushim, and Leummim. not to be confused with Jokshan Joktan or Yoktan Joktan was the second of the two sons of Eber (Gen. 10:25; 1 Chr. 1:19) mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. There is an Arab tradition that Joktan (Arabic: Kahtan) was the progenitor of all the main tribes of Central and Southern Arabia. There are thirteen children of Joktan : Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba (not in Arabia), Havilah (not in Arabia), Jobab (described in Chinese name books), and Ophir (not in Arabia). Seven of them are said to be each the founder of an Arabian tribe. In the Book of Genesis 10:25 it reads: "And unto Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg; for in his days was the earth divided; and his brother's name was Joktan." Joktan's sons in the order provided in Gen. 10:26-29, were: Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal, Abimael, Sheba, Ophir, Havilah, and Jobab. In Pseudo-Philo's account (ca. 70), Joktan was first made prince over the children of Shem, just as Nimrod and Phenech were princes over the children of Ham and Japheth, respectively. In his version, the three princes command all persons to bake bricks for the Tower of Babel, however twelve, including several of Joktan's own sons, as well as Abraham and Lot, refuse the orders. Joktan smuggles them out of Shinar and into the mountains, to the annoyance of the other two princes. The traditional history of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church also maintains that Joktan's sons would take no part in the tower building, and that they were thus allowed to preserve the original Ge'ez language — which their descendants, the Agazyan, carried across the Red Sea into Ethiopia as they mixed with the Cushitic and Agaw people to form the hybrid Habesha race. The Arab peoples comprise numerous clans and tribes. Many historians trace the peoples of the southern Arabian Peninsula to Joktan. However, early Biblical ethnographers, including Josephus and Hippolytus, identified Joktan's sons with peoples around the Indus river. One scholar believes Joktan's family separated from his brother Peleg's near a place called Mesha - see Genesis 10:30, at or near Mashhad, he theorizes - and went east over the Silk Road toward the Orient, fathering the Sinitic peoples. Details about the three of Joktan's sons, Sheba, Ophir and Havilah, were preserved in a tradition known in divergent forms from three pre-Islamic Arabic and Ethiopic sources: the Kitab al-Magall (part of Clementine literature), the Cave of Treasures, and the Conflict of Adam and Eve with Satan. Kitab al-Magall: "He [Nimrod] died in the days of Reu, and the third thousand since Adam was completed. In his days the people of Egypt set up a king over them called Firnifs. He reigned over them for sixty-eight years. In his days also a king reigned over the town of Saba and annexed to his kingdom the cities of Ophir and Havilah, his name was Pharaoh. He built Ophir with stones of gold, for the stones of its mountains are pure gold. After him there reigned over Havilah a king called Hayul. He built it and cemented it, and after the death of Pharaoh women reigned over Saba until the time of Solomon son of David." Cave of Treasures: "And in the days of Reu, the Mesraye, who are the Egyptians, appointed their first king; his name was Puntos, and he reigned over them sixty-eight years. And in the days of Reu a king reigned in Shebha (Saba), and in Ophir, and in Havilah. And there reigned in Saba sixty of the daughters of Saba. And for many years women reigned in Saba--until the kingdom of Solomon, the son of David. And the children of Ophir, that is, Send (Scindia ?), appointed to be their king Lophoron (?), who built Ophir with stones of gold; now, all the stones that are in Ophir are of gold. And the children of Havilah appointed to be their king Havîl, who built Havilah, that is, Hend (India)."
Conflict of Adam and Eve: "And
in those days Ragu [Reu] was 180 years old, and in his 140th year
Yanuf [Apophis] reigned over the land of Egypt. He is the first king
who reigned over it, and he built the city of Memphis, and named it
after his own name. That is Misr, whose name is rendered Masrin. This
Yanuf died; and in his stead, in the days of Ragu, one from the land
of India reigned, whose name was Sasen, and who built the city of
Saba. And all the kings who reigned over that country were called
Sabaeans, after the name of the city. Then again Phar'an reigned over
the children of Saphir [Ophir], and built the city of Saphir with
stones of gold; and that is the land of Sarania, and because of these
stones of gold, they say that the mountains of that country and the
stones thereof are all of gold. Then the children of Lebensa of the
country of India, made king over them, one called Bahlul, who built
the city of Bahlu. Then Ragu died in his 289th year." Contact me at jontanderson@juno.com Other Websites made by Jon Anderson
FUNdamentals
of Fishing
COLTS
INFLUENCE Jim Jones and 911 of his followers committed suicide or were murdered.
See People's
Temple Jonah is a prophet described in the scriptures of Abrahamic religions as having been swallowed by a large fish. See below Jonah may also be:
Born: c. 800 B.C. Jonah is the reluctant biblical prophet whose story appears in the book named for him. The short, fast-moving story opens with God instructing Jonah to go east from Israel to Assyria to "cry out"against wickedness in the city of Nineveh. Jonah flees in the opposite direction, by sea. A storm hits, the ship's sailors attribute it to Jonah's flight from God, and he volunteers to be thrown overboard. A fish swallows him and spews him out on land three days later. This time Jonah obeys God and goes to Nineveh, where his shouted warnings work: the people repent, and the mind of God, who would have punished the city, is changed. The story ends with Jonah arguing with God about why Nineveh was spared. Jesus of Nazareth mentions Jonah in Christian scriptures (Matthew and Luke), and Islamic scriptures also regard him as a prophet (Koran, suras 10, 21 and 37), also known as Yunus or Dhan-Nun.
Most versions of the Bible
translate the Hebrew word for what swallowed Jonah as "great
fish"or "large fish."Some translations of Matthew
quote Jesus as saying "whale,"and popular stories and songs
often speak of "Jonah and the whale" . . . The
biblical book 2 Kings briefly mentions Jonah as a prophet, son of
Amittai, "from Gath-hepher,"who delivers an oracle to King
Jeroboam (ruler of Israel, 786 to 746 B.C.). Jonas may refer to:
Joseph, A
brother of Jesus
Joseph for Joses - Some
consider the two forms as mere variations in writing the name Joseph.
But it seems more probable that Joses is the same name as Josiah,
only without the addition of the Divine Name (Jab) at the end. It is
found as a proper name in the T.R.
of Matthew 13:55; Matthew 27:56; Mark 6:3; Mark 15:40, 47; Luke 3:29
(Jose); and is not likely to have been substituted for the common
name of Joseph. The Codex Sinaiticus
has Joses only in Mark 15:40. The R.V.
has Joseph in Matthew 13:55, and Joses in Matthew 27:56; Mark 6:3;
Mark 15:40, 47. In Luke 3:29 the R.V. has Jesus. But Joses is
probably right both here and in the above-cited passages.
Family Tree
When he was about seventeen years old Joseph incurred the jealous hatred of his brothers (Gen. 37:4). They "hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him." Their anger was increased when he told them his dreams (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 $2, 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" (Gen. 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 (39; 40), 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 (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 (Gen. 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" (Gen. 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 (Gen. 42-45). 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" (Gen. 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" (Gen. 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 (Gen. 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" (Gen. 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 (Josh. 24:32; compare Gen. 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, long after the expulsion of the Hyksos. The name Joseph denotes the two tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh in Deut. 33:13-17; the kingdom of Israel in Ezek. 37:16, 19; Amos 5:6; and the whole covenant people of Israel in Ps. 81:4. Children of Jacob by wife in order of birth (D = Daughter)
Leah Joseph Smith, Jr. (December 23, 1805 – June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader who founded the Latter Day Saint movement, the predominant branch of which is Mormonism. At age twenty-four, Smith published the Book of Mormon, and by the time of his death fourteen years later, he had attracted tens of thousands of followers, established cities and temples, and founded a religion and a religious culture that continue to the present day. Smith was born in Sharon, Vermont, and by 1817 had moved with his family to western New York, then the site of intense religious revivalism as part of the Second Great Awakening. There, according to Smith, he saw and heard a series of visions beginning in the early 1820s; in the first of these visions "two personages" (implied to be God the Father and the Son) appeared to him, and in subsequent visions an angel directed Smith to a buried book of golden plates inscribed with a Judeo-Christian history of an ancient American civilization. In 1830, Smith published what he said was an English translation of these plates, titled the Book of Mormon. Also in 1830, he organized the Church of Christ, calling it a restoration of the early Christian church. Church members were later called "Latter Day Saints", or "Mormons". In 1831, Smith and his followers moved west with plans to build a communalistic American Zion. They gathered in Kirtland, Ohio, and established an outpost in Independence, Missouri, which was intended to be Zion's "center place". During the 1830s, Smith sent out missionaries, published revelations, and supervised construction of an expensive temple. However, due to the collapse of a church-sponsored bank and violent skirmishes with angry non-Mormon Missourians, Smith's dreams of building Zion in Missouri and Ohio failed by the end of the decade. In the early 1840s, Smith established a new city called Nauvoo, Illinois, where he was a spiritual and political leader. In 1844, Smith and the Nauvoo city council angered non-Mormons by ordering a printing press destroyed after it was used to publish an exposé critical of Smith's power and practice of polygamy. During the ensuing controversy, Smith was imprisoned in Carthage, Illinois, and killed when a mob stormed the jailhouse.
During his lifetime, Smith
published many revelations and other texts that his followers regard
as scripture. His teachings include unique views about the nature of
God, cosmology, family structures, political organization, and
religious collectivism. His followers regard him as a prophet
comparable to Moses and Elijah, while detractors view him as a false
prophet or religious impostor. Smith's legacy includes many religious
denominations, the largest of which are The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints and the Community of Christ. Joseph Smith, Sr. (July 12, 1771 – September 14, 1840) was the father of Joseph Smith, Jr., the founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Joseph Sr. was also one of the Eight Witnesses of the Book of Mormon, which Mormons believe was translated by Joseph Jr. from the golden plates. In 1833, Joseph Sr. was named the first Presiding Patriarch of the Church of Christ, which was renamed to the Church of the Latter Day Saints in 1834 and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1838. Joseph Sr. was also a member of the First Presidency of the church and a Master Freemason of the Ontario Lodge No. 23 of Canandaigua, New York.
Josephus, also called Josephe or Josephes, is the son of Joseph of Arimathea and an early keeper of the Holy Grail in some tellings of the Arthurian legend. He makes appearances in the Quest del Saint Graal section of the Lancelot-Grail cycle, but his story is fully told in the Estoire del Saint Grail (History of the Holy Grail), a prequel section written somewhat later. In the Estoire he is invested as bishop by an apparition of Jesus with the implication that he was the first to receive his orders. Josephus is considered the primary holy man of the group, which is in contrast with the Lancelot-Grail's major source, Robert de Boron's Joseph d'Arimathie, in which his father is the undisputed leader. This is likely due to the authors' assertion that various great families are descended from Joseph; his virtuous son remains chaste and has no children. When Joseph's followers reach Britain Josephus becomes the island's spiritual leader while his brother Galahad (ancestor to the more famous knight Galahad) takes charge of the secular duties. Before he dies Josephus passes the Grail to his nephew Alan and announces the quest for the object that will eventually preoccupy King Arthur and his court.
