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Azariah

(Encyclopedia)Azariah ăzərīˈə [key], common name in ancient Israel, especially among the priests. The following occurrences of the name in the Bible do not necessarily all refer to different persons. 1 Chief o...

Tannaim

(Encyclopedia)Tannaim tänäˈĭm [key] [plural of Aramaic tanna,=one who studies or teaches], Jewish sages of the period from Hillel to the compilation of the Mishna. They functioned as both scholars and teachers,...

Mishna

(Encyclopedia)Mishna mĭshˈnə [key], in Judaism, codified collection of Oral Law—legal interpretations of portions of the biblical books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy and other legal material. ...

Isaiah

(Encyclopedia)Isaiah īzāˈyə, īsāˈ– [key], prophetic book of the Bible. It is a collection of prophecies from a 300-year period attributed to Isaiah, who may have been a priest. Some scholars argue that a l...

Haile Selassie

(Encyclopedia)Haile Selassie hīˈlē səlăsˈē, –läˈsē [key], [Amharic,=power of the Trinity], 1892–1975, emperor of Ethiopia (1930–74). He was born Tafari Makonnen, the son of a noted general and the g...

Jeremiah, book of the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Jeremiah a book of the Bible, comprising a collection of prophetic oracles attributed to Jeremiah, a prophet who preached (c.628–586 b.c.) in Jerusalem under King Josiah and his successors. His mess...

Ahab

(Encyclopedia)Ahab āˈhăb [key], d. c.853 b.c., king of Israel (c.874–c.853 b.c.), son and successor of Omri (1.) Ahab was one of the greatest kings of the northern kingdom. He consolidated the good foreign rel...

Scythia

(Encyclopedia)Scythia sĭthˈēə [key], ancient region of Eurasia, extending from the Danube on the west to the borders of China on the east. The Scythians flourished from the 8th to the 4th cent. b.c. They spoke ...

Assyria

(Encyclopedia)CE5 Assyrian Empire (c.650 b.c.) Assyria əsĭrˈēə [key], ancient empire of W Asia. It developed around the city of Ashur, or Assur, on the upper Tigris River and south of the later capital, Ni...

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...