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John

John John (j[o^]n), n. [See Johannes.] A proper name of a man. [1913 Webster]

John-apple, a sort of apple ripe about St. John s Day. Same as Apple-john.

{John Bull}, an ideal personification of the typical characteristics of an Englishman, or of the English people.

{John Bullism}, English character. --W. Irving.

{John Doe} (Law), the name formerly given to the fictitious plaintiff in an action of ejectment. --Mozley & W.

{John Doree}, {John Dory}. [John (or F. jaune yellow) + Doree, Dory.] (Zo["o]l.) An oval, compressed, European food fish ({Zeus faber}). Its color is yellow and olive, with golden, silvery, and blue reflections. It has a round dark spot on each side. Called also dory, doree, and {St. Peter s fish}. [1913 Webster]

Bible Dictionary

John
the same name as Johanan, a contraction of Jehoanan, Jehovah sgift .

One of the high priest s family, who, with Annas andCaiaphas, sat in judgment upon the apostles Peter and John.(acts 6:6)

The Hebrew name of the evangelist Mark. (acts 12:12,25;13:5,13; 15:37)was the son of Zebedee, a fisherman on the Lake of Galilee, andof Salome, and brother of James, also an apostle. Peter andJames and John come within the innermost circle of their Lord sfriends; but to John belongs the distinction of being thedisciple whom Jesus loved. He hardly sustains the popularnotion, fostered by the received types of Christian art, of anature gentle, yielding, feminine. The name Boanerges, (mark3:17) implies a vehemence, zeal, intensity, which gave to thosewho had it the might of sons of thunder. [[739]James] The threeare with our Lord when none else are, in the chamber of death,(mark 5:37) in the glory of the transfiguration, (matthew 17:1)when he forewarns them of the destruction of the holy city,(mark 13:3) in the agony of Gethsemane. When the betrayal isaccomplished, Peter and John follow afar off. (john 18:15) Thepersonal acquaintance which exited between John and Caiaphasenables him to gain access to the council chamber, praetoriumof the Roman procurator. (john 18:16,19,28) Thence he followsto the place of crucifixion, and the Teacher leaves to him theduty of becoming a son to the mother who is left desolate.(john 19:26,27) It is to Peter and John that Mary Magdalenefirst runs with the tidings of the emptied sepulchre, (john20:2) they are the first to go together to see what the strangewords meant, John running on most eagerly to the rock-tomb;Peter, the least restrained by awe, the first to enter in andlook. (john 20:4-6) For at least eight days they continue inJerusalem. (john 20:26) Later, on the Sea of Galilee, John isthe first to recognize in the dim form seen in the morningtwilight the presence of his risen Lord; Peter the first toplunge into the water and swim toward the shore where he stoodcalling to them. (john 21:7) The last words of John s Gospelreveal to us the deep affection which united the two friends.The history of the Acts shows the same union. They are togetherat the ascension on the day of Pentecost. Together they enterthe temple as worshippers, (acts 3:1) and protest against thethreats of the Sanhedrin. ch (acts 4:13) The persecution whichwas pushed on by Saul of Tarsus did not drive John from hispost. ch. (acts 8:1) Fifteen years after St. Paul s first visithe was still at Jerusalem, and helped to take part in thesettlement of the great controversy between the Jewish and theGentile Christians. (acts 15:6) His subsequent history we knowonly by tradition. There can be no doubt that he removed fromjerusalem and settled at Ephesus, though at what time isuncertain. Tradition goes on to relate that in the persecutionunder Domitian he is taken to Rome, and there, by his boldness,though not by death, gains the crown of martyrdom. The boilingoil into which he is thrown has no power to hurt him. He isthen sent to labor in the mines, and Patmost is the place ofhis exile. The accession of Nerva frees him from danger, and hereturns to Ephesus. Heresies continue to show themselves, buthe meets them with the strongest possible protest. The verytime of his death lies within the region of conjecture ratherthan of history, and the dates that have been assigned for itrange from A.D. 89 to A.D. 120.was of the priestly race by both parents, for his father,Zacharias, was himself a priest of the course of Abia orAbijah, (1 chronicles 24:10) and Elisabeth was of the daughtersof Aaron. (luke 1:5) His birth was foretold by an angel sentfrom God, and is related at length in Luke 1. The birth of Johnpreceded by six months that of our Lord. John was ordained tobe a Nazarite from his birth. (luke 1:15) Dwelling by himselfin the wild and thinly-peopled region westward of the Dead Sea,he prepared himself for the wonderful office to which he hadbeen divinely called. His dress was that of the old prophets--agarment woven of camel s hair, (2 kings 1:8) attached to thebody by a leathern girdle. His food was such as the desertafforded--locusts, (leviticus 11:22) and wild honey. (psalms81:16) And now the long-secluded hermit came forth to thedischarge of his office. His supernatural birth, his life, andthe general expectation that some great one was about toappear, were sufficient to attract to him a great multitudefrom "every quarter." (matthew 3:5) Many of every class pressedforward to confess their sins and to be baptized. Jesus himselfcame from Galilee to Jordan to be baptized of John. [[740]JesusChrist] From incidental notices we learn that John and hisdisciples continued to baptize some time after our Lord enteredupon his ministry. See (john 3:23; 4:1; acts 19:3) We gatheralso that John instructed his disciples in certain moral andreligious duties, as fasting, (matthew 9:14; luke 5:33) andprayer. (luke 11:1) But shortly after he had given histestimony to the Messiah, John s public ministry was brought toa close. In daring disregard of the divine laws, Herod Antipashad taken to himself Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip;and when John reproved him for this, as well as for other sins,(luke 3:19) Herod cast him into prison. (march, a.d. 28.) Theplace of his confinement was the castle of Machaerus, afortress on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea. It was here thatreports reached him of the miracles which our Lord was workingin Judea. Nothing but the death of the Baptist would satisfythe resentment of Herodias. A court festival was kept atMachaerus in honor of the king s birthday. After supper thedaughter of Herodias came in and danced the king by her gracethat he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she shouldask. Salome, prompted by her abandoned mother, demanded thehead of John the Baptist. Herod gave instructions to an officerof his guard, who went and executed John in the prison, and hishead was brought to feast the eyes of the adulteress whose sinshe had denounced. His death is supposed to have occurred justbefore the third passover, in the course of the Lord sministry. (march, a.d. 29.)