intelligent design

Became a standard and widely promoted term in the 1987 draft of Of Pandas and People by Percival Davis and Dean H. Kenyon, as a repackaging of creationism after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against its teaching in Edwards v. Aguillard (1987).

Anaxagoras (500–428 B.C.) was the first of the Greeks "to attribute the adaptations of Nature to Intelligent Design, and was thus the founder of Teleology," an idea that has played a retarding function in the history of evolution.

1926, Horatio Hackett Newman, chapter 2, in Evolution, Genetics And Eugenics, page 13:

Of Pandas and People is not intended to be a balanced treatment by itself. We have given a favorable case for intelligent design and raised reasonable doubt about natural descent. But used together with your other text, it should help to balance the overall curriculum.

1993, Percival Davis, Dean H. Kenyon, “Introduction”, in Charles Thaxton, editor, Of Pandas and People, 2nd edition, Dallas, TX: Haughton Pub. Co., →ISBN, page ix:

Intelligent design means that the various forms of life began abruptly through the agency of an intelligent creator with their distinctive features already intact—fish with fins and scales, birds with feathers, beaks, and wings, etc.

2006, Philip Clayton, Zachary R. Simpson, The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Science, Oxford University Press,, →ISBN, page 735:

The belief that biological life on Earth, or more broadly, the universe as a whole, was created by an intelligent agent (specified or unspecified) rather than being the result of undirected natural processes.

Dean H. Kenyon
Edwards v. Aguillard
Of Pandas and People
Percival Davis
intelligent design


seminary

From Latin sēminārium, from sēmen (“seed”). Compare seminar. In the ground sense, from Middle English semynair, semynary.

I shall not need to instance in the effects which this bull produced; the treason of Watson and Cleark, two English seminaries, are sufficiently known

1638, Jeremy Taylor, Sermon on Gunpowder Treason:

A Roman Catholic priest educated in a foreign seminary; a seminarist.


traditionary

(Judaism) Someone who places emphasis on traditions.


Kabballah

From Hebrew קַבָּלָה (kabalá, “Jewish mysticism”, literally “something received”). It refers to the notion that Kabballah is a set of mystical doctrines received in antiquity and passed on in small circles. Doublet of cabal.

bor

Qabbala (alternative)
Qabbālāh (alternative)
Cabala (alternative)
Cabalah (alternative)
Cabbala (alternative)
Cabbalah (alternative)
Kabala (alternative)
Kabalah (alternative)
Kabbala (alternative)
Qabala (alternative)
Qabalah (alternative)
kabballah (alternative)
qabbala (alternative)
qabbālāh (alternative)
cabala (alternative)
cabalah (alternative)
cabbala (alternative)
cabbalah (alternative)
kabala (alternative)
kabalah (alternative)
kabbala (alternative)
qabala (alternative)
qabalah (alternative)
kabbalah (alternative)
kaballah (alternative)

(Judaism) A body of mystical Jewish teachings based on an esoteric reading of the Hebrew scriptures.


Our Lady

Calque of Medieval Latin Domina Nostra and its descendants in other languages. Cf. Queen of Heaven.

(Christianity) Synonym of Mary, mother of Jesus, particularly in Catholic contexts.

Zonja Jonë

Mary, mother of Jesus — see also Mary, Madonna, Mother of God, Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Heaven, Saint Mary, Virgin Mary


ger

Coordinate term: giyoret

(Judaism) A male convert to Judaism; a Jewish proselyte.


Timothy

From Middle French Timothée, from Latin Tīmotheus, from Ancient Greek Τῑμόθεος (Tīmótheos), from τῑμάω (tīmáō, “I honour”) + θεός (theós, “god”).

Unto Timothie my own sonne in the Faith: Grace, mercie, and peace from God our Father, and Iesus Christ our Lord.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Timothy 1:2:

In a letter to his disciple Timothy, Paul expresses a prohibition against women teaching men, but we know, and he knew, that Timothy was instructed by his mother and grandmother.

2014, Jimmy Carter, “The Bible and Gender Equality”, in A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 25:

A companion of Paul mentioned in the Bible.


goy

en-noun

goy (plural goyim or goys or goyem or goyin)

goyim (plural)
goys (plural)
goyem (plural)
goyin (plural)
Goy (alternative)
goi (alternative)
Goi (alternative)

Borrowed from Yiddish גוי (goy, “gentile”), from Hebrew גּוֹי (goi, “nation”).
Compare Exodus he:T:6: מַמְלֶכֶת כֹּהֲנִים וְגֹוי קָדֹושׁ (mamleḵeṯ kohănīm wəḡōy qāḏōš, “ […] a kingdom of priests and a holy nation”) (referring to the Jewish people). The word goy does not technically refer to non-Jews, but rather to a nation per se; the Jews are said to constitute a goy. But through common usage – namely referring to "the [other non-Jewish] nations" – the word came to colloquially refer to non-Jews.

bor+

I don’t think that marriage is working, but I’m not going to be stupid about it and say she shouldn’t have married a goy.

(sometimes offensive) A non-Jew, a gentile.


Reuben

en-proper noun

Reuben (countable and uncountable, plural Reubens)

Reubens (plural)
Ruben (alternative)
Rubin (alternative)

* From Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (r'uvén), from רְאוּ (r'ú, “see [masculine plural imperative]”) + בֵּן (ben, “son”); its literal meaning is therefore roughly, "See, all: a son!"
* There are several unconfirmed etymologies for the name of the sandwich.

(biblical) First son of Jacob, by his wife Leah.


Reuben

(biblical) A member of one of the Israelite tribes, descended from Reuben.


Priscilla

Feminine diminutive form of a Roman cognomen Priscus, from Latin prisca (“ancient”).

And found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them.

An early Christian, mentioned in the Bible and also known as Prisca.


Lamentations

Lam. (alternative)
Lament. (alternative)

(biblical) a book of the Old Testament of Bible, and of the Tanakh

ܐܘܠܝܬܐ ܕܐܪܡܝܐ

ʾŌlīṯā dəʾErməyā


Biblical Latin

Late Latin, as used in translations and commentaries on the Bible, influenced by biblical Greek and Hebrew.


Hagiographa

From Middle English agiogrofa, Agiogropha, from Medieval Latin hagiographa, from Ancient Greek ἁγιόγραφα (hagiógrapha), from ἅγιος (hágios, “holy, saintly”) + γρᾰ́φω (grắphō, “to write”).

(Judaism) The third division of the Hebrew scriptures; the Ketuvim.


Lazarus

From Late Latin Lazarus, from Koine Greek Λᾱ́ζᾱρος (Lā́zāros), the given name of Biblical characters found in Luke 16 and John 12, from Biblical Hebrew אֶלְעָזָר ('El'azár), a given name shared by various figures in the Hebrew Bible and literally meaning "God has helped". Doublet of Eleazar.

I’ve always been moved by the story of Lazarus as it is recounted in the Gospel of John. The basic shape of the narrative is recognizable and relatable: Someone dies, and the heartbroken family pleads for their loss to be reversed. In the case of Lazarus, Christ is so moved by the family’s grief that he interferes with the natural order of things and grants an exception like no other: He brings the dead man back to life. This makes it an exemplar of a kind of cosmic partiality, what we would all hope for at our most wounded and vulnerable. Caravaggio pins the scene down to its material facts: the confused faces of the onlookers, the downcast faces of the sisters, the necrotic body of Lazarus, the supernatural authority of Christ.

2020 September 23, Teju Cole, “In Dark Times, I Sought Out the Turmoil of Caravaggio’s Paintings”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2020-09-23:

(biblical) Lazarus of Bethany, a man supposedly raised from the dead by Jesus Christ and later (Christianity) revered as a saint.

Lazarus of Bethany

New Testament character raised from the dead

(biblical) A beggar in a parable by Jesus Christ, traditionally (Christianity) believed to have been a leper and often conflated with Lazarus of Bethany.

לַעְזָר (la'zár) (used in the Franz Delitzsch translation of the New Testament)


Proverbs

head

(the) Proverbs pl or sg (singular Proverb)

The Proverbs are an excellent springboard for broad-ranging Bible study. If you study Solomon’s pearls of wisdom, you will find the Spirit of God leading you (by chain references or quiet remembrance) all over the Old and New Testaments for confirming, clarifying examples.

2005, Greg Hinnant, “May I Recommend the Proverbs?”, in Precious Pearls from the Proverbs, Creation House, →ISBN, page 6:

Erman’s remark (1924) that a decent wisdom book was destroyed when it was absorbed into the book of Proverbs coheres well with the scholarly consensus that Proverbs is a clumsy accretion of ill-digested material.

2008, Peter T.H. Hatton, “Unity and Diversity in Proverbs”, in Contradiction in the Book of Proverbs: The Deep Waters of Counsel (Society for Old Testament Study Series), Ashgate Publishing, →ISBN, page 47:

A book of the Old Testament of Bible, and of the Tanakh, being a collection of moral maxims.


daven

en-verb

daven (third-person singular simple present davens, present participle davening, simple past and past participle davened)

davens (present singular third-person)
davening (participle present)
davened (participle past)
davened (past)
doven (alternative)

Borrowed from Yiddish דאַוונען (davnen).

(Judaism, intransitive) to recite the Jewish liturgy; to pray


Calvary

From Middle English Calvarie, from Latin calvāria (“skull”).

The hill outside Jerusalem which is traditionally held to be the location of the crucifixion of Jesus.

Golgota

the hill outside Jerusalem — see also Golgotha


paralipomenon

/pæɹəlɪˈpɒmɪnɒn/

Borrowed from Ancient Greek Παραλειπομένων (Paraleipoménōn, “of things omitted”) παραλείπω (paraleípō, “I leave remaining”).

bor+

Παραλειπομένων

There are other books, which seem of a different class, and are neither connected with the proceeding class, nor with each other; such is Job, such Tobias, and Esther, and Judith, and the two books of Machabees, and two of Esdras, which seem rather more to follow up that regular course of history, which closed with the Kingdoms, or the Paralipomenon: […]

1846, James Waterworth, The Faith of Catholics, 3rd edition, volume 1, London, page 336:

(biblical) Either of the Books of Chronicles in the Old Testament.


Hanukkah

Originated 1890–95. From Hebrew חנוכה / חֲנֻכָּה (khanuká, “dedication, consecration”) from חָנַךְ (khanákh, “to dedicate, to consecrate”).

bor

חנוכה / חֲנֻכָּה

(Judaism) An eight-day Jewish festival, starting on the 25th day of Kislev, which commemorates the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem after the victory of the Maccabees over the Greek Syrians.


calends

Calends (alternative)
calend (alternative)
kalends (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Mélange a trois-calends.wav

From Middle English calendes, calendas, calendis, kalandes, kalendas, kalendes, kalendez, kalendis, kalendus (also in the singular forms calende, kalend, kalende), from Latin kalendās, accusative plural of kalendae (“first day of a Roman month”), an archaic variant of calandae, from calandus (“which is to be called or announced solemnly”), the future passive participle of calō (“to call, announce solemnly”) (referring to the Roman practice of proclaiming the first days of the lunar month upon seeing the first signs of a new crescent moon), from Proto-Indo-European *kelh₁- (“to call, cry, summon”). Although the singular form calend (now obsolete, rare) appeared in English (and compare Old English calend, kalendus (“calends; a month”)), no singular form was used in Latin as recurring days of the calendar were always referred to in the plural.
Sense 2 (“a day for settling debts and other accounts”) refers to the Roman practice of fixing the calends as the day for debts to be paid.

nb...

Containing an Account of Their Manners, Customs, Diversions, Religious Rites, Philosophy, Festivals, Oracles, Laws, Arts, Engines of War, Weights, Measures, Money, Medals, Computation and Division of Time, Chronological Terms, Heresies in the Primitive Church, &c. &c.