Josephus was not a popular
character with later authors. This is partially due to confusion
between his and his father's names, which occurs even in some
manuscripts of the Lancelot-Grail. Most subsequent writers preferred
Joseph's earlier role as Britain's first evangelizer, and some, for
instance Thomas Malory, apply some of Josephus' actions from the
Estoire to Joseph. (Greek: flourished 1st century AD and 1st century, born about 30 AD]) Josephus was an ethnic Jew living in Jerusalem. Josephus was the son born to Matthias Curtus and his unnamed Jewish wife. He came from a wealthy family and through his father he descended from the priestly order of the Jehoiarib, which was the first of the twenty four-orders of Priests in the Temple in Jerusalem. His paternal grandparents were Matthias Ephlias and the daughter of the High Priest Jonathon. Jonathon may have been Alexander Jannaeus, the High Priest and Hasmonean ruler who governed Judea from 103 BC-76 BC. He was a contemporary to the King Herod the Great and the Herodian Dynasty governing Judea and the surrounding territories. Josephus followed his paternal ancestors and served as a Priest in the Temple in Jerusalem.
Josephus married an unnamed Jewish
noblewoman. The wife of Josephus was a distant paternal relative of
his, as she was a descendant of his paternal great-grandfather Simon
Psellus. His wife bore him a son, Matthias. Through his son, he would
be the paternal grandfather of the Roman Jewish Historian of the 1st
century, Flavius Josephus. Joseph ben Matityahu (Matthias or Mattathias) Born Joseph ben Matityahu was a first-century Romano-Jewish scholar, historian and hagiographer, who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed royal ancestry. Flavius Josephus is best known for his histories of the Jews, including a first-hand account of the revolt against the Romans (66-73 A.D.) and historical confirmation of the existence and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. A Jew of priestly and royal descent, Joseph ben Matthias was put in charge of Galilee and took part in the 66 A.D. revolt against Rome. His forces overwhelmed, he surrendered to the Roman Vespasian after a seven-week siege. Joseph won the favor of Vespasian, who became emperor after Nero committed suicide. Joseph adopted the Roman name Flavius Josephus and spent his career under the patronage of Vespasian and his successors (Titus and Domitian). Late in life Josephus wrote his History of the Jewish War, first in Aramaic, then Greek. His Antiquities of the Jews is a history from creation to 66 A.D. and mentions Jesus, John the Baptist and James, the martyred brother of Jesus. Although his original texts have been altered over the centuries, most scholars agree that he is one of the best sources of extra-biblical information for the early Christian era. Josephus claimed the Jewish Messianic prophecies that initiated the First Roman-Jewish War made reference to Vespasian becoming Emperor of Rome. In response Vespasian decided to keep Josephus as a slave and interpreter. After Vespasian became Emperor in 69, he granted Josephus his freedom, at which time Josephus assumed the emperor's family name of Flavius. Flavius Josephus fully defected to the Roman side and was granted Roman citizenship. He became an advisor and friend of Vespasian's son Titus, serving as his translator when Titus led the Siege of Jerusalem, which resulted—when the Jewish revolt did not surrender—in the city's destruction and the looting and destruction of Herod's Temple (Second Temple). Josephus recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the first century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, including the Siege of Masada.
His most important works were The
Jewish War (c. 75) and Antiquities of the Jews (c. 94). The Jewish
War recounts the Jewish revolt against Roman occupation (66–70).
Antiquities of the Jews recounts the history of the world from a
Jewish perspective for an ostensibly Roman audience. These works
provide valuable insight into first century Judaism and the
background of Early Christianity. (See Our Main Topic Josephus
on Jesus). The Works of Flavius Josephus
Meaning: Jehovah is his help, or Jehovah the Savior. Joshua may refer to:
Joshua may also refer to:
Joshua Jehoshuah or Yehoshua Meaning: Jehovah is his help, or Jehovah the Savior. Born in Egypt, Joshua was a biblical Israelite leader who succeeded Moses. His story is told in the Hebrew Bible, chiefly in the books Exodus, Numbers and Joshua. He was one of the twelve spies sent on by Moses to explore the land of Canaan who would later lead the conquest of that land, the Bible's Promised Land. The successor of Moses as Israel's leader. Joshua directs the people in their sweeping military campaign to conquer and settle the Promised Land. Joshua's persistent exhortations to Israel to remain obedient to God imply that he doubts Israel will do so. His exhortations foreshadow Israel's future religious struggles. Joshua also holds a position of respect to Muslims. According to the Qur'an, he was, along with Caleb, one of the two believing spies whom Moses had sent to spy the land of Canaan. All Muslims also see Joshua as the leader of the Israelites, following the death of Moses. Although some Muslims see Joshua as a prophet, others view him not as prophet but as a saintly man and great leader. Muslims also believe Joshua to be the "attendant" of Moses mentioned in the Qur'an, before Moses meets Khidr.
See also Book
of Joshua Joshua the High Priest was, according to the Bible, the first person chosen to be the High Priest for the reconstruction of the Jewish Temple after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity (See Zechariah 6:9-14). While the name Jeshua is used in Ezra–Nehemiah for the High Priest, he is called Joshua son of Jehozadak in the books of Haggai and Zechariah. Jeshua son of Jozadak served as High Priest ca.515-490 BCE in the common List of High Priests of Israel. This dating is based on the period of service age 25-50 (per Book of Numbers 8) not age 30-50 (per Numbers 4). The biblical text credits Joshua among the leaders that inspired a momentum towards the reconstruction of the temple, in Ezra 5:2. Later 10:18 some of his sons and nephews are found guilty of intermarriage. Facts concerning the later part of Joshua's life are in part dependent upon whether Joshua was still alive at the time of his appearance in a vision by Zechariah. If the vision relates to Nehemiah's cleansing of the temple in Neh.13:28 then the engagement of Joshua's great-great-grandson to the daughter of Sanballat the Horonite would place Joshua in his late 90s if he were still alive. Joshua the High Priest - Appearance in Vision In the Book of Zechariah 3:6-10, Zechariah the prophet experiences a vision given to him by an angel of the Lord in which the restoration and cleansing of Joshua's priestly duties are affirmed. Included in the visions were requirements in which Joshua was expected to uphold. These included: (1) walk in the ways of God, (2) keeping the requirements (the law), (3) ruling God's house, (4) take charge of my courts; by fulfilling these duties, the angel in the Book of Zachariah granted access to the inner temple to Joshua and his fellow priest. The vision also functioned to purify Joshua and to sanctify him for the preparations of his priestly duties. Alternatively, if Joshua had in fact died before the events of Nehemiah 13, then it is possible that the vision intended to depict a heavenly throneroom scene of Satan and the angel disputing over the soul of Joshua, and the intended target of the allegory is the then serving high priest, his grandson, Eliashib.
In 1825, the traditional tomb of
Joshua was reported to have been found at "one hour's distance
from Baghdad."
King
of Judah Josiah or Yoshiyahu was a king of Judah (641–609 BC), according to the Hebrew Bible, who instituted major reforms. Josiah is credited by most historians with having established or compiled important Hebrew Scriptures during the Deuteronomic reform that occurred during his rule. Josiah became king of Judah at the age of eight, after the assassination of his father, King Amon, and reigned for thirty-one years, from 641/640 to 610/609 BC.
He is also one of the kings
mentioned in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. Jotham is the name of two characters in the Hebrew Bible:
Jotham,
son of Gideon
King
of Judah Jotham or Yotam was the king of Judah, and son of Uzziah by Jerusha, daughter of Zadok. Because his father Uzziah was afflicted with tzaraas when he entered the Temple to burn incense, Jotham became governor of the palace and the land at that time, i.e. coregent, while his father lived in a separate house as a leper. Thiele concluded he was 25 when he became coregent, and reigned for sixteen years. William F. Albright dated his reign to 742 – 735 BC. Edwin R. Thiele dated his coregency with Uzziah as starting in 751/750 BC and his sole reign from 740/39 to 736/735 BC, at which time he was deposed by the pro-Assyrian faction in favor of his son Ahaz. Thiele then places his death in 732/731 BC. He inherited a strong government, well officered and administered. He is recorded as having built the Upper Gate of the Temple of Jerusalem. "He built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers." 2 Kings mentions that Jotham fought wars against Rezin, king of the Arameans, and Pekah, king of Israel (15:37). He also defeated the Ammonites, who paid him an immense annual tribute. But the increasing corruption of the Northern Kingdom began to permeate Judah. He was contemporary with the prophets Isaiah, Hosea, Amos, and Micah, by whose advice he benefited.
He is one of the kings mentioned
in the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. ("God is perfect" or "God is complete")
Jotham was the youngest of
Gideon's seventy sons. He escaped when the rest were put to death by
the order of Abimelech (Judges 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, 24:26; compare Genesis 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. This parable is often repeated at Tu Bishvat and is
famous in Israel. 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 (Judg. 9:45). Having delivered his
warning, Jotham fled to Beer from the vengeance of Abimelech (9:7-21). Personal name meaning, “a ram,” as a “ram's horn” used as a musical instrument. In Genesis 4:19-21, Lamech's second son by Adah, of the line of Cain and full brother of Jabal. He is associated with the invention of musical instruments.
Judah Judah may refer to:
Judah may also refer to places: Judea, the former territory of the Kingdom of Judah after its demise (c. 586 BC), being successively a Babylonian, a Persian, a Ptolemaic and a Seleucid province, an independent kingdom under the Hasmoneans regarding itself as successor of the Biblical one, a Roman dependent kingdom and a Roman province
("Celebrated, praised") (Hebrew: Standard Yhuda Tiberian Yehûdah) often transliterated Yehudah) Judah was, according to The Book of Genesis, the fourth son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Judah; however some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the Israelite confederation. With Leah as a matriarch, Biblical scholars regard the tribe as having been believed by the text's authors to have been part of the original Israelite confederation; however, it is worthy of note that the tribe of Judah was not purely Israelite, but contained a large admixture of non-Israelites, with a number of Kenizzite groups, the Jerahmeelites, and the Kenites, merging into the tribe at various points.
The text of the Torah argues that
the name of Judah refers to Leah's intent to praise Yahweh, on
account of having achieved four children, and derived from odeh,
meaning I will give praise. In classical rabbinical literature, the
name is interpreted as just being a combination of Yahweh and a dalet
(the letter d); in Gematria, the dalet has the numerical value 4,
which these rabbinical sources argue refers to Judah being Jacob's
fourth son.
Kingdom
of Judah Judah II or Nesi'ah I was a famous Jewish sage who lived in Tiberias in the Land of Israel, in the middle of the third century CE. He is mentioned in the classical works of Judaism's oral law, the Mishnah and Talmud. There he is variously called "Judah," "Judah Nesi'ah" (= "ha-Nasi"), and occasionally "Rabbi" like his grandfather, Judah I. As Judah III is also designated as "Judah Nesi'ah," it is often difficult, sometimes impossible, to determine which one of these patriarchs is referred to. In rabbinic Jewish tradition Judah II was especially known by three ordinances decreed by him and his academy; one of these ordinances referred to a reform of the divorce laws. Especially famous was the decree permitting the use of oil prepared by pagans, incorporated in the Mishnah with the same formula used in connection with decrees of Judah I, "Rabbi and his court permitted" (Avodah Zarah ii. 9; comp. Tosefta Avodah Zarah iv. 11). This ordinance, which abrogated an old law, was recognized as authoritative in Babylonia by Samuel and, subsequently, by Rab, who at first hesitated to accept it (see Yer. 'Ab. Zarah 41d; 'Ab. Zarah 37a). Simlai, the famous haggadist, endeavored to induce Judah II to also abrogate the prohibition against using bread prepared by pagans. Judah, however, refused to do so, alleging that he did not wish his academy to be called the "loosing court" (Avodah Zarah 37a). Judah could not carry out his intention of omitting the fast-day of the Ninth of Av when it fell on the Sabbath (Talmud Yerushalmi, Meg. 70b; Talmud Bavli Meg. 2b).
