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Robert II, king of Scotland

(Encyclopedia)Robert II, 1316–90, king of Scotland (1371–90), nephew and successor of David II. He was the first sovereign of the house of Stuart, or Stewart (see Stuart, family), which eventually succeeded to ...

Moabite stone

(Encyclopedia)Moabite stone mōˈəbītˌ [key], ancient slab of stone erected in 850 b.c. by King Mesha of Moab; it contains a long inscription commemorating a victory in his revolt against Israel. It was discover...

Sodom

(Encyclopedia)Sodom sŏdˈōmə [key], in the Bible, the principal of the Cities of the Plain (the others being Gomorrah, Admah, Zeboiim, and Zoar, which was spared) destroyed by fire from heaven because of their w...

Joab

(Encyclopedia)Joab jōˈăb [key], in the Bible, son of David's sister Zeruiah and commander of his uncle's armies. A trusted and skillful administrator, he was often vindictive and cruel, as in his killing of Abne...

pacifism

(Encyclopedia)pacifism, advocacy of opposition to war through individual or collective action against militarism. Although complete, enduring peace is the goal of all pacifism, the methods of achieving it differ. S...

Sumner, William Graham

(Encyclopedia)Sumner, William Graham, 1840–1910, American sociologist and political economist, b. Paterson, N.J., grad. Yale, 1863, and studied in Germany, in Switzerland, and at Oxford. He was ordained an Episco...

Laurence, Margaret

(Encyclopedia)Laurence, Margaret (Jean Margaret Laurence), 1926–87, Canadian novelist, b. Manitoba. She lived in Somaliland, Ghana, and England and many of her early works had an African setting. Laurence was par...

Absalom

(Encyclopedia)Absalom ăbˈsəlŏm [key], in the Bible, son of David. He murdered his half-brother Amnon for the rape of their sister Tamar, and fled. No sooner was he reconciled with his father than he incited a r...

Jeiel

(Encyclopedia)Jeiel jēīˈĕl [key], in the Bible. 1 Levite under David. 2 Musician of David. 3 Ancestor of Jahaziel (2.) 4 Scribe of Uzziah. 5 Levite of Hezekiah. 6 Levite of Josiah. 7 Companion of Ezra. ...

Ahimelech

(Encyclopedia)Ahimelech əhĭmˈəlĕk [key], in the Bible. 1 Priest at Nob, brother of, or perhaps the same as, Ahijah (2.) He befriended David, and Saul had him killed. In some passages his name is reversed with ...