The feasts of the Israelites were the Sabbath; the first day of each month, called in our translations calends, or new-moon; the three great feasts of the passover, pentecost, and tabernacles, instituted in memory of the three greatest blessings they received from God, […]

1809, Claude Fleury, “Their Religion”, in Adam Clarke, transl., The Manners of the Ancient Israelites; […], 3rd edition, London: Sold by William Baynes, […]; J[oseph] Butterworth, […]; and T. Blanshard, […], →OCLC, page 147:

חֹדֶשׁ m. […] the new moon, the day of the new moon, the calends of a lunar month which was a festival of the ancient Hebrews, Num[bers] 29:6; 1 Sam[uel] 20:5; 18:24; Ex[odus] 19:1, […]

1846, [Wilhelm] Gesenius, “חֹדֶשׁ”, in translated by Samuel Prideaux Tregelles, Gesenius’s Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures. Translated, with Additions and Corrections from the Author’s Thesaurus and Other Works, London: Samuel Bagster and Sons, […], →OCLC, page CCLXIII, column 1:

(by extension, biblical, Judaism, obsolete) Synonym of Rosh Hodesh (“the Jewish festival of the new moon, which begins the months of the Hebrew calendar”)


Arioch

(biblical) The King of Ellasar, who participated in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim, described in Genesis.

(biblical) The person who was, according to the Torah, appointed by Nebuchadnezzar to put to death the wise men of Babylon.

Arioque

man ordered to put to death the wise men of Babylon


golden calf

(biblical, Old Testament) A golden image of a calf, made by Aaron and worshipped by the Israelites.


pleroma

Adam Black
David Don
Wernerian Natural History Society

Learned borrowing from Late Latin pleroma (“(Gnosticism) spiritual universe seen as the totality of the essence and powers of God”), from Koine Greek πλήρωμᾰ (plḗrōmă, “(biblical) perfect fullness”), Ancient Greek πλήρωμᾰ (plḗrōmă, “that which fills, a complement; a filling up, a completing”), from πληρόω (plēróō, “to make full, fill; to complete, finish”) (from πλήρης (plḗrēs, “complete, full”) (from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁- (“to fill”)) + -όω (-óō, suffix forming verbs with the sense of making someone be or do something)) + -μᾰ (-mă, suffix forming nouns denoting the result or effect of an action).
Sense 1.1 (“plant”) is borrowed from New Latin Pleroma, a genus name coined by the Scottish botanist David Don (1799–1841) in 1822, from Ancient Greek πλήρωμᾰ (plḗrōmă) (see above) to describe the way the seeds of the plant filled the capsule.
Sense 2 (“state of perfect fullness”) is chiefly used in reference to Colossians 2:9 of the Bible: “Ὅτι ἐν αὐτῶῳ κατοικεῖ πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος σωματικῶς (Hóti en autôōi katoikeî pân tò plḗrōma tês theótētos sōmatikôs) [For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form]”.

coinage

There is a way to comprehend the gnostic's giant onion of a world, the concentric circles, with the Pleroma beckoning there, the white heart of light, the source of that primal vision which for a second or two can recapture paradise.

1974, Lawrence Durrell, “Macabru”, in Monsieur (The Avignon Quintet; 1), New York, N.Y.: Viking Press, published 1975, →ISBN, page 131:

(Gnosticism, historical) Often preceded by the: the spiritual universe seen as the totality of the essence and powers of God.


chaya

chayah (alternative)
haya (alternative)
hayah (alternative)

(Judaism) One of the cabalistic aspects of the soul, related to the personality.


Canticles

A clipping of Canticle of Canticles, a calque of Latin Canticum Canticorum (“Song of Songs”).

der

(biblical) Synonym of Song of Songs, a canonical book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament.


Chaverim

Any of many secular Jewish organizations.


Judaic

Borrowed from French judaïque, from Latin Iudaicus, from Ancient Greek Ἰουδαϊκός (Ioudaïkós), ultimately from Hebrew יְהוּדָה (y'hudá, “Judah”). By surface analysis, Juda + -ic. Doublet of Jewy.

While many consider Chanukah a celebration of Judaic values over Greek values, this is an error. The Maccabees were fighting for the rights of all cultures to exist within the same empire.

1977 December 17, Eric Rogers, “The Message Of Chanukah For Gay People”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 24, page 4:

The gods' begettings in the Theogony are reminiscent of the biblical human begettings in the Old Testament and emphasize their being in nature, unlike the Judaic God outside of it.

2007, John Peterman, On Ancient Philosophy:

Pertaining to the Jews, their culture or their religion.

юдейски

pertaining to the Jews, their culture or their religion — see also Jewish


Lydia

From Ancient Greek Λυδία (Ludía, “the region of Lydia”), from λυδία (ludía, “beautiful one, noble one”), a feminine form of Λυδός (Ludós) (Lydus, from λυδός (ludós) (lydus)). The region of Lydia is said to be named for a king Λυδός (Ludós) (Lydus, from λυδός (ludós) (lydus)); the given name Lydia originally indicated ancestry or residence in the region of Lydia.

uder

An ancient kingdom in western Asia Minor, in modern-day Turkey.

And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Acts 16:14:

(biblical) A woman converted by St. Paul; presumably named for ancestry or residence in Lydia.

Lydia was a stout, well-grown girl of fifteen, with a fine complexion and good-humoured countenance; a favourite with her mother, whose affection had brought her into public at an early age.

1813 January 27, [Jane Austen], “Chapter 9”, in Pride and Prejudice: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: […] [George Sidney] for T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC:

The first three, Macklin, Lydia, and Randall, were the special ones. Even those names, we thought, showed greater imagination, greater involvement on our parents' part, than ours did: Nina, Mary, Sarah.

1990, Sue Miller, Family Pictures, Harper & Row, →ISBN, page 5:


Jewdar

And slap on a gag order if we dare say that these traits triggered our "Jewdar" (my Semitic equivalent of gaydar) and allowed us to identify someone as a fellow Jew.

2001, Ophira Edut, “Bubbe Got Back: Tales of a Jewess with Caboose”, in Danya Ruttenberg, editor, Yentl's Revenge: The Next Wave of Jewish Feminism, Seal Press, →ISBN, page 30:

So she was Jewish. It wouldn't have occurred to me, but Melissa always faulted my Jewdar.

2011, Lawrence Douglas, The Vices, Other Press, →ISBN:

The name Grossman, the physician father, the mention of Florida—my Jewdar went whirring away, strongly suggesting that he could be a member of the tribe.

2015, Joseph Epstein, Masters of the Games: Essays and Stories on Sport, Rowman & Littlefield, →ISBN, page 82:

(slang) The supposed ability of a person to detect or intuitively sense whether another person is Jewish.


archon

From Ancient Greek ἄρχων (árkhōn), a noun use of the present participle of ἄρχω (árkhō, “to rule”).

Their claim to totality is like the cry of the archon Ialdabaoth that he was the Lord of the Universe and that there was nothing beyond him.

1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 83:

(Gnosticism) A supernatural being subordinate to the Demiurge.


Ephraim

From Hebrew אֶפְרַיִם (Efráyim, “Ephraim”, literally “fruitful”), via Latin.

der

And the name of the second called he Ephraim: For God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 41:52:

The younger son of Joseph in the Bible, eponymous ancestor of one of the twelve tribes of Israel.


megillah

en-noun

megillah (plural megillahs or megillot or megilloth)

megillahs (plural)
megillot (plural)
megilloth (plural)
megilla (alternative)
Megillah (alternative)
Megilla (alternative)

From Hebrew מגילה / מְגִלָּה (m'gilá, “scroll”). Doublet of magilla.

he-m

מגילה / מְגִלָּה (m'gilá, “scroll”)

Song of Songs, one of the five Megillot ("Scrolls") of Ketuvim ("Writings") recited either before or after Minhah on the eve of every Sabbath, after the Seder on Passover, and publicly in the synagogue in the Ashkenazic tradition.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 305:

(Judaism) any of the Five Scrolls of the Hebrew Scriptures (Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther)

(Judaism, specifically) the Book of Esther


menorah

en-noun

menorah (plural menoroth or menorot or menorahs)

menoroth (plural)
menorot (plural)
menorahs (plural)
menora (alternative)

From Hebrew מְנוֹרָה (m'norá). From the same Proto-Semitic root *nūr- (“fire”) as minaret.

My father brings home a big brass antique menorah, shaped like an archway, heavy, on a pedestal, on a round base.

1992, Merrill Joan Gerber, The Kingdom of Brooklyn, Syracuse University Press, published 2000, →ISBN, pages 76–77:

In America every December my mother had decorated our home with metal Stars of David she hung on strings in the doorways and lit the menorah as we gathered at the table.

1996, Ann Kimmage, An Un-American Childhood, University of Georgia Press, published 1996, →ISBN, pages 49–50:

However, traditional Sefardi families follow the halacha that each household uses only one menorah lit by the head of the household, to represent everyone in unison.

2000, Noam Zion, Barbara Spectre, A Different Light: The Hanukkah Book of Celebration, Devora Publishing, →ISBN, page 237:

A far-right Polish MP has extinguished candles on a menorah lit for Hanukah in Poland’s parliament, disrupting proceedings before a planned vote of confidence in the new government.

2023 December 12, Shaun Walker, “Far-right Polish MP uses fire extinguisher to put out Hanukah candles”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:

A candelabrum with nine branches, used in Jewish worship on Hanukkah.


mezuzah

mezuzah (plural mezuzahs or mezuzot or mezuzoth)

mezuzahs (plural)
mezuzot (plural)
mezuzoth (plural)

From post-Biblical Hebrew מְזוּזָה (məzûzâ, “doorpost”), with reference to Deuteronomy 6:9, a mitzvah (Biblical commandment as interpreted in Jewish law) ordering to “write the words of God on the gates and doorposts of your house”.

On the other hand, one may feel profoundly moved with the spirit of true piety, love of God and loyalty to his commandments in the performance of a so-called "traditional commandment," like the fastening of a "mezuzah" to the door-post.

1916, Isaac Husik, A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy:

Slothrop gives him the mandala. He hopes it will work like the mantra that Enzian told him once, mba-kayere (I am passed over), mba-kayere . . . a spell against Marvy tonight, against Tchitcherine. A mezuzah. Safe passage through a bad night. . . .

1973, Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow, 1st US edition, New York: Viking Press, →ISBN, part 3: In the Zone, page 563:

If, for some strange reason, you want to eat the fair fruit on the date of purchase, you buy one that's already flecked, race home, and devour it as soon as you've crossed your threshold and kissed the mezuza.

1979 February 3, Nancy Walker, “Going Bananas”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 27, page 11:

Lubavitchers, Penansky says, believe mezuzahs need no adornment and simply wrap them in cellophane.

1988 September 2, Florence Hamlish Levinsohn, “A Special Connection With God”, in Chicago Reader:

When Manny or either of his parents went through their front door they put a finger on their lips and then to the mezuzah on the door frame.

2006, Howard Jacobson, Kalooki Nights, Vintage, published 2007, page 20:

(Judaism and occasionally Christianity) A piece of parchment inscribed with specific Hebrew verses from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:4–9 and 11:13–21) and attached in a case to the doorpost of a house.

مِزُوزَة

piece of parchment attached to the doorpost of a house


Virgin Mary

en-proper noun

(the) Virgin Mary (plural Virgin Marys or Virgins Mary)

Virgin Marys (plural)
Virgins Mary (plural)

From virgin + Mary, from the belief that Mary was still a virgin when she bore Christ.

They no more supposed that there were as many Jupiters, as images of Jupiter, than the Papists imagine there to be as many Virgins Mary as they have statues and pictures of her.

1819 August, “Religious Retrospect”, in The Antijacobin Review; and Protestant Advocate: or, Monthly Political, and Literary Censor, volume LVI, number 56, London: […] G. Sidney, […]; […] Sherwood, Neely, and Jones, […], page 570:

Now, since there are many ‘sects’ amongst Protestants, and many ‘orders,’ often rival ones, amongst the Roman Catholics, and since there are almost as many Virgins Mary as there are towns who own her sway, so we may expect to find in Palestine many rival ‘orders,’ ‘systems,’ or ‘temples.’

