Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Hermon, Mount hûrˈmən [key], Arabic Jabal Ash Shaykh [mountain of the chief] and Jebel-eth-Thelj [snowy mountain], on the Syria-Lebanon border. The highest of its three peaks (all of which are snow...

(Encyclopedia) Burbank, Luther bûrˈbănk [key], 1849–1926, American plant breeder, b. Lancaster, Mass. He experimented with thousands of plant varieties and developed many new ones, including new varieties of pr...

(Encyclopedia) Gerasa both: jĕˈräsh, jəräshˈ [key], ancient city of the Decapolis, 22 mi (35 km) N of Amman, in present-day Jordan. According to Josephus it was captured (83 b.c.) by Alexander Jannaeus, king o...

(Encyclopedia) bicycle, light, two-wheeled vehicle driven by pedals. The name velocipede is often given to early forms of the bicycle and to its predecessor, the dandy horse, a two-wheeled vehicle moved by the thrus...

(Encyclopedia) Manasseh mənăsˈē [key] [Heb.,=making to forget], in the Bible. 1 First son of Joseph by his Egyptian wife, Asenath, and eponymous ancestor of one of the 12 tribes of Israel. Manasseh received land...

(Encyclopedia) Canaan kāˈnən [key]. 1 According to biblical ethnography, Canaan was the son of Ham and the ancestor for whom the Canaanites were named. 2 Territory, the same as ancient Palestine, lying between th...

(Encyclopedia) Aqaba äˈkäbä [key], town (1996 est. pop. 52,000), SW Jordan, at the head of the Gulf of Aqaba, on the border with Israel. It is the only Jordanian port with direct access to the Red Sea; it remain...

(Encyclopedia) John the Baptist, Saint, d. c.a.d. 28–a.d. 30, Jewish prophet, considered by Christians to be the forerunner of Jesus. He was the son of Zacharias and Elizabeth, who was also a kinswoman of Mary, th...

(Encyclopedia) Stern, David Joel, 1942–2020, American basketball executive, b. New York City. A lawyer, he worked (1966–78) as outside counsel to the National Basketball Association (NBA) before he became NBA ge...

(Encyclopedia) Beth-shan bĕth-shēˈən [key], ancient town, at the meeting of the Vale of Jezreel with the Jordan valley. It was the most strategic point of E ancient Palestine, with the crossing of four roads. Re...