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Amora (Ahmorah)

sayer, spokesman Term used originally for the “interpreter,” who communicated audibly to the assembled pupils the lessons of the rabbinic teacher. It was later applied as the generic term for the rabbis of the post-mishnaic period, whose activities were centered on the Mishnah. Even in that period the amora as teacher continued to employ amoraim […]

Etymology

The history of a linguistic form (as a word) shown by tracing it’s development since it’s earliest recorded occurrence in athe language where it is found, by tracing it’s transmission from one langue to another, by identifying it cognates to a common ancestral form in an ancestral language.

Abraham’s Bosom

From the Encyclopaedia Judaica 2:165 Designation in the New Testament (Luke 16:22-31) of the abode of the blessed souls of pious and poor in the other world (compare IV Macc. 13:17 ; Matt. 8:11, where all three patriarchs Abraham אַבְרָהָם/ˈeɪbrəhæm, -həm/; ‎‎, Modern: ʾAvraham, As recounted in the Torah, his name was originally Avram which […]

Netherworld

From the Encyclopedia Judaica 12:996 Apart from the Isaiah 14:14-19 and Ezekiel 38:18 ff passages, the numerous biblical references to the netherworld are vague and inspired by Ancient Near Easter folklore. Several names are given to the abode of the dead, most common being Sheol</em> always feminine and without the definite article – a sign […]

Nazirite

From The Encylopaedia Judacia A person who vows for a specific period to abstain from partaking of grapes or any of it’s products whether intoxicating or not, cutting his hair, and touching a corpse (6:3-9) Such a person is called a Nazirite (HEBREW nazir) from the root nzr meaning to separate or dedicate oneself (eg. […]

Joshua

Joshua (/ˈdʒɒʃuə/) also known as Yehoshua (Hebrew: יְהוֹשֻׁעַ‎ Yəhōšuaʿ, Tiberian: Yŏhōšuaʿ, lit. ‘Yahweh is salvation’) Yeshua or Y’shua (ישוע; with vowel pointing Hebrew: יֵשׁוּעַ, romanized: Yēšūaʿ) was a common alternative form of the name Yehoshua (Hebrew: יְהוֹשֻׁעַ, romanized: Yəhōšūaʿ, lit. ’Joshua’) in later books of the Hebrew Bible and among Jews of the Second Temple period. […]

Wrest

Wrest |rest| verb [ trans. ] forcibly pull (something) from a person’s grasp : Leila tried to wrest her arm from his hold. • take (something, esp. power or control) from someone or something else after considerable effort or difficulty : they wanted to allow people to wrest control of their lives from impersonal bureaucracies. […]

Rosh Ha-Shanah

Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, Rōʾš hašŠānā The Ancient Semitic peoples thought of the year as the beginning in the autumn. At the time of the late harvest, cf. the expressions be-zet ha-shanah (” at the end of the year”), and tekufat ha-shanah (” at the turn of the year”) by which the Feast of Ingathering, or […]

Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai is a well-known biblical site that carries various names, including Mount Horeb, Mount Paran, and the Mountain of God, among others. However, locating the precise location of this sacred place has been a challenge due to the scarcity of details presented in the text. The loss of information about the site of Mount […]

Red Heifer

The Animal whose ashes were used in ritual purification of persons and objects defiled by a corpse (Num. 19) While the English term heifer means young cow that has not had a calf, the Bible (Num. 19:2) speaks simply of a cow (Heb. Parah). The Bible prescribes that the red cow be without blemish (Heb. […]

Moloch or Molech

he worship of Moloch or Molech, which was practiced at a special site (outside the walls of Jerusalem
in the valley of Hinnom) called Topheth, became firmly established in the time of the King Manasseh
, his son Amon

Gehinnom

From the Encyclopedia Judaica גֵּיא בֶן־הִנֹּם (Valley of Ben-Hinnom, Valley of [the Son(s) of Hinnom, Gehenna) a valley south of Jerusalemיְרוּשָׁלַם‎Transliteration: yᵊrûšālam – Pronunciation: yer-oo-shaw-lah’-im – proper locative noun meaning “teaching of peace” or possession of peace – also called the city of David and Zion – the chief city of Palestine and capital of […]

Day Of Atonement

In the Bible all manner of work is forbidden on the Day of Atonement, as it is on the Sabbath (being likewise called “a Sabbath of solemn rest” and the soul is to be “afflicted from evening of the ninth day of the seventh month until evening of the morrow”