He was not regarded by his
contemporaries as their equal in scholarship, as appears from a
curious meeting between Yannai and Judah II. (see Babylonian Talmud
B. B. 111a, b; another version occurs in Talmud Yerushalmi Sanhedrin
16a, where Johanan accompanies Yannai). Judah III held the office of Nasi of the ancient Jewish Sanhedrin between 290 and 320 CE. He is a famous Jewish sage mentioned in the classical works of Judaism's oral law, who lived during the third and beginning of the fourth century CE. He figures in the Mishnah and Talmud. He was the son of Gamaliel IV, and grandson of Judah II. It is often difficult to know when the Mishna and Talmud are referring to Judah II or Judah III; they do not clearly distinguish between them. Since the title "Nesi'ah" was borne by both, which of the two in any citation is meant by "Judah Nesi'ah" can be gathered only from internal evidence, especially from the names of the scholars mentioned in the context. Judah III held the office of patriarch probably during the close of the third and the beginning of the fourth century. He was a pupil of Johanan (d. 279); in a question regarding the time of the new moon, which he sent to Rav Ammi, he introduces a sentence taught to him by Johanan with the words: "Know that R. Johanan has taught us thus all his life long" (R. H. 20a).
Judah III. commissioned Johanan's
pupils Ammi and Assi, who directed the Academy of Tiberias in the
Land of Israel, after Eleazar's death, to organize the schools for
children in the Palestinian cities (Yer. ?ag. 76c; Pesi?. 120b); Ammi
especially appears as his councilor in haggadic questions (Be?ah 27a;
M. ?. 12b, 17a; Ab. Zarah 33b). Judah ben Bathyra or simply Judah Bathyra was an eminent tanna. He must have lived before the destruction of the Temple, since he prevented a pagan in Jerusalem from partaking of the Paschal offering. Thereupon he received the message: "Hail to thee, Rabbi Judah ben Bathyra! Thou livest in Nisibis, but thy net is spread in Jerusalem" (Pes. 3b). Since R. Judah was not present himself at the Passover in Jerusalem, it may be concluded that he was far advanced in years, although as a citizen of a foreign land he was not bound by the law which demanded the celebration of the Passover at Jerusalem (Tosefot to Pes. l.c.). At Nisibis in Mesopotamia he had a famous college, which is expressly recommended together with other famous schools (Sanh. 32b). Personal interactions R. Eleazer ben Shammua and R. Johanan the sandal-maker started on a journey to Nisibis in order to study under Judah ben Bathyra, but turned back when they reflected that they were giving preference to an alien country over Israel (Sifre, Deut. 80). R. Judah b. Bathyra himself undertook a journey to Rome with some colleagues. No sooner had they landed at Puteoli than they returned home weeping (ib.). R. Judah once arrived at Nisibis just before the beginning of the fast of the Ninth of Ab, and although he had already eaten, he was obliged to partake of a sumptuous banquet at the house of the chief of the synagogue (Lam. R. iii. 17, ed. S. Buber; "Exilarchs" in other editions is incorrect). Ambiguity of identity The Mishnah quotes 17, the Baraita about 40, Halakot by R. Judah, and he was also a prolific haggadist. Since controversies between him and R. Akiba are frequently mentioned, these being chronologically impossible, the existence of a second R. Judah b. Bathyra must be assumed (Tosefot to Men. 65b; Seder ha-Dorot, ed. Warsaw, ii. 110), who was probably a grandson of the former, and therefore Akiba's contemporary; it is possible that there existed even a third R. Judah b. Bathyra, who was a contemporary of R. Josiah (Sifre, Num. 123) or of R. Judah I (?ul. 54a; Shab.) 130a; see also Midrash Shmuel x.); he also seems to have lived at Nisibis (Sanh. 96a; but the version "R. Judah ben Bathyra" is doubtful; see Rabbinowicz, Di?du?e Soferim, ad loc., note 10).
It is evident from the cases
quoted in Tosef., Yeb. xii. 11 (compare Yeb. 102a), and Tosef., Ket.
v. 1 (Yer. Ket. v. 29d; Bab. Ket. 58a; compare Weiss l.c., 158, and
?id. 10b), that R. Judah b. Bathyra (probably the earliest one by
that name) did not quite keep pace with the Halakah as it was
formulated in Israel, and represented rather the earlier standpoint.
This R. Judah is probably also the one who now and again is mentioned
simply as "Ben Bathyra"; compare Tosef., Pes. iii. (iv.) 8,
where R. Judah and R. Joshua dispute with Ben Bathyra. Here again the
first and last names, "R. Judah" and "Ben
Bathyra," probably belong together, making one name, so that R.
Joshua was the only other person concerned (compare Zeb. 12a). In
Mishnah, Pes. iii. 3, the editions have "R. Judah ben
Bathyra," while the Yerushalmi has only "ben Bathyra."
There is one passage, however, where R. Judah b. Bathyra and b.
Bathyra are reported as entertaining different opinions (Ta'anit 3a);
hence Maimonides takes "ben Bathyra" to be identical with
"R. Joshua ben Bathyra." Judah b. Meremar was a seventh generetion Amora sage of Babylon, son of Maremar, dean of the Sura Yeshiva Academy. His rulings are mentioned in the Talmud, and so are his Halakhic habits, one of them concerning the law of "At his day thou shalt give him his hire", in which he tells his assistant to hire a laborer to work for him, and to commit that the landlord - he himself, Judah b. Meremar - would pay him. Since he feared he might violate the law of "At his day thou shalt give him his hire", it was a way for him not to hire the laborer, so he would not be bound to this commandment. He was considered a most honorable man. In that conjunction, it is storied that when Rav Papa was to marry off his son, to the daughter of his father in-law - Abba of Sura, and wanted to come to his in-laws house in order to discuss an agreed upon amount of Dowry that Abba of Sura would give his daughter, he met Judah b. Meremar. Rav Papa invited him to come in, but Judah b. Meremar refused, explaining that he did not want Abba of Sura to be ashamed because of him, and therefore would give his daughter more than he truly wishes. Rav Papa had pressed him further to enetr the hosuse, and then he accompanied him to the house of Abba of Sura. When Abba of Sura stated the Dowry's amount, and saw that Judah b. Meremar says nothing, he thought the reason for his silence is because Judah b. Meremar believes that the money he offered for the dowry of his daughter is too little, and he is angry, so he added more and more until he was practically handing most of his assets to his daughter. When he saw that he was still silent, he said to Judah b. Meremar: I left myself nothing, and you still want me to give more? and Judah b. Meremar replied: What you gave is already against my opinion, in my opinion you did not have so much to give, but since you already gave - you need not to retract.
According to Chananel ben
Chushiel, in Tractate Berakhot, it is storied that he was sitting
along with Mar b. Rav Ashi and R. Aha of Difti, and because everyone
was equal in wisdom, they thought they were exempt from Birkat Zimun,
however Amemar resistant them on their error (Hebrew: "our Master, the holy one") Judah the Prince or Judah I, also known as Rabbi or Rabbenu HaQadosh, was a 2nd-century CE rabbi and chief redactor and editor of the Mishnah. He was a key leader of the Jewish community during the Roman occupation of Judea . According to the Talmud he was of the Davidic line, the royal line of King David, hence the title nasi, meaning prince. The title nasi was also used for presidents of the Sanhedrin. Judah died on 15 Kislev around 217 CE. Compiler of the Mishna According to Rabbinical Jewish tradition, God gave both the Written Law (Torah) and the Oral Law to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Oral Law is the oral tradition, as relayed by God to Moses and from him, transmitted and taught to the sages (rabbinic leaders) of each subsequent generation. For centuries, the Torah appeared only as a written text transmitted in parallel with the oral tradition. Fearing that the oral traditions might be forgotten, Judah HaNasi undertook the mission of consolidating the various opinions into one body of law which became known as the Mishnah. This completed a project which had been mostly clarified and organized by his father and Rabbi Natan. The Mishnah consists of 63 tractates codifying Jewish law, which are the basis of the Talmud. According to Rabbi Abraham ben David, the Mishnah was compiled by Rabbi Judah the Prince in anno mundi 3,949, or what is also the year 500 of the Seleucid Era, which date corresponds to 189 CE. Talmudic legends Various stories are told about Judah haNasi to illustrate different aspects of his character. One of them begins by telling of a calf breaking free from being led to slaughter. According to the story, the calf tries to hide under Judah haNasi's robes, bellowing with terror, but he pushes the animal away, saying: "Go — for this purpose you were created." For this, Heaven inflicted upon him kidney stones, painful flatulence, and other gastric problems, saying, "Since he showed no pity, let us bring suffering upon him". The story remarks that when Judah haNasi prayed for relief, the prayers were ignored, just as he had ignored the pleas of the calf. Later he prevented his maid from hurting the offspring of a mongoose, on the basis that "It is written: 'His Mercy is upon all his works.'" For this, Heaven removed the gastric problems from him, saying, "Since he has shown compassion, let us be compassionate with him". Rabbi Judah HaNasi also said, "One who is ignorant of the Torah should not eat meat." This is because one who is ignorant is on the same level as animals. What, therefore, gives him the right to partake of them as food? Perhaps the punishment he received for lacking compassion towards the calf helped him to see that eating animals is not a matter that should be treated lightly. While teaching Torah, Rabbi Judah would often interrupt the lesson to recite the Shema prayer. He passed his hand over his eyes as he said it. (Berachot 13b). Before he died, Rabbeinu HaKadosh said: ‘I need my sons!... Let the lamp continue to burn in its usual place; let the table be set in its usual place; let the bed be made in its usual place.” (Ketubbot 103a) Rabbi Judah said: "Much have I learned from my teachers, more from my colleagues, but most from my students." Post-Talmudic legends
Sefer Chassidim Sec. 1129. (Cf.
Kesubbos/Ketubot 103a.) records that after his death Rabbeinu
HaKadosh used to visit his home, wearing Shabbos (Shabbat) clothes,
every Friday evening at dusk. He would recite Kiddush, and others
would thereby discharge their obligation to hear Kiddush. One Friday
night there was a knock at the door. "Sorry," said the
maid, "I can't let you in just now because Rabbeinu HaKadosh is
in the middle of Kiddush." From then on Rabbeinu HaKadosh
stopped coming, since he did not want his coming to become public knowledge. Judas was the name of various biblical men and was probably a very common name among the Jews since it belonged to one of the patriarchs.
