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A

(Encyclopedia)A, first letter of the alphabet. A is a usual symbol for a low central vowel, as in father; the English long a (ā) is pronounced as a diphthong of ĕ and y. The corresponding letter of the Greek alph...

Tischendorf, Lobegott Friedrich Konstantin von

(Encyclopedia)Tischendorf, Lobegott Friedrich Konstantin von lōˈbəgôt frēˈdrĭkh kônˈstäntēn fən tĭshˈəndôrf [key], 1815–74, German biblical critic. In 1844 he discovered in the monastery of St. Ca...

Paley, William

(Encyclopedia)Paley, William, 1743–1805, English theologian. Ordained in 1767, he lectured on moral philosophy at Christ's College, Cambridge. Made a prebendary of the cathedral church of Carlisle (1780), he beca...

Zebedee

(Encyclopedia)Zebedee zĕbˈədē [key] [Gr., for Zebadiah], in the New Testament, father of James and John. His wife Salome attended Jesus. ...

Job

(Encyclopedia)Job jōb [key], book of the Bible. The book is of unknown authorship and date, although many scholars assign it to a time between 600 b.c. and 400 b.c. A lament in narrative form, the subject is the p...

Messiah

(Encyclopedia)Messiah məsīˈəs [key] [Heb.,=anointed], in Judaism, a man who would be sent by God to restore Israel and reign righteously for all humanity. The idea developed among the Jews especially in their a...

coronation

(Encyclopedia)coronation, ceremony of crowning and anointing a sovereign on his or her accession to the throne. Although a public ceremony inaugurating a new king or chief had long existed, a new religious service ...

Muratori, Ludovico Antonio

(Encyclopedia)Muratori, Ludovico Antonio lo͞odōvēˈkō äntôˈnyō mo͞orätôˈrē [key], 1672–1750, Italian historian, a Roman Catholic priest. One of the foremost scholars of his age, he was long archivist...

Henryson, Robert

(Encyclopedia)Henryson, Robert, c.1425–c.1506, Scottish poet. It is thought that he was a schoolmaster at Dunfermline Abbey. His principal poem is The Testament of Cresseid, which was written as a harshly moral e...

Joseph of Arimathea, Saint

(Encyclopedia)Joseph of Arimathea, Saint ârˌĭməthēˈə [key], in the New Testament, wealthy man, probably a member of the Sanhedrin, who gave the body of Jesus a decent burial. The Christian Church has always ...