7C6 } E IT 
mi ah was dire£ted by God to denounce his feVere judg¬ 
ments againfi them, unlefs they repented. This he did 
in the court of the Temple, at the feaft of tabernacles, 
and, among other things, threatened tliem with the de- 
ttrudtion of the city and temple. The fury of the king 
and people, would have facrificed the prophet on this oc¬ 
casion, had not the nobles and other perfons of influence 
found means to protedf him. When the prophet was af¬ 
terwards fhut up in prifon, and had commiflioned Baruch, 
who wus his fcribe, to write down his predictions of the 
deftrudtion of Jerufalem, and of the Temple, and alfo of 
the Babylonifli captivity under Nebuchadnezzar, which 
Baruch was ordered to read to the people who were af- . 
(enabled in the temple upon fome folemn fafl, Jehoiakiin’s 
miniflers leized the roll in which they were contained, 
and brought it to the king. Inftead of being ferioufly af¬ 
fected by the dreadful denunciations, the profligate prince 
cut the roll in pieces and threw it into the Are; and would 
have wreaked his vengeance on Jeremiah and his meflen- 
ger, bad they not been kept out of his reach. Befldes 
the practice of idolatry, and a contempt of God’s worlhip, 
Jehoiakim was guilty of the molt oppreflive tyranny, in 
a variety of forms, of rapine, cruelty, and bloodflied ; on 
account of which Jeremiah predicted that he Ihould be 
given up into the hands of his moll dreaded enemy Ne¬ 
buchadnezzar, and die unpitied and unlamented, and that 
„his c'arcafe ihould rot upon the ground. In the fourth 
year of his reign this prediction began to be accomplilhed, 
when Nebuchadnezzar marched againft Jerufalem, and 
took it, rifling the temple of its moll precious furniture, 
and the royal palace of its molt beautiful young princes to 
be made eunuchs in his own court, according to Ifaiah’s 
prophecy to Hezekiah, and alfo carrying away the clioiceft 
youths of the city into captivity to Babylon. Jehoiakim 
liimfelf was at firft put into bonds, and defigned to be 
lent away with the reft ; but the conqueror was afterwards 
induced to accept of his homage as his vaflal, and, upon 
the promile-of a yearly tribute, to leave him as his vice¬ 
roy over the kingdom. After a fubjeCtion of three years, 
while Nebuchadnezzar was taken up with other conquefts, 
Jehoiakim ventured to rebel again ft him, and for about 
three years continued to withhold the annual tribute. 
This conduit fo highly exafperated Nebuchadnezzar, that 
lie fent a powerful army into Judea, which laid wafte the 
whole kingdom, carried away a multitude of prifoners, 
put Jehoiakim to death, and dragged his carcafe out of 
the city gates, where it was left unburied, according to 
Jeremiah’s prediction. His death took place in the ele¬ 
venth year of his reign, or 598 B. C. See 2 Kings xxiii. 
xxiv. 2 Chron. xxxvi. Jerem. xxvi. xxxvi. 
JEHOIfARIR, [Hebrew.] The name of a man. 
JE'HOL, the emperor of China’s Tartar refidence. 
JEHON'ATHAN, [Hebrew.] The name of a man. 
JEHO'RAM. See JoraM. 
JEHOSITABAD, [Hebrew.] The name of a man. 
JEHOSH'APHAT, [Heb. the judgment of the Lord.] 
King of Judah, was the Ion of Ala,-* whom he fucceeaed 
at the age of thirty-five, in the. year 914 B. C. He was 
an excellent and pious prince, and diftinguilhed for 
the .extraordinary zeal -and activity which he difplayed 
in rooting out idolatry, and promoting the pure w.orthip 
■of God throughout his kingdom. He commenced his 
reign with deftroying all the monuments of fuperftition, 
and groves confecrated to the impure rites of idol-wor- 
tbip, which his father had not been able to demolilli ; and, 
in the third year of it, he fent tome of the chief officers 
of his court, attended by a fuflicient number of priefts 
and Levites, with copies of the law of Motes, to' inftruft 
the people in every part of his kingdom. Thefe pious 
labours were productive of the gieateft profperity, both 
to himlejf and his people'. He alfo fortified all the conli- 
derable cities in the land,'and put garrifons into them ; 
and could call out into the field more nutnerous armies 
than any of his predecefi'ors', amounting to above eleven 
hundred thoufand fighting men. As he was thus pow.er- 
3 
J EH 
ful, none of the enemies of Judah ventured to moleft 
him; the Phililtines and Arabians paid him tribute; and 
his wealth increafed in proportion to his power. While 
he was ir. thefe flourifliing circumftances, he was fo im¬ 
prudent as to contract affinity with Ahab, king of Ifrael,. 
