B. Tongue untamable by human means; full of poison (3:7, 8)

C. Inconsistently curses men, God’s handiwork, yet blesses God (3:9-12)

D. Only the wisdom from above will overcome jealousy, bragging, lying, contentiousness, disorder and every vile thing (3:13-16)

E. Description of wisdom from above, which brings righteous fruitage under peaceful conditions for peacemakers (3:17, 18)

V. Avoid friendship with world, which is enmity with God (4:1-12)

A. Spirit of envy, cravings for sensual pleasure the cause of fights, wars, murders (4:1-3)

B. Spiritual adultery described (4:4-6)

C. Subject selves to God; oppose Devil (4:7)

D. Serve with cleansed hands and hearts, humility (4:8-10)

E. Quit judging brothers, which is actually judging law (4:11, 12)

VI. Patient endurance with a firm heart brings happiness (4:13–5:12)

A. Avoid self-assuming bragging; rather, say: “If Jehovah wills,” for you are not sure what your life will be tomorrow (4:13-16)

B. Do not sin by failing to do what you know is right (4:17)

C. Trials come for rich ones living sensually and luxuriously, practicing oppression; these men are storing up fire for “last days” (5:1-6)

D. Wait upon Lord to judge (5:7-12)

1. Avoid complaining against one another (5:7-9)

2. Follow example and enjoy outcome of endurance of prophets (5:10, 11)

3. Let your Yes mean Yes, your No, No, thus avoiding judgment (5:12)

VII. Procedure in cases of spiritual sickness (5:13-20)

A. Call mature brothers; confess sins so that proper prayer and counsel may be given for spiritual healing (5:13-15)

B. Such an appeal to God can accomplish much; it can turn a sinner from error and save him from death (5:16-20)

See the book “All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial,” pp. 246-248.

JAMIN

(Jaʹmin) [right hand].

1. The second-listed son of Simeon. (Gen. 46:10; Ex. 6:15; 1 Chron. 4:24) He founded the family of the Jaminites.—Num. 26:12.

2. A descendant of Judah through Hezron’s grandson Ram.—1 Chron. 2:9, 25, 27.

3. A postexilic Levite who helped explain the Law to the people assembled in Jerusalem.—Neh. 8:7.

JAMINITES

(Jaʹmin·ites).

Descendants of Jamin of Simeon’s tribe.—Num. 26:12.

JAMLECH

(Jamʹlech) [Jah is king].

One of the chieftains of the tribe of Simeon who, in the days of King Hezekiah, extended their territory into the valley of Gedor.—1 Chron. 4:24, 34, 38-41.

JANAI

(Jaʹnai) [Jah answers].

A Gadite residing in the territory of Bashan.—1 Chron. 5:11, 12.

JANIM

(Jaʹnim).

A city in the mountainous region of Judah. (Josh. 15:20, 48, 53) Janim is tentatively identified with Beni Naʽim, about three miles (c. 5 kilometers) E of Hebron.

JANNAI

(Janʹna·i).

An ancestor of Jesus’ mother Mary; the fifth generation prior to her.—Luke 3:24.

JANNES

(Janʹnes) [possibly, he who misleads or seduces].

A resister of Moses with whom Paul compares apostates who resist the truth. (2 Tim. 3:8, 9) Jannes and Jambres, whose ‘madness became plain to all,’ are not identified in the Hebrew Scriptures, but it is generally agreed that they were two of the leading men in Pharaoh’s court, perhaps the magic-practicing priests who resisted Moses and Aaron on their numerous appearances there. (Ex. 7:11, 12, 22; 8:17-19; 9:11) The amount of tradition that agrees with this greatly outweighs what little there is to the contrary. Non-Christian sources, such as Numenius, Pliny the Elder, Lucius Apuleius, a Qumran writing, the Targum of Jonathan, and several apocryphal writings all mention one or both of these men.

JANOAH

(Ja·noʹah) [rest, quiet].

1. A boundary location of Ephraim usually identified with Khirbet Yanun, some ten miles (c. 16 kilometers) SE of Samaria.—Josh. 16:5-7.

