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Jabez
(ya'-BETZ) n. Jabez; ya'betz means "sorrow," deriving from a root word meaning to grieve. The famous "Prayer of Jabez" is found in 1 Chronicles 4:10.
Jacob
(ya-a-KOHV) n. Jacob. The son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham, and the father of the 12 patriarchs of the tribes of Israel. Ya'akov means "heel holder" or "supplanter"; later he was renamed "Israel" ("God prevails") by Adonai (Gen. 32:28).
Jah
(YAH) n. God. See the Hebrew Names of God.
Jehovah
(yah-VEH; Adonai) n. Adonai. YHVH. [The basic form. Ketiv: unutterable; Qere: A-do-nai]
The personal Name of Adonai, the transcendent Source and Ground of all being whatsoever. This Name appears 5,200+ times in the Tanakh (rendered in the KJV as the LORD [all caps]). In the Tanakh, YHVH is the personal name of God and his most frequent designation. This is the Ineffable Name or Unutterable Name of the God of Israel. Because it is composed from the four Hebrew letters  , it is also referred to as the "Tetragrammaton," which simply means "The Four Letters." In those contexts where the actual title "Lord" (Adonai) also occurs, YHVH is translated as "GOD," (all caps). See the Hebrew Names of God.
Jehovah Jireh
(yah-VEH yeer-EH) Jehovahjireh. n. The LORD who sees; Gen. 22:14; Adonai sees all and knows our needs intimately (rendered in the KJV as Jehovahjireh) (Gen 22:14). See the Hebrew Names of God.
Jehovah Nissi
(yah-VEH nees-SEE) Jehovahnissi. n. The LORD my Miracle, or The LORD my Banner; (Ex. 17:15) (rendered in the KJV as the Jehovahnissi). See the Hebrew Names of God.
Jehovah Shalom
(yah-VEH sha-LOHM) Jehovahshalom. n. The LORD of Peace (Judges 6:24) (rendered in the KJV as Jehovahshalom). See the Hebrew Names of God.
Jealous
(kan-NA') adj. Jealous (Ex. 20:5).
Jeremiah
(yeer-me-YA-hoo) Jeremiah. 1) The book of Jeremiah, part of the Nevi'im in the Tanakh. 2) Adonai's messenger to Judah during her final years before falling to the Babylonians. Yirmeyahu means "Adonai will Lift Up."
Jericho
(ye-rei-KHO) n. Jericho. First city conquered by Joshua upon entrance to the promised land.
Jerusalem
(ye-roo-sha-LAI-yeem) n. Jerusalem. Also known as the City of David, Zion, Salem, Ariel, Jebus, the "City of God," the "holy city," comes to designate heaven itself (Heb. 12:22-23). In Psalm 122:6 we read, "pray for the peace of Jerusalem." The word sha'alu actually means "ask" (as in ask a sheilah, a question) and shalom is a Name of Jesus, since He indeed is Sar Shalom (the Prince of Peace). The word Jerusalem means "teaching of peace" (the "Jeru" at the beginning comes from the same root as Torah, which means teaching), so the phrase could be construed as "ask about the Prince of Peace and His Teaching." At any rate, we know that Jesus is indeed the King of Jerusalem (Matt 5:35) who will soon return to reign over all the earth.
Jeshurun
(ye-shu-run) Jeshurun; Poetic name for Israel (Deut. 32:15).
