(Encyclopedia) Joseph, one of the heroes of the patriarchal narratives of the Book of Genesis. He is presented as the favored son of Jacob and Rachel, sold as a boy into slavery by his brothers, who…
(Encyclopedia) Somme, Battles of the, two engagements fought during World War I near the Somme River, N France. The first battle (July–Nov., 1916) was an Allied offensive. The British, commanded by…
(Encyclopedia) ShebaShebashēˈbə [key]. 1 In the Bible, rebel against David. 2 Queen of Sheba, who according the the Bible visited Solomon after hearing about the fame of his wisdom. In Arabic legend…
(Encyclopedia) Confederation of the Rhine, league of German states formed by Emperor Napoleon I in 1806 after his defeat of the Austrians at Austerlitz. Among its members were the newly created…
(Encyclopedia) Oratory, Congregation of the [Lat. abbr., Cong. Orat.], in the Roman Catholic Church, founded in 1575, an association of secular priests organized into independent communities…
(Encyclopedia) seas, freedom of the, in international law, the principle that outside its territorial waters (see waters, territorial) a state may not claim sovereignty over the seas, except with…
(Encyclopedia) AradAradāˈrăd [key], in the Bible, royal town in the Negev, the modern Tell Arad (Israel), S of Hebron. The “king Arad” in the Book of Numbers is a mistranslation for “king of Arad.”…
(Encyclopedia) U, 21st letter of the alphabet, corresponding to the Greek upsilon [Gr.,=u without the aspirate]. Until the late Middle Ages the capital was V, the minuscule u, no distinction being…
(Encyclopedia) Ham, in the Bible, son of Noah. In biblical ethnography, Ham is the father of the nations Cush, Mizraim, Phut, and Canaan. In a story separate from the flood narrative, the legend…
(Encyclopedia) Battle of the Spurs. 1 Fought in 1302 near Courtrai, Belgium, between the rebellious Flemish towns, led by Bruges, and an army sent by Philip IV of France, who had annexed Flanders in…
