The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1183 page)

The ‘councillor’ (Luke 23. 50) who buried the body of Jesus after the crucifixion. (Arimathea was perhaps Ramlah.) John 19. 38 adds that he was a secret disciple of Jesus. According to a 12th-cent. source, he came to England with the Holy
Grail
, building a church (the first in England) at
Glastonbury
. The Holy Thorn is said to have sprung from his staff. Feast day in E., 31 July; in W., 17 Mar.

 
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Joseph of Volokalamsk, St
:

see
POSSESSORS
.

 
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(1st cent. CE).
Jewish historian. He recorded the events of the Jewish rebellion in
The Jewish War
in which he declared he was writing without bias. His other great work was the
Jewish Antiquities
in which he tried to explain Jewish history and customs to the gentiles. He also attempted to explain his own conduct in
The Life
, and he composed a defence against
anti-Semitism
in
Against Apion
. Josephus’ histories are the only extensive surviving source, and, without them, little would be known of the history of the second
Temple
.

 
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Joshua
.

Son of Nun, Hebrew/Israelite leader at the time of the conquest of
Canaan
. The fact that his name is that of (the Gk.) Jesus made Joshua a type of
Christ
in early Christian exegesis (e.g. Hebrews 4. 8 f.). In Islam,
al-Tabar
records traditions about Yusha‘/Joshua.

 
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The book in the Hebrew scriptures and Christian Old Testament which describes the conquest and settlement of the land of
Canaan
.

 
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J
sh
J
shin
(Ch’an Zen Master)
: