Jempa was a member of the Whiphid species and belonged to the Bear Clan, a group of younglings training within the ranks of the Jedi Order. Back in 22 BBY, Jempa, along with the other members of the Bear Clan, received a lesson on the proper use of a lightsaber from Grand Master Yoda. This training session took place inside the Jedi Temple located on the planet of Coruscant. During this lesson, Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi walked in to speak with Yoda about a planet he was unable to locate within the Jedi Archives, at which point Jempa and the other younglings greeted him.
Sometime between 30 BBY and 26 BBY, Jempa was born as a Force-sensitive Whiphid. Jempa was brought into the Jedi Order and transported to the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to begin training. In 22 BBY, Jempa was one of the two Whiphid members of the Bear Clan, a group of Jedi younglings whose ages ranged from four to eight years. During a lesson taught by Grand Master Yoda, Jempa and the other members of the Bear Clan wore youngling helmets that restricted their sight. This helped them rely on the Force instead of their physical senses, learning to sense blaster bolts fired by remotes and deflect them using training lightsabers.
The lesson was paused when Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi arrived, causing Yoda to stop and have Jempa and the other younglings collectively greet the visitor. Kenobi returned the greeting, then explained to Yoda that he was looking for a planet that he was unable to locate in the Jedi Archives. Yoda jokingly commented that losing a planet was embarrassing for Kenobi, which made the younglings giggle. He then instructed them to gather around the room's map reader, where Kenobi projected a holographic star map and showed the planet's supposed location. After Jempa's classmate J. K. Burtola suggested that the planet had been erased from the archives, Yoda told Kenobi to go and find the world.
When in class, Jempa wore brown Jedi robes over a tan shirt and pants. The Whiphid also wore a brown belt and boots, and they used a gray training helmet along with a green training lightsaber.
Jempa made an appearance in the 2002 prequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones. A child actor played the character, with digital effects used to create the alien head and hands, in addition to the helmet. Nick Gillard, the stunt coordinator, oversaw the casting call for actors to portray the younglings on July 7, 2000. The scenes set in the Jedi Temple were filmed on July 20, 2000, at Fox Studios, Sydney. Within the current Star Wars canon, the character was identified in an entry for the Bear Clan in the StarWars.com Databank. The name was first used in the Star Wars Legends continuity, where it was featured on the packaging for a Jempa figure released in 2003 by Hasbro as part of the Star Wars Saga toy line.
In "Jedi Soccer," a non-canon comic short that was published in the 2015 activity book LEGO Star Wars: Galactic Freedom Fighters, the pronouns he/him are used for Jempa. In the comic, he is shown playing as the goalie in a soccer game with other Jedi Padawans. A Nautolan Padawan kicks the ball at Jempa, who then breaks the rules by using the Force to stop it in mid-air. A Togruta Padawan complains about the Whiphid's use of the Force, but Jempa claims that it was unintentional because he was acting on impulse. The Togruta and the Nautolan then joke that the Force is preferable to Jempa using a lightsaber, as the Whiphid is tired of having to buy new balls.