It can go bad, depending on how it was made. If it was made at the local butcher, they probably didn't chemicially induce it into a coma, so yes, it can go bad.

There's a 70 something uncle in the family who makes his own dried italian sausage. We bought in for 75 lbs of the ingredients last year, and got say 30 lbs of wonderful product. But unlike the store bought stuff that can be left out for months without any issues, this will go bad if it's exposed to the air. It doesn't need refrigeration, it just needs to not have the air get to it, so they are stored in corn oil. Because it's not in a preservative state of animation, it will get moldy, the fat will go rancid, etc. I would assume it's the same thing for your jerky.