by l’uffering his fon Joram to marry Athaliah, the daugh¬ 
ter of that idolatrous prince, who afterwards proved the 
caufe of great mifehiefs to Judah. Three years after this 
event, Jeholhaphat paid a vifit to Ahab at Samaria, who 
entertained him and his attendants with the greateft 
fplendour, and perfuaded • him to become his ally in an 
expedition which he had projected for the re-capture of 
Ramoth-Gilead from the Syrians. Before they fet out on 
it, however, Jeholhaphat defired that the prophets who 
were in Ifrael might be confulted, whether God approved 
of their defign, and would give them fuccefs in if. Upon 
this, Ahab immediately collected together four hundred of 
his prophets, who, upon their being afleed by him “ Shall- 
I go up againft Ramoth-Gilead to battle, or ihall I for¬ 
bear?” all joined in alluring him that he fliould. lucceed 
in his enterprife. When Jeholhaphat requefted that, if 
there was any other prophet of the Lord, he alfo might 
be fent for and confulted, Ahab replied, that there was in¬ 
deed fuch a perfon, named Micaiah, whom he hated, be- 
caufe he always predicted evil, and never good, concern¬ 
ing him. However, out of compiaifance to Jeholhaphat, 
he ordered him to be fent for ; and Micaiah, in anfwer to 
the lame queltion which had been put to the other pro¬ 
phets, at firft replied that the expedition could not fail of 
luccefs. There was fomething, notwithftanding, in the 
manner in which he fpake, that led Ahab to fulpeft that 
he had not delivered his lerious opinion, and he therefore 
folemnly adjured him to tell him the truth in the name 
of God. Upon this Micaiah informed the king, that if 
he marched to attack the Syrians he would certainly lofe 
the day, and his life.; and that God has fuffered his pro¬ 
phets to be poflefled with a fpirit of delufion, that he 
might go and meet his death where he expedited a victory. 
Regardlefs of this prophet’s declaration, the infatuated 
Ahab advanced to battle, and was killed; and Jeholha¬ 
phat narrowly efcaped the lame fate. Upon his return 
towards Jerufalem, he was met by the prophet Jehu, who 
feverely reproved him for having entered into a confede¬ 
racy with the idolatrous Ahab : and the king, becoming, 
fenlible of his error, endeavoured to retrieve it, by an alfi- 
duous application to fuch meafures of government as 
might promote the interefts of true religion, and contri¬ 
bute to the happinefs of his fubjecls. In lubferviency to 
thefe grand objects, he made a progrefs through his do¬ 
minions, diligently examining how the priefts inftrucied 
the people and the judges and magiftrates exercifed their 
offices, and zealoully exhorting them every where to the 
faithful difeharge of their duties.. 
Towards the latter end of this good king’s reign, the 
kingdom of Judah was unexpectedly invaded by an irn- 
menfe army of Ammonites, Moabites, and a mixed multi¬ 
tude of other nations, concerning wliofe holtile defigns. 
and movements Jeholhaphat did not receive any informa¬ 
tion before they had approached within thirty-fix miles of. 
his capital. In this emergency the pious king proclaimed 
a folemn fall, and went at the head of his people, who 
were afiembled at jerufalem, to the temple, to implore 
the divine affiftance. Here he was allured by a prophet,., 
that God would fpeedily deliver him from thefe invaders, 
in fo extraordinary a manner, that he Ihould have nothing 
to do but to feize upon their fpoil. This affurance was 
verified on the following morning, when Jeholhaphat, as. 
the prophet directed, advanced towards his enemies with 
a fmall army, whom he encouraged as they went on, to 
rely wholly upon God. Upon their arrival within fight 
of the holtile camp, they found that the confederates had 
become the inltrulnents of their own deftruCtion; for, 
falling into conf’ulion among themlelves, and one nation 
miltaking the other for enemies, they were leized with a 
frenzy which led them furipufly to daughter one another, 
each 
