JONES, WILLIAM BASIL: Bishop of St. Davids; b. at Cheltenham Jan. 2 1822; d. at Abergwili (2 m. n.e. of Carmarthen), Wales, Jan. 14, 1897. From

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the Shrewsbury School, where he spent seven years, he passed to the University of Oxford (B.A., 1844; M.A., 1847). He was a scholar of Trinity College, 1840-45, fellow of Queen's College, 1848-51, fellow of University College 1851-57, tutor 1854-58, lecturer on modern history 1858-65, and select preacher 1860-62, 1866-67, 1876-78, as also select preacher at Cambridge in 1881. He took a prominent part in the formation of the Cambrian Archeological Association in 1846-47, was one of its general secretaries, 1848-51, and joint editor for the association in 1851. At Oxford he formed an intimate friendship with William Thompson, afterward archbishop of York, through whom he received many preferments. He was examining chaplain to Thompson 1861-74, prebendary of York Minster 1863-74, perpetual curate of Haxby 1863-65, vicar of Bishopthorpe 1865-74, archdeacon of York 1867-74, rural dean of Bishopthorpe 1869-74, chancellor of York 1871-74 and canon residentiary of York 1873-74. He was elevated to the see of St. David's in 1874. He was remarkably successful in advancing the work of education and missions in his diocese.

His more important works are: Vestiges of the Gael in Gwynedd (London, 1851); The History and Antiquities of St. David's (4 parts, 1852-57), in collaboration with E. A. Freeman; The New Testament Illustrated with a Plain Explanatory Commentary for Private Reading (2 vols., 1865), in collaboration with Archdeacon Churton; The Peace of God: Sermons on the Reconciliation of God and Man (1869); and Ordination Addresses (Oxford, 1900), with a preface by Gregory Smith.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: I. G. Smith, HolyDays, p. 67, London, 1900; DNB, supplement, iii. 47-49, where reference to scattered notices is given.

JORAM (JEHORAM; the two forms are used interchangeably in the sources):

1. Fifth king of Judah, son and successor of Jehoshaphat. His dates according to the old chronology are 892-885 B.C.; according to Kamphausen, 851-844 B.C.; according to Duncker, 848-844 B.C.; according to Curtis (DB, i. 401), 851-843 B.C. The Chronicler (II Chron. xxi. 2-4) reports that on Joram's accession he put his brothers to death. No notice of this occurs in Kings, but the fact is not improbable since he had married Athaliah, daughter of Ahab and Jezebel of Israel, where assassination was not uncommon. Moreover, Athaliah's usurpation of the kingdom through assassination (see JOASH), together with her known influence over her husband, increases the probability. The notable event of Joram's reign was the revolt of Edom and his narrow escape from capture when he was trying to reduce the Edomites to subjection. The revolt of Edom is but the reflex of the prior revolt of the Moabites from the northern kingdom (see 2, below). The indications of a general revolt are increased by the Chronicler's narrative concerning a body of Arabs and Philistines who sacked Joram's palace and carried off all his sons but one. The Chronicler attributes his death to a loathsome disease (probably the same as that described in Acts xii. 23), and asserts that his burial was dishonorable (but cf. II Kings viii. 24).

2. Ninth king of Israel, second son of Ahab and successor to his brother Ahaziah. His dates, according to the old chronology are 896-884 B.C.; according to Kamphausen, 854-843 B.C.; according to Duncker, 851-843 B.C.; according to Curtis, 852-842 B.C. One of the events of his reign was an unsuccessful attempt, in company with Jehoshaphat of Judah, to reduce to subjection the Moabites who, according to the Moabite stone (q.v.), had revolted from his brother. The army arrived before the fortress of Kir-hareseth and besieged it; and in the straits of the siege the "king of Moab" sacrificed his son on the wall in sight of the besiegers. This act dismayed the allies and they withdrew. It is not impossible that the "great wrath" of II Kings iii. 24 (R. V., margin) indicates a pestilence which attacked Israel and was attributed to the offended deity. A second event was the attempt to recover Ramoth-gilead from the Arameans, in which Joram was assisted by Ahaziah of Judah. He was wounded and obliged to retire to Jezreel, near which he fell at the hands of Jehu. It is an open question whether the events of II Kings iv.-viii. 15 belong to Joram's reign, as the king of Israel of that narrative is not named. It is clear from II Kings ix. 22 and x. 18-27 that the Baal cult had flourished in Joram's reign, while II Kings iii. 13-14 is emphatic as to the continuing influence of Jezebel.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: The sources for 1 are: I Kings xxii. 50; II Kings viii. 16-24, 29; II Chron. x.xi.; and for 2 are: II Kings i. 17, iii., viii. 28-ix. 26. The literature is given under AHAB. Consult also: C. F. Burney, Notes on the Hebrew Text of . . . Kings, Oxford, 1903; DB, ii. 559-560; EB, ii. 2350-2352.