| jackal | A kind of wild dog that stays where there are no people. Jackals usually hunt together in a pack. |
| Jacob | Or “Israel,” ancestor of the people of Israel (also called Israelites and, later, Jews). See Gen. 32:24-28 for the story of how Jacob was given the name Israel. He was the father of twelve sons from whom the twelve tribes of Israel descended, and the name Jacob continued to be used for the nation or people of Israel. |
| Jeremiah | A man who spoke for God about 600 b.c. |
| John the Baptizer | The man God chose to tell people about Christ’s coming and to prepare them by warning them to change their lives and by baptizing them (see “baptize”) as a sign of their decision to change. Read Mt. 3; Mk. 1:1-11; Lk. 1:5-25, 57-80; 3:1-18. |
| John | See “John the Baptizer.” |
| Joshua | The Israelite military captain who, after Moses died, took his place as the leader of the Israelites and led them into the land that God had promised them. |
| Jotham | A king of Judah who ruled with his father Uzziah from 750 to 740 b.c., and then alone from 740 to 732 b.c. |
| Jubilee | A special horn and the festival marked by the blowing of it to announce that the time had come for slaves to be set free and land returned to the original owners. See Lev. 25:9. |
| Judah | One of the 12 sons of Jacob (Israel); also the tribe and, later, the nation named after him. Described as the “southern kingdom,” it was made up of the Israelite tribes that occupied the southern part of Palestine, while the northern tribes were united into a “northern kingdom” known as Israel. |
| judge | One of the civic leaders who judged, led, and protected the people of Israel before their first king was appointed. |
| judgment pouch | A piece of clothing like a bib or an apron that covered the high priest’s chest. See Ex. 28:15-30. |
