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Zefat

(Encyclopedia)Zefat zĕfˈät [key], town (1994 pop. 21,600), NE Israel. One of Israel's four holy cities, it has a thriving artists' colony and many museums and ancient synagogues. Ceramics, diamonds, and handicra...

Dead Sea

(Encyclopedia)Dead Sea, salt lake, c.390 sq mi (1,010 sq km), extending c.45 mi (70 km) in the Jordan trough of the Great Rift Valley between the Ghor on the north and Wadi Arabah on the south, on the border betwee...

Gilboa

(Encyclopedia)Gilboa gĭlbōˈə [key], Arabic Jabal Faqquah, range of hills, eastern spur of the Samarian Hills, located at the southeastern edge of the Esdraelon plain, NE Israel; rising to 1,630 ft (497 m) at Mt...

Ptolemaïs, ancient cities, Asia and Africa

(Encyclopedia)Ptolemaïs tŏləmāˈīs [key], ancient name given to several cities to honor members of the dynasty of the Ptolemies. One of these later became known as Akko, in modern Israel. Another was one of th...

Hadera

(Encyclopedia)Hadera hədāˈrä [key], town, W Israel, on the plain of Sharon, near the Mediterranean Sea. ...

Wellhausen, Julius

(Encyclopedia)Wellhausen, Julius yo͞olˈyo͝os vĕlˈhouˌzən [key], 1844–1918, leading German biblical scholar of the 19th cent. He is recognized for his documentary hypothesis that sought to account for both ...

Negev

(Encyclopedia)Negev nĕgˈĕb [key] [Heb.,=dry], hilly desert region of S Israel, c.5,140 sq mi (13,310 sq km), bordered by the Judaean Hills, the Wadi Arabah, the Sinai peninsula, and the narrow Mediterranean coas...

hostage

(Encyclopedia)hostage, person held by another as a guarantee that certain actions or promises will or will not be carried out. During periods of internal turmoil, insurgents often seize hostages; recent examples in...

Rabin, Yitzhak

(Encyclopedia)Rabin, Yitzhak yĭtskhäkˈ räbēnˈ [key], 1922–95, Israeli general and statesman, b. Jerusalem, the first native-born prime minister of Israel (1974–77, 1992–95). His extensive military exper...

Nadab

(Encyclopedia)Nadab nāˈdăb [key]. 1 Aaron's eldest son, set apart for the priesthood. The exact nature of the transgression (“offering strange fire”) for which he and his brother Abihu died is not clear. 2 K...