Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Froben, Johannes

(Encyclopedia)Froben, Johannes yōhäˈnəs frōˈbən [key], 1460–1527, German printer. He established himself at Basel and there in 1516 printed the Greek New Testament, edited and translated into Latin by Eras...

Armageddon

(Encyclopedia)Armageddon ärˌməgedˈən [key], in the New Testament, great battlefield where, at the end of the world, the powers of evil will fight the powers of good. If the usual etymology is correct, the name...

Thionville

(Encyclopedia)Thionville tyôNvēlˈ [key], Ger. Diedenhofen, town (1990 pop. 40,835), Moselle dept., NE France, in Lorraine. It is a center for metallurgical and chemical industries. The town was a favorite of Cha...

Emser, Hieronymus

(Encyclopedia)Emser, Hieronymus hēˌĕrōˈnümo͝os ĕmˈzər [key], 1477–1527, German Roman Catholic theologian. He was secretary to the elector of Saxony and urged reform of clerical abuse. In 1519 his enmity...

Jephthah

(Encyclopedia)Jephthah jĕfˈthə [key], in the Book of Judges, a Hebrew raider, son of Gilead and a judge of Israel. He vowed if victorious over the Ammonites to sacrifice the first of his household to meet him on...

Matthew, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Matthew, Saint, in the New Testament, one of the Twelve Apostles. Also called Levi, he was a publican (tax collector) from Capernaum. Since the 2d cent. the first Gospel (see Matthew, Gospel according...

Tayma

(Encyclopedia)Tayma tāˈmä [key], large oasis, SW Saudi Arabia. Cuneiform inscriptions possibly dating from the 6th cent. b.c. have been recovered from Tayma. In ancient Arabic tradition the oasis was noted as a ...

Usk, Thomas

(Encyclopedia)Usk, Thomas ŭsk [key], d. 1388, English politician and author. He was under-sheriff of London. While in Newgate Prison he wrote Testament of Love, an allegory in prose describing and justifying the p...

Bartholomew, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Bartholomew, Saint bärthŏlˈəmyo͞o [key], in the New Testament, one of the Twelve Apostles, usually identified with Nathanael. Nathanael is a given name, Bartholomew an Aramaic patronymic meaning ...

Hosanna

(Encyclopedia)Hosanna hōzănˈə [key] [Heb.,=save now; Psalm 118], an intensified imperative, a cry, addressed to God, particularly used in the Feast of Tabernacles, when prayers for rain were offered. In the New...