Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Philistia fĭlĭsˈtyə [key], region of SW ancient Palestine, comprising a coastal strip along the Mediterranean and a portion of S Canaan. The chief cities of Philistia were Gaza, Ashqelon, Ashdod, ...

(Encyclopedia) Reuchlin, Johann yōˈhän roikhˈlən [key], 1455–1522, German humanist and lawyer, a scholar of Greek and Hebrew, b. Baden. He taught jurisprudence at Tübingen. In 1492 he began the study of Hebr...

(Encyclopedia) Aleichem, Sholem räbˌĭnôˈvĭts, rəbĭnˈəvĭts [key], 1859–1916, Yiddish author, b. Russia. One of the great Yiddish writers, he is best known for his humorous tales of life among the poverty...

(Encyclopedia) Hezekiah hĕzəkīˈə [key], in the Bible, king of Judah, son and successor of Ahaz. During his reign Sennacherib of Assyria routed (701 b.c.) the rebellious Jews, laid seige to Jerusalem, and exacte...

(Encyclopedia) Kaunas kouˈnäs [key], Pol. Kowno, Rus. Kovno, city (1993 pop. 429,000), in Lithuania, on the Neman River. It is a river port and an industrial center with industries producing machinery, chemicals, ...

(Encyclopedia) Saadia ben Joseph al-Fayumi säˈdēä, äl-fīyo͞oˈmē [key], 882–942, Jewish scholar, b. Egypt. He was known as Saadia Gaon. He was the head of the great Jewish Academy at Sura, Babylonia, which...

(Encyclopedia) Sabbath [Heb.,=repose], in Judaism, last day of the week (Saturday), observed as a rest day for the twenty-five hours commencing with sundown on Friday. In the biblical account of creation (Gen. 1) th...

(Encyclopedia) Gaucher's disease gōshāzˈ [key], rare genetic disease involving a deficiency of an enzyme, glucocerebrosidase, which normally breaks down certain body glycolipids (i.e., lipids (fats) that have a s...

(Encyclopedia) Ananias ănˌənīˈəs [key] [Gr.,=Heb. Ananiah and Hananiah]. 1 In the Acts of the Apostles, man who, with his wife Sapphira, held back part of a gift to the early Jerusalem church and lied about it...

(Encyclopedia) Nuremberg nürnˈbĕrkˌ [key], city (1994 pop. 498,945), Bavaria, S Germany, on the Pegnitz River and the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal. One of the great historic cities of Germany, Nuremberg is now an imp...