1868, Thomas Inman, Ancient Faiths Embodied in Ancient Names: or an Attempt to Trace the Religious Belief, Sacred Rites, and Holy Emblems of Certain Nations. […], volume I, London, Liverpool: […] the Author, page 348:

One of his tableaux for her entry was designed to illustrate the peace brought by the two Virgins Mary: there was the Annunciation to the Virgin at the top of the pageant, a king and queen seated in the centre with Justice and Truth on either side of them, and at the bottom ‘ung iardin nommé le iardin de france’ containing shepherds and shepherdesses singing.

1977, Helen Cooper, Pastoral: Mediaeval Into Renaissance, D. S. Brewer, →ISBN, page 85:

[…] three Virgins Mary, by Bicci di Lorenzo, Lorenzo Monaco, and Filippo Lippi (hall IV); […]

1999, Touring Club of Italy, Florence: A Complete Guide to the Renaissance City, the Surrounding Countryside, and the Chianti Region, Touring Editore, published April 2000, →ISBN, page 139:

Meanwhile, images of black women in this period in Spain and Spanish America appeared in painted portraits, prints, and statues of dark Virgin Marys.

2016, Larissa Brewer-García, “Imagined Transformations: Color, Beauty, and Black Christian Conversion in Seventeenth-Century Spanish America”, in Pamela A. Patton, editor, Envisioning Others: Race, Color, and the Visual in Iberia and Latin America, Leiden, Boston, Mass.: Brill, →ISBN, page 122:

(Christianity) Synonym of Mary, mother of Jesus.

Maagd Maria

Mary, mother of Jesus — see also Mary, Virgin, Mother of God, Our Lady, Saint Mary, Theotokos


Adar

(Judaism) The sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth month of the ecclesiastical year in the Jewish calendar, after Shevat and before Nisan.

ܐܵܕ݂ܵܪ

sixth month of civil year in the Jewish calendar


Ariel

General American, Mary–marry–merry merger

Alexander Pope
Ariel
John Herschel
The Rape of the Lock
The Tempest
William Lassell
William Shakespeare

From Biblical Hebrew אֲרִיאֵל (ari'él, a compound of אֲרִי (arí, “lion”) + אֵל (él, “God”), literally “lion of God”).
* (moon of Uranus): All of Uranus’s moons are named after characters created by William Shakespeare or Alexander Pope. The names of all four satellites of Uranus then known were suggested by John Herschel in 1852 at the request of William Lassell, though it is uncertain if Herschel devised the names, or if Lassell did so and then sought Herschel’s permission. Ariel is the name of the leading sylph in Pope’s The Rape of the Lock and also the spirit who serves Prospero in Shakespeare’s The Tempest.

bor

Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 29:1:

(biblical) A name for the city of Jerusalem, the claimed (and de-facto) capital city of modern Israel, and the claimed capital city of modern Palestine.


Brahman

Brahmans (plural)
Brāhman (alternative)
Brachman (alternative)

Borrowed from Sanskrit ब्रह्मन् (bráhman).

The coins of this dynasty are all marked with the figures of the Brahman Bull and a horseman; and it is remarkable that this very Hindú device was retained by the Mohammedan sovereigns who reigned over the same countries.

1846 June 20, “Asiatic Society.—June 6.—The Earl of Aukland in the chair.”, in The Athenæum, number 973, page 632:

A breed of beef cattle from India with a hump on the shoulder.


Brahman

Brahma (alternative)
Brahmin (alternative)
Brahmana (alternative)
Brāhman (alternative)

(Hinduism) The unchanging, infinite, immanent, and transcendent reality which is the Divine Ground of all matter, energy, time, space, being, and everything beyond in this Universe. The nature of Brahman is described as transpersonal, personal and impersonal by different philosophical schools.


Zebedee

Ultimately from Ancient Greek Ζεβεδαῖος (Zebedaîos), from Hebrew זְבַדְיָה (Zəḇaḏyâ), from זַבְדִּי (zab̲dî, “my gift”). Doublet of Zebadiah.

der

Hebrew זְבַדְיָה (Zəḇaḏyâ)

And going from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 4:21:

(biblical) The father of the Apostles James and John in the Bible.


Zebadiah

/ˌzɛbəˈdaɪə/

From Hebrew זְבַדְיָה (Zəḇaḏyâ, “gift of God, God has bestowed”), from זַבְדִּי (zab̲dî, “my gift”). Doublet of Zebedee.

bor

The fourth captain for the fourth month was Asahel the brother of Joab, and Zebadiah his son after him: and in his course were twenty and four thousand.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 1 Chronicles 27:7:

One of several minor characters in the Old Testament. (biblical character)


manna

en-noun

manna (countable and uncountable, plural mannas)

mannas (plural)
archaic (alternative)
mana (alternative)

From Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin manna, from Ancient Greek μάννα (mánna), from Hebrew מן (mān, “'manna”).

Australian manna

from Eucalyptus viminalis, E. gunnii, E. pulverulenta

manna mealybug

Trabutina crassispinosa or Trabutina mannipara

And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Exodus 16:14-15:

In the juriſdiction of Huquang there are ſeveral places where they gather up great store of Manna, which the Natives take for a Frozen Dew.

1669, John Nievhoff, translated by John Ogilby, An Embassy from the Eaſt-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham Emperour of China, London: John Macock, →OCLC, page 242:

The leaves of the foreſt were loaded with manna, pure amber dropped from every bough, honey diſtilled from the rifted rock, and the humming bee, drunk with joy, ſtrayed from flower to flower, forgetful of his burſting cells.

1769, Firishta, translated by Alexander Dow, Tales translated from the Persian of Inatulla of Delhi, volume I, Dublin: P. and W. Wilson et al., page iv:

(biblical) Food miraculously produced for the Israelites in the desert in the book of Exodus.


Esther

From Ancient Greek Ἐσθήρ (Esthḗr), from Biblical Hebrew אֶסְתֵּר (ʾestēr). Has been connected to Old Persian 𐎠𐎿𐎫𐎼 (a-s-t-r /star-/, “star”) (whence Middle Persian 𐭮𐭲𐭫 (stl /star/, “star”), 𐭮𐭲𐭠𐭫𐭪 (stʾlk /stārag/, “star”), Persian ستاره (setâre, “star”), Northern Kurdish estêre), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂stḗr (if so, a distant doublet of star); or else to Akkadian 𒀭𒈹 (Ištar, “Ishtar”) (Hebrew עִשְׁתָּר (ʿištār)).

cog

Hebrew עִשְׁתָּר (ʿištār)

A book of the Old Testament and the Hebrew Tanakh.

And he brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther, his uncle's daughter: for she had neither father or mother, and the maiden was fair and beautiful.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Esther 2:7:

(biblical) The heroine of the Book of Esther.


Susanna

From Ancient Greek Σουσάννα (Sousánna), the New Testament form of Hebrew שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (šōšannā, “lily”).

uder

Hebrew שׁוֹשַׁנָּה (šōšannā, “lily”)

(biblical) A follower of Jesus (Luke 8:3)


Ephesians

(biblical) The tenth book of the New Testament of the Bible, an epistle to the people of Ephesus which is attributed to Paul the Apostle.


Jude

en-proper noun

Jude (countable and uncountable, plural Judes)

Short form of Judas, used in an attempt to distinguish the Apostle Judas Thaddaeus from Judas Iscariot. From Old Testament Judah, Hebrew יְהוּדָה (yehudá), said to mean “praised”.

(biblical) The second last book of the New Testament of the Bible.

(biblical) One of the Apostles, also called Thaddaeus.


Enos

From Hebrew אֱנוֹשׁ (enósh, “mortal man”).

A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.


mamzer

mamzers (plural)
mamzerim (plural)
mamser (alternative)
momser (alternative)
momzer (alternative)

No descendant of a mamzer may ever enter the assembly, no matter how many generations later.

2001, David L. Lieber and Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 1122:

(Judaism) A child born to Jewish parents whose relationship is incestuous or otherwise forbidden by Jewish law (e.g. an unmarried man and a married woman), or the descendant of such a person.


tzaddik

tzaddiks (plural)
tzaddikim (plural)
zaddik (alternative)
tsadik (alternative)
tsadiq (alternative)
tsaddik (alternative)
tzadik (alternative)

From Hebrew צַדִּיק (tsadík, “righteous person”). Many pronunciations have come under the influence of Yiddish צדיק (tsadek).

uder

For in dreams one thinks with the eyes and the ears; speech has no nouns, just verbs; only in dreams is every person a zaddik, never a murderer….

1988, Milorad Pavić, translated by Christina Pribićević-Zorić, Dictionary of the Khazars, Vintage, published 1989, page 226:

(Judaism) A very righteous person, especially a Hassidic spiritual leader.


demiurge

demiurges (plural)
Demiurge (alternative)
demiurgos (alternative)
demiurgoi (alternative)
demiurgus (alternative)
demiurgi (alternative)

From Ancient Greek δημιουργός (dēmiourgós, “one who works for the people; a skilled workman, a handicraftsman”) (whence Latin dēmiūrgus, French démiurge), from δήμιος (dḗmios, “belonging to the people, public”) (from δῆμος (dêmos, “the people”), from Proto-Indo-European *deh₂mos (“people”), from *deh₂- (“to divide”) + Ancient Greek -ιος (-ios), from Proto-Indo-European *-yós (suffix creating an adjective from a noun)) + Ancient Greek -ουργός (-ourgós, “worker”) (from ἔργον (érgon, “labour; task; work”), from Proto-Indo-European *wérǵom (“work”)).
No relation with English demi- (as in demigod).

der

The Gnostic Demiurge then assumes a surprising likeness to Ahriman, the evil counter-creator of Ormuzd in Mazdean philosophy. The character of the Gnostic Demiurge became still more complicated when in some systems he was identified with Jehovah, the God of the Jews or of the Old Testament, and was brought in opposition to Christ of the New Testament, the Only-Begotten Son of the Supreme and Good God.

1908, Charles G[eorge] Herbermann, editor, The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, New York, N.Y.: Robert Appleton Company, →OCLC, page 708, column 1:

This was the earnest attempt of a Christian to explain in some detail how God might act using natural law, although his critics noted that such a Creator had more in common with a gnostic demiurge than the transcendent God of the Judeo-Christian tradition.

2003, Richard England, editor, Design after Darwin: 1860–1900, volumes 1 (Metaphors and Metaphysics of Design. Key Statement of the 1860s.), Bristol: Thoemmes Press, →OCLC, page xiv:

Common to all authentic Gnostic schools are teachings on the demiurgos and archons. However, exactly what the demiurgos and archons are in the symbolic and mystical language of the various Gnostic traditions can be very different from one tradition to another. The word demiurgos means "creator of the world," "false creator," or "false god." Archons mean "rulers" and indicate spiritual or cosmic forces associated with the demiurgos. […] [S]ome schools view the demiurgos quite literally as the God of the Old Testament, while others do not view Yahweh as the demiurgos at all.

2005, Tau Malachi, “The Demiurgos and Evil”, in Living Gnosis: A Practical Guide to Gnostic Christianity, Woodbury, Minn.: Llewellyn Worldwide, →ISBN, page 93:

(Gnosticism) A (usually jealous or outright malevolent) being who is inferior to the supreme being, and sometimes seen as the creator of evil.


tzedakah

en-noun

tzedakah (usually uncountable, plural tzedakahs)

tzedakahs (plural)
tsedakah (alternative)
tzedaka (alternative)
zedakah (alternative)

Borrowed from Hebrew צְדָקָה (ts'daká, “charity”).

Wherever Jews have lived in relative freedom and free markets—the United States, Britain and its commonwealth, the Ottoman Near East, post-Enlightenment Western Europe—we've done pretty well. We've built great communities. We've devoted ourselves to Torah. We've pursued tzedakah, charity, with abandon.

