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covenant

(Encyclopedia)covenant kŭvˈənənt [key], agreement entered into voluntarily by two or more parties to do or refrain from doing certain acts. In the Bible and in theology the covenant is the agreement or engageme...

Nergal

(Encyclopedia)Nergal nŭrˈgäl, –gəl [key], ancient deity worshiped in Babylonia and Assyria. He was a god of the midsummer sun, of war, of the chase, and of the dead. He could be beneficent, but he was primari...

Africanus, Sextus Julius

(Encyclopedia)Africanus, Sextus Julius sĕkˈstəs jo͞olˈyəs ăfrĭkāˈnəs [key], c.160–c.240, Christian historian. He wrote Chronologia, a history of the world from the creation to 221. Tying together the e...

Jonah

(Encyclopedia)Jonah jōˈnə [key], prophetic book of the Bible. It tells the story of a prophet called by God to preach repentance to the city of Nineveh. According to the Second Book of Kings, Jonah lived during ...

Asenath

(Encyclopedia)Asenath ăsˈənăth [key], in the Bible, Poti-phera's daughter, the Egyptian wife of Joseph, mother of Manasseh and Ephraim. Her betrothal to Joseph and conversion to Judaism are the subject of Josep...

Holy Innocents

(Encyclopedia)Holy Innocents, in the New Testament, children of Bethlehem “from two years old and under,” killed by the order of Herod the Great in the attempt to destroy the infant Jesus. The Innocents have be...

Pentateuch

(Encyclopedia)Pentateuch pĕnˈtətyo͞ok [key] [Gr.,=five books], first five books of the Old Testament. In the Hebrew Bible these books are called the Torah. ...

Pul

(Encyclopedia)Pul pŭl [key], in the Old Testament. 1 Assyrian king, invader of Israel, known as Tiglathpileser III. 2 African region. Probably the same as Phut or Punt. ...

Pseudo-Philo

(Encyclopedia)Pseudo-Philo, early Jewish work extant in Latin, probably written originally in Hebrew and emanating from Palestine. It was attributed to Philo (c.20 b.c.–a.d. 50) because it circulated with his wri...

saga, in Old Norse Literature

(Encyclopedia)saga, in Old Norse literature, especially Icelandic and Norwegian, narrative in prose or verse, centering on a legendary or historical figure or family. Sagas may be divided into sagas of the kings, m...