Jesus
(ye-SHOO-ah) n. The beloved Name of a first century Jew of the Second Temple Period known more fully as Yeshua ben Yosef ha-Notzri, the promised Jewish Messiah and Savior of the world. The name Yeshua comes from Joshua's Hebrew name, Yehoshua, which sometimes appears in its shortened form, Yeshua (e.g., see Neh. 8:17). Now Yeshua, when transliterated into Greek, comes out Iesous (YAY-soos) (the final sigma is necessary in the nominative case to designate a proper name). In old English, the "y" sound was rendered as "j," and thus we obtain "Jesus":
(The so-called "Sacred Name" movement that purports that the "true name" of the Messiah is "YAHushua" or "YAHoshua" (or some variant thereof) is founded on faulty linguistics and esoteric doctrine. These people think that the sacred Name (YHVH) is best rendered as YAHWEH, and suppose that since Jesus said He came in His Father's Name (John 5:34), YAH must somehow appear in the spelling of this name. Hence we have YAHshua, or YAHoshua, or some other spelling. This interpoloation of the phoneme YAH comes at the expense of the original Masoretic text and standard Hebrew usage. Some in this movement go so far as to believe that you can only be saved if you pronounce the Sacred Name correctly! As a friend of mine pointed out, this teaching is inherently anti-semitic, since in order for this to be true, the "rabbis" must have corrupted the text and deceived the people. Moreover, according to them, the Greek New Testament text has been corrupted as well, since it does not directly contain the Sacred Name). For more information, see the Hebrew Names of God.
Jesus Christ is LORD
(ye-SHOO-ah ham-mah-SHEE-akh hoo hah-ah-DOHN) phr. "Jesus Christ is LORD." The ascription that Yeshua (Jesus) is the Mashiach (Messiah) and also Adonai come in the flesh (Phil 2:11; Romans 10:9; 2 John 1:7). See the Hebrew Names of God.
Jesus is LORD
(ye-SHOO-ah hoo hah-ah-DOHN) phr. "Jesus is LORD." Also Yeshua ha-Mashiach hu ha-adon (Jesus Christ is LORD). The ascription that Yeshua (Jesus) is Adonai come in the flesh (Romans 10:9; Phil 2:11; 2 John 1:7). See the Hebrew Names of God.
Jesus of Nazareth
(ye-SHOO-ah mee-ne-TSE-ret) phr. "Jesus from Nazareth." Also Yeshua ha-Notzri. Nazareth is an ancient town in the North District in Israel and the childhood home of Jesus (Matt. 2:23; 4:13; 21:11; 26:71; Mark 1:9, 24; 10:47; 14:67; 16:6; Luke 1:26; 2:4, 39, 51; 4:16, 34; 18:37; 24:19; John 1:45f; 18:5, 7; 19:19; Acts 2:22; 3:6; 4:10; 6:14; 10:38; 22:8; 26:9). According to the New Testament, Nazareth was the home of Joseph and Mary and the site of the Annunciation, when Mary was told by the Angel Gabriel that she would have Jesus as her son. Nazareth is also assumed to be where Jesus grew up from his infancy to manhood. The town, even in Jesus' day, was known for its unbelief and general wickedness (e.g., John 1:46; Mark 6:5; esp. Luke 4:16-29).
Nazareth is said to derive from netzer, meaning a "shoot" or "sprout" (or derives from natzar meaning to guard or watch [Exod. 34:7; Job 7:20; 27:18; Psa. 31:24; 34:14; Prov. 3:21; 4:23; 6:20; 13:3; 16:17; 27:18; Isa. 60:21]) but is not to be confused with the word Nazarite (nazir), or torat hanazir, which are laws concerning vows of separation given in the Torah (Num. 6:2, 13, 18ff; Judg. 13:5,7; 16:17).
What, then, do we make of Matt. 2:23 where it says, "And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled: "He shall be called a Nazarene"? What verse in the Nakh (prophets) is Matthew quoting here?
None. This is not a direct quotation of a particular prophet (as the word "prophets" clearly indicates), but instead points out that Jesus' designation as a Nazarene was a term of reproach, and it is this reproach and rejection that was indeed foretold by the prophets (e.g., Ps. 22:6; Isa. 49:7; 53:3; Dan. 9:26). In fact, the Talmud uses the term "Yeshu haNotzri" as a villification of the Son of God, and this usage is still seen among religious Jews who despise the Mashiach.
Jesus the Son of David
(ye-SHOO-ah ben-dah-VEED) n. Jesus Son of David. Title for the Messiah. See the Hebrew Names of God.
