J E P 
a 
This work engaged a confiderable {hare of the public at¬ 
tention, and produced feveral replies : a very fevepe and 
mafterly critique of it was made by Dr. Johnfon in the 
Literary Magazine, .which the author appears never to 
have forgotten or forgiven. A pamphlet in 1756 in fa¬ 
vour of a national militia, one in 1767 entitled Thoughts 
on the Caufes and Confequences of the high Price of Pro- 
vilions, and other occafional pieces on political fubjefts, 
proved his attention to topics of that clafs. He refumed, 
in 1776,'his theological difcuflions by a work of great 
temporary fame, A View of the internal Evidence of the 
Chriftian Religion, nmo. He was fuppofed to have 
paffed from early fanaticifm to deifm or fcepticifm ; and 
he now declared to the world a full conviction of the truth 
of Chriftianity, and difplayed the arguments moft proper in 
his opinion to fuppoVt that belief. From the clergy he re¬ 
ceived an abundance of thofe compliments, which a layman 
of the fuperior dalles never fails to obtain when appearing 
as a volunteer in the caufe of revelation. On the other 
hand, it met with fevere llrictures from feveral of the 
friends of rational religion, who deprecated a defence 
which feemed calculated to make an irreparable breach 
between faith and reafon. The book, however, from its 
admirable ffyle and moderate bulk, was very generally 
read, and many of its obfervations were acknowledged to 
be equally jull and imprelTive. In 1782 appeared his 
Difquifitions on various Subjects, 8vo. Thefe are marked 
with the author’s characteristics of fprightly wit and 
fhrewd obfervation, but are vague, fanciful, and declama¬ 
tory. The pre-exiltent Hate of mankind is a doCtrine 
which he fupports for the purpofe of accounting for the 
miferies to which they are expofed in this world. His fa¬ 
culties remained entire to advanced age, and he wrote 
verfes.in the lait year of his life. His works were printed 
complete in four volumes oCtavo, 1790. 
JE'OFAILE, (compounded of the French words fay 
jjailli, I have failed,) a term in law, ufed for an overfight 
in pleading or other proceedings at law. 
The Ihowing of thefe defefts or overfights was formerly 
often praCtifed by the counfel ; and, when the jury came 
into court in order to try the iffue,- they faid, This in- 
queft you ought not to take : and after verdift they would 
fay to the court, To judgment you ought not to go. But 
feveral ftatutes have been made to avoid the delays occa- 
fioned by fuch fuggeftions ; and a judgment is not to be 
ftayed after verdict for mrftaking the Chrillian or fur- 
name of either of the parties, or in a fum of money, or in 
the day, month, years, &c. where the fame are rightly 
named in any preceding record. See Amendment, vol. i. 
JEOJ'ERY, a town of Africa, in the kingdom of Jagra. 
To JEOP'ARD, v. a. To hazard ; to put in danger. 
Obfolele. —He had been accufed of Judaifm, and did boldly 
jeopard his body and life for the religion of the Jews. 
2 Macc. 
JEOP'AR-DOUS. adj. Hazardous; dangerous. 
JEOP'ARDOUSNESS, f. Hazardoufnels. Scott. 
JEOP'ARDY, f [This word is fuppofed to be derived 
from j'ai perdu , or jeu perdu. Skinner and Junius. ~\ Hazard ; 
danger ; peril. A word not now in vfe. —We may impute to 
all excellencies in compofitions a kind of poverty, or at 
lead; a cafualty or jeopardy. Bacon. 
And, would ye not poor fellowlhip expel, 
Myfelf would offer you t’ accompany 
In this adventure’s chanceful jeopardy. Hubberd. 
JEOU'ASET, a town of Afiatic Turkey, in the Ara¬ 
bian Irak,on the Tigris: no miles north-weft of Baflora. 
