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Zephaniah, book of the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Zephaniah zĕfˌənīˈə [key], prophetic book of the Bible. The prophet, who lived in the reign (c.640–609 b.c.) of King Josiah of Judah, traces his genealogy to King Hezekiah. Zephaniah denounces...

Paul, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Paul, Saint, d. a.d. 64? or 67?, the apostle to the Gentiles, b. Tarsus, Asia Minor. He was a Jew. His father was a Roman citizen, probably of some means, and Paul was a tentmaker by trade. His Jewish...

Allenby, Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount

(Encyclopedia)Allenby, Edmund Henry Hynman Allenby, 1st Viscount ălˈənbē [key], 1861–1936, British field marshal. Educated at Sandhurst, he saw active service in Bechuanaland (1884–85) and Zululand (1888) a...

Eudocia

(Encyclopedia)Eudocia yo͞odōˈshə [key], d. 460, Roman empress of the East; daughter of an Athenian Sophist. She was selected by Pulcheria as the wife of Theodosius II, whom she married (421) after being baptize...

Amalric I

(Encyclopedia)Amalric I əmôˈrē, Fr. ämōrēˈ [key], c.1137–1174, Latin king of Jerusalem (1162–74); brother and successor of Baldwin III. He spent his reign in attempts to gain and hold the suzerainty of ...

Hanukkah

(Encyclopedia)Hanukkah khäˈnəkə, –no͝okä [key], in Judaism, the Festival of Lights, the Feast of Consecration, or the Feast of the Maccabees; also transliterated Chanukah. According to tradition, it was ins...

Gerizim

(Encyclopedia)Gerizim gĕrˈəzĭm, gērīˈ– [key], Arabic Jabal at Tur, mountain, 2,890 ft (881 m) high, in the Samaritan Hills, in the West Bank. Nablus, near the ancient Shechem, lies in the valley between Ge...

Montefiore, Sir Moses Haim

(Encyclopedia)Montefiore, Sir Moses Haim mŏnˌtĭfēôˈrē [key], 1784–1885, British-Jewish philanthropist, b. Italy. He married a Rothschild and became affiliated with the family's banking business. He accumul...

Luke, Gospel according to Saint

(Encyclopedia)Luke, Gospel according to Saint, third book of the New Testament. It was composed in the second half of the 1st cent. Since the 2d cent. it and the Acts of the Apostles have been ascribed to St. Luke;...

artichoke

(Encyclopedia)artichoke, name for two different plants of the family Asteraceae (aster family), both having edible parts. The French, or globe, artichoke (Cynara scolymus) is a thistlelike plant of which the globul...