Jezebel
(ee-ZE-vel) n. Jezebel was the daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Zidonians or Tyre and Sidon. King Ahab of Israel took Jezebel in marriage and went and served Baal. Ahab coveted the vineyard of Naboth and when he could not obtain it, Jezebel slandered Naboth and he was stoned and the vineyard given to Ahab. Jezebel is mentioned as the licentious false prophet of the Thyatira Church of the seven churches of Revelation.
Jew
(ye-HOO-dee) n./adj. Jewish; Judean; Jew. The English word comes from the Greek word Ioudaios (᾽Ιουδαῖος), someone from Judea (᾽Ιουδαία) or "Judah" (᾽Ιούδας). The Hebrew word "Jew" (יְהוּדִי) comes from the name of the patriarch Judah (יְהוּדָה), whose name also came to designate the tribe and tribal district in which Jerusalem was located; thus the inhabitants of Judah and members of the tribe of Judah come to be called "Judahites" or, in short form, "Jews," regardless of their original tribal origin. The term also used in the New Testament to designate any physical descendent of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In modern usage, according to halakhah, one is a Jew if one has Jewish parents (at least a Jewish mother), or has undergone conversion in accordance with Jewish law.
Scripturally, the name Judah (יְהוּדָה) comes from the root (יָדָה) which means to "thank." From Judah was derived the later term "Jew" (which first appears after the destruction of the First Temple, 2 Kings 25:25, and was later used in the books of Jeremiah and Ezra/Nehemiah). The matriarch Leah used a play on words regarding her birth of her fourth son (Gen. 29:35) when she said she would thank the LORD (אוֹדֶה אֶת־יהוה) and therefore named her son "Judah" (יְהוּדָה). The Apostle Paul alluded to this in Rom. 2:28-29 by saying that a Jew is "one who praises (or thanks) God," and therefore it may be said that all those who thank the LORD in the truth are spiritual Jews. If you are "blood-related" to God by the Messiah, you are "grafted in" to the covenants, promises, and blessings given to ethnic Israel and are therefore a member of "God's household."
Jewish Bible
(ta-NAKH) n. Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible is called the Tanakh (sometimes transliterated as Tanak or Tanach in English), an acronym for Torah ("law"), Nevi'im (prophets), and Ketuvim (writings). Note the use of the gerashim to indicate an acronym.
Jewish Community (the)
(ke-LAL yees-rah-AYL) n. The Jewish community as a whole. The common responsibility, destiny, and kinship of all members of the Jewish community. Jewish solidarity. "Israel is one, though dispersed among the 70 nations" (Zohar). The concept of kelal Yisrael is often expressed as Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh Lazeh: "All Israel is responsible for one another." The Jewish community is also sometimes called keneset Yisrael, i.e., "the community of Israel" as a spiritual entity in aggadic literature.
Jewish Law
(ha-la-khah) n. An umbrella term for the entire body of Jewish law. The root of the word means "go" or "walk" (halakh). Halakhah, then, is the "way" a Jew is directed to behave in every aspect of life, encompassing civil, criminal, and religious law. In actual fact, Halakhah is used more as a synonym for the Oral Law (Torah Shebal Peh). Halakhah includes three subdivisions: Gezierah, Takkanah, and Minhag (see entries for each of these terms for more information).
Jewish Music
(shee-RAT yis-rah-AYL) n. Jewish Music; Literally, "songs of Israel."
Jewish New Year
(rohsh hash-shah-NAH) n.Rosh Hashanah; New Years day. The Jewish New Year commemorating the creation of the universe; universal day of judgment. Falling on the first and second days of the month of Tishri when Jews examine their actions of the preceding year. The blowing of the ram's horn is prophetic of the rapture of the ekklesia or church.
Jewish Outlook
(hash-kah-fah) n. Outlook; view; opinion; Jewish philosophy; personal perspective or philosophy, esp. from a Jewish perspective.
