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Gordon, Judah Leon

(Encyclopedia)Gordon, Judah Leon, 1830–92, Russian-Hebrew novelist and poet, b. Vilna. As teacher and writer he was one of the leaders in the renaissance of a progressive culture among the Jews (see Haskalah) and...

Gershom ben Judah

(Encyclopedia)Gershom ben Judah grˈshəm bĕn jo͞oˈdə [key], c.965–c.1040?, rabbi, religious poet, and scholar. He was also called Me'or ha-Golah [light of the exile]. He lived his entire adult life in Mainz,...

Judah ha-Levi

(Encyclopedia)Judah ha-Levi or Judah Halevy häˌlēˈvī [key], c.1075–1141, Jewish rabbi, poet, and philosopher, b. Tudela, Spain. His poems—secular, religious, and nationalist—are filled with a serene and ...

Judah ha-Nasi

(Encyclopedia)Judah ha-Nasi hä-näˈsē [key], c.135–c.220, Palestinian Jewish communal leader (tanna). He occupied the office of patriarch (nasi) which was reestablished by the Romans after 135. Under his leade...

Baale of Judah

(Encyclopedia)Baale of Judah bāˈəlē, jo͞oˈdə [key] [Heb. Baale, fem. of Baal], the same as Kirjath-jearim. ...

Benjamin, Judah Philip

(Encyclopedia)Benjamin, Judah Philip, 1811–84, Confederate statesman and British barrister, b. Christiansted, St. Croix, Virgin Islands, of Jewish parents. His family moved (c.1813) to Wilmington, N.C., and final...

Asa

(Encyclopedia)Asa āˈsə [key], in the Bible, king of Judah, son and successor of Abijah. He was a good king, zealous in his extirpation of idols. When Baasha of Israel took Ramah (a few miles N of Jerusalem), Asa...

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...

Jotham

(Encyclopedia)Jotham jōˈthəm [key], in the Bible. 1 The only one of Gideon's sons not killed by Abimelech; noted for his parable of the trees electing the bramble to be their king. 2 King of Judah, son of Uzziah...

Amaziah

(Encyclopedia)Amaziah ămˌəzīˈə [key], in the Bible. 1 King of Judah, son and successor of Jehoash of Judah. The two incidents of his reign were the conquest of Edom, including the capture of Sela (identified ...