2012 August 29, Jeffrey Goldberg, quoting Noam Neusner, “Mitt Romney, the Tikkun Olam President?”, in The Atlantic:

I began to fill this little wooden tzedakah box with tiny slips of paper, each containing a single word or phrase as a “prompt” for remembering some gifted moment or intense experience of my life.

2020, Michele Maxwell, The Tzedakah Box, Balboa Press, →ISBN:

(Judaism) The Jewish tradition of charity.


Titus

Borrowed from Latin Titus, a Roman and Sabine praenomen meaning either "honorable" or "strong; of the giants".

The seventeenth book of the New Testament of the Bible, the epistle to Titus.


Philemon

en-proper noun

Philemon (countable and uncountable, plural Philemons)

From Ancient Greek Φιλήμων (Philḗmōn), from φιλήμων (philḗmōn, “kindly, affectionate”), from φιλέω (philéō, “I love”).

The eighteenth book of the New Testament of the Bible, the epistle of Saint Paul to a fellow Christian called Philemon.


yeshiva

yeshivas (plural)
yeshivot (plural)
yeshiba (alternative)
yeshibah (alternative)
yeshivah (alternative)

From Yiddish ישיבה (yeshive), from Hebrew יְשִׁיבָה (y'shivá, “meeting”).

Nonetheless, in 1976, after graduating with a B.A. in religious studies, he entered Yale's doctoral program in the same department. A year later, he left Yale to study Talmud in a Manhattan yeshiva.

1995 May 21, Steven Levy, “The Unabomber and David Gelernter”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

Shalom grew up in an Orthodox family in Stamford Hill. His father, who ran an office-furniture business, intended him for a synagogue cantor, and when Shalom finished school he was sent to the yeshiva.

2015, Will Self, ‘Diary’, London Review of Books, vol. 37 no.5

Last month, the Forward reported, a former student at Mechon Hadar—a co-ed egalitarian yeshiva in New York—emailed the school's listserv with a plea for the institution to cut ties with [Leslie] Wexner in light of the unspooling allegations against [Jeffrey] Epstein.

2019 August 7, Marissa Brostoff, Noah Kulwin, “The Right Kind of Continuity”, in Jewish Currents:

(education, Judaism) An academy for the advanced study of Jewish texts.


shiva

en-noun

shiva (countable and uncountable, plural shivas)

shivas (plural)
shibah (alternative)
shiv'ah (alternative)
shivah (alternative)
shive (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-shiva.wav

From Hebrew שִׁבְעָה (shiv'á, “seven”), referring to the number of days that shiva spans.

Did you know that some parents sit shiva […] for 30 days if their child is discovered to be gay?

1974 February 2, “Jewish Gay Group”, in Gay Community News, volume 1, number 32, page 2:

Seymour: Audrey, quick! We've got to do an emergency [flower] arrangement.
[…]
Mr. Mushnik: The Shivas are our most important funereal account. A big, enormous family, they're dropping off like flies!

1986, Little Shop of Horrors (1986 film)

(Judaism) A weeklong period of formal mourning for a close relative.


kippah

kippah (plural kippahs or kippot or kippoth)

kippahs (plural)
kippot (plural)
kippoth (plural)
kippa (alternative)
kipah (alternative)
kipa (alternative)
kippoh (alternative)

keeper (non-rhotic, /ˈkiːpə/ pronunciation)

kipper (non-rhotic, /ˈkɪpə/ pronunciation)

In response, Germany’s most popular daily newspaper asked readers to wear the cut-out kippah as a mark of solidarity with the Jewish community, and even posted a video on its website showing how to make it.

2019 May 27, Jack Guy, “German newspaper prints cut-out kippah, urging readers to wear it in solidarity with Jews”, in CNN:

Some Jewish Americans told CNN they are now hiding their kippahs, refusing to wear their Star of David necklaces and changing long-held traditions for religious holidays.

2023 November 21, Nicquel Terry Ellis, “The Israel-Hamas war is driving a surge in US hate crimes. These Jewish Americans say it’s changing the way they live”, in CNN:

(Judaism, clothing) The cloth skullcap or yarmulke traditionally worn by male Jews.


dreidel

dreidels (plural)
draydel (alternative)
dreydel (alternative)
draydl (alternative)
dreidl (alternative)
dreydl (alternative)
dreidle (alternative)
dreydle (alternative)

Borrowed from Yiddish דריידל (dreydl, “dreidel; spinning top”), probably a blend of דרייען (dreyen, “to spin; to turn; to twist”) + טרענדל (trendl, “(dated) dreidel; spinning top”). דרייען (dreyen) is derived from Middle High German dræn, from Old High German drāen (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-West Germanic *þrāan, from Proto-Germanic *þrēaną (“to turn; to twist”), from Proto-Indo-European *terh₁- (“to turn; to rub; to drill, pierce”); and טרענדל (trendl) is derived from Middle High German trendel (“spinning top”), from Proto-Germanic *trandijaną (“to revolve, spin”).

der

I have a little dreidel. I made it out of clay. / And when it's dry and ready, then dreidel I shall play. / Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, I made it out of clay. / Oh dreidel, dreidel, dreidel, then dreidel I shall play.

1927, “I Have a Little Dreidel”, Samuel S. Grossman (lyrics), Samuel Eliezer Goldfarb or Mikhl Gelbart (music):

The dreidel is a spinning toy, painstakingly fashioned out of plastic polymer by Jewish craftsmen in Vietnam. Used for tabletop gambling games during Hanukkah, the dreidel often ends up on the floor and sometimes in the dog's small intestine.

2005 December 23, Jonathan Safran Foer, “A Beginner's Guide to Hanukkah”, in The New York Times:

Students from the Yeshiva Beth Yehudah School danced in dreidel costumes at a menorah lighting in Detroit on Thursday.

2023 December 7, Jacey Fortin, “For Some, the Symbols of Hanukkah Bring Extra Concern This Year”, in The New York Times, image caption:

A four-sided spinning top, inscribed with the four Hebrew letters נ (nun), ג (gimel), ה (hey), and ש (shin) (or פ (pey)) on each side, often used to play a traditional game during the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.


baruch Hashem

/bəˈɹʊx həˈʃɛm/

/bəˈɹuːx həˈʃɛm/

From Hebrew בָּרוּךְ הַשֵׁם (barúkh hashém, literally “blessed be the name [of the Lord]”), likely via Yiddish ברוך השם (borukh hashem).

unadapted borrowing

בָּרוּךְ הַשֵׁם


Chronicles

(biblical) A book of the Jewish Tanakh, divided into two Books of Chronicles in the Christian Bible.


Nehemiah

From Hebrew נְחֶמְיָה (“consolation of Yahweh”).

der

Nehemiah stood firm by rejecting the imaginative and wicked spin the enemies put on reality and persisted in what God had called him to do. Then he prayed that, rather than his hands dropping from the work, God would strengthen them in...[…]

2014 June 1, James M. Hamilton, Jr., Exalting Jesus in Ezra-Nehemiah (Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary), B&H Publishing Group, →ISBN, →OCLC:

(biblical) A governor of Judea who was, according to the Tanakh, sent by the king of Persia to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.


Ecclesiastes

From Latin Ecclesiastes, from Ancient Greek Ἐκκλησιαστής (Ekklēsiastḗs) according to the Septuagint. The Greek word is a loan translation of Hebrew קֹהֶלֶת, from Hebrew קָהָל.

Ἐκκλησιαστής

bor

Hebrew קֹהֶלֶת

(biblical) A book in the Old Testament of the Bible.


Song of Solomon

A calque of Latin Canticum Solomonis (“song of Solomon”), from its supposed authorship by the Israelite king Solomon.

der

(biblical) Synonym of Song of Songs, a canonical book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament.


Isaiah

From Ancient Greek Ἠσαΐας (Ēsaḯas) from Hebrew יְשַׁעְיָהוּ (yəšaʿyā́hū).

יְשַׁעְיָהוּ

Hebrew יְשַׁעְיָהוּ (yəšaʿyā́hū)

(Abrahamism, biblical) A prophet, the author of the Book of Isaiah.


Sukkot

he-m

סוכות / סֻכּוֹת (sukót)

Sukkos (alternative)
Sukkoth (alternative)
Succot (alternative)
Succoth (alternative)

(Judaism) An ancient biblical / Israelite / Jewish festival lasting seven days, celebrating the autumn harvest and commemorating the passage through the wilderness: observed from the 15th day to the 21st day of the month of Tishrei (Tishri).


Succoth

A village near Arrochar in Argyll and Bute council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NN2905).


gopher wood

From גפר, found in Genesis 6:14. Unrelated to the North American animal. Sometimes hypothesized to be ultimately cognate to English cypress, the wood itself being such or related to the tree.

Make thee an ark of gopher wood.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 6:14:

(biblical) The unidentified wood used in the construction of Noah's Ark.

gofero

the wood used in the construction of Noah's Ark - not yet identified

timber planks

terms used in other English versions of the Bible


kere

keri (alternative)
k'ri (alternative)
qere (alternative)
qeri (alternative)
q'ri (alternative)

(Judaism) A reading that in the traditional Jewish mode of reading the Hebrew Bible is substituted for one actually standing in the consonantal text with the consonants of the word or phrase to be read being usually given in the margin and the vowel points if the text is vocalized being inserted in the text.


Emmanuel

Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 1:23:

Immanuel (Biblical figure whose birth is foretold).

(Christianity) Immanuel (this figure, regarded by Christians as the Christ).

Cade. What is thy name? / Clerk. Emmanuel. / Dick. They use to write it on the top of letters. 'Twill go hard with you.

Some call their sons Emmanuel : this is too bold. The name is proper to Christ, therefore not to be communicated to any creature.

1629, Thomas Adams, Meditations upon Creed: The Works of Thomas Adams, James Nichol (1862), volume 3, page 212:

A male given name from Hebrew of Biblical origin.


pneuma

From Ancient Greek πνεῦμα (pneûma, “wind, breath, spirit”), from πνέω (pnéō, “I blow, breathe”). Doublet of neume.

bor

(Gnosticism) One of three levels of a human being, the spirit, along with the body and soul.


Hashem

From Hebrew הַשֵּׁם (hashém, literally “the name”), likely via Yiddish השם (hashem).

der

A name used by many Jews in ordinary conversation to refer to God.


Havdalah

From Hebrew הבדלה (havdalá, “havdalah”, literally “separation”).

bor

Habdalah (alternative)
Havdala (alternative)
Havdoloh (alternative)

(Judaism) The Jewish ceremony, involving a candle, wine and spices, that concludes the Sabbath or other holy days.


Bethany

Bethany (disambiguation)
Bethany#Bethany
en:Bethany

From Ancient Greek Βηθανία (Bēthanía), from Aramaic בית עניא (beth anya, “house of wretchedness”). This etymology is highly disputed; see Bethany.

der

(biblical) The village where Jesus stayed before going to Jerusalem and being crucified.

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

(biblical) The village where Lazarus, Mary and Martha lived (Bible, John 11 v. 1)

(biblical) Mary of Bethany, sometimes identified as Mary Magdalene.


Micah

From Hebrew מִיכָה (mīḵāh), shortened form of מִיכַיְהוּ (mīḵāyᵊhū, “who is like Yahweh”).

Miga

Biblical character: minor prophet and author

(biblical) A book of the Old Testament of Bible, and of the Tanakh.

The word of the LORD that came to Micah the Morasthite in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

(biblical) Any of several men in the Old Testament:

The minor prophet and author of the Book of Micah.

An Ephraimite featured in Judges 17–18 and protagonist of the Micah’s idol narrative. Also called Michas.