Jewish Scriptures
(ta-NAKH) n. Hebrew Bible. The Hebrew Bible is called the Tanakh (sometimes transliterated as Tanak or Tanach in English), an acronym for Torah ("law"), Nevi'im (prophets), and Ketuvim (writings). Note the use of the gerashim to indicate an acronym.
Jewish Temple
(bayt ham-meek-DAHSH) n. "House of Sanctity"; synagogue. The sanctuary or Temple in Jerusalem. The first building associated with Jewish worship is often referred to as "The Holy Temple." It was built in Jerusalem by King Solomon around the l0th century B.C.E. The first Temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E. A second temple was built, but it was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E. The Temple was the physical symbol of God's presence on Earth and prayers for its rebuilding are a symbolic call for the coming of the messiah.
Job
(ee-YOHV) n. Job. Book of the Ketuvim dealing with ultimate mysteries regarding evil and Gods existence. Iyyov means "persecuted" or "hated."
Joel
(yo-EL) n. Joel. 1) 2nd book of the Minor Prophets in the Nevi'im. 2) Adonai's messenger to Judah during her declining years regarding the great Day of the Lord and the judgment of the nations. Yo'el means "Adonai is God."
John
(yo-cha-NAHN) n. John. Yochanan. "God gives grace." Name of a shaliach of Yeshua.
John the Baptist
(yo-cha-nan ham-mat-BEEL) n. John the Baptist.
Jonah
(YOH-nah) Jonah, book of the Nevi'im in the Tanakh. 2) A messenger to the northern Kingdom, Jonah tells the story of God's love for the goyim -- and Israel's mission to be a light unto the nations. Yonah means "dove."
Joseph
(yo-SAYF) Joseph. "Adonai will add." 1) The eldest son of Jacob by Rachel and the father of Manasseh and Ephraim (Gen. 30:24). A portrait of Messiah. Also the name of the earthly father of Yeshua the Mashiach. The name appears over 200 times in the Tanakh, referring primarily to the firstborn son of Jacob and Rachel. It is also sometimes used as a name for the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (Deut 33:13; Josh 14:4; 17:lf.), for the Northern Kingdom (Amos 5:6, 15, Zech 10:6), and even for the entire nation of Israel (Psalm 80:1 [H 2], 81:5 [H 6]). The name is derived from yasaf meaning "to add, increase, do again."
Joshua
(ye-HOH-shu-ah) Joshua. Book of the Nevi'im in the Tanakh. The name Yehoshua means "the Lord saves." Yehoshua bin Nun was Moses' successor who led the Israelites into the Promised Land. Joshua was Moses' military assistant (Exod. 17:8-13), in charge of the Tabernacle (Exod. 33:11), one of the two spies optimistic about Israel's prospects of conquering Canaan (Num. 13:1-16; 14:6-9), and chosen to succeed Moses (Num. 27:18-23; Deut. 3:28; 31:23; 34:9). He led the Israelites across the Jordan (Josh. 3), captured Jericho (Josh. 6) and 'Ai (Josh. 7-8), warred against the Canaanite kings (Josh. 10-12), allotted the land to various tribes (Josh. 13:1-22:8), and made a covenant with YHVH and the people (Josh. 24).
Josiah
(yo-shee-YAH-[hoo]) n. Yoshiyah. Yoshiyahu. Josiah. Adonai heals. YHVH is my support. "Supported of the LORD." The last good King of Judah (House of David). The chief sources of his reign are 2 Kings 22-23, and 2 Chronicles 34-35.
Jot and Tittle
(koh-tsoh shel YOHD) n. phr. "The Qotz of a Yod." The tiniest thing; minutia; the serif mark atop a Yod, the smallest Hebrew letter. See the Kotz, under "K".
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Jubilee
(yo-VEL) Jubilee. 50th year as sabbatical for the land and the liberation from all obligations (Leviticus 25.8-9). Yovel means "ram's horn" or "trumpet."
