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Asmodeus

(Encyclopedia)Asmodeus ăsˌmōdēˈəs [key], demon of Hebrew story. He plays an important role in the Book of Tobit. ...

Aphrah

(Encyclopedia)Aphrah ăfˈrə [key], in the punning passage of the Book of Micah, apparently the name of a town. The name meant “dust” in Hebrew or sounded like a word meaning “dust,” hence probably the use...

Elohim

(Encyclopedia)Elohim ĕlōhēmˈ, ēlōˈhĭm, ĕlˈōhēm [key], term used to designate the God of Israel. The use of Elohim in Israel's religious texts is an attempt to treat the particular Hebrew God, Yahweh, in...

Old Testament

(Encyclopedia)Old Testament, Christian name for the Hebrew Bible, which serves as the first division of the Christian Bible (see New Testament). The designations “Old” and “New” seem to have been adopted af...

Kiddush

(Encyclopedia)Kiddush kĭdˈəsh [key] [Heb.,=sanctification], Jewish ceremonial blessing indicating the beginning of the Sabbath or any other Hebrew festival. Kiddush is also said at mealtime and consists of a pra...

Jonas

(Encyclopedia)Jonas jōˈnəs [key], Greek form of Hebrew Jonah. St. Peter's father is called Jonas and Jona (KJV) and John (RSV). ...

Nebo

(Encyclopedia)Nebo nēˈbō [key], in the Bible. 1 Town of Moab, near Mt. Pisgah and S of Heshbon. 2 City of Judah of postexilic times. 3 Hebrew name for Babylonian god of knowledge, literature, and agriculture. ...

Schechter, Solomon

(Encyclopedia)Schechter, Solomon shĕkhˈtər [key], 1847–1915, Jewish scholar. Born in Romania, he was educated in Vienna and at the Univ. of Berlin. He went to England in 1882 and in 1890 he was made lecturer i...

J

(Encyclopedia)J, 10th letter of the alphabet, a Western European medieval development of I, with which it was formerly quite interchangeable in writing. It is pronounced as a consonant in English and often as a y i...

Raamses

(Encyclopedia)Raamses rāămˈsēz [key], in the Bible, city of the eastern delta of Egypt, built by Hebrew slave labor. It was rebuilt by Ramses II. The Ramses in the books of Genesis and Numbers is the region of ...