His name is uniformly the last in the list of the Apostles, as given in the synoptic (i.e., the first three) Gospels. Among the twelve, he was apparently designated to keep account of the "money bag", but he is most traditionally known for his role in Jesus' betrayal into the hands of Roman authorities. His name is also associated with a Gnostic gospel, the Gospel of Judas, that exists in an early fourth century Coptic text. Judas has been a figure of great interest to esoteric groups, such as many Gnostic sects, and has also been the subject of many philosophical writings, including The Problem of Natural Evil by Bertrand Russell and "Three Versions of Judas", a short story by Jorge Luis Borges. The term Judas has entered many languages as a synonym for betrayer, and Judas has become the archetype of the betrayer in Western art and literature. Judas is given some role in virtually all literature telling the Passion story, and appears in a number of modern novels and movies. Some scholars however have suggested that Judas was merely the negotiator who gave Jesus to the Roman authorities by mutual agreement or acted with Jesus' knowledge and consent to ensure the re-enactment of Biblical prophecy. Others see Judas as a literary invention reflecting divisions among early Christians or an attempt by Biblical authors to distance themselves from Judaism after the First Jewish-Roman War.
Judas Maccabaeus See
Judas Maccabeus Judas Maccabeus was a Kohen and the third son of the Jewish priest Mattathias. He led the Maccabean revolt against the Seleucid Empire (167 BC-160 BC) and is acclaimed as one of the greatest warriors in Jewish history alongside Joshua, Gideon and David. The Jewish feast of Hanukkah ("Dedication") commemorates the restoration of Jewish worship at the temple in Jerusalem in 165 BC, after Judas Maccabee removed the pagan statuary. Judas Machabeus See Judas Maccabeus
Judah the Hammer See
Judas Maccabeus Thomas was one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ. In the Synoptic gospels and the Book of Acts he is listed with the other Apostles, but nothing else is written about him. However, we are provided with far more information in the Gospel of John where Thomas appears in several scenes, the best known being where doubts the resurrection and demanded to feel Jesus' wounds before being convinced (20:24-9) - from which comes the term Doubting Thomas. In three of these passages (11:16; 20:24; and 21:2), Thomas is identified as "Thomas, also called the Twin (Didymus)". The name Thomas comes from the Aramaic word for twin. Syrian tradition, apparently aware of the awkwardness of the name "Thomas the Twin", states that his full name as Judas Thomas, or Jude Thomas, and as early as the Acts of Thomas (written in east Syria in the early 3rd century) he was identified with Jude, one of the brothers of Jesus Christ (Mark 6:3), and thus said to be the twin brother of Jesus. Thomas is revered as a saint in both the Roman Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox Church, and is remembered each year on St Thomas Sunday, which is always one week after Easter. Eusebius of Caesarea (Historia Ecclesiastica, III.1) quotes Origen as stating that Thomas was the Apostles to the Parthians, but Thomas is beter known as the missionary to India. This tradition has been traced back to the end of the 2nd century, and is believed today by the various denominations of Saint Thomas Christians. The Acts of Thomas describes in chapter 17 Thomas' visit to king Gundaphoros in northern India; however, chapters 2 and 3 depict him as embarking on a sea voyage to India, thus connecting Thomas to southern India. Thomas is also part of the legend of king Abgar of Edessa, for having sent Thaddaeus to preach in Edessa after the Ascension (Eusebius, HE 1.13; III.1; Ephraem also recounts this legend.) The Portuguese encountered Christians in 1498 while exploring the Malabar coast, who traced their foundations to Thomas. However, they did not accept the legitimacy of local Malabar traditions, and they began to impose Roman Catholic practices upon the Saint Thomas Christians, some of whom conformed to become the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church; others revolted and remained within the Indian Orthodox Church; and a number have since joined other Christian denominations. No written records of the Apostle's voyage to India exist. Modern scholars doubt that Thomas did reach India; KS Latourette, in A History of the Expansion of Christianity does not allow the possibility of Christians coming to India by any route before the third century AD. He states that Christianity was brought to India in AD 345 by Syrian Christians fleeing persecution, led by the merchant Thomas of Cana. However, within India, the descendents of Thomas of Cana's (Thoma Kinayi) group maintain a distinct identity within the Christian communities. Writings Attributed to Thomas In the first few centuries of the Christian era, a number of writings, some espousing a Gnostic doctrine, were circulated that claimed the authority of Thomas. It is unclear why Thomas was seen as an authority for doctrine, although this belief is documented in Gnostic groups as early as the Pistis Sophia which states that Thomas, along with Philip and Matthew, were directed by Jesus Christ after the Resurrection to commit to writing "all of his words"; an early, non-Gnostic tradition may lie behind this statement.
The best known of these documents
is the Gospel of Thomas, an apocryphal
work. The introduction claims it is the work of "Didymos Judas
Thomas"- who has been identified with Thomas. This work was
discovered in a Coptic translation in 1948 at the Egyptian village of
Nag Hammadi, near the site of the monastery of Chenoboskion. Once the
Coptic text was published, scholars recognized that an earlier Greek
translation had been published from fragments of papyrus in the
1890s. No Christian denomination has recognized this work as part of
the Bible. Among the Apostles there were two who bore this name:
The Armenian Apostolic Church honors Thaddeus along with Saint Bartholomew as its patron saints. In the Roman Catholic Church, he is the patron saint of desperate cases and lost causes.
Saint Jude's attribute is a club.
He is also often shown in icons with a flame around his head. This
represents his presence at Pentecost, when he received the Holy
Spirit with the other apostles. Another common attribute is Jude
holding an image of Jesus Christ, in the image of Edessa. In some
instances, he may be shown with a scroll or a book (the Epistle of
Jude) or holding a carpenter's rule. Identity of Jude The Apostle New Testament Jude is clearly distinguished from Judas Iscariot, another apostle and later the betrayer of Jesus. Both "Jude" and "Judas" are translations in the Greek original New Testament, which in turn is a Greek variant of Judah (Y'hudah), a name which was common among Jews at the time. In most Bibles in languages other than English and French, Jude and Judas are referred to by the same name. "Jude of James" is only mentioned twice in the New Testament: in the lists of apostles in Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13. The name by which Luke calls the Apostle, "Jude of James", is ambiguous as to the relationship of Jude to this James. Though such a construction sometimes connoted a relationship of father and son, it has been traditionally interpreted as "Jude, brother of James" (Luke 6:16) although Protestants usually identify him as "Jude, son of James" (in the New International Version translation, for example). The Gospel of John also once mentions a disciple called "Judas not Iscariot" (John 14:22). This is often accepted to be the same person as the apostle Jude, though some scholars see the identification as uncertain.
In some Latin manuscripts of
Matthew 10:3, he is called Judas the Zealot. Jude The Apostle Possible identity with Thaddeus In the comparable apostle-lists of Matthew 10:3 and Mark 3:18, Jude is omitted, but there is a Thaddeus (or in some manuscripts of Matthew 10:3, "Lebbaeus who was surnamed Thaddaeus") listed in his place. This has led many Christians since early times to harmonize the lists by positing a "Jude Thaddeus", known by either name. This is made plausible by the fact that "Thaddeus" seems to be a nickname (see Thaddeus). A further complication is the fact that the name "Judas" was tarnished by Judas Iscariot. It has been argued that for this reason it is unsurprising that Mark and Matthew refer to him by an alternate name. Some Biblical scholars reject this theory, however, holding that Jude and Thaddeus did not represent the same person. Scholars have proposed alternate theories to explain the discrepancy: an unrecorded replacement of one for the other during the ministry of Jesus because of apostasy or death; the possibility that "twelve" was a symbolic number and an estimation; or simply that the names were not recorded perfectly by the early church.
Thaddeus one of the twelve
apostles is generally seen as a different person from Thaddeus of
Edessa, one of the Seventy Disciples. Jude The Apostle the Brother of Jesus Opinion is divided on whether Jude the apostle is the same as Jude, brother of Jesus, who is mentioned in Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55-57, and is the traditional author of the Epistle of Jude. Some Catholics believe the two Judes are the same person, while a number of Protestants do not. Jude The Apostle Tradition and Legend Tradition holds that Saint Jude preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia and Libya. He is also said to have visited Beirut and Edessa, though the emissary of latter mission is also identified as Thaddeus of Edessa, one of the Seventy. The 14th-century writer Nicephorus Callistus makes Jude the bridegroom at the wedding at Cana. The legend reports that St. Jude was born into a Jewish family in Paneas, a town in Galilee later rebuilt by the Romans and renamed Caesarea Philippi. In all probability he spoke both Greek and Aramaic, like almost all of his contemporaries in that area, and was a farmer by trade. According to the legend, St. Jude was a son of Clopas and his wife Mary, a cousin of the Virgin Mary. Tradition has it that Jude's father, Clopas, was martyred because of his forthright and outspoken devotion to the risen Christ.
Although Saint Gregory the
Illuminator is credited as the "Apostle to the Armenians",
when he baptized King Tiridates III of Armenia in 301, converting the
Armenians, the Apostles Jude and Bartholomew are traditionally
believed to have been the first to bring Christianity to Armenia, and
are therefore venerated as the patron saints of the Armenian
Apostolic Church. Linked to this tradition is the Saint Thaddeus
Monastery (now in northern Iran) and Saint Bartholomew Monastery (now
in southeastern Turkey) which were both constructed in what was then Armenia. Jude The Apostle Death and Remains According to the tradition, Saint Jude suffered martyrdom about 65 AD in Beirut, in the Roman province of Syria, together with the apostle Simon the Zealot, with whom he is usually connected. The axe that he is often shown holding in pictures symbolizes the way in which he was killed. Their acts and martyrdom were recorded in an Acts of Simon and Jude that was among the collection of passions and legends traditionally associated with the legendary Abdias, bishop of Babylon, and said to have been translated into Latin by his disciple Tropaeus Africanus, according to the Golden Legend account of the saints.
