JAPHLET

(Japhʹlet) [may Jah deliver].

A descendant of Asher through Beriah and Heber. Three “sons of Japhlet” are included in the genealogy.—1 Chron. 7:30-33.

JAPHLETITES

(Japhʹle·tites).

An ancient people occupying territory on Ephraim’s boundary when the Israelites moved into the Promised Land. (Josh. 16:3) There is no evidence linking the Japhletites with the descendant of Asher named Japhlet. (1 Chron. 7:30, 32) Secular history provides no additional information about them.

JAR

See VESSELS.

JARAH

(Jaʹrah) [honeycomb].

A descendant of Saul through Jonathan and, according to this genealogy, himself a father of three sons. (1 Chron. 9:39-42) He is called Jehoaddah at 1 Chronicles 8:36.

JARED

(Jaʹred) [descent].

Father of Enoch and a pre-Flood ancestor of Jesus Christ; the fifth generation after Adam. (1 Chron. 1:2; Luke 3:37) Jared, the son of Mahalalel, lived 962 years (3566-2604 B.C.E.), second only to his grandson Methuselah in longevity. He had a number of sons and daughters, becoming father to Enoch at the age of 162.—Gen. 5:15-20.

JARHA

(Jarʹha).

An Egyptian slave of Judah’s descendant Sheshan. Since Sheshan had no sons, he gave his daughter in marriage to Jarha, enabling Jarha to father Attai and thus preserve Sheshan’s family line through him.—1 Chron. 2:34, 35.

JARIB

(Jaʹrib) [Jah contends, takes (our) part, conducts (our) case].

1. A son of Simeon (1 Chron. 4:24), elsewhere apparently called Jachin.—Gen. 46:10; see JACHIN No. 1.

2. One of the nine headmen whom Ezra sent to encourage Levites and Nethinim to come to the river Ahava and join the others on the journey to Jerusalem.—Ezra 8:15-20.

3. One of the listed relatives of the priests who “promised by shaking hands” that they would dismiss their foreign wives in response to Ezra’s bidding.—Ezra 10:18, 19.

JARMUTH

(Jarʹmuth) [a height].

1. One of five Amorite cities involved in the attempted punitive expedition against the Gibeonites. Its king, Piram, and his allies were defeated by Joshua. Thereafter this city of the Shephelah was assigned to Judah. (Josh. 10:3-5, 23-25; 12:7, 11; 15:20, 33, 35) After the Babylonian exile Judeans again resided at Jarmuth. (Neh. 11:25, 29) Khirbet Yarmuk, some sixteen miles (c. 26 kilometers) SW of Jerusalem, seems to be the ancient site. Situated on a hilltop, it overlooks the coastal plains as far as Gaza by the Mediterranean Sea.

2. A city in Issachar assigned to the Gershonites. (Josh. 21:27-29) It is believed to be the same as Ramoth (1 Chron. 6:73) and Remeth.—Josh. 19:21; see RAMOTH.

JAROAH

(Ja·roʹah) [soft, delicate].

A descendant of Gad who resided in the territory of Bashan.—1 Chron. 5:11, 14.

JASHAR, BOOK OF

See BOOK.

JASHEN

(Jaʹshen) [sleeping].

The expression “the sons of Jashen” is found in the list of David’s mighty men. (2 Sam. 23:32) The parallel list at 1 Chronicles 11:34 calls him Hashem the Gizonite.

JASHOBEAM

(Ja·shoʹbe·am) [the people return].

1. A Korahite warrior who joined David’s forces at Ziklag. (1 Chron. 12:1, 6) Possibly the same as No. 2 below.

2. The head one of David’s three most outstanding mighty men. Jashobeam once used his spear to fight off several hundred of the enemy and was also one of the three to force their way into the Philistine camp to get water for David from the cistern of Bethlehem. (1 Chron. 11:11, 15-19) In the course of events, Jashobeam was appointed head of the first monthly division of 24,000. (1 Chron. 27:1, 2) He was a son of Zabdiel; a Hachmonite. His name is spelled Josheb-basshebeth at 2 Samuel 23:8.—See JOSHEB-BASSHEBETH.

JASHUB

(Jaʹshub) [he returns].

1. The third-listed son of Issachar and founder of the Jashubite division of his tribe. (1 Chron. 7:1; Num. 26:23, 24) He is called Iob at Genesis 46:13.

2. One of “the sons of Bani” who, after returning from the Babylonian exile, took but then dismissed foreign wives.—Ezra 10:29, 44.

JASHUBITES

(Jashʹu·bites).

Descendants of Issachar’s son Jashub (Iob), and one of the four major family divisions of the tribe.—Num. 26:23-25; Gen. 46:13.

JASHUBI-LEHEM

(Jashʹu·bi-leʹhem).

A name in the genealogies of Judah, possibly a descendant of Shelah. However, some translators think this means “returned to Lehem,” that is, “to Bethlehem.”—1 Chron. 4:21, 22; AT, Dy, JB, Mo.

JASON

(Jaʹson) [One of the Greek forms of Joshua, “Jehovah is salvation”].

A prominent Christian in Thessalonica who had ‘received Paul and Silas hospitably’ on their first journey into Macedonia. A mob of jealous Jews set about to take Paul and Silas from Jason’s house, but, not finding them there, they took Jason instead, and made him the principal defendant in charges of sedition against Caesar. Jason and the others with him were released after giving “sufficient security,” perhaps in the form of bail.—Acts 17:5-10; 1 Thess. 2:18.

In Paul’s letter to the Romans, written from Corinth on his next trip through Macedonia and Greece, Jason is one whose greetings are included. (Rom. 16:21) If he is the same person as the Jason in Thessalonica, he apparently had come to Corinth, possibly with Paul. He is called a ‘relative’ of Paul, which can mean that he was a “fellow-countryman,” though the primary meaning of the Greek word is “blood relative of the same generation.” If a close fleshly relative of Paul, he was naturally the one with whom Paul would stay in Thessalonica. The name Jason, one of the Greek equivalents of Joshua, was adopted by many Jews living under the influence of Greek culture.

JASPER

A jasper stone representing one of Israel’s twelve tribes was placed in the last position in the second row of stones on Aaron’s “breastpiece of judgment.” (Ex. 28:2, 15, 18, 21; 39:11) The jeweled “covering” worn by the king of Tyre was adorned with jasper. (Ezek. 28:12, 13) In the vision of Jehovah’s heavenly throne of splendor, John observed that “the one seated is, in appearance, like a jasper stone and a precious red-colored stone.” (Rev. 4:1-3, 10, 11) “The holy city, New Jerusalem” is described as having a radiance “like a most precious stone, as a jasper stone shining crystal-clear.” The structure of the holy city’s wall was jasper, as was the first foundation stone.—Rev. 21:2, 10, 11, 18, 19.

Modern jasper is an opaque variety of quartz containing an admixture of iron oxide. Its colors, often arranged in layers, are white, red, yellow, brown or black. Jasper is harder than glass and is found in metamorphic rocks in mass or as distinct crystals. The best grades are used for gemstones and can be highly polished. Some scholars, however, believe that the jasper referred to in the Christian Greek Scriptures was not the modern jasper. Since the jasper