Judah
(ye-hoo-DAH) n. Judah. The fourth son of Jacob/Leah and patriarch of the tribe Judah. Also the name for the southern kingdom of ancient Israel. The English word comes from the Greek word Ioudaios (᾽Ιουδαῖος), someone from Judea (᾽Ιουδαία) or "Judah" (᾽Ιούδας). The Hebrew name Judah (יְהוּדָה) comes from the root (יָדָה) which means to "thank." From Judah was derived the later term "Jew" (which first appears after the destruction of the First Temple, 2 Kings 25:25, and was later used in the Aramaic books of Ezra/Nehemiah). The matriarch Leah used a play on words regarding her birth of her fourth son (Gen. 29:35) when she said she would thank the LORD (אוֹדֶה אֶת־יהוה) and therefore named her son "Judah" (יְהוּדָה). The Apostle Paul alluded to this in Rom. 2:28-29 by saying that a Jew is "one who praises (or thanks) God," and therefore it may be said that all those who thank the LORD in the truth are spiritual Jews. If you are "blood-related" to God by the Messiah, you are "grafted in" to the covenants, promises, and blessings given to ethnic Israel and are therefore a member of "God's household."
Judaism
(ya-ha-DOOT) n. Judaism; Jewry. A religious system of the Jewish people, centered on the belief in One God and his Covenant with the Jewish people as described in the Torah. The word "Judasim" comes from the Hebrew name of the ancestor Judah, whose name also came to designate the tribe and tribal district in which Jerusalem was located; thus the inhabitants of Judah and members of the tribe of Judah come to be called "Judahites" or, in short form, "Jews"; the religious outlook, beliefs, and practices associated with these people came to be called "Judaism," and has varying characteristics at different times and places, such as early Judaism and rabbinic Judaism.
- Orthodox Judaism (includes Chasidic Judaism, Charedi Judaism or Ultra-Orthodox Judaism and Modern Orthodox Judaism) holds that the Torah was written by God and Moses, and that the original laws within it are binding and unchanging.
- Conservative Judaism. Masorti Judaism. The Torah, while unchanging, is subject to interpretation.
- Reform Judaism Stresses integration with society and a personal interpretation of the Torah. The original intent was to keep Jews "in the fold" who might otherwise leave the religion and community. Liberal Judaism.
- Reconstructionist Judaism started as a stream of philosophy by a rabbi within Conservative Judaism, and later became an independent movement. Reconstructionist philosophy rejects the belief that the Jews are in any way a people chosen by God, all miracles, and the entire idea of theism. Agnostic Judaism.
Judge
(SHOH-fet) n. A judge; from shafat, meaning to judge or govern.
Elohim shofet tzaddik - God is a righteous Judge (Psalm 7:11).
Judges
(shoh-fe-TEEM) n. Judges: Book of the Nevi'im in the Tanakh. The story of how Adonai raised up twelve remarkable individuals (called judges or shofetim) to deliver Israel from her enemies.
Judging Others
(dahn kol ha-a-dam le-kaf ze-KHOOT) n. Avot 1:6. "Judge everyone favorably"; give the benefit of the doubt (kaf zechut - the hand of merit). Judge righteous judgment.
Judgment
(meesh-PAHT) n. Judgment; justice.
Judgments
(meesh-pah-TEEM) n. pl. (sing. mishpat) Logical laws; Judgments; Laws given for a clearly specified reason. An example would be the commandment to give charity or the prohibitions against theft and murder. These mitzvot are inherently rational and appeal to the need for ethical unity (civil and moral life) within the community. The mishpatim are one of the two main subcategories of the concept of mitzvot (commandments).
Justice
(TSE-dek) n. Righteousness; justice.
Justice (mitzvah to do justice)
(kee eem-a-soht meesh-PAHT) Only to do justice; a quote from Micah 6:8: "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" A catchphrase for acting justly in one's life and pursuing social and personal justice. See also Dirshu Mishpat.
Justice (mitzvah to seek justice)
(deer-shoo meesh-PAHT) phr. Seek justice. The obligation incumbent upon being a Jew to seek justice and equity for all that are oppressed. This phrase comes from Isaiah 1:16-17: "Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your deeds from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause."
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