Miga

Biblical character: Ephraimite featured in Judges 17–18


Septuagint

en-proper noun

Septuagint (countable and uncountable, plural Septuagints)

Letter of Aristeas
Ptolemy II Philadelphus
Septuagint
Twelve Tribes of Israel

From Late Latin Septuaginta, lit. "The Seventy", a clipping of earlier descriptional names such as septuaginta translatio (“translation by the seventy”) and septuaginta interpretes (“the 70 interpreters”), calques of Koine Greek names such as οἱ ἐβδομήκοντα ἑρμηνευταί (hoi ebdomḗkonta hermēneutaí, “the 70 interpreters”) and οἱ Ο′ (hoi O′, “the LXX”), deriving from the popular (but probably mistaken) belief that its translation of the Torah had been produced in 72 days by a team of 72 Jewish scholars from Jerusalem (6 from each tribe) summoned to Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy II.

2006, Katrin Hauspie, Theodoret and Messianic Verses in the Septuagint version of Ezekiel, Michael Anthony Knibb (editor), The Septuagint and Messianism, Leuven University Press, Peeters Publishers (Peeters Leuven), page 503,
Traces of messianism in the Septuagint have occupied scholars for years; the Book of Ezekiel too has challenged attention in this specific domain of research.

2009, Jan Joosten, The Prayer of Azariah (DanLXX 3): Sources and Origin, Johann Cook (editor), Septuagint and Reception, BRILL, page 5,
The Septuagint originated, for the most part, as a translation of a source text. As such it represents a link—and a very important one—in the reception history of the Hebrew-Aramaic scriptures. But the Septuagint very soon turned into a literary and religious reference in its own right. […] The Septuagint itself became the starting point for a new reception history.

Other important works appeared that continued the discussion about the position of the Septuagint within postclassical Greek.

2022, William A. Ross, Postclassical Greek and Septuagint Lexicography, SBL Press, page 42:

(biblical) An influential Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible produced in Alexandria in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC.

اَلتَّرْجَمَة اَلسَّبْعِينِيَة

an ancient translation of the Hebrew Bible into Ancient Greek

七十人訳聖書

しちじゅうにんやくせいしょ, Shichijūnin'yaku Seisho; ななじゅうにんやくせいしょ, Nanajūnin'yaku Seisho


Halacha

From Hebrew הֲלָכָה (halakhá), from the root הלך (“to walk”).

halacha (alternative)
Halachah (alternative)
halachah (alternative)
halakah (alternative)
Halakha (alternative)
halakha (alternative)
Halakhah (alternative)
halakhah (alternative)


happy holidays

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-happy holidays.wav

In the United States people say Happy Holidays to include all people on the earth: the Jewish people Celebrating Hanukah, Africans celebrating Kwanza, Middle Eastern people celebrating Eid, Christians celebrating Christmas, […]

2009, Ruben Santos Claveria, Holiday Songs and Kisses: Christmas Songs And other Poems:

Madeleine Mayfair, What Should I Write? 101 Holiday Wishes for Greeting Cards
Season's greetings and happy holidays!

(Canada, US, Philippines) A greeting used during the Christmas and winter holiday season to recognize the celebration of many holidays, sometimes starting with Thanksgiving and including Hanukkah, the winter solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year's Day.


Jeremiah

/ˌd͡ʒɛɹəˈmaɪə/

From Latin Jeremias, from Ancient Greek Ἰερεμίας (Ieremías), from Hebrew יִרְמְיָה (yirm'yá, “Jeremiah”, literally “Yahweh exalt”).

der

And Ieremiah lamented for Ioſiah, and all the ſinging men and the ſinging women ſpake of Ioſiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Iſrael; and beholde, they are written in the Lamentations.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Chronicles 35:25, column 1:

(Abrahamism, biblical) An ancient prophet, the author of the Book of Jeremiah, and of the Lamentations.


Ezekiel

From Koine Greek Ἰεζεκιήλ (Iezekiḗl), from Biblical Hebrew יְחֶזְקֵאל (Y'ḥezqēl, “God strengthens”).

The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of the Lord was there upon him.

(biblical) A prophet mentioned in the Bible and in the Quran.


Hosea

From Latin Hōsēās, from Ancient Greek Ὡσηέ (Hōsēé), from Biblical Hebrew הוֹשֵׁעַ (hōšḗaʿ, “Hosea”), from the masculine singular imperative of הוֹשִׁיעַ (hoshía', “to save”).


Amos

From Biblical Hebrew עמוס (Amos, “to carry; a burden”).

(biblical) A book of the Old Testament and the Hebrew Tanakh.

亞摩士書 /亚摩士书

Ā-mò̤-sê̤ṳ-cṳ̆

(biblical) A prophet, author of the book of Amos.


Obadiah

/ˌoʊbəˈdaɪə/

From Hebrew עובדיה (Ovadya, “servant of Yahweh”); comparable to Arabic عبد اللّٰه (ʕabd-allah, “servant of God”).

(biblical) A book of the Old Testament of the Bible, and of the Tanakh.

阿巴底亞書 /阿巴底亚书

Ŏ̤-bă-dī-ā-cṳ̆

The vision of Obadiah. Thus saith the Lord God concerning Edom; We have heard a rumour from the Lord, and an ambassador is sent among the heathen, Arise ye, and let us rise up against her in battle.


Jonah

From the Hebrew יוֹנָה (yonáh, “dove”). Doublet of Jonas.

So they took up Jonah, and cast him forth into the sea: and the sea ceased from her raging.

(biblical) A minor prophet who was cast into the sea and swallowed by a great fish.


Nahum

Derived from Hebrew נַחוּם (nakhúm, “consolation”).

der+

(biblical) A book of the Tanakh / the Old Testament of the Bible.

(biblical) The minor prophet who wrote that book.


Habakkuk

Borrowed from Biblical Hebrew חֲבַקּוּק (ḥăḇaqqūq). The name perhaps comes from חָבַק (ḥāḇaq, “embrace”), or perhaps from Akkadian 𒄩𒄠𒁀𒄣𒄣 (ḫambaqūqu [ḫa-am-ba-qu-qu], “garden herb”).

der

Hab. (alternative)
Habacuc (alternative)

1988, Robert D. Haak, ""Poetry" in Habakkuk 1:1–2:4?". Journal of the American Oriental Society 108 (3): 437–444.
The present study concentrates on the various types of parallelism which may be observed within the prophetic text Habakkuk 1:1–2:4.

(biblical) A prophetic book in the Old Testament of the Bible, one of the minor prophets; or the eighth part of the Tere Asar in the Jewish Tanakh.

Of Habakkuk's personal life nothing is known with certainty, though it has been inferred, from the fact that he is termed specifically 'the prophet,' that he held a recognized position as prophet[…], and belonged, consequently, to the tribe of Levi.

1906, S. R. Driver, The Minor Prophets: Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, The Century Bible, page 49:

(biblical) A Jewish prophet of the Old Testament; author of the book that bears his name.


Zephaniah

(biblical) Hebrew prophet associated with the Book of Zephaniah


Haggai

Hebrew חַגַּי

(biblical) Hebrew prophet associated with the Book of Haggai.


Zechariah

Book of Zechariah
Zechariah (Hebrew prophet)
Zechariah (priest)
Zechariah of Israel

/ˌzɛkəˈɹaɪə/

From Hebrew זְכַרְיָה (zəḵaryā, “the Lord has remembered”).

Zachariah (alternative)
Zacharias (alternative)
Zecharia (alternative)
Zakariah (alternative)

(biblical) A king of Israel mentioned in the second book of Kings.

(biblical) A Hebrew prophet traditionally considered the author of the Book of Zechariah, the eleventh of the Twelve Minor Prophets.

Sagaria

(biblical) A Hebrew priest, the father of John the Baptist.


Malachi

→ Fijian: Malakai

→ English: Malakai (with Tongan Malakai)

→ Tongan: Malakai

→ English: Malakai (with Fijian Malakai)

From Latin Mālāchiās, from Ancient Greek Μαλαχίας (Malakhías), from Hebrew מַלְאָכִי (mal'achi, malʼāḵî, literally “my messenger”), singular form of מַלְאָךְ (mal'akh, “angel; messenger; ambassadors”) with first-person singular personal pronoun as possessor.

(biblical) A book of the Old Testament of Bible, and of the Tanakh.


Dinah

From Hebrew דִּינָה (dīna, "judged, vindicated"); see דין.

And Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. And when Shechem the son of Hamor the Hivite, prince of the country, saw her, he took her, and lay with her, and defiled her.

A daughter of Jacob and Leah. (biblical character)


Akkub

(biblical) Any of several minor characters in the Hebrew Bible.

Acube

any of several minor characters in the Hebrew Bible


breastplate

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-breastplate.wav

From Middle English brestplate, equivalent to breast + plate. Displaced Old English brēostbeorg.

(Judaism) An embroidered square of linen worn on the breast of the Jewish high priest, bearing twelve precious stones, each inscribed with the name of one of the tribes of Israel.


Pesach

Borrowed from Hebrew פֶּסַח (pésakh, “Passover”). Doublet of Pasch, Pascha, and paskha.

Pesah (alternative)
Pesakh (alternative)


Law

(Judaism) the five Books of Moses, particularly the commandments in it, as well as their specification in the Mishnah and their further interpretation in later religious literature

(Christianity, biblical) the commandments in the Books of Moses, sometimes seen as transcended by Christ


versification

en-noun

versification (countable and uncountable, plural versifications)

(biblical) The process by which the books of the Bible were divided into verses; a particular way of dividing biblical books into verses


Yom Kippur

/ˌjɒm kɪˈpʊə/

/ˌjəʊm kɪˈpʊə/

/ˌjəʊm ˈkɪpə/

/ˌjɔm kɪˈpʊɹ/

/ˌjɑm kɪˈpʊɹ/

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-Yom Kippur.wav

From Hebrew יוֹם כִּיפּוּר (yom kipúr, literally “Day of Atonement”).

bor

יוֹם כִּיפּוּר

(Judaism) A particular Jewish holiday, the day of atonement, falling on the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei.


sheeny

sheenies (plural)
sheeney (alternative)
sheenie (alternative)

Shylock chimes with the jewbaiting that followed the hanging and quartering of the queen’s leech Lopez, his jew’s heart being plucked forth while the sheeny was yet alive.

1922 February, James Joyce, Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

"I've told you before now not to push that long, sheeny beak of yours into my affairs."

1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019:

One time in Humboldt Park Leo "Bow" Gisensohn, our leader, didn't like the way a cop down by the lake called him "sheeny."

1946, Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, “Don’t Cry, Ma”, in Really the Blues, New York, N.Y.: Random House, book 1 (1899–1923: A Nothin’ but a Child), page 6:

Max Baer ain't no Jew.
Sure he is. Everybody knows that. Sheeny to the core.

2005, “Creed, OK”, in Carnivàle, episode 17:


shofar

en-noun

shofar (plural shofars or shofroth or shofarot or shofaroth)

shofars (plural)
shofroth (plural)
shofarot (plural)
shofaroth (plural)
shophar (alternative)

From the Hebrew שׁוֹפָר (shofár, “shofar”).

Thaddeus the fluteplayer had, it seems, found a ram’s horn or shofar, and he was blowing this not in the normal manner of an angry summons but so as to produce a melody of four notes, like a camp call to dinner or parade.

1985, Anthony Burgess, Kingdom of the Wicked:


Nathan

en-proper noun

Nathan (countable and uncountable, plural Nathans)

From Hebrew נָתָן (natán, “gave”). Also short for Jonathan.

And Dauids anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liueth, the man that hath done this thing, shall surely die. And he shall restore the Lambe fourefold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pittie. And Nathan said to Dauid, Thou art the man: […]

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Samuel 12:5–7:

(biblical) An Old Testament prophet who advised King David.


chametz

chamets (alternative)
chometz (alternative)
hamets (alternative)
hametz (alternative)

The eating of chametz (leavened products) is explicitly prohibited on Passover (Exod. 12:19–20; 13:3), for the Israelites “took their dough before it was leavened” (Exod. 12:34) and left Egypt in great haste.

2010, Ronald Eisenberg, What the Rabbis Said: 250 Topics from the Talmud, page 219:

A chametz-free total environment is the Passover goal, so any place where chametz was or might have been used during the year is thoroughly checked and cleaned lest any chametz has been left behind.

