LiTSEaTUKi. — Art. Jashar In Smith's Dfft ; IToIzlnfrer, Bin- Iritung in den llrzateuch, '22S tl : Kylo, Canon of OT, 19 0. ; llriver, LOT'. 108. 121, 1»2 ; Wildelxwr, ill. if, AT, ^3 B. ; KautMchs AT, Bellago, I3B t. ; W. R. MiniUi. OTJC 4X1 H.
W. H. Bknnett. JA8HEN (!!»;, "Acrdr, Jasen).—The sons i.f .lashen
(IP; -w) are mentioned in the list of David's heroes given in 2 S 23"-. In the parallel li.st (1 Ch U") they appear as the sons of Uashcm (c;;'.;), who is further described as the Gizonite (';^i;m) (wh. see). The name Gizon, however, does not occur else- where, and it seems probable that the true form of the gentilic adjective has been preserved by Lucian (2 S 'leaaal o Vouvv ; 1 Ch Elpacal i Toui'I), riz. ' tlie Gunit« ' ('jiJ-), or member of the Napli- talite family of Guni (Xu 26"i ; so Driver, Budde, Klostermann. It is furtlier generally admitted by most scholars that tlie word 'j? ('sons of) has crept into the text both of 2 S and 1 Ch bj' ditto- grapliy from the preceding 'ji^K-n (' the Shaal- bonite'): Lucian omits it in both passages. Hashem(l Ch), though supported by the LXX (2 S 'Affdv ; 1 Ch A i^ioi 'Affdfji 6 Vwvvl), nmst, in \'iew of Lucian's text, be rejected in favour of Jashen. I''or ' the sons of Jashen ' (2 S 23''^) we should therefore read ' Jashen the Gunite.' See further. Driver, A'^otes on the Books of Sam. p. 283.
J. F. Stennino. JASHOBEAM (cv;y;).— One of DaWd's mighty men, 1 Cli 11" 12*27*. There is reason to believe that his real name was Ishbosheth, i.e. Eshbaal.
See JOSUSB-BASSHEBETH.
JASHDB (2i&, ' he returns ). — 1. IssacJiar's fourtli son, Nu ■2G-^ P, 1 Ch 7', called in Gn id" lob (wh. see) : patron. Jashubites, Nu 26'^. 2. A returned exile who married a foreigner, Ezr i.(y.
JASHUBI-LEHEM (nn^ '50;).— The eponym of a Judahite family, 1 Ch i'^. The text is manifestly corrupt. LXX gives «:ai i.iricrrp(\pev ai/roiis, Luc. (tai (Trior pe\j/av iairro'it. Kittel (in SBOT) reads onji n'3 US';! 'and they returned to Bethlehem,' re- marking that the LXX and Vulg. {et qui reversi sunt i» Lnliem) rightly recognize the verb 3!<>. cn^ must stand for '^ n'j, and the last two letters of MT iztr may be a trace of the n-a. Even so, thi meaning of the passage is obscure.
JASON ('\iauv). — A common Gr. name, not on- frei|ucntly used by Hel. Jews, or by Palestinians who were favourable to Hellenizing influences. In some cases it was a<lopted as the equivalent of Joshua or Jctus ('iTjiroCt) ; cf. Jos. Ant. XII. v. 1.
1. J. THE SON' OF El.EAZAli, one of the envoys sent by Judas Maecaba-us to conclude a treaty with Konie (B.C. 161). The Greek name suggests that he belonged to the more liberal party among the Jews (Stanley), I Mac 8", Jos. Ant. XII. x. 6.
2. J. THE FATHER OF Antipater, who was Sent as an ambiussador by .lonatlian. in B.C. 144, to renew the former treaty with the Romans (1 Mac 12" 14-', .los. Ant. XIII. V. 8). This Jason is perhaps the same as No. 1.
3. J. OF Cyrene, a Jewish writer, who com- posed five books on the history of the Maccabees and the wars of the Jews against Antiorhus Epi- phanes and his successor Eupator. Of this work our Second Book of the Maccabees is an abridg- ment UwiTon-/)), and from the enitomizer's preface our wliolo knowledge of J. is derived. The date
at which he lived can be <letermined only by internal evidence. Comparing the epitome witn 1 Mac, which deals in the main with the same
period of history, we lind numerous discrepancies not only in imiiortant ilclails, but sometimes even in the order 01 events ; and it cannot bo doubted that on the whole the simpler narrative of 1 Mao is to bo preferred. At the same time 2 Mao supplies us with many a<lditiunal particulars, which there is no reason to doubt. The writer seems to have been specially well informisl upon the earlier troubles which led to the .Mnccnli:ian rising. .1. clearly had at his disjiosjil valuabla
SJ2
JASOX
J A VAX
eonteinporary informiition ; but if this was not written but oral, ami frequently not received at first hand, it is easy to account for the numerous inaccuracies and legendary additions which are to be found in hia work. The narrative of 2 Mac extends to B.C. 16U ; and J. probably wrote not long after that date. His name and place of residence imply that he was a Hellenist; the ornate and rhetorical style of the work is charactt'ristic of tlie later Gr. writers ; and from internal evidence it seems clear that the orig. work of J. was written in Greek. Cf. Schiirer, UJP II. iii. •Jll-'215 ; Ziickler on 2 Mac, Einl. 2.
4. J. THE High Puiest, the son of Simon n., and brother of Onias III., was the leader of the Hellenizing party among the Jews. His orig. name was Jesus or Joshua (Jos. Ant. Xll. v. 1). < In the accession of Antiochus Epiphanes, he induced the king, by means of a large present of money, to expel Onias from the higli priesthood, and to confer the otlice upon himself (2 Mac 4''", 4 Mac 4"'"'. Josephus, I.e., seems to be mistaken when he asserts that J. became high priest on the death of his brother, and also when he states that the next pretender, Menelaus, was a brother of J.). J. further procured from Antiochus permission to erect a gymnasium and ' ephebeion ' in Jerus., and obtained for the inhabitants the title and pri^ ileges of 'citizens of Antioch.' Through J.'s influence (Jr. customs were largely adopted among all classes of the Jews ; and to the sacred games, which were celebrated at Tyre every four years in honour of Hercules, he sent a Jewish deputation with a large sum of money. This money, however, at the request of the envoj's themselves, was expended on building galleys and not on sacrilices (2 Mac 4'*-™). For three years (B.C. 174-171) J. continued in power, then he was supplanted by his own envoy to Antiochus, Menelaus, who gained the office of high priest by oO'ering a stUl larger bribe (i*. 4='"-'°). J. took refuge among the Ammonites ; but the next year, on the occasion of a false report of the death of Antiochus in Egypt, he suddenly attacked Jerus. \rith a large force, and, becoming master of the city, drove his rival to take refuge in the citadel. On the advance of Antiochus, J. fled once more to the Ammonites, and subsequently to Egjrpt. Afterwards, relying on the fabled con- nexion between the Sjiartans and Jews (cf. 1 Mac 12'), he retired to Sparta, and there died ' in a strange land,' 'nor had he any funeral at all, or place in the sepulclire of his fathers ' (2 Mac S'-'").