Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Bethabara bĕthăbˈərə [key], place, on the Jordan, traditionally located at a ford just above the Dead Sea, where in the New Testament John was baptizing when Jesus came to him. RSV: Bethany, foll...

(Encyclopedia) Ramoth-gilead rāˈmŏth-gĭlˈēăd [key] or Ramoth in Gilead, city of ancient Palestine, E of the Jordan. It is named in the Bible as a place of refuge and as Ahab's last battlefield. It also appear...

(Encyclopedia) Habash, George, 1925?–2008, Palestinian guerrilla leader. When Israel was established (1948), he fled to Lebanon, where he attended the American Univ. of Beirut (M.D., 1951). He practiced medicine i...

(Encyclopedia) Hanks, Tom, 1956–, American film actor, b. Concord, Calif., as Thomas Jeffrey Hanks. In 1980 he acted in his first film, and in 1980–82 he co-starred in a television sitcom. Hanks subsequently app...

(Encyclopedia) Peraea pērēˈə [key], in Roman times, the area E of the Jordan River, between the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea, and S of the Decapolis. ...

(Encyclopedia) Bozrah bŏzˈrə [key], in the Bible. 1 Important city of Edom, probably the modern Busayra (Jordan), SE of the Dead Sea. The prophets often linked the name Bozrah with that of Edom. 2 City of Moab, p...

(Encyclopedia) Havoth-jair hāˈvŏth-jāˈər [key], in the Bible, group of villages in Bashan and Gilead, E of the Jordan. They were named for Jair son of Manasseh or for Jair the judge. It also appears as Bashan-...

(Encyclopedia) Bashan bāˈshän [key], fertile plain E of the Jordan and the Sea of Galilee from the latitude of Haifa northward to that of Tyre. According to Hebrew tradition, it was conquered by the Israelites an...

(Encyclopedia) Alexander (Alexander Karadjordjević) kărəjôrˈjəvĭch [key], 1806–85, prince of Serbia (1842–58), son of Karageorge (Karadjordje). He was elected to succeed the deposed Michael of Serbia. Wea...

(Encyclopedia) Issachar ĭsˈəkər [key], in the patriarchal narratives of the Bible, son of Jacob and Leah and the ancestor of one of the 12 tribes. The territory allotted to the tribe of Issachar at the time of t...