Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

257 results found

Gimbel

(Encyclopedia)Gimbel gĭmˈbəl [key], family of American merchants and philanthropists. Adam Gimbel, 1815–96, b. Bavaria, emigrated (1835) to the United States and traveled up and down the Mississippi River pedd...

El-elohe-Israel

(Encyclopedia)El-elohe-Israel ĕl-ĕlōˈhē-ĭzˈrēəl [key], in the Bible, name of an altar erected by Jacob in Shechem. ...

Atad

(Encyclopedia)Atad āˈtăd [key], in the Bible, name of the unidentified threshing floor where Joseph and his brethren mourned the death of Jacob. ...

Mahanaim

(Encyclopedia)Mahanaim māˌhənāˈĭm [key], in the Bible, unidentified city E of the Jordan River near the Jabbok. There Jacob met angels; there, also, David took refuge from Absalom. ...

Bilhah

(Encyclopedia)Bilhah bĭlˈhə [key], in the Bible. 1 Rachel's maid and Jacob's concubine. 2 City of Simeon, of unknown location. It also appears as Baalah and Balah. ...

Maris

(Encyclopedia)Maris mäˈrĭs [key], three Dutch painters, who were brothers. Jacob or Jakob Maris, 1837–99, the most celebrated, painted domestic interiors but is particularly famous for his vigorous landscapes ...

Shawn, Ted

(Encyclopedia)Shawn, Ted (Edwin Myers Shawn), 1891–1972, American modern dancer and choreographer, b. Kansas City, Mo. Introduced to dance as physical therapy, he taught ballroom dancing, then married (1914) the ...

Genesis

(Encyclopedia)Genesis jĕnˈəsĭs [key], 1st book of the Bible, first of the five books of the Law (the Pentateuch or Torah) ascribed by tradition to Moses. Beginning with two accounts of the creation and of human...

Safra

(Encyclopedia)Safra, family of Brazilian bankers with Sephardic Jewish roots. They began as merchant bankers in Syria and Lebanon, financing caravans throughout the Middle East. The Safras are also noted philanthro...

Boise, river, United States

(Encyclopedia)Boise, river, c.160 mi (260 km) long, rising in SW Idaho and flowing west to join the Snake River at the Oregon line. In 1811 the Boise River, originally called Reed's River, was explored by an expedi...