Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

500 results found

Ben Yehudah, Eliezer

(Encyclopedia)Ben Yehudah, Eliezer ĕlĭĕˈzər bĕn yĕho͞oˈdă [key], 1858–1922, Jewish scholar and leader, b. Lithuania. He settled in Palestine as early as 1881, where he dedicated himself to the revival o...

Ben-Zvi, Yizhak

(Encyclopedia)Ben-Zvi, Yizhak yĭtshˈhäk bĕn-tsvē [key], 1884–1963, president of Israel (1952–63), b. Russia, originally named Issac Shimshelevitz. A Zionist, he fled Russia in 1905 because of his activitie...

Bostanai ben Chaninai

(Encyclopedia)Bostanai ben Chaninai bôsˈtänī bĕn khänēnīˈ [key], c.618–670, first Jewish exilarch (i.e., ruler of the Jewish exiles in Babylonia) under Arab rule. He is the subject of many legends. His n...

Bernanke, Ben Shalom

(Encyclopedia)Bernanke, Ben Shalom bĕrnăngkˈē [key], 1953–, U.S. economist and government official, b. Augusta, Ga.; grad. Harvard (B.A., 1975), Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D., 1979). He was a p...

Ben-Gurion, David

(Encyclopedia)Ben-Gurion, David bĕn-go͞oˈrēŏn [key], 1886–1973, Israeli statesman, b. Plońsk, Poland, as David Grün. He settled in Palestine in 1906, but lived for periods of time in Istanbul, London, and ...

Aquila Ponticus

(Encyclopedia)Aquila Ponticus pŏnˈtĭkəs [key], 2d cent., Jewish translator of the Old Testament from Hebrew into Greek. The characteristic feature of Aquila's version was its extremely literal rendering of the ...

Bar Kokba, Simon

(Encyclopedia)Bar Kokba, Simon, or Simon Bar Cochba kōkˈbə [key] [Heb.,=son of the star], d. a.d. 135, Hebrew hero and leader of a major revolt against Rome under Hadrian (132–135). He may have claimed to be a...

Kimhi

(Encyclopedia)Kimhi kĭmˈkhē [key], family of Jewish scholars and grammarians in Spain and France. Joseph ben Isaac Kimhi, c.1105–c.1170, besides writing a Bible commentary, making numerous translations, and wr...

Leidy, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Leidy, Joseph līˈdē [key], 1823–91, American scientist, b. Philadelphia, grad. Univ. of Pennsylvania medical school. From 1853 he taught anatomy at his alma mater. He was also professor of natura...

Joachim, Joseph

(Encyclopedia)Joachim, Joseph yōˈsĕf yōˈäkhĭm [key], 1831–1907, Hungarian violinist; friend of Mendelssohn, Brahms, and Schumann. In his long career his performances of violin masterpieces came to be accep...