Sometime after his death, Saint
Jude's body was brought from Beirut to Rome and placed in a crypt in
St. Peter's Basilica which was visited by many devotees. Now his
bones are in the left transept of St. Peter's Basilica under the main
altar of St. Joseph in one tomb with the remains of the apostle Simon
the Zealot. According to another popular tradition, the remains of
St. Jude were preserved in an Armenian monastery on an island in the
northern part of Issyk-Kul Lake in Kyrgyzstan at least until the
mid-15th century. Later legends either deny that the remains are
preserved there or claim that they were moved to a yet more desolate
stronghold in the Pamir Mountains. the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and one of Esau's wives (Gen. 26:34), elsewhere called Aholibamah (36:2-14) She is a symbol of the Jewish people, surrounded throughout its history by huge and fearsome kingdoms. Judith is a wealthy and beautiful young widow living in a hilltop town called Bethuliah. During a siege of her town, she undertakes a daring and sexually ambiguous mission to save her people from annihilation. She kills the general of the enemy forces by hacking off his head as he lies in a drunken stupor. Her story is a variant on the David and Goliath story, where a seemingly weak person overcomes a person of superior strength by calling on God's help and using cunning and intelligence. The Book of Judith was never intended as factual history - it is more like fiction with a theological message. Supposedly set in 587BC it was in fact written much later, and many of the details in the story are incorrect - for example, Nebuchadnezzar was a Babylonian, but the story presents him as ruler of the Assyrians. The Book of Judith is not included in the Protestant or Jewish Scriptures, perhaps because of its sexual content - Sigmund Freud said that beheading was symbolic castration. Perhaps readers found its irony hard to swallow: Judith is a virtuous woman who murders a defenseless man, and the basic message of her story is that the end justifies the means. Oddly enough, the Book of Judith is far more religious in content that the Book of Esther, which is in all Bibles. You'll see this if you read Chapter 8, where Judith challenges the town officials for trying to make God in their own image It's one of the best descriptions of what God might or might not be that has ever been written. See also Book of Judith Read The Book of Judith here
Julius may refer to: Julius Caesar may refer to:
(July 100 – 15 March 44 BC) Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general, statesman, Consul, and notable author of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire. In 60 BC, Caesar, Crassus, and Pompey formed a political alliance that was to dominate Roman politics for several years. Their attempts to amass power through populist tactics were opposed by the conservative ruling class within the Roman Senate, among them Cato the Younger with the frequent support of Cicero. Caesar's victories in the Gallic Wars, completed by 51 BC, extended Rome's territory to the English Channel and the Rhine. Caesar became the first Roman general to cross both when he built a bridge across the Rhine and conducted the first invasion of Britain. These achievements granted him unmatched military power and threatened to eclipse the standing of Pompey, who had realigned himself with the Senate after the death of Crassus in 53 BC. With the Gallic Wars concluded, the Senate ordered Caesar to step down from his military command and return to Rome. Caesar refused the order, and instead marked his defiance in 49 BC by crossing the Rubicon with a legion, leaving his province and illegally entering Roman Italy under arms. Civil war resulted, and Caesar's victory in the war would put him in an unrivaled position of power and influence. After assuming control of government, Caesar began a programme of social and governmental reforms, including the creation of the Julian calendar. He centralised the bureaucracy of the Republic and was eventually proclaimed "dictator in perpetuity", giving him additional authority. But the underlying political conflicts had not been resolved, and on the Ides of March (15 March) 44 BC, Caesar was assassinated by a group of rebellious senators led by Marcus Junius Brutus. A new series of civil wars broke out, and the constitutional government of the Republic was never fully restored. Caesar's adopted heir Octavius, later known as Augustus, rose to sole power after defeating his opponents in the civil war. Octavius set about solidifying his power, and the era of the Roman Empire began. Much of Caesar's life is known from his own accounts of his military campaigns, and from other contemporary sources, mainly the letters and speeches of Cicero and the historical writings of Sallust. The later biographies of Caesar by Suetonius and Plutarch are also major sources. Caesar is considered by many to be one of the greatest military commanders in history. Early life and career of Julius Caesar Caesar was born into a patrician family, the gens Julia, which claimed descent from Iulus, son of the legendary Trojan prince Aeneas, supposedly the son of the goddess Venus. The cognomen "Caesar" originated, according to Pliny the Elder, with an ancestor who was born by caesarean section (from the Latin verb to cut, caedere, caes-). The Historia Augusta suggests three alternative explanations: that the first Caesar had a thick head of hair (Latin caesaries); that he had bright grey eyes (Latin oculis caesiis); or that he killed an elephant (caesai in Moorish) in battle. Caesar issued coins featuring images of elephants, suggesting that he favored this interpretation of his name. Despite their ancient pedigree, the Julii Caesares were not especially politically influential, although they had enjoyed some revival of their political fortunes in the early 1st century BC. Caesar's father, also called Gaius Julius Caesar, governed the province of Asia, and his sister Julia, Caesar's aunt, married Gaius Marius, one of the most prominent figures in the Republic. His mother, Aurelia Cotta, came from an influential family. Little is recorded of Caesar's childhood. In 85 BC, Caesar's father died suddenly, so at sixteen Caesar was the head of the family. His coming of age coincided with a civil war between his uncle, Gaius Marius, and his rival Lucius Cornelius Sulla. Both sides, whenever they were in the ascendancy, carried out bloody purges of their political opponents. While Marius and his ally, Lucius Cornelius Cinna, were in control of the city, Caesar was nominated to be the new high priest of Jupiter, and married to Cinna's daughter Cornelia. But following Sulla's final victory, Caesar's connections to the old regime made him a target for the new one. He was stripped of his inheritance, his wife's dowry and his priesthood, but he refused to divorce Cornelia and was forced to go into hiding. The threat against him was lifted by the intervention of his mother's family, which included supporters of Sulla, and the Vestal Virgins. Sulla gave in reluctantly, and is said to have declared that he saw many a Marius in Caesar. Feeling it much safer to be far away from Sulla should the Dictator change his mind, Caesar quit Rome and joined the army, serving under Marcus Minucius Thermus in Asia and Servilius Isauricus in Cilicia. He served with distinction, winning the Civic Crown for his part in the Siege of Mytilene. On a mission to Bithynia to secure the assistance of King Nicomedes's fleet, he spent so long at his court that rumors of an affair with the king arose, which Caesar would vehemently deny for the rest of his life. Ironically, the loss of his priesthood had allowed him to pursue a military career, as the high priest of Jupiter was not permitted to touch a horse, sleep three nights outside his own bed or one night outside Rome, or look upon an army. Hearing of Sulla's death in 78 BC, Caesar felt safe enough to return to Rome. Lacking means since his inheritance was confiscated, he acquired a modest house in Subura, a lower-class neighborhood of Rome. He turned to legal advocacy, and became known for his exceptional oratory, accompanied by impassioned gestures and a high-pitched voice, and ruthless prosecution of former governors notorious for extortion and corruption. On the way across the Aegean Sea, Caesar was kidnapped by pirates and held prisoner. He maintained an attitude of superiority throughout his captivity. When the pirates thought to demand a ransom of twenty talents of silver, he insisted they ask for fifty. After the ransom was paid, Caesar raised a fleet, pursued and captured the pirates, and imprisoned them. He had them crucified on his own authority, as he had promised while in captivity—a promise the pirates had taken as a joke. As a sign of leniency, he first had their throats cut. He was soon called back into military action in Asia, raising a band of auxiliaries to repel an incursion from the east. On his return to Rome, he was elected military tribune, a first step in a political career. He was elected quaestor for 69 BC, and during that year he delivered the funeral oration for his aunt Julia, and included images of her husband Marius, unseen since the days of Sulla, in the funeral procession. His wife, Cornelia, also died that year. After her funeral, in the spring or early summer of 69 BC, Caesar went to serve his quaestorship in Spain. While there he is said to have encountered a statue of Alexander the Great, and realized with dissatisfaction he was now at an age when Alexander had the world at his feet, while he had achieved comparatively little. On his return in 67 BC, he married Pompeia, a granddaughter of Sulla, whom he later divorced. In 63 BC, he ran for election to the post of Pontifex Maximus, chief priest of the Roman state religion. He ran against two powerful senators. There were accusations of bribery by all sides. Caesar won comfortably, despite his opponents' greater experience and standing. When Cicero, who was consul that year, exposed Catiline's conspiracy to seize control of the republic, several senators accused Caesar of involvement in the plot. After serving as praetor in 62 BC, Caesar was appointed to govern Hispania Ulterior (modern south-eastern Spain) as propraetor, though some sources suggest he held proconsular powers. He was still in considerable debt and needed to satisfy his creditors before he could leave. He turned to Marcus Licinius Crassus, one of Rome's richest men. In return for political support in his opposition to the interests of Pompey, Crassus paid some of Caesar's debts and acted as guarantor for others. Even so, to avoid becoming a private citizen and thus be open to prosecution for his debts, Caesar left for his province before his praetorship had ended. In Spain, he conquered two local tribes and was hailed as imperator by his troops, reformed the law regarding debts, and completed his governorship in high esteem. Caesar was acclaimed Imperator in 60 and 45 BC. In the Roman Republic, this was an honorary title assumed by certain military commanders. After an especially great victory, an army's troops in the field would proclaim their commander imperator, an acclamation necessary for a general to apply to the Senate for a triumph. After being acclaimed imperator, the victorious general had a right to use the title after his name until the time of his triumph, where he would relinquish the title as well as his imperium. As imperator, Caesar was entitled to a triumph. However, he also wanted to stand for consul, the most senior magistracy in the republic. If he were to celebrate a triumph, he would have to remain a soldier and stay outside the city until the ceremony, but to stand for election he would need to lay down his command and enter Rome as a private citizen. He could not do both in the time available. He asked the senate for permission to stand in absentia, but Cato blocked the proposal. Faced with the choice between a triumph and the consulship, Caesar chose the consulship. Military Campaigns of Julius Caesar In 60 BC, Caesar sought election as consul for 59 BC, along with two other candidates. The election was sordid – even Cato, with his reputation for incorruptibility, is said to have resorted to bribery in favor of one of Caesar's opponents. Caesar won, along with conservative Marcus Bibulus. Caesar was already in Crassus' political debt, but he also made overtures to Pompey. Pompey and Crassus had been at odds for a decade, so Caesar tried to reconcile them. The three of them had enough money and political influence to control public business. This informal alliance, known as the First Triumvirate ("rule of three men"), was cemented by the marriage of Pompey to Caesar's daughter Julia. Caesar also married again, this time Calpurnia, who was the daughter of another powerful senator. Caesar proposed a law for the redistribution of public lands to the poor, a proposal supported by Pompey, by force of arms if need be, and by Crassus, making the triumvirate public. Pompey filled the city with soldiers, a move which intimidated the triumvirate's opponents. Bibulus attempted to declare the omens unfavorable and thus void the new law, but was driven from the forum by Caesar's armed supporters. His bodyguards had their ceremonial axes broken, two high magistrates accompanying him were wounded, and he had a bucket of excrement thrown over him. In fear of his life, he retired to his house for the rest of the year, issuing occasional proclamations of bad omens. These attempts to obstruct Caesar's legislation proved ineffective. Roman satirists ever after referred to the year as "the consulship of Julius and Caesar." When Caesar was first elected, the aristocracy tried to limit his future power by allotting the woods and pastures of Italy, rather than the governorship of a province, as his military command duty after his year in office was over. With the help of political allies, Caesar later overturned this, and was instead appointed to govern Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy) and Illyricum (southeastern Europe), with Transalpine Gaul (southern France) later added, giving him command of four legions. The term of his governorship, and thus his immunity from prosecution, was set at five years, rather than the usual one. When his consulship ended, Caesar narrowly avoided prosecution for the irregularities of his year in office, and quickly left for his province. Julius Caesar - Conquest of Gaul Caesar was still deeply in debt, but there was money to be made as a governor, whether by extortion or by military adventurism. Caesar had four legions under his command, two of his provinces bordered on unconquered territory, and parts of Gaul were known to be unstable. Some of Rome's Gallic allies had been defeated by their rivals at the Battle of Magetobriga, with the help of a contingent of Germanic tribes. The Romans feared these tribes were preparing to migrate south, closer to Italy, and that they had warlike intent. Caesar raised two new legions and defeated these tribes. In response to Caesar's earlier activities, the tribes in the north-east began to arm themselves. Caesar treated this as an aggressive move and, after an inconclusive engagement against the united tribes, he conquered the tribes piecemeal. Meanwhile, one of his legions began the conquest of the tribes in the far north (directly opposite Britain). During the spring of 56 BC, the Triumvirs held a conference, as Rome was in turmoil and Caesar's political alliance was coming undone. The Lucca Conference renewed the First Triumvirate and extended Caesar's governorship for another five years. The conquest of the north was soon completed, while a few pockets of resistance remained. Caesar now had a secure base from which to launch an invasion of Britain. In 55 BC, Caesar repelled an incursion into Gaul by two Germanic tribes, and followed it up by building a bridge