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Kings, books of the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Kings, books of the Bible, originally a single work in the Hebrew canon. They are called First and Second Kings in modern Bibles, and Third and Fourth Kingdoms in the Greek versions, where the books o...

Sirach, book of the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Sirach ēklēˌzēăsˈtĭkəs [key] [Lat. from Gr.,=ecclesiastical], book included in the Septuagint and in the Roman Catholic canon of the Old Testament but not included in the Hebrew Bible and plac...

Congress of the United States

(Encyclopedia)Congress of the United States, the legislative branch of the federal government, instituted (1789) by Article 1 of the Constitution of the United States, which prescribes its membership and defines it...

Maccabees, books of the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Maccabees, two books included in the Septuagint and placed as the last two books in the Old Testament of the Vulgate; they are not included in the Hebrew Bible and are placed in the Apocrypha in Prote...

Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach

(Encyclopedia)Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach sīˈrək [key]: see Sirach. ...

George I, king of Greece

(Encyclopedia)George I, 1845–1913, king of the Hellenes (1863–1913), second son of Christian IX of Denmark. After the deposition (1862) of Otto I, he was elected to succeed on the throne of Greece. Much more ef...

Council of the European Union

(Encyclopedia)Council of the European Union, institution of the European Union (EU) that has the final vote on legislation proposed by the European Commission and approved by the European Parliament; in some cases ...

Mary, the mother of Jesus

(Encyclopedia)Mary, in the Bible, mother of Jesus. Christian tradition reckons her the principal saint, naming her variously the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady, and Mother of God (Gr., theotokos). Her name is the He...

Joel, book of the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Joel, prophetic book of the Bible. It is a collection of the oracles of an otherwise unknown prophet, dated variously from the 9th to the 3d cent. b.c., though a date in c.400 b.c. is likely. A locust...

Jeremiah, book of the Bible

(Encyclopedia)Jeremiah a book of the Bible, comprising a collection of prophetic oracles attributed to Jeremiah, a prophet who preached (c.628–586 b.c.) in Jerusalem under King Josiah and his successors. His mess...