Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/321

* JOSEPH. 293 JOSEPH II. legendary tales gradually assumes almost the same position as Israel until, with the prophets, 'house of .Joseph' becomes synonymous with the house of Israel, and the terms "house of .Joseph' and 'house of Jacob' embrace the Hebrews as a body. For the results of critical investigation legarding Joseph, consult the commentaries on Genesis of Gunkel, Holzinger, and Dillmann, and the Hebrew histories of Stade, Guthe, Piepen- bring, Kittel. and Wellhausen. JOSEPH. Husband of JIary, and the reputed father of .Jesus (Luke iii. 23; iv. 22; John i. 45; vi. 42). He was probably a carpenter (JIatt. xiii. 55), although 'sou of the carpenter' may mean no more tluin 'carpenter,' and is not alluded to in the Xcw Testament outside of the Gospels of Luke, ilatthew, and .lohn. The earliest Gospel, ilark, is silent about him. The chief sources of information (apart from the Apocryphal Gos- pels) are the two independent traditions of the infancy of Jesus, prefixed to the first and third Gospel, respectively. In addition to the well- known material there preserved, Luke alone (ii. 22, 33 ) records that 'Joseph and his mother' brought the child Jesus to .Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, in accordance with the Law of Jloses: and that, when .Jesus was a bo" of twelve, His parents (ii. 41), following their annual cus- tom, went with Him to the Passover feast in Jerusalem. From this point on, .Joseph passes out of the clear light of history. That he died before the public ministry of .Jesus began is only an inference from JIark iii. 20 sqq. ; vi. 3; John xix. 26 sqq. JOSEPH OF Arimathea. The disciple of Jesus who provided for His burial. Arimathea was probably the village of Ramathaim, near Lydda (cf. I. Mac. xi, 34), Joseph is mentioned in the Xew Testament only in connection with the entombment of .Jesus, The Four Evangelists record in general agreement that .Joseph came to Pilate and asked for the body of .Jesus, and that the body, after it had been prepared for burial, was placed in a new tomb, Mark calls .Joseph a 'noble councilor' (which may mean simply, a man of noble rank) ; suggests his courage in making the daring request of the Procurator; and states that he was waiting for the kingdom of God. ilatthew does not call him a councilor, but says that he was rich and had become a disciple. Luke interprets 'councilor' to mean that .Joseph was a member of the Sanhedrin, and adds that he was a good and just man, and that he had not assented to the action of the Sanhedrin. John qualifies Matthew's remark about discipleship by observing that he was a dis- ciple in secret only, for fear of the .Jews; and then adds significantly that it was Nicodemus who brought the myrrh and aloes (xix. 39) and that he assisted .Joseph in the preparations for entombment. These diff'erences in the accounts have been thought to indicate that John combines two originallv different traditions, one that .Jesus ■was buried by Joseph, a man of noble rank, wealthy, and owner of a tomb near Jerusalem ; the other that it was Nicodemus, a well-knowTi Pharisee, friendly, however, to .Jesus, a member ot the Sanhedrin, who buried Him. The difi'er- ences. however, do not definitely prove the hypo- thesis. According to tradition. .Joseph went as missionary to Gaul and Britain and built the first Christian oratory in the latter country on the site of Glastonbury. JOSEPH THE Carpenter, History of. See Apocrypha, Xew Testament. JOSEPH, (ler. proii. ycVzef, I. (1G7S-1711). Holy Roman Emperor from 1705 to 1711. He was the eldest son of Emperor Leopold I. and was born at Vienna, July 26, 1678, He was crowned King of Hungary in 16S7 and King of the Romans in 1600, He succeeded his father as Emperor and ruler of the Hapsburg dominions on ilay 5, 1705. His accession infused new energj- into the prosecution of the war against France, which on the part of the Imperialists had been carried on with some dilatoriness, (See War of the tSpanish t^ucccssion. under .SuccES.siox Wabs.) His ambition was directed toward the extension of the Austrian power in Italy and Bavaria ; of the latter the victories of Marlborough and Eu- gene made him the master, but his plan to bring the Electorate of Bavaria under the Austrian Crown failed on accoiuit of the opposition of the other German sovereigns. He was engaged in a long war with his Hungarian subjects, led by Rakoczy, which was terminated immediately after the death of the Emperor. Joseph was powerful enough to impose his will upon the Pope, whom he foi'ced in 1709 to acknowledge his brother Charles as King of Spain. The influence of the Prince of Salm, who had the charge of his educa- tion, and his subsequent connection with Prince Eugene, led Joseph to embrace opinions much more liberal than those which had generally pre- vailed in his family, and he granted privileges to the Protestants of Hungary and Bohemia, which had been refused by his predecessors. He also conchided a treaty in 1706 with Cliarles XII. of Sweden, by which he granted religious liberty to the Protestants of Silesia, and restored to them over 200 churches which had been taken from them by the Jesuits. He was fond of courtly ceremonial, but in his personal relation was mild and affable. He sought to improve the condition of the peasantry in his dominions by relieving them from some of their feudal burdens. Con- sult Herchenhahn. Geschichte der Regierung Kaisers Josephs 1. (2 vols., Leipzig, 1786-89). JOSEPH II. (1741-90). Holy Roman Em- peror from 1765 to 1790. He was the son of the Emperor Francis I., of the House of Lorraine, and Maria Theresa, sovereign of the Austrian domin- ions and Queen of Hungary, and was born at Vienna. March 13, 1741, at a time when his mother's fortunes were in their lowest state of depression. He early gave proof of excellent abilities. He was elected King of the Romans in 1764. and JIaria Theresa associated him with herself in the government of the Austrian States: but for some time his actual share in it amounted to little more than the chief command of the army. In 1765 he succeeded his father as Holy Roman Emperor. On the death of Maria Theresa, in 1780, he inherited all her dignities and power. .Joseph II. was a zealous reformer, having im- bibed, like Frederick the Great, the principles of philosophy which prevailed in that age. but he worked unwisely, depending too much upon the exercise of authority. Deeply concerned for the welfare of his subjects, the Emperor set to work to abolish privilege and oppression throughout his dominions. He was the typical 'benevolent despot' of the age, and he sought to impose his reforms by force of his autocratic will, without considering the expediency of many of his radical measures and in total disregard of the sentiments