across the Rhine and making a show of force in Germanic territory, before returning and dismantling the bridge. Late that summer, having subdued two other tribes, he crossed into Britain, claiming that the Britons had aided one of his enemies the previous year, possibly the Veneti of Brittany. His intelligence information was poor, and although he gained a beachhead on the coast, he could not advance further, and returned to Gaul for the winter. He returned the following year, better prepared and with a larger force, and achieved more. He advanced inland, and established a few alliances. However, poor harvests led to widespread revolt in Gaul, which forced Caesar to leave Britain for the last time. While Caesar was in Britain his daughter Julia, Pompey's wife, had died in childbirth. Caesar tried to re-secure Pompey's support by offering him his great-niece in marriage, but Pompey declined. In 53 BC Crassus was killed leading a failed invasion of the east. Rome was on the edge of civil war. Pompey was appointed sole consul as an emergency measure, and married the daughter of a political opponent of Caesar. The Triumvirate was dead. In 52 BC another, larger revolt erupted in Gaul, led by Vercingetorix. Vercingetorix managed to unite the Gallic tribes and proved an astute commander, defeating Caesar in several engagements, but Caesar's elaborate siege-works at the Battle of Alesia finally forced his surrender. Despite scattered outbreaks of warfare the following year, Gaul was effectively conquered. Plutarch claimed that the army had fought against three million men during the Gallic Wars, of whom one million died, and another million were enslaved. The Romans subjugated 300 tribes and destroyed 800 cities. However, in view of the difficulty in finding accurate counts in the first place, Caesar's propagandistic purposes, and the common exaggeration of numbers in ancient texts, the stated totals of enemy combatants are likely to be too high. Caesar's Civil War In 50 BC, the Senate, led by Pompey, ordered Caesar to disband his army and return to Rome because his term as governor had finished. Caesar thought he would be prosecuted if he entered Rome without the immunity enjoyed by a magistrate. Pompey accused Caesar of insubordination and treason. In January 49 BC, Caesar crossed the Rubicon river (the frontier boundary of Italy) with only one legion and ignited civil war. Upon crossing the Rubicon, Caesar, according to Plutarch and Suetonius, is supposed to have quoted the Athenian playwright Menander, in Greek, "the die is cast". Erasmus, however, notes that the more accurate Latin translation of the Greek imperative mood would be "alea iacta esto" let the die be cast. Pompey and much of the Senate fled to the south, having little confidence in his newly raised troops. Despite greatly outnumbering Caesar, who only had his Thirteenth Legion with him, Pompey did not intend to fight. Caesar pursued Pompey, hoping to capture him before his legions could escape. Pompey managed to escape before Caesar could capture him. Heading for Spain, Caesar left Italy under the control of Mark Antony. After an astonishing 27-day route-march, Caesar defeated Pompey's lieutenants, then returned east, to challenge Pompey in Illyria where, in July 48 BC in Dyrrhachium, Caesar barely avoided a catastrophic defeat. In an exceedingly short engagement later that year, he decisively defeated Pompey at Pharsalus, in Greece. In Rome, Caesar was appointed dictator, with Mark Antony as his Master of the Horse (second in command); Caesar presided over his own election to a second consulship and then, after eleven days, resigned this dictatorship. Caesar then pursued Pompey to Egypt, arriving soon after the murder of the general. There Caesar was presented with Pompey's severed head and seal-ring, receiving these with tears. He then had Pompey's assassins put to death. Caesar then became involved with an Egyptian civil war between the child pharaoh and his sister, wife, and co-regent queen, Cleopatra. Perhaps as a result of the pharaoh's role in Pompey's murder, Caesar sided with Cleopatra. He withstood the Siege of Alexandria and later he defeated the pharaoh's forces at the Battle of the Nile in 47 BC and installed Cleopatra as ruler. Caesar and Cleopatra celebrated their victory with a triumphal procession on the Nile in the spring of 47 BC. The royal barge was accompanied by 400 additional ships, and Caesar was introduced to the luxurious lifestyle of the Egyptian pharaohs. Caesar and Cleopatra never married, as Roman law recognized marriages only between two Roman citizens. Caesar continued his relationship with Cleopatra throughout his last marriage, which lasted fourteen years – in Roman eyes, this did not constitute adultery – and may have fathered a son called Caesarion. Cleopatra visited Rome on more than one occasion, residing in Caesar's villa just outside Rome across the Tiber. Late in 48 BC, Caesar was again appointed Dictator, with a term of one year. After spending the first months of 47 BC in Egypt, Caesar went to the Middle East, where he annihilated the king of Pontus; his victory was so swift and complete that he mocked Pompey's previous victories over such poor enemies. On his way to Pontus, Caesar visited from 27 to 29 May 47 BC, (25–27 Maygreg.) Tarsus, where he met enthusiastic support, but where, according to Cicero, Cassius was planning to kill him at this point. Thence, he proceeded to Africa to deal with the remnants of Pompey's senatorial supporters. He quickly gained a significant victory in 46 BC over Cato, who then committed suicide.
After this victory, he was
appointed Dictator for ten years. Pompey's sons escaped to Spain;
Caesar gave chase and defeated the last remnants of opposition in the
Battle of Munda in March 45 BC. During this time, Caesar was elected
to his third and fourth terms as consul in 46 BC and 45 BC (this last
time without a colleague). Caesar's Dictatorship and Assassination While he was still campaigning in Spain, the Senate began bestowing honors on Caesar. Caesar had not proscribed his enemies, instead pardoning almost all, and there was no serious public opposition to him. Great games and celebrations were held in April to honor Caesar’s victory at Munda. Plutarch writes that many Romans found the triumph held following Caesar's victory to be in poor taste, as those defeated in the civil war had not been foreigners, but instead fellow Romans. On Caesar's return to Italy in September 45 BC, he filed his will, naming his grandnephew Gaius Octavius (Octavian) as his principal heir, leaving his vast estate and property including his name. Caesar also wrote that if Octavian died before Caesar did, Decimus Junius Brutus would be the next heir in succession. In his will he also left a substantial gift to the citizens of Rome. During his early career, Caesar had seen how chaotic and dysfunctional the Roman Republic had become. The republican machinery had broken down under the weight of imperialism, the central government had become powerless, the provinces had been transformed into independent principalities under the absolute control of their governors, and the army had replaced the constitution as the means of accomplishing political goals. With a weak central government, political corruption had spiraled out of control, and the status quo had been maintained by a corrupt aristocracy, which saw no need to change a system that had made its members rich. Between his crossing of the Rubicon River in 49 BC, and his assassination in 44 BC, Caesar established a new constitution, which was intended to accomplish three separate goals. First, he wanted to suppress all armed resistance out in the provinces, and thus bring order back to the empire. Second, he wanted to create a strong central government in Rome. Finally, he wanted to knit together the entire empire into a single cohesive unit. The first goal was accomplished when Caesar defeated Pompey and his supporters. To accomplish the other two goals, he needed to ensure that his control over the government was undisputed, and so he assumed these powers by increasing his own authority, and by decreasing the authority of Rome's other political institutions. Finally, he enacted a series of reforms that were meant to address several long neglected issues, the most important of which was his reform of the calendar. Caesar's Dictatorship When Caesar returned to Rome, the Senate granted him triumphs for his victories, ostensibly those over Gaul, Egypt, Pharnaces and Juba, rather than over his Roman opponents. Not everything went Caesar's way. When Arsinoe IV, Egypt's former queen, was paraded in chains, the spectators admired her dignified bearing and were moved to pity. Triumphal games were held, with beast-hunts involving 400 lions, and gladiator contests. A naval battle was held on a flooded basin at the Field of Mars. At the Circus Maximus, two armies of war captives, each of 2,000 people, 200 horse and 20 elephants, fought to the death. Again, some bystanders complained, this time at Caesar's wasteful extravagance. A riot broke out, and only stopped when Caesar had two rioters sacrificed by the priests on the Field of Mars. After the triumph, Caesar set out to pass an ambitious legislative agenda. He ordered a census be taken, which forced a reduction in the grain dole, and that jurors could only come from the Senate or the equestrian ranks. He passed a sumptuary law that restricted the purchase of certain luxuries. After this, he passed a law that rewarded families for having many children, to speed up the repopulation of Italy. Then he outlawed professional guilds, except those of ancient foundation, since many of these were subversive political clubs. He then passed a term limit law applicable to governors. He passed a debt restructuring law, which ultimately eliminated about a fourth of all debts owed. The Forum of Caesar, with its Temple of Venus Genetrix, was then built, among many other public works. Caesar also tightly regulated the purchase of state-subsidised grain and reduced the number of recipients to a fixed number, all of whom were entered into a special register. From 47 to 44 BC he made plans for the distribution of land to about 15,000 of his veterans. The most important change, however, was his reform of the calendar. The calendar was then regulated by the movement of the moon, and this had left the calendar in a mess. Caesar replaced this calendar with the Egyptian calendar, which was regulated by the sun. He set the length of the year to 365.25 days by adding an intercalary/leap day at the end of February every fourth year. To bring the calendar into alignment with the seasons, he decreed that three extra months be inserted into 46 BC (the ordinary intercalary month at the end of February, and two extra months after November). Thus, the Julian calendar opened on 1 January 45 BC. This calendar is almost identical to the current Western calendar. Shortly before his assassination, he passed a few more reforms. He established a police force, appointed officials to carry out his land reforms, and ordered the rebuilding of Carthage and Corinth. He also extended Latin rights throughout the Roman world, and then abolished the tax system and reverted to the earlier version that allowed cities to collect tribute however they wanted, rather than needing Roman intermediaries. His assassination prevented further and larger schemes, which included the construction of an unprecedented temple to Mars, a huge theater, and a library on the scale of the Library of Alexandria. He also wanted to convert Ostia to a major port, and cut a canal through the Isthmus of Corinth. Militarily, he wanted to conquer the Dacians and Parthians, and avenge the loss at Carrhae. Thus he instituted a massive mobilization. Shortly before his assassination, the Senate named him censor for life and Father of the Fatherland, and the month of Quintilis was renamed July in his honor. He was granted further honors, which were later used to justify his assassination as a would-be divine monarch: coins were issued bearing his image and his statue was placed next to those of the kings. He was granted a golden chair in the Senate, was allowed to wear triumphal dress whenever he chose, and was offered a form of semi-official or popular cult, with Mark Antony as his high priest. Caesar's Political Reforms The history of Caesar's political appointments is complex and uncertain. Caesar held both the dictatorship and the tribunate, but alternated between the consulship and the Proconsulship. His powers within the state seem to have rested upon these magistracies. He was first appointed dictator in 49 BC possibly to preside over elections, but resigned his dictatorship within eleven days. In 48 BC, he was re-appointed dictator, only this time for an indefinite period, and in 46 BC, he was appointed dictator for ten years. In February 44 BC, one month before his assassination, he was appointed dictator for life. Under Caesar, a significant amount of authority was vested in his lieutenants, mostly because Caesar was frequently out of Italy. In October 45 BC, Caesar resigned his position as sole consul, and facilitated the election of two successors for the remainder of the year which theoretically restored the ordinary consulship, since the constitution did not recognize a single consul without a colleague. In 48 BC, Caesar was given permanent tribunician powers, which made his person sacrosanct and allowed him to veto the Senate, although on at least one occasion, tribunes did attempt to obstruct him. The offending tribunes in this case were brought before the Senate and divested of their office. This was not the first time that Caesar had violated a tribune's sacrosanctity. After he had first marched on Rome in 49 BC, he forcibly opened the treasury although a tribune had the seal placed on it. After the impeachment of the two obstructive tribunes, Caesar, perhaps unsurprisingly, faced no further opposition from other members of the Tribunician College. In 46 BC, Caesar gave himself the title of "Prefect of the Morals", which was an office that was new only in name, as its powers were identical to those of the censors. Thus, he could hold censorial powers, while technically not subjecting himself to the same checks that the ordinary censors were subject to, and he used these powers to fill the Senate with his own partisans. He also set the precedent, which his imperial successors followed, of requiring the Senate to bestow various titles and honors upon him. He was, for example, given the title of "Father of the Fatherland" and "imperator". Coins bore his likeness, and he was given the right to speak first during senate meetings. Caesar then increased the number of magistrates who were elected each year, which created a large pool of experienced magistrates, and allowed Caesar to reward his supporters. Caesar even took steps to transform Italy into a province, and to link more tightly the other provinces of the empire into a single cohesive unit. This addressed the underlying problem that had caused the Social War decades earlier, where individuals outside Rome and Italy were not considered "Roman", and thus were not given full citizenship rights. This process, of fusing the entire Roman Empire into a single unit, rather than maintaining it as a network of unequal principalities, would ultimately be completed by Caesar's successor, the emperor Augustus. When Caesar returned to Rome in 47 BC, the ranks of the Senate had been severely depleted, and so he used his censorial powers to appoint many new senators, which eventually raised the Senate's membership to 900. All the appointments were of his own partisans, which robbed the senatorial aristocracy of its prestige, and made the Senate increasingly subservient to him. To minimize the risk that another general might attempt to challenge him, Caesar passed a law that subjected governors to term limits.