2011, Irving Greenberg, The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays, page 43:

(Judaism) Food products made from leavened grain flour, which may not be consumed on Passover in Judaism.


hebdomad

hebdomads (plural)
hebdomade (alternative)

From Late Latin hebdomada (“number seven; group of seven; seven days”), hebdomas (“number seven; seven days; seventh day”), from Ancient Greek ἑβδομάς (hebdomás, “group of seven, especially seven days or seven years”), from ἑπτά (heptá, “seven”) + -ᾰ́ς (-ắs, suffix forming abstract nouns of number from numerals). The word is cognate with French hebdomadaire, hebdo (“weekly periodical”), hebdomadairement (“weekly”), Portuguese hebdomadário (“weekly periodical”), Spanish hebdomadario (“weekly; weekly periodical; hebdomadary”).

cog

When, then, the Great Archon had been orally instructed, and every creature of the Ogdoad had been orally instructed and taught, and [after] the mystery became known to the celestial [powers], it was also necessary that afterwards the Gospel should come to the Hebdomad, in order likewise that the Archon of the Hebdomad might be similarly instructed and indoctrinated into the Gospel.

1868, Hippolytus of Rome, chapter XIV, in J. H. MacMahon, transl., edited by Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson, The Refutation of All Heresies, by Hippolytus: […] (Ante-Nicene Christian Library: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers down to A.D. 325; VI (Hippolytus, Bishop of Rome)), volume I, Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, […]; London: Hamilton & Co.; Dublin: John Robertson & Co., →OCLC, book VII (Of the Refutation of All Heresies), page 284:

The light came down from the Hebdomad upon Jesus the Son of Mary. That this descent of the light was represented as taking place at the Annunciation, and not merely at the Baptism, is clearly implied in the express reference to the words of the angel in Luke i. 35, "A Holy Spirit shall come upon thee," [...]

1877, Fenton John Anthony Hort, “Basilides”, in William Smith, Henry Wace, editors, A Dictionary of Christian Biography, Literature, Sects and Doctrines: […], volumes I (A–D), Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown, and Company, →OCLC, page 273, column 1:

(Gnosticism) A group of seven world-creating archons (supernatural beings) often regarded as somewhat hostile; also, a term of address for the Demiurge (“a being sometimes seen as the creator of evil”).


Davidic

(biblical) Of, or relating to the Biblical King David and his descendants.


Books of Moses

the Books of Moses (canonical)
Five Books of Moses (alternative)

From the traditional view that the Pentateuch was authored by Moses, now rejected by most scholars.

The first five books of the Hebrew Bible.


Levi

Ultimately from Biblical Hebrew לֵוִי (Leví), of uncertain origin. Doublet of Lewi.

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve: ²³ The sons of Leah; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun: ²⁴ The sons of Rachel; Joseph, and Benjamin: ²⁵ And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid; Dan, and Naphtali: ²⁶ And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid; Gad, and Asher: these are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in Padan-aram.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 35:22b-26:

(biblical) The third son of Jacob, by his wife Leah.


Vulgate

A particular Latin translation of the Bible made by Saint Jerome in the late 4th-century CE.


yahrzeit

yahrzeits (plural)
jahrzeit (alternative)
yahrtzeit (alternative)
yartseit (alternative)
yartzeit (alternative)
yortsayt (alternative)
yortseit (alternative)
yortzite (alternative)

PIE word
 *yóh₁r̥
Borrowed from Yiddish יאָרצײַט (yortsayt), from Middle High German jārzīt (“anniversary; Christian commemoration of a person’s death”); from Middle High German jār (“year”) (from Old High German jār (“year”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *yéh₁n- (“year”)) + Middle High German zīt (“time”) (from Old High German zīt (“time”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dī- (“time”)). The Yiddish word is cognate with German Jahreszeit (“season”), which heavily influenced the spelling and pronunciation once the word was borrowed into English. Doublet of yeartide.

der

"Yahrzeit" (year's time) is the anniversary of the parent's death. On the evening preceding, a light is kindled in the house, and kept burning until the following sundown. Synagogue service in the morning and evening is also attended, and the kaddish recited. "Nahala" (inheritance) is the poetic equivalent of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews for the Teutonic Yahrzeit.

1892 February, Richard Wheatley, “The Jews in New York.—II.”, in The Century Illustrated Magazine, volume XLIII, number 4, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co.; London: T[homas] Fisher Unwin, →OCLC, page 516:

Sad to say, the Yahrzeit of every-Jew is fading away from the memory of the average Jew in America.

1930 August 1, Leon Spitz, “Tisha b’Ab—The yahrzeit of every Jew”, in The Canadian Jewish Chronicle, Montreal, Que.: The Eagle Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 1:

The yahrzeit is here, and the least lachrymose country on earth is devising its rituals of commemoration.

2002 September 2, Leon Wieseltier, “A Year Later”, in Peter Beinart, editor, The New Republic, New York, N.Y.: The Republic Publishing Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:

Let's remember Hank Greenberg's yahrzeit, the 30th of Av, which falls this year on Sept. 3.

2016 August 10, Irwin Cohen, “Hank Greenberg’s 30th yahrzeit”, in The Jewish Press, New York, N.Y.: The Jewish Press, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2017-01-13:

(Judaism) The anniversary of a person's death, usually a parent's, often marked by the lighting of a memorial candle and other rituals.

נַחֲלָה

(Judaism) anniversary of a person's death


Tobias

Derived from Ancient Greek Τοβίας (Tobías), from Hebrew טוֹבִיָּה (toviyá, literally “my good is YHWH”).

der

Then said he to Tobias, Prepare thyself for the journey, and God send you a good journey. And when his son had prepared all things far the journey, his father said, Go thou with this man, and God, which dwelleth in heaven, prosper your journey, and the angel of God keep you company. So they went forth both, and the young man's dog with them.

The main character in the Book of Tobit, regarded as apocryphal by most Protestants (Biblical character).


fire and brimstone

Calque of Biblical Hebrew גׇּפְרִ֣ית וָאֵ֑שׁ (gofrit va’esh) and Ancient Greek πυρὸς καὶ θείου (puròs kaì theíou), appearing in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. "brimstone" is an old word for sulfur.

calque

גׇּפְרִ֣ית וָאֵ֑שׁ

πυρὸς καὶ θείου

And the third Angel followed them, ſaying with a lowd voice, If any man worship the beaſt and his image, and receiue his marke in his forehead, or in his hand, / The ſame ſhall drinke of the wine of the wrath of God, which is powred out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and hee ſhall be tormented with fire and brimſtone, in the preſence of the holy Angels, and in the preſence of the Lambe:

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Revelation 14:9–10:


Salome

From Ancient Greek Σαλώμη (Salṓmē), from Hebrew שְׁלוֹמִית (sh'lomít) (belonging to the same root as שָׁלוֹם (shalóm, “peace”)).

en:Salome
en:Salome (disambiguation)
en:Salome (disciple)
en:Salome (given name)

(biblical) A woman mentioned in Mark 16:1, present at the crucifixion of Christ.


Hebrews

(biblical) The nineteenth book of the New Testament of the Bible, the epistle to the Hebrews.

ਇਬਰਾਨੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ

ibarānīā̃ nū̃


dati

Borrowed from Hebrew דתי (datí, “religious”).

bor+

(Judaism) religious rather than secular; observing Jewish customs


four by two

four by twos (plural)
four-by-two (alternative)

Cockney rhyming slang
Cockney rhyming slang


oleh

A Jew who has recently made aliyah to Israel; an immigrant to Israel.

The benediction recited by the oleh before reading the portion of the Torah.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 106:

Someone who makes an aliyah for a Torah-reading.


Holy Trinity

holy Trinity (alternative)
holy trinity (alternative)

From Middle English holy Trinitee, a partial translation of earlier hali þrumnesse, haliʒ ðrymnesse (“holy trinity”, literally “holy threeness”), from Old English hālgu þrines. Equivalent to holy + Trinity.

(Christianity) The three persons of the Godhead: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.


Adlai

A male given name from Hebrew of biblical origin.


Shemaiah

From the Biblical Hebrew שְׁמַעְיָה (“[whom] God heard”).

uder

(biblical) Any of several people in the Tanakh, and Christian Old Testament:

A prophet in the reign of Rehoboam (1 Kings 12:22-24).

A Levite in the time of David, who with 200 of his brethren took part in the bringing up of the ark from Obed-edom to Hebron (1 Chr. 15:8).

The eldest son of Obed-edom (1 Chr. 26:4-8).

A false prophet who hindered the rebuilding of Jerusalem (Neh. 6:10).

A prince of Judah who assisted at the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem (Neh. 12:34-36).

A false prophet who opposed Jeremiah (Jer. 29:24-32).

One of the Levites whom Jehoshaphat appointed to teach the law (2 Chr. 17:8).

A Levite appointed to "distribute the oblations of the Lord" (2 Chr. 31:15).

The father of Urijah the prophet (Jer. 26:20).

The father of a prince in the reign of Jehoiakim (Jer. 36:12).

A rabbinic sage who was leader of the Pharisees in 1st century BC.


forbidden fruit is the sweetest

A reference to the story in the Bible in which God tells Adam and Eve not to eat the forbidden fruit, but they are tempted and do so anyway.

the forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest (alternative)

Forbidden things seem more appealing; people desire things more if (or, in some way, because) they can't have them.

le fruit défendu est celui qui a le meilleur goût

禁断の木の実が一番甘い

きんだんのこのみがいちばんあまい

the grass is always greener on the other side


Bartholomew

/bɑːˈθɒləmjuː/

From Latin Bartholomaeus, from Ancient Greek Βαρθολομαῖος (Bartholomaîos), from Aramaic בר תלמי (bar tolmai, “son of Talmai; son of Ptolemy”), from בר (bar, “son”) and תלמי (tolmai, “Talmai; Ptolemy”). It has long been unclear whether the Apostle's father was named after the biblical Talmai, king of Geshur, or one of the Greek Ptolemies, as the two originally unrelated names were conflated in Jewish Aramaic.
The name's pronunciation was changed to match the spelling; contrast French Barthélemy from the same source.

der

Βαρθολομαῖος

Now the names of the twelve apostles are these; The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus; Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

An Apostle, identified with Nathanael. (biblical character)


Zachariah

A male given name from Hebrew, variant of Zachary or Zechariah.


Shavuot

Borrowed from Hebrew שָׁבוּעוֹת (shavu'ót).

Shabuos (alternative)
Shabuot (alternative)
Shabuoth (alternative)
Shavuos (alternative)
Shavuoth (alternative)
Shevuoth (alternative)

Major Jewish holidays such as Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Simchat Torah, Succoth, Chanukah, Passover and Shavuot have been celebrated with Hebrew prayers and songs.

1971, United States Congress: Senate: Foreign Relations, Public Financing of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty

On the first day of Shavuot the Ten Commandments were explained to the people homiletically in the vernacular.

1975, Israel Zinberg, Old Yiddish Literature from Its Origins to the Haskalah Period:

(Judaism) A Jewish holiday that occurs in the spring, a harvest festival, also commemorating the anniversary of the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai.


Elkanah

From Hebrew אֶלְקָנָה (ʾelqānā, “God has created”).

bor

Any of several minor characters in the Old Testament, including the father of Samuel.


Word

Semantic loan from Koine Greek λόγος (lógos).

sl

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And so the Word had breath, and wrought
With human hands the creed of creeds
In loveliness of perfect deeds,
More strong than all poetic thought; […]

1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, Canto XXXVI, page 56:


Rosh Hodesh

In the Jewish calendar, the first day of a new month.


Bethlehem

Inherited from Middle English Bethleem, from Old French Bethleem, from Latin Bēthlehēmum, from Ancient Greek Βηθλεέμ (Bēthleém), from Hebrew בֵּית לֶחֶם (bēṯ lɛ́ḥɛm, literally “house of bread”). Doublet of bedlam and Belém.

der

A number of other places around the world:

A number of places in the United States:

An unincorporated community in Winn Parish, Louisiana.