JEPH'THAH, a judge of Ifrael, and fuccefior to Jairin 
the government of the people, was a native of Mifpeh, 
and the for. of one Gilead by a harlot. This Gilead hav¬ 
ing married a lawful wife, and had children by her, thefe 
children drove Jephthah from his father's houfe, faying, 
that he {hould not be heir with them. Jephthah retired 
into the land of Tola, and there he became captain of a 
bap.d of thieves and fuch other people as he had got to- 
J E P 771 
gether. At that time, the Ifraelites beyond Jordan, feeing 
themfelves prefixed by the Ammonites, came to defire af- 
fiftance from Jephthah; and that he would take upon hint 
the command of them. Jephthah at firft reproached them 
with the injuftice which they had done him, or at leaft 
which they had not prevented, when he was forced from 
his father’s houfe. But, as thefe people were very earned 
in their requeft, he told them, that he would fuccour 
them, provided that at the end of the war they would ac¬ 
knowledge him for their prince. This they corifented to, 
and promifed with an oath. Judges xi. 1-11, 
Jephthah, in the year of the world 2817, having been 
acknowledged the prince of the Ifraelites in an alfembly 
of the people, was filled with the fpirit of God, (ver.29.) 
and began to get his troops together ; to that end, he 
went over all the land which the children of Ifrael pof- 
feffed beyond Jordan. At the fame time he made a vow 
to the Lord, that, if he were fuccefsful againft the Am¬ 
monites, he would offer up for a burnt-offering whatever 
fliould firft come out of his houfe to meet him. The bat¬ 
tle being fought, Jephthah remained.conqueror, and ra¬ 
vaged all the land of Ammom But, as he returned to his 
houfe, his only daughter came out to meet him with tim¬ 
brels and with dances; whereupon Jephthah tore his clothes, 
and faid, Alas, my daughter, thou haft brought me very low : 
jor I have opened my mouth unto the Lord, and I cannot go back. 
His daughter anfwered. My father, if thou hajl made a vow 
unto the Lord, do to me as thou haft promifed ; grant me only 
that l may be at liberty to go up to the mountains, and there for 
two months bewail my virginity with my companions. Jephthah 
granted her this liberty ; and, at the end of two months, 
he offered up his daughter, who died a virgin, a burnt- 
offering, agreeable to his vow, according to the opinion 
of moft commentators. In the meantime, the Ephraimites, 
jealous of the victory obtained by Jephthah over the Am¬ 
monites, paffed the river Jordan in a tumultuous manner, 
came and complained to Jephthah that he had not invited 
them to this war, and threatened to let fire to his houfe. 
Jephthah anfwered them, that he had fent to defire their 
afliftance; but, obferving that they did not come, he put 
his life in his hands, and hazarded a battle. The Ephrai¬ 
mites not being fatisfied with thefe real'ons, Jephthah af- 
fembled the people of Gilead, gave them battle, and de¬ 
feated them ; fo that there were two and forty thoufand 
men of the tribe of Ephraim killed that day. We know 
nothing more in particular concerning the life of Jephthah, 
only that he judged Ifrael fix years, and was buried in a 
city of Gilead. Judges xi-xii. 7. 
St. Paul (Heb. xi. 32.) places Jephthah among the faints 
of the Old Teftament, the merit of whofe faith diftin- 
guilhed them. But it muft be obferved, that there is fome- 
thing fo extraordinary in Jephthah’s vow, that, notwith- 
ftanding the Scripture fpeaks of it in very plain and clear 
terms, yet fuch difficulties arife concerning it as perplex 
the commentators. Some maintain, that this daughter of 
Jephthah was not facrificed, as that would have been a 
violation of the law of Mofes ; and efpecially, when by 
the fame law he might have redeemed his daughter for ten 
Ihekels of filver; therefore they contend, that it was 
fomething elfe Jephthah did to his daughter, fuch as de¬ 
voting her to a ftate of celibacy, or dedicating her to the 
fervice of God. On the other hand, thofe who maintain 
the affirmative, or that Jephthah’s daughter was actually 
facrificed, urge, that the times wherein Jephthah lived 
were fadly addicted to idolatry ; alfo the manner wherein 
he lived before he was called to the afliftance of his coun¬ 
try ; but above all, the clear, evident, and exprefs, mean¬ 
ing of the text. They obferve, that vows of perpetual 
virginity are inftitutions of a modern date; and, had there 
been no more in it, there would have been little occafion 
for rending his clothes, and bemoaning himfelf as he did; 
befides, the bitter lamentations made by herfelf, and by all 
the daughters of Ifrael in fucceeding times. But, if ihe was 
facrificed, we may fafely and confidently aver with Jofe- 
phus, that this facrifice was neither lawful nor acceptable 
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