Near the end of his life, Caesar
began to prepare for a war against the Parthian Empire. Since his
absence from Rome might limit his ability to install his own consuls,
he passed a law which allowed him to appoint all magistrates in 43
BC, and all consuls and tribunes in 42 BC. This, in effect,
transformed the magistrates from being representatives of the people
to being representatives of the dictator. Caesar's Assassination On the Ides of March (15 March; see Roman calendar) of 44 BC, Caesar was due to appear at a session of the Senate. Mark Antony, having vaguely learned of the plot the night before from a terrified Liberator named Servilius Casca, and fearing the worst, went to head Caesar off. The plotters, however, had anticipated this and, fearing that Antony would come to Caesar's aid, had arranged for Trebonius to intercept him just as he approached the portico of Theatre of Pompey, where the session was to be held, and detain him outside. (Plutarch, however, assigns this action to delay Antony to Brutus Albinus.) When he heard the commotion from the senate chamber, Antony fled. According to Plutarch, as Caesar arrived at the Senate, Tillius Cimber presented him with a petition to recall his exiled brother. The other conspirators crowded round to offer support. Both Plutarch and Suetonius say that Caesar waved him away, but Cimber grabbed his shoulders and pulled down Caesar's tunic. Caesar then cried to Cimber, "Why, this is violence!" ("Ista quidem vis est!"). At the same time, Casca produced his dagger and made a glancing thrust at the dictator's neck. Caesar turned around quickly and caught Casca by the arm. According to Plutarch, he said in Latin, "Casca, you villain, what are you doing?" Casca, frightened, shouted, "Help, brother!" in Greek ("adelphe, boethei"). Within moments, the entire group, including Brutus, was striking out at the dictator. Caesar attempted to get away, but, blinded by blood, he tripped and fell; the men continued stabbing him as he lay defenceless on the lower steps of the portico. According to Eutropius, around 60 or more men participated in the assassination. He was stabbed 23 times. According to Suetonius, a physician later established that only one wound, the second one to his chest, had been lethal. The dictator's last words are not known with certainty, and are a contested subject among scholars and historians alike. Suetonius reports that others have said Caesar's last words were the Greek phrase transliterated as "Kai su, teknon?": "You too, child?" in English). However, for himself, Suetonius says Caesar said nothing. Plutarch also reports that Caesar said nothing, pulling his toga over his head when he saw Brutus among the conspirators. The version best known in the English-speaking world is the Latin phrase "Et tu, Brute?" ("And you, Brutus?", commonly rendered as "You too, Brutus?"); this derives from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, where it actually forms the first half of a macaronic line: "Et tu, Brute? Then fall, Caesar." It has no basis in historical fact and Shakespeare's use of Latin here is not from any assertion that Caesar would have been using the language, rather than the Greek reported by Suetonius, but because the phrase was already popular when the play was written. According to Plutarch, after the assassination, Brutus stepped forward as if to say something to his fellow senators; they, however, fled the building. Brutus and his companions then marched to the Capitol while crying out to their beloved city: "People of Rome, we are once again free!" They were met with silence, as the citizens of Rome had locked themselves inside their houses as soon as the rumor of what had taken place had begun to spread. Caesar's dead body lay where it fell on the Senate floor for nearly three hours before other officials arrived to remove it. Caesar's body was cremated, and on the site of his cremation the Temple of Caesar was erected a few years later (at the east side of the main square of the Roman Forum). Only its altar now remains. A lifesize wax statue of Caesar was later erected in the forum displaying the 23 stab wounds. A crowd who had gathered there started a fire, which badly damaged the forum and neighboring buildings. In the ensuing chaos Mark Antony, Octavian (later Augustus Caesar), and others fought a series of five civil wars, which would end in the formation of the Roman Empire. Aftermath of Caesar's Assassination The result unforeseen by the assassins was that Caesar's death precipitated the end of the Roman Republic. The Roman middle and lower classes, with whom Caesar was immensely popular and had been since before Gaul, became enraged that a small group of aristocrats had killed their champion. Antony, who had been drifting apart from Caesar, capitalised on the grief of the Roman mob and threatened to unleash them on the Optimates, perhaps with the intent of taking control of Rome himself. To his surprise and chagrin, Caesar had named his grandnephew Gaius Octavian his sole heir, bequeathing him the immensely potent Caesar name and making him one of the wealthiest citizens in the Republic. The crowd at the funeral boiled over, throwing dry branches, furniture and even clothing on to Caesar's funeral pyre, causing the flames to spin out of control, seriously damaging the Forum. The mob then attacked the houses of Brutus and Cassius, where they were repelled only with considerable difficulty, ultimately providing the spark for the Liberators' civil war, fulfilling at least in part Antony's threat against the aristocrats. Antony did not foresee the ultimate outcome of the next series of civil wars, particularly with regard to Caesar's adopted heir. Octavian, aged only 18 when Caesar died, proved to have considerable political skills, and while Antony dealt with Decimus Brutus in the first round of the new civil wars, Octavian consolidated his tenuous position. To combat Brutus and Cassius, who were massing an enormous army in Greece, Antony needed soldiers, the cash from Caesar's war chests, and the legitimacy that Caesar's name would provide for any action he took against them. With the passage of the lex Titia on 27 November 43 BC, the Second Triumvirate was officially formed, composed of Antony, Octavian, and Caesar's loyal cavalry commander Lepidus. It formally deified Caesar as Divus Iulius in 42 BC, and Caesar Octavian henceforth became Divi filius ("Son of a god"). Because Caesar's clemency had resulted in his murder, the Second Triumvirate reinstated the practice of proscription, abandoned since Sulla. It engaged in the legally sanctioned murder of a large number of its opponents to secure funding for its forty-five legions in the second civil war against Brutus and Cassius. Antony and Octavius defeated them at Philippi. Afterward, Mark Antony formed an alliance with Caesar's lover, Cleopatra, intending to use the fabulously wealthy Egypt as a base to dominate Rome. A third civil war broke out between Octavian on one hand and Antony and Cleopatra on the other. This final civil war, culminating in the latter's defeat at Actium, resulted in the permanent ascendancy of Octavian, who became the first Roman emperor, under the name Caesar Augustus, a name that raised him to the status of a deity. Julius Caesar had been preparing to invade Parthia, the Caucasus and Scythia, and then march back to Germania through Eastern Europe. These plans were thwarted by his assassination. His successors did attempt the conquests of Parthia and Germania, but without lasting results. Caesar's Deification Julius Caesar was the first historical Roman to be officially deified. He was posthumously granted the title Divus Iulius or Divus Julius (the divine Julius or the deified Julius) by decree of the Roman Senate on 1 January 42 BC. The appearance of a comet during games in his honour was taken as confirmation of his divinity. Though his temple was not dedicated until after his death, he may have received divine honors during his lifetime: and shortly before his assassination, Mark Antony had been appointed as his flamen (priest). Both Octavian and Mark Antony promoted the cult of Divus Iulius. After the death of Antony, Octavian, as the adoptive son of Caesar, assumed the title of Divi Filius (son of a god). Caesar's Personal Life Health and Physical Appearance Based on remarks by Plutarch, Caesar is sometimes thought to have suffered from epilepsy. Modern scholarship is "sharply divided" on the subject, and some scholars believe that he was plagued by malaria, particularly during the Sullan proscriptions of the 80s. Several specialists in headache medicine believe that instead of epilepsy, a more accurate diagnosis would be migraine headache. Other scholars contend his epileptic seizures were due to a parasitic infection in the brain by a tapeworm. Caesar had four documented episodes of what may have been complex partial seizures. He may additionally have had absence seizures in his youth. The earliest accounts of these seizures were made by the biographer Suetonius, who was born after Caesar died. The claim of epilepsy is countered among some medical historians by a claim of hypoglycemia, which can cause epileptoid seizures. In 2003, psychiatrist Harbour F. Hodder published what he termed as the "Caesar Complex" theory, arguing that Caesar was a sufferer of temporal lobe epilepsy and the debilitating symptoms of the condition were a factor in Caesar's conscious decision to forgo personal safety in the days leading up to his assassination. A line from Shakespeare has sometimes been taken to mean that he was deaf in one ear: Come on my right hand, for this ear is deaf. No classical source mentions hearing impairment in connection with Caesar. The playwright may have been making metaphorical use of a passage in Plutarch that does not refer to deafness at all, but rather to a gesture Alexander of Macedon customarily made. By covering his ear, Alexander indicated that he had turned his attention from an accusation in order to hear the defense. The Roman historian Suetonius describes Caesar as "tall of stature with a fair complexion, shapely limbs, a somewhat full face, and keen black eyes." Caesar's Name and Family Using the Latin alphabet of the period, which lacked the letters J and U, Caesar's name would be rendered GAIVS IVLIVS CAESAR; the form CAIVS is also attested, using the older Roman representation of G by C. The standard abbreviation was C. IVLIVS CÆSAR, reflecting the older spelling. (The letterform Æ is a ligature of the letters A and E, and is often used in Latin inscriptions to save space.) In Vulgar Latin, the plosive /k/ before front vowels began, due to palatalization, to be pronounced as an affricate – hence renderings like [tfe.sar] in Italian and [tse.sar] in German regional pronunciations of Latin, as well as the title of Tsar. With the evolution of the Romance languages, the affricate [ts] became a fricative [s] (thus, [se.sar]) in many regional pronunciations, including the French one, from which the modern English pronunciation is derived. The original /k/ is preserved in Norse mythology, where he is manifested as the legendary king Kjárr. Caesar's cognomen would itself become a title; it was greatly promulgated by the Bible, by the famous verse "Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's". The title became the German Kaiser and Slavic Tsar/Czar. The last tsar in nominal power was Simeon II of Bulgaria whose reign ended in 1946; for two thousand years after Julius Caesar's assassination, there was at least one head of state bearing his name. Caesar / Julio-Claudian family tree Parents
Sisters
Wives
Children
Grandchildren
Lovers
Notable relatives
