Jemima was the first daughter born to Job after God restored him from his tragedies and afflictions. Jemima's father loved and served the Lord for years. Job prospered according to the Old Testament, and maintained a great household. He was well known and respected on both sides of the Euphrates.

Job and his wife Nahrela produced three daughters and seven sons. Job's prosperity meant that his wife and children had far more free time than others in the Land of Uz, and became indolent and self-indulgent. God allowed Satan to test Job's virtue, piety, and faith, telling Satan that he could take away Job's possessions and cause disease to ravage Job's body, but he could not take away Job's life. The following is a list of Job's tragedies and afflictions:

• The Sabeans took all of Job's donkeys and oxen and murdered the men guarding them.

• Job's sheep were burned along with the shepherds who had watched over them.

• The Chaldeans took Job's camels and killed the servants caring for the animals.

• Job's sons and daughters were in the eldest brother's house eating and drinking when a powerful wind blew down the house, killing all of them.

• Job's body became covered from head to toe with boils.

Job tore his clothes and shaved his head. His wife encouraged him to denounce God and die, but Job continued to have faith in the goodness and omnipotence of God. Three friends visited Job — Elphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite. They told Job that he must have sinned against God to bring upon himself such calamity. They remained with Job for a period of seven days, perhaps observing a period of mourning for him. To them, Job swore that his intense suffering couldn't be caused by the few little sins that he may have committed; he refused to condemn God for his afflictions.

Finally, a fourth friend, Elihu, arrived and spoke about the moral authority that was God's alone. After the arrival of Elihu, a divine voice from a cloud or whirlwind asked Job if he'd ever had any experience of being responsible for the world in the way that God had. Job said no, but asked for divine forgiveness in the event that he had somehow offended God through a presumption of having such moral authority. Thereafter, God restored Job's good health and blessed him with double the riches and blessings that he previously possessed, including ten new children. His daughters were notable for their exquisite beauty, and were given an inheritance.

Jezebel

Her name means “unexalted.” (See the “Jezebel” entry in Chapter 6.) She was the beautiful daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Phoenicians, and her marriage to Ahab, king of Israel (874 B.C.-853 B.C.), anchored the alliance between the Phoenicians and the Hebrews. In addition to her good looks, Jezebel possessed a strong personality. She zealously introduced the worship of Baal and Astarte to the Hebrews. According to the Bible, at one time she entertained as many as 450 Baal priests at her table.

She is given the blame for undue influence of King Ahab. Perhaps she was too lovely, and he loved her too much, to refuse her anything. Ahab built a pagan temple for the worship of Baal, and permitted idols to be brought into Samaria. His actions prompted the Hebrew prophet Elijah to warn the king that such actions would bring drought upon Israel if the idols and cult of Baal were not destroyed. Of course, that meant that the king would have to defy Jezebel. The outcome of his idolatry and love for Jezebel was a slow death in battle, and evil came upon the houses of his sons after his passing. Ahab's beautiful Jezebel was torn apart by the dogs of Jezreel (1 Kings 21:17–24).

A Bible-history Web site details archeological evidence for the existence of Jezebel and Ahab; in particular, an image of the seal of Jezebel and references in other ancient documents. Also, archeologists found plaques of carved ivory where they believe Ahab's palace was located in Samaria, and 1 Kings 22:39 of the Old Testament states he lived in an ivory palace.