Esau

From Ancient Greek Ἡσαῦ (Hēsaû), from Biblical Hebrew עֵשָׂו (ʿēśāw).

And the boyes grew; and Eſau was a cunning hunter, a man of the fielde: and Iacob was a plaine man, dwelling in tents.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 25:27, column 2:

(biblical) The son of Isaac and Rebekah and the older twin brother of Jacob.


Antiochus

From Latin Antiochus, from Ancient Greek Ἀντίοχος (Antíokhos).

A transliteration of the Ancient Greek male given name Ἀντίοχος (Antíokhos), notably borne by the thirteen kings of the Seleucid dynasty.


Abimelech

From Hebrew אֲבִימֶלֶךְ (avimelek, “Abimelech”).

bor

And it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was sporting with Rebekah his wife.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 26:8:


Absalom

From Hebrew אַבְשָׁלוֹם (avshalóm, literally “father of peace”), from אָב (av, “father”) + שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”).

affix

A student who doesn't know the slow movement of Schubert's B-flat major op post sonata, or the story of David and Absalom, needs to go back to school and learn better.

2017 February 23, Conor Friedersdorf, “20 Ideas From the Mind of David Gelernter”, in The Atlantic:

(biblical) The third son of David, king of Israel.


Edom

Via Late Latin Edōm from Koine Greek Ἐδώμ (Edṓm) from Biblical Hebrew אֱדוֹם (ʾĔḏōm).

(biblical) The name given to Esau in the Hebrew Bible.

(Judaism, historical, chiefly derogatory) Rome, the Roman Empire.

(Judaism, historical, chiefly derogatory) Christianity; Christendom, the Christian countries.


Joab

(biblical) The nephew of King David, and son of Zeruiah


Anaiah

From the Hebrew ענאיה (“God has answered”).

And Ezra the scribe stood upon a pulpit of wood, which they had made for the purpose; and beside him stood Mattithiah, and Shema, and Anaiah, and Urijah, and Hilkiah, and Maaseiah, on his right hand; and on his left hand, Pedaiah, and Mishael, and Malchiah, and Hashum, and Hashbadana, Zechariah, and Meshullam.

One of the elders who stood with Ezra the Scribe. (biblical character)


Jared

en-proper noun

Jared (countable and uncountable, plural Jareds)

From Latin Iared, from Ancient Greek Ἰαρέδ (Iaréd), from Biblical Hebrew יֶרֶד (yéred). Often explained as deriving from the root י־ר־ד (y-r-d), which forms words relating to descending (see Jordan and ירדן for more); some interpret the Book of Enoch as suggesting that the Jared in the Bible was so named because it was in his time that two hundred angels descended from Heaven to Mount Hermon. Alternatively, sometimes explained as deriving from the root ר־ד־ה (r-d-), which forms words relating to ruling.

And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 5:19:

(biblical) A man mentioned in the Book of Genesis, a descendant of Adam and of Seth, the father of Enoch, an ancestor of Noah.


Madonna

From Italian madonna, from Old Italian ma (“my”) + donna (“lady”). The given name is derived from the English term, not used as a given name in Italy. Doublet of madam.

(Christianity, sometimes with definite article) Synonym of Mary, mother of Jesus, especially in Catholic contexts.

Madone

Mary, mother of Jesus — see also Mary, Our Lady
Note: This is only for direct translations of "Madonna." Titles that literally mean or other titles in the language in question should be listed at those entries.

We feel bound to add, however, that it is not very likely, in the usual chances of events, that such names as Alaric Attila Watts should have met in matrimony with those of Zillah Madonna Wiffen; and an unkind world may suggest a mystification somewhere.

1835 June, Fraser's Magazine, volume XI, page 652:

But celebrities actually have a weak effect on baby names. As of 2000, the pop star Madonna had sold 130 million records worldwide but hadn't generated even the ten copycat namings―in California, no less―required to make the master index of four thousand names from which the sprawling list of girls' names on page 227 was drawn.

2005, Steven D. Levitt, Stephen J. Dubner, Freakonomics, Allen Lane, published 2005, →ISBN, page 184:

MADONNA(S) Yes. (They look at each other with surprise. The room goes silent.) MR. STEIN Two Madonnas? (Pause.) MR. STEIN Did either of you know God? EIGHTIES MADONNA I knew of Him. BIBLICAL MADONNA We had a Son together. MR. STEIN […] I’m going to have to ask you to leave. (The eighties Madonna gets up with a smile and then without uttering another word flounces out of the room loudly humming the tune ‘Like a Virgin’.)

2013 February, Alan Baggett, God’s Will, →ISBN, page 39:


Madonna

Madonnas (plural)
madonna (alternative)
Madona (alternative)

A beautiful example of this type of Madonna is the polyptych in the Museo Civico in Sansepolcro.

So many Madonnas were produced during the Renaissance that it became the habit to distinguish them by any peculiarity.

1913, “Art Galleries of Florence”, in The World’s Progress: With Illustrative Texts from Masterpieces of Egyptian, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Modern European and American Literature, Fully Illustrated, volume IX, Chicago, Ill.: The Delphian Society, page 114:

An artistic representation of the Virgin Mary, chiefly when holding the infant Jesus.


phylactery

phylacteries (plural)
philactery (alternative)
philactory (alternative)

Recorded since circa 1380, Middle English philaterie, either from Old French filatiere (12th c), or via Medieval Latin philaterium, an alteration of Late Latin phylacterium (“reliquary”), from Ancient Greek φυλακτήριον (phulaktḗrion, “safeguard, amulet”), via adjective φυλακτήριος (phulaktḗrios, “serving as a protection”), from φυλακτήρ (phulaktḗr, “watcher, guard”), itself from φυλάσσω (phulássō, “guard or ward off”), from φύλαξ (phúlax, “a guard”).

klaf

parchment used in Jewish ritual contexts

mezuzah

parchment scroll of Torah verses in a decorative container

They sett abroade there philateris, and make large borders on there garmenttes, and love to sytt uppermooste at feastes […]

1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, Matthew xxiij:

Some Rabbis allow a woman or a minor who are themselves not obligated to put on phylacteries to assist a hospitalized patient to don his phylacteries if he is otherwise unable to do so.

2003, Avraham Steinberg, translated by Fred Rosner, Encyclopedia of Jewish Medical Ethics, Volume I, Feldheim Publishers, page 787:

"Every male, who at the age of 13 becomes a "son of the Law" (bar mitswah), must wear the phylactery and perform the accompanying ceremonial."

2005, Edward Mack, Phylactery, Nextbible:

(Judaism) Either of the two small leather cases, containing biblical scrolls, worn by Jewish men at morning prayer; the tefilla.

filacteri

leather case containing biblical scrolls, worn by Jewish men; the tefilla


Boaz

Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from hence, but abide here fast by my maidens

(biblical) The second husband of Ruth, the father of Obed, the son of Salmon


Caleb

From Late Latin Caleb, Calebus, from Koine Greek Χάλεβ (Kháleb), from Biblical Hebrew כָּלֵב (Kālēḇ), possibly related to כֶּלֶב (keleḇ, “dog”), referring to the unconditional devotion of dogs to their masters.

Doubtless ye shall not come into the land, concerning which I sware to make you dwell therein, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.

(biblical) Caleb the son of Jephunneh, an Israelite who entered Canaan with Joshua.

"My brother's name was Caleb Peck."
"What a fine old-fashioned name," said Mrs. Tabor.

1976, Anne Tyler, Searching for Caleb, Berkley Books,New York, published 1983, →ISBN, page 14:

A male given name from Hebrew first used by Puritans.


Herod

The name of any of a number of members of the Herodian dynasty who ruled in the Roman province of Judea, most notably Herod the Great, who ordered the Massacre of the Innocents, or Herod Antipas, his son, who met Jesus during his Passion.


exilarch

From exile + -arch, a calque of Biblical Hebrew רֹאשׁ גָּלוּת (rôš galûṯ).

calque

רֹאשׁ גָּלוּת

The leader of the Jews of the Babylonian exile.


glatt

Borrowed from Yiddish גלאַט (glat, “smooth”). Doublet of glad.

bor+

(Yinglish, of an animal, Judaism) Having none of a particular kind of adhesion on the outside of its lungs; only meat from a glatt animal can be kosher.

(Yinglish, by extension, of food, Judaism) Having no ingredients from animals that are not glatt.


Cain

From Hebrew קַיִן (Káyin, “craftsman”), present since Old English.

According to the Book of Jubilees Cain got married to his sister Awan.

And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to paſſe when they were in the field, that Cain roſe vp againſt Abel his brother, and ſlew him.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 4:8, column 2:

(biblical) The son of Adam and Eve who killed his brother Abel.


AMP

(biblical) Abbreviation of Amplified Bible.


terefah

Of course, one might say that since we are all mortal, life itself is a terminal illness! That would put us all in the category of terefah.

2003, Elliot N. Dorff, Love Your Neighbor and Yourself: A Jewish Approach to Modern Personal Ethics, →ISBN, page 242:


Levite

Borrowed from Late Latin Levītēs, Lēvīta, itself borrowed from Ancient Greek Λευῑ́της (Leuī́tēs). By surface analysis, Levi + -ite.

Of or related to Levi, the Levites, or their priestly role.

Joseph

Josephite: Ephraim (Ephraimite); Manasseh (Manassite)

Asher

descendants of the patriarch Jacob, later renamed Israel


burnt offering

/bɜːnt ˈɒfəɹɪŋ/

/bɝnt ˈɔfəɹɪŋ/

PIE word
 *h₁epi
From Middle English brend offring, brend offringe, from brend (past participle of brennen (“to burn”)) + offring, offringe (“presentation of something as a religious offering; offering presented to God or another deity”), used in biblical texts to translate Late Latin holocaustum (“burnt offering wholly consumed by fire”) in the Vulgate version of the Bible. The English term is analysable as burnt + offering.

noncog

[…] Job ſent for them, and clenſed them agayne, ſtode vp early, and offred for eueryone a brẽtofferinge [brentofferinge].

1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), Myles Coverdale, transl., Biblia: The Byble, […] (Coverdale Bible), [Cologne or Marburg]: [Eucharius Cervicornus and Johannes Soter?], →OCLC, Job j:[5], folio i, recto, column 2:

When they faſt I will not heare their crie, and when they offer burnt offering and an oblation I wil not accept them: but I will conſume them by the ſword, and by the famine, and by the peſtilence.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jeremiah 14:12, column 2:

(biblical) A slaughtered animal offered and burnt on an altar as an atonement for sin.


Judahite

Of or pertaining to Judah (the patriarch), to the tribe of Judah, or to the ancient kingdom of Judah, or its inhabitants.

Judees

of or pertaining to the ancient kingdom of Judah, or its inhabitants


Immanuel

Immanuels (plural)
Emmanuel (alternative)

From Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל (ʿimanuʾél), from עִמָּנוּ אֵל (ʿimánu ʾél, literally “God is with us”).

der

Hebrew עִמָּנוּאֵל (ʿimanuʾél)

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Isaiah 7:14:

(biblical) A figure whose birth is prophesied in the Book of Isaiah in the Bible.

(Christianity) This figure, regarded by Christians as the Messiah or Christ.


Elisabeth

The spelling of Elizabeth used in the Authorized Version of the New Testament. Borrowed from Ancient Greek Ἐλισάβετ (Elisábet), a transliteration of Hebrew אֱלִישֶׁבַע (Elishéva, “my God is an oath”).

There was in the dayes of Herode the king of Iudea, a certaine Prieſt, named Zacharias, of the courſe of Abia, and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Luke 1:5, column 1:

The mother of John the Baptist according to the Christian and Islamic scriptures


creation science

[…] fundamentalist religious believers who look to religious texts (be it the Bible or the Qur'an) to espouse a so-called creation science […].