Rumors of Julius Caesar and Homosexual Practices Roman society viewed the passive role during sexual activity, regardless of gender, to be a sign of submission or inferiority. Indeed, Suetonius says that in Caesar's Gallic triumph, his soldiers sang that, "Caesar may have conquered the Gauls, but Nicomedes conquered Caesar." According to Cicero, Bibulus, Gaius Memmius, and others (mainly Caesar's enemies), he had an affair with Nicomedes IV of Bithynia early in his career. The tales were repeated, referring to Caesar as the Queen of Bithynia, by some Roman politicians as a way to humiliate him. Caesar himself denied the accusations repeatedly throughout his lifetime, and according to Cassius Dio, even under oath on one occasion. This form of slander was popular during this time in the Roman Republic to demean and discredit political opponents. A favorite tactic used by the opposition was to accuse a popular political rival as living a Hellenistic lifestyle based on Greek and Eastern culture, where homosexuality and a lavish lifestyle were more acceptable than in Roman tradition. Catullus wrote two poems suggesting that Caesar and his engineer Mamurra were lovers, but later apologised. Mark Antony charged that Octavian had earned his adoption by Caesar through sexual favors. Suetonius described Antony's accusation of an affair with Octavian as political slander. Octavian eventually became the first Roman Emperor. Literary Works of Julius Caesar During his lifetime, Caesar was regarded as one of the best orators and prose authors in Latin — even Cicero spoke highly of Caesar's rhetoric and style. Only Caesar's war commentaries have survived. A few sentences from other works are quoted by other authors. Among his lost works are his funeral oration for his paternal aunt Julia and his Anticato, a document written to defame Cato in response to Cicero's published praise. Poems by Julius Caesar are also mentioned in ancient sources. Memoirs of Julius Caesar
Other works historically have been attributed to Caesar, but their authorship is in doubt:
These narratives were written and
published annually during or just after the actual campaigns, as a
sort of "dispatches from the front." They were important in
shaping Caesar's public image and enhancing his reputation when he
was away from Rome for long periods. They may have been presented as
public readings. As a model of clear and direct Latin style, The
Gallic Wars traditionally has been studied by first- or second-year
Latin students. Julius Nepos was Western Roman Emperor de facto from 474 to 475 and de jure until 480. He was also the ruler of Roman Dalmatia from 468 to 480. Some historians consider Nepos to be the last Western Roman Emperor, while others consider the western line to have ended with Romulus Augustulus in 476. In contrast, the Eastern Roman Empire and its line of Emperors survived this period of history essentially intact. Julius Nepos, already in control of a semi-autonomous Dalmatia, was appointed Western Roman Emperor in early 474 by the Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I in an effort to replace the western emperor Glycerius, who was regarded as a usurper. His agnomen of "Nepos" (nephew) was probably earned through a marriage to Leo's wife's niece; it is likely that this relationship also played a significant part in his selection for the western throne. In June 474, shortly after Nepos arrived in Italy, Glycerius surrendered. Nepos spared his life and appointed him bishop of Salona. Nepos ruled briefly over the whole of the remaining Western Roman Empire, centered in Italy, still the Empire's heartland, and including his native Dalmatia and the remaining parts of Roman Gaul. Nepos' rule in Italy ended in 475, when he was deposed by his magister militum, Orestes. Fleeing from Italy and Orestes without opposition, Nepos returned to Dalmatia, over which he retained control. In the same year, following the departure of Nepos, Orestes enthroned his own teenage son as the new western emperor with the regnal name Romulus Augustus, in reference to whom the second element is often used in the diminutive "Augustulus" (little Augustus). The reasons for Orestes' decision to crown his son as a puppet-emperor, rather than become emperor himself, are somewhat unclear. In the eyes of Roman law and of the eastern court in Constantinople, however, the status of Romulus as Emperor was unconstitutional. His short reign ended in 476 with the execution of his father and his own subsequent forced abdication, both the result of an uprising led by Odoacer, head of the Germanic Foederati in Italy. Odoacer, the new ruler of the Italian peninsula, sent the teenaged former emperor to Campania in exile or retirement, after which Romulus Augustulus disappears from the historical record. Although his successor had been deposed, Nepos never returned to Italy; however the "Emperor of the West" continued to reign from Dalmatia, and he still enjoyed some support from Constantinople. Odoacer, attempting to bypass Nepos, used the Roman Senate to petition the newly restored Eastern Emperor, Zeno; he requested the title of Patrician, and sought to end the separate line of Western Emperors. Patrician rank was granted, but at Zeno's insistence Odoacer also grudgingly acknowledged Nepos' Imperial status, and even issued coinage in Nepos' name. As Patricius, Odoacer ruled over Italy and an expanding sphere of related territories as a viceroy, theoretically under Zeno's authority as the head of a "re-united" Imperium Romanum, while still technically acknowledging Nepos as Emperor of the West. In practical terms, Odoacer was an increasingly independent King of Italy, nominally recognizing the Eastern Empire's suzerainty; Nepos retained claim to the Imperial title, but exercised no real power outside of Dalmatia. This political solution lasted approximately 4 years. Julius Nepos, still residing in Dalmatia, was murdered by members of his own military in 480, possibly as a result of machinations by Odoacer and/or Glycerius, possibly aggravated by ambitions on Nepos' part to regain control of Italy. The competing desires of various persons to replace him as ruler of Dalmatia probably also played a part in his assassination. The instability in the West continued, and Nepos' death ended the last serious legal claims of a Western Roman Empire, independent of the Roman East, until the coronation of Charlemagne as "Imperator Romanorum" in 800. Julius Nepos' Rise to Power Nepos was married to the niece of Eastern Roman Emperor Leo I, hence his nepos — "nephew" — agnomen, and was named as Emperor in the West by Leo in 474, in order to end the reign of the usurper Glycerius, who had been raised to the throne by the Burgundian magister militum Gundobad in the western capital of Ravenna. Under Roman law, Leo was the sole legitimate Emperor and had the right to select a new western counterpart. He chose Nepos, a relative and already governor of the province of Dalmatia, technically a part of the western empire but in practical terms an autonomous region since at least the time of Marcellinus' rule there. In June 474 Nepos entered Ravenna, forced Glycerius to abdicate, and secured the western throne for himself. Glycerius was exiled to Dalmatia as bishop of the city of Salona, where he and Nepos may have crossed paths again. Rule of Julius Nepos As emperor, Nepos sought to consolidate the Western Empire's remaining holdings, which consisted of Italy, Illyria and the remaining parts of Roman Gaul. He was able to re-negotiate a recently concluded peace settlement with the Visigoths and their king Euric, under which he restored the Provence region of Gaul to imperial control in exchange for other, minor territories where the empire was unable to maintain firm control and their strategic position was less sustainable. But he was less successful in negotiating with Geiseric, the king of the Vandals, who was once again launching pirate attacks on the Italian coast. Having recently made peace with the Eastern Empire, Geiseric saw no need to make new concessions to the recently appointed Augustus of the weakened and unstable West. Nepos was, by all accounts, one of the more capable of the late Western Emperors, but he was unpopular with the Roman Senate, whose members disliked him for his close ties to the East. When Nepos made the mistake of appointing the untrustworthy but well-established Orestes as his magister militum, Nepos' lack of a solid core of support in Italy would work against him. Fall and Rule of Julius Nepos in Dalmatia On August 28, 475, Orestes took control of the government at Ravenna and forced Nepos to flee by ship to Dalmatia. Unable to appoint himself as the Western Roman Emperor, Orestes instead appointed his son Romulus Augustus as Romulus was a citizen of Rome. The boy was probably around 12 years old when he became Emperor and is known to history as Romulus Augustulus, meaning Romulus the Little Augustus. However, Romulus' position was not constitutional inasmuch as he had not been recognised by the Emperor at Constantinople, in whose eyes Nepos was still the sole Augustus of the West. The latter thus continued to rule in Dalmatia as Emperor, recognized as such in Dalmatia and in the eastern court. When Odoacer captured Ravenna, killed Orestes, and deposed Romulus on September 4, 476, he proclaimed himself ruler of Italy and asked the Eastern Roman Emperor Zeno to legalize his position as Patricius of the Roman Empire and Zeno's viceroy in Italy. Zeno did so, but insisted that he recognize Nepos as Western Roman Emperor. Odoacer did this, and even issued coins in Nepos' name throughout Italy. In name at least, the Western Roman Empire continued to exist after 476, but only as a legal formality and as a sop to Imperial tradition. Through the Roman Senate, Odoacer requested that he be named a Patrician by the Emperor Zeno, ruler of the eastern half of the Roman Empire. This request was granted and technically Odoacer, as Patrician, ruled Italy and an expanding sphere of related territories under Zeno's authority as the head of a "re-united" Imperium Romanum. In practical terms, Odoacer was an increasingly independent king, nominally recognizing the Eastern Emperor's suzerainty, with Nepos retaining a tenuous claim on the Imperial rank. Similar arrangements might have continued for many years had events not taken another course. First, in about 479, Nepos began to plot against Odoacer, hoping to regain control of Italy for himself. Another possibility, (according to some sources) is that Glycerius, who continued as bishop of Salona, was plotting his revenge. What is certain is that Odoacer perceived Nepos as a threat, and was determined to get rid of him. Assassination of Julius Nepos Nepos was killed by his own soldiers on one of three possible dates — April 25, May 9 or June 22 — of 480. The April 25 date is probably the correct one. He was reportedly stabbed to death in his villa, near Salona. Since Diocletian also had a residence in the area, it might have been the same building. Marcellinus Comes blames "the treachery of his comes Viator and Ovida" for the murder. Malchus also implicates the former Emperor Glycerius in the conspiracy. Glycerius was after all Bishop of Salona at the time, placing him in the vicinity of the murder.
Ovida served as the next ruler of
Dalmatia for a few months, but Odoacer used Nepos' murder as a
pretext to invade Dalmatia. Odoacer defeated Ovida's forces on
December 9, and added the province to his own kingdom. Adding to the
suspicions about Glycerius is a report that Odoacer then made him
bishop of Milan. Justin Martyr was an early Christian apologist and theologian and saint. His works represent the earliest surviving Christian "apologies"of notable size.
A pagan born in Palestine, he
studied philosophy before becoming a Christian in 132, probably at
Ephesus. He then spent years as an itinerant preacher and teacher.
One of the earliest Christian Apologists, he was the first to blend
Greek philosophy and Christian doctrine. He wrote two Apologies
addressed to Roman emperors, which asserted that Christian faith can
be in harmony with human reason and that Christianity is a purer form
of the truth glimpsed in pagan philosophy. In his Dialogue with
Trypho he tried to prove the truth of Christianity to a scholarly Jew
named Trypho. While living in Rome, he was denounced as subversive
and condemned to death. (1.) Another name for Joseph, surnamed Barsabas. He and Matthias are mentioned only in Acts 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"(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 (Acts 18:7). (3.) A Jewish Christian, called Jesus, Paul's only fellow-laborer at Rome, where he wrote his Epistle to the Colossians (Col. 4:11).
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