2. A city in the ten-tribe kingdom taken by Tiglath-pileser during Pekah’s reign (c. 778-758 B.C.E.). Its inhabitants were deported to Assyria. (2 Ki. 15:29) The exact location of Janoah is uncertain. Some identify it with Yanuh, several miles E of Tyre. But geographers who consider this location to be too far W of the other cities listed at 2 Kings 15:29 favor Tell en-Naʽmeh, about six miles (c. 10 kilometers) N of the Huleh Basin.

JAPHETH

(Jaʹpheth) [let him make wide].

A son of Noah and brother of Shem and Ham. Although usually listed last, Japheth appears to have been the eldest of the three sons, as the Hebrew text of Genesis 10:21 refers to “Japheth the oldest.” (AV; Da; Yg; Le; NW; AS, ftn.) Some translators, however, understand the Hebrew text here to refer instead to Shem as “the elder brother of Japheth.” (RS; AT; others) Considering Japheth to be Noah’s eldest son would place the time of his birth at approximately 2470 B.C.E.—Gen. 5:32.

Japheth and his wife were among the eight occupants of the ark, thereby surviving the Flood. (Gen. 7:13; 1 Pet. 3:20) Remaining childless until after the Flood, they thereafter produced seven sons: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras. (Gen. 10:1, 2; 1 Chron. 1:5) These sons and also some grandsons are the ones from whom “the population of the isles of the nations [coastland peoples, RS] was spread about in their lands, each according to its tongue, according to their families, by their nations.” (Gen. 10:3-5; 1 Chron. 1:6, 7) Historically, Japheth was the progenitor of the Aryan or Indo-European (Indo-Germanic) branch of the human family. The names of his sons and grandsons are found in ancient historical texts as relating to peoples and tribes residing mainly to the N and W of the Fertile Crescent. They appear to have spread from the Caucasus eastward into Central Asia and westward through Asia Minor to the islands and coastlands of Europe and perhaps all the way to Spain. Arabic traditions claim that one of Japheth’s sons was also the progenitor of the Chinese peoples.—See individual names of Japheth’s sons.

As a result of Japheth’s respectful action taken in company with his brother Shem on the occasion of their father’s drunkenness, Japheth was the object of his father’s blessing. (Gen. 9:20-27) In that blessing Noah requested for Japheth that God “grant ample space [Heb., yaʹph^et]” to him. This Hebrew expression is evidently derived from the same root word as the name Japheth (Heb., Yeʹpheth) and appears to indicate that the meaning of Japheth’s name would be fulfilled in a literal sense and that his descendants would spread out over a wide area. His ‘residing in the tents of Shem’ is thought by some to indicate a peaceful relationship to exist between the Japhethites and the Shemites. However, since history does not particularly present such a peaceful association, it may, rather, be connected prophetically with God’s later promise to Shem’s descendants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that in their “seed” all the families of the earth (including those descended from Japheth) would be blessed. (Gen. 22:15-18; 26:3, 4; 28:10, 13, 14; compare Acts 10:34-36; Galatians 3:28, 29.) Canaan’s ‘becoming a slave’ to the Japhethites finds fulfillment in the domination of the land of Canaan (Palestine) during the rule of the Medo-Persian Empire (a Japhetic power) and in the later conquests by the Greeks and Romans, including the conquests of the Canaanite strongholds of Tyre and Sidon.

JAPHIA

(Ja·phiʹa) [possibly, splendid or bright].

1. The king of Lachish who joined forces with four other Amorite kings to punish Gibeon for making peace with Israel. (Josh. 10:3-5) Gibeon’s call for help brought Joshua’s forces on a rescue mission from Gilgal. During the ensuing battle the Israelites trapped Japhia and his allied kings in a cave at Makkedah. Later he and the others were executed and their dead bodies hung on stakes until sunset, after which they were thrown into the cave where they had sought refuge.—Josh. 10:6-27.

2. A son of David born at Jerusalem.—2 Sam. 5:14, 15; 1 Chron. 3:7; 14:6.

3. A boundary site of Zebulun. (Josh. 19:10, 12) It is usually identified with modern Yafa, less than two miles (3 kilometers) SW of Nazareth.