2013, Kostas Kamourakis, The Philosophy of Biology: A Companion for Educators, page 182:

The case of creation science vis-a-vis theory of evolution, 'Islamic science' (Koran being the source of all scientific knowledge) […]

2006, Ram Puniyani, Contours of Hindu Rashtra, page 321:

[…] the inspired writings, be they the Torah, the Qur'an, or the Bible, are interpreted by some in these traditions as providing literal descriptions of all aspects of reality […] Based upon this assumption the idea of creation science was born.

2003, Ted Peters, Bridging Science and Religion, page 76:

The creation story found in Genesis in the Bible or the Qur'an, presented by fundamentalists as if it were a literal scientific truth.


Goliath

Ultimately from Hebrew גָּלְיָת (golyāṯ).

(biblical) A giant who, according to the Bible, was vanquished in battle with King David.


Abdon

en-proper noun

Abdon (countable and uncountable, plural Abdons)

From Hebrew עבדון (abdon, “servant”). Compare Arabic عَبْد (ʕabd) (as in Abdullah), which also means servant.

And after him Abdon the son of Hillel, a Pirathonite, judged Israel. And he had forty sons and thirty nephews, that rode on threescore and ten ass colts: and he judged Israel eight years.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Judges 12:13-14:

The tenth judge of Israel. (biblical character)


Abdon

The placename is from the Old English personal name Abba + tūn (“settlement”). The surname is habitational from the village in Shropshire, but it is also borrowed from Spanish Abdón. The surname is mostly found in the Philippines.

A village in Abdon and Heath parish, Shropshire, England (OS grid ref SO576863).


Hagar

From Hebrew הָגָר (Hagar, “stranger”). Compare Arabic هَاجَر (hājar), Tiberian Hebrew הָגָר (Hāḡār).

(biblical) The Egyptian concubine of Abraham, mother of Ishmael.


AIPAC

In their new 30-second ad, the J Street group hammers Stevens for accepting AIPAC support – in the form of bundled donations – in a video featuring images of violence at the US Capitol and from a recent hearing of the House select committee investigating it.

2022 July 12, Gregory Krieg, “Progressive pro-Israel group takes on AIPAC in Michigan Democratic primary fight”, in CNN:

(US politics) Acronym of American Israel Public Affairs Committee: a pro-Israel lobby in the United States.


shadchen

shadchens (plural)
schatchen (alternative)
shadchan (alternative)
shadkan (alternative)
shadkn (alternative)

From Yiddish שדכן (shadkhn), from Hebrew.


shechinah

shechinahs (plural)
schechina (alternative)
schechinah (alternative)
shechina (alternative)
shekhinah (alternative)
shekinah (alternative)

/ʃ(ə)χiˈnɑː/

From Hebrew שְׁכִינָה (šəḵīnāh, literally “act of dwelling”).

uder

The Sh'khinah suffers with Israel in exile and will return with it at the time of redemption.

2001, David L. Lieber, Jules Harlow, Etz Hayim: Torah and Commentary, page 837:


siddur

Hebrew סִידּוּר

because of the holy books that occupied their bookshelves instead of encyclopaedia and romances, the torn siddurim they took out to read from on Friday nights

2006, Howard Jacobson, Kalooki Nights, Vintage, published 2007, page 54:

(Judaism) A prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers.


Ahab

From Middle English Achab, from Latin Achab, from Ancient Greek Ἀχαάβ (Akhaáb), from Hebrew אַחְאָב (ʼAḥʼāḇ, “uncle”); from אַח (ʼaḥ, “brother”) + אָב (ʼāḇ, “father”). Attested in Akkadian as 𒀀𒄩𒀊𒁍 (Aḫabbu).

A king of Israel, mentioned in the Bible.


Ahaz

From Hebrew אָחָז (acház, “owns”), a contraction of יְהוֹאָחָז (yeho'acház, “Jah has held”). Attested to in Akkadian as 𒅀𒌑𒄩𒍣 (Iaúḥazi).

Twenty years old was Ahaz when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem, and did not that which was right in the sight of LORD his God, like David his father.

(biblical) A king of Judah mentioned in the book of Kings.


Heavenly Father

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 6:14:

Երկնային Հայր

A formal name for the Judeo-Christian God


aliyah

en-noun

aliyah (plural aliyahs or aliyot or aliyoth or aliyos)

aliyahs (plural)
aliyot (plural)
aliyoth (plural)
aliyos (plural)
aliya (alternative)
'aliyah (alternative)

yerida

antonym(s) of “immigration of Jews to Israel”

From Hebrew עלייה / עֲלִיָּה (aliyá, “ascent”).

bor

עלייה / עֲלִיָּה

(Judaism, countable) The calling up of someone to the bimah for the reading of the Torah.


Hezekiah

/ˌhɛzəˈkaɪə/

From Hebrew חִזְקִיָּה (chizkiyá, “Hezekiah”).

der

Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Chronicles 29:1-2:


Matthias

The Apostle chosen to replace Judas Iscariot. (biblical character)

A male given name from Hebrew, derived from the same source as Matthew.


bulrush

bulrushes (plural)
bullrush (alternative)

From Middle English bulrish, perhaps from bule (“bull”) (in the sense of "large") plus rish (“rush”).

Cyperus papyrus
Cyperus papyrus#Translingual

(biblical) A plant referred to in the story of Moses as growing along the banks of the Nile, which is believed to be the papyrus (Cyperus papyrus).


Corinthians

(biblical) Either of the two books in the New Testament of the Bible that are written as epistles to the people of Corinth and which are attributed to Paul the Apostle, Sosthenes and Timothy.


Philippians

(biblical) The eleventh book of the New Testament of the Bible, the epistle of St Paul to the Philippians.


Ammon

From Hebrew עַמּוֹן (ammon), from the root ע־מ־ם.

A community of Moncton Parish, New Brunswick, Canada.

Bonneville County
Bonneville County#English

An unincorporated community in Bladen County, North Carolina.

An unincorporated community in Amelia County, Virginia.


Josue

(biblical, Douay Version) Obsolete form of Joshua.


Manasses

Any of several figures mentioned in the Bible. (See Manasses.)


Pilate

The surname is from Latin Pīlātus (“a Roman cognomen”, literally “armed with javelins”), from pilum (“javelin, pestle”), of unknown ultimate origin.

bor

I was 'round when Jesus Christ / Had his moment of doubt and pain / Made damn sure that Pilate / Washed his hands and sealed his fate

1968, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger (lyrics and music), “Sympathy for the Devil”, in Beggars Banquet, performed by Rolling Stones:

(biblical) Pontius Pilate, the man who, according to the Bible, ordered the crucifixion of Jesus.


Jeremias

/ˌd͡ʒɛɹəˈmaɪəs/

Some say that thou art John the Baptist; some, Elias; and others, Jeremias or one of the prophets.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 16:14:

(biblical) New Testament name for the prophet Jeremiah.


heter

What comes to mind is the famous issue on ZIM SHIPPING - an Israeli company owned by Jews and they tried to get a heter for running their ships on Shabbos.

1995 February 3, YOSEF KAZEN, “Petitions, Acceptance, and Moshiach”, in soc.culture.jewish (Usenet):

Special permission from a rabbi to break a commandment.


kaddish

kaddishes (plural)
kaddishim (plural)
Kaddish (alternative)
qaddish (alternative)

Borrowed from Hebrew קַדִּישׁ (kadish, “kaddish”), from Aramaic קַדִּישׁ (qaddīš, “holy; holy person”). Doublet of kiddush.
The plural form kaddishim is borrowed from Hebrew קַדִּישׁים (kadishim).

der

O, my Father: ancient, hallowed
Lonely, disappointed Father:
Betrayed and rejected Ruler of the Universe:
Angry, wrinkled Old Majesty:
I want to pray
I want to say Kaddish
My own Kaddish. There may be
No one to say it after me

1963, “Symphony No. 3 ‘Kaddish’”, Samuel Pisar (lyrics), Leonard Bernstein (music):

So context me no contexts, analyse me no analyses, suspend your partially informed diagnoses; leave off your strenuous efforts at even-handedness. Let us be, to grieve, rage, weep; say the mourners' kaddish.

2023 October 14, Simon Schama, “Let us be, to grieve, rage, weep; say the mourners' kaddish”, in FT Weekend, page 9:

(Judaism) A Jewish prayer of praise to God recited during services, and specifically when mourning the death of a close relative.


Anakim

A race of giants, the sons of Anak, who were living in Canaan at the time of the arrival of Moses and the Israelites.

most versions of the Bible translate it as gigantes


Adamic

From Adam + -ic, modelled on Latin adamicus.

(Judaism) The language believed to have been spoken by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in the biblical account of creation; considered by some traditions as the original or divine language from which all others descended.


Samson

From Middle English Sampson, Sampsoun, Samson, from Latin Samson, from Ancient Greek Σαμψών (Sampsṓn), from Hebrew שִׁמְשׁוֹן.

Hebrew שִׁמְשׁוֹן

And Delilah ſaid to Samſon, Tel me, I pray thee, wherein thy great ſtrength lyeth, and wherewith thou mighteſt be bound, to afflict thee.

1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Judges 16:6:

(biblical) An Israelite judge in the Old Testament who performed feats of strength against the Philistines but was betrayed by Delilah his mistress.


Canaan

Canaan
Canaan (disambiguation)
Great Vowel Shift
Wycliffe's Bible

Taken (at least as early as Wycliffe's Bible, 1382-1395, which has Chanaan) from Ecclesiastical Latin Chanaān, from Ancient Greek Χαναάν (Khanaán), expanded from Χνᾶ (Khnâ), from Hebrew כְּנַעַן (k'ná'an). The first vowel shifted from /aː/ to /eɪ/ in the Great Vowel Shift; at least as early as Milton (1660s), the word could already be pronounced with two syllables, though at least as late as the 1880s it could also be pronounced with three, /ˈkeɪ.nə.æn/.

Chanaan (alternative)
Caanan (alternative)

And Canaan begat Sidon his first born, and Heth, and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgasite, and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite, and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanites spread abroad.


doily

doilies (plural)
doyley (alternative)
doiley (alternative)

From Doiley, the name of a 17th-century London draper. The surname is Anglo-Norman, from d’Œuilly, name of several places in Calvados, from Old French oeil (“eye”).

(Judaism) A similar circular piece of lace worn as a head-covering by some married Jewish women.


hyssop

en-noun

hyssop (countable and uncountable, plural hyssops)

Via Latin hȳsōpum, from Ancient Greek ὕσσωπος (hússōpos), of Semitic origin.

Origanum syriacum
Origanum syriacum#Translingual

(biblical) A plant used used for sprinkling of blood or water in purification rituals and at Passover, Origanum syriacum.


Deborah

Deborahs (plural)
Debra (alternative)
Debora (alternative)

From Hebrew דְבוֹרָה (dvorá), meaning bee.

And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.


Josiah

/d͡ʒoʊˈzaɪə/

From Biblical Hebrew יֹאשִׁיָּה (yōšiyyā), יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ (yōšiyyā́hū).


martyrology

martyrologies (plural)
Mart. (alternative)

LL-Q1860 (eng)-Flame, not lame-martyrology.wav

From martyr + -ology or from Latin martyrologium.

The study of martyrs and martyrdom; the names and stories of martyrs, particularly

(Judaism, often capitalized) Synonym of Eleh Ezkerah, a midrash concerning the Ten Martyrs killed by the Romans, usually read on both Yom Kippur and Tisha B'Av.

վկայաբանություն

Roman Catholicism: a calendar of saints' days, typically with biographical information


teshuva

From Hebrew תְּשׁוּבָה (t'shuvá, “teshuva”, literally “return”), from ש־ו־ב (“return”).

uder

teshuba (alternative)
teshubah (alternative)
teshuvah (alternative)

The message that through sincere teshuvah and resolution, light and gladness can be achieved by all, is most fitting for the opening of the Yom Kippur service.

1996, Macy Nulman, The Encyclopedia of Jewish Prayer, page 161:

(Judaism) The Jewish concept of penitence.