JOASH II. 261 JOEL, BOOK OF seven years of age, through the faithful care of Jehoiada; and while this vener- able man survived, Joash served God and prospered. Idols were banished, and the temple was repaired. But afterward he followed less wholesome counsels; idol- atry revived; and when Zechariah, the high priest rebuked the guilty people, the ungrateful king caused this servant of God, the son of his benefactor, to be stoned to death. Misfortunes soon mul- tiplied on his head; he was repeatedly humbled by the Syrians, and gave them the temple treasures as a ransom; a loathsome disease imbittered his life, which was soon cut short by a conspiracy of his servants, and he was not buried in the sepulcher of the kings (II Kin. xi, xii ; II Chr. xxiii : xxiv) . The Krophet Joel was contemporary with im. He died in b. c. 838. JOASH, the son and the successor of Jehoahaz, King of Israel. There was much in his conduct to commend. He had a great regard for the prophet Elisha, and visited him on his death bed, wKere by a divine oracle he was assured of three victories over the Syrians. He was also victorious when forced to give battle to Amaziah, King of Judah, and was one of the best kings of Israel. (II Kin. xiii: 9-25; xiv: 1-8; II Chr. xxv.) JOB, a patriarch notable for his pa- tience. In the English version of the Bible, Job stands 1st in order of the poetic books of the Old Testament, but it is the 3rd in the Hebrew Scriptures. Psalms and Proverbs preceding it, ana the Song of Solomon coming next. _ A prologue (ch. i. ii.) and the conclusion (ch. xlii: 7-17), are in prose. The rest is poetry and of a very high order. The book of Job is absolutely unique in the Old Testament. The hero is not a Jew. While the name Jehovah is used, the whole history of the Mosaic law and the chosen people is ignored. The author seems well acquainted with Egypt, its crocodiles (xli.), and its pyramids (?) (iii: 14), and the desert with its ostriches (xxxix: 13-18), its wild asses (xxiv: 5, xxxix: 5-8), and its too suc- cessful, tent-living predatory tribes (xii : 6). The language is Hebrew, with vari- ous Aramaisms, and with a faint Arabic tinge. The view still held by most com- mentators is that the book is very an- cient, and its author probably Moses, If so, then it is intelligible why there is a resemblance between expressions in Job and in Genesis. (See Gen. ii: 23, and Job ii:5; Gen. iv: 21, and Job xxi: 12, XXX : 31; Gen. vi: 2, and Job i: 6.) Others place it about the time of Solomon or that of one of the succeeding kings; Renan says about 100 years befoie the Captivity. The Talmua originated the view, since adopted by various Biblical critics, that the book is only a parable. But against this view may be quoted Ezek. xiv: 14, 20, and James v: 11. JOB'S TEARS, a corn plant of India. It is a grass, sometimes rising to the height of eight feet, with the stout habit of maize, to which also it is botanically allied. The name is derived from the tear-like form of the hard, shining, bluish-white seeds, which are sometimes made into bracelets and necklaces, and are also an article of food. Though one of the worst of cereals, it has become almost naturalized in Spain and Portu- gal. JOCASTA, wife of Laius, King of Thebes, and mother of (Edipus, whom she afterward married, not knowing that he was her son. On discovering the fact, she, in horror of the crime, hanged her- self. JOCHEBED, the wife of Amram, and mother of Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. She was a daughter of Levi, and her husband's aunt though such marriages were afterward prohibited. JODHPUR (jod-por'), a town of Hin- dustan, capital of the state of Jodhpur. It stands in a hollow inclosed by rocky eminences, on the highest of which is a fort, containing the Maharajah's palace. The city has many handsome buildings, and is surrounded by a strong wall with 70 gates. Pop., about 60,000. The State of Jodhpur is the largest in Rajpu- tana, having an area of 37,000 square miles; it is well watered by the Luni and its affluents; and raises good crops of wheat, barley, millet. Pop. about 2,500,000. See Marwar. JOEL, the name of a Hebrew prophet, and of more than 12 other persons men- tioned in the Old Testament. JOEL, BOOK OF, a prophetic book of the Old Testament, written by Joel, the second of the minor prophets. Nothing is known of him except that he was the son of Pethuel. Joel seems to have lived in Judah. The date of Joel is doubtful. He has been placed in the reign of Joash (878- 838 B. c), in that of Uzziah (809-756), in which case he was a contemporary of Amos, with whose prophecies several verses of Joel agree. (Cf. Joel i: 4, ii: 25 with Amos iv: 6-9; Joel iii: 4-6 with Amos i: 6-10; Joel iii: 16 with Amos i: 2, and ver. 18 with Amos ix: 13). Others suppose him to have lived in the reign of Joram (893 or 892-883-884 b.
