Library: Judaism by Credo Reference: People & Places

Jewish Philosophers and Theologians

Philo Judaeus (ca 10 BCE to ca 45 CE)
From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
He is regarded as the most important representative of Hellenistic Judaism and a forerunner of Christian theology.
Rashi (1040 - 1105)
From The New Encyclopedia of Judaism
The outstanding Jewish biblical and talmudic commentator.
Moses Maimonides (1135 - 1204)
From The New Encyclopedia of Judaism
Halakhist and philosopher, the leading intellectual figure of medieval Judaism.
Moses de Leon (c. 1240–1305)
From The New Encyclopedia of Judaism
Principal author of the Zohar and one of the greatest Jewish mystics.
Hermann Cohen (1842-1918): Topic Page
German philosopher and interpreter of Judaism. The son of a cantor, he originally studied at the Jewish Theological Seminary of Breslau, but turned from rabbinics to philosophy.
Solomon Schechter (1847-1915): Topic Page
In his Some Aspects of Rabbinic Theology (1909) Schechter was the first to give a methodological presentation of Jewish theology. He founded the American Jewish Conservative Movement, which has remained the largest Jewish religious group in the USA and has therefore been of enormous influence.
Martin Buber (1878-1965): Topic Page
Jewish theologian, existentialist philosopher, and scholar of Hasidism, born in Austria, whose works include I and Thou (1923), Between Man and Man (1946), and Eclipse of God (1952).
Franz Rosenzweig (1886-1929): Topic Page
Jewish theologian and philosopher, Rosenzweig was a precursor of existentialism. However, his attachment to Judaism was influenced by the neo-Kantian, Hermann Cohen.
Walter Benjamin (1892 - 1940): Topic Page
The German-Jewish writer Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) is now widely regarded as one of the most original and insightful cultural theorists of the twentieth century.
Hannah Arendt (1906 - 1975): Topic Page
Hannah Arendt is widely recognised as among the most original and profound political thinkers of the twentieth century as well as one of the most controversial.
Abraham Heschel (1907-1972): Topic Page
Heschel’s main philosophical work is God in Search of Man (1955), where he combines a phenomenological approach (already evident in his pioneering work, Die Prophetie 1936) with an existential depth theology, dealing with the Jewish religion as an act of faith rather than a concept or representation.

Jewish Religious Figures

Abraham: Topic Page
As the founder of Judaism, he is said to have instituted the rite of circumcision as a sign of the covenant between God and the Jews, who are descended from Isaac, son of Abraham's old age.
David: Topic Page
King of the Hebrews 1004-965 BC. He became king of Judah on the death of King Saul at Mount Gilboa in 1004 BC, then king of Israel in 997 BC. He united the tribes against the Philistines, conquering their cities (such as Ekron), and extending his kingdom over Moab and other surrounding lands.
Elijah
From The New Encyclopedia of Judaism
Prophet who lived during the reign of Ahab king of Israel and his son Ahaziah. His life is recounted in I Kings 17–19, 21, and II Kings 1–2.
God: Topic Page
Divinity of the three great monotheistic religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, as well as many other world religions.
Isaiah: Topic Page
Prophetic book of the Bible. It is a collection of prophecies from a 300-year period attributed to Isaiah, who may have been a priest.
Jehovah: Topic Page
In the Hebrew Bible, the name of God, revealed to Moses; in Hebrew texts it is represented by the letters YHVH (without the vowels ‘a o a’) because it was regarded as too sacred to be pronounced; other religions say the letters as Yahweh.
Moses: Topic Page
Moses was the leader of the Israelites in their departure from Egypt and plays a central role in receiving the covenant from God.
Samuel: Topic Page
A Hebrew prophet, seer, and judge, who anointed the first two kings of the Israelites (I Samuel 1-3; 8-15).

Significant Places

Acre (Israel): Topic Page
Seaport in northwest Israel, situated on the Mediterranean Sea; population (2006 est) 45,900. The city was built on a small promontory which, with Mount Carmel to the south, forms a semicircular bay. From being part of British-mandated Palestine, it became part of Israel in 1948.
Beersheba: Topic Page
[Heb.,=seven wells or well of the oath], city (1994 pop. 147,900), S Israel, principal city of the Negev Desert. It is the trade center for surrounding settlements and for Bedouins, who hold a weekly market in Beersheba.
Damascus: Topic Page
The capital of Syria, in the southwest: reputedly the oldest city in the world, having been inhabited continuously since before 2000 BCE.
Dead Sea: Topic Page
Salt lake, c.390 sq mi (1,010 sq km), extending c.45 mi (70 km) in the Jordan trough of the Great Rift Valley between the Ghor on the north and Wadi Arabah on the south, on the border between Israel and the West Bank (W) and Jordan (E).
Hebron: Topic Page
A city in the West Bank: famous for the Haram, which includes the cenotaphs of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah.
Israel: Topic Page
Israel comprises most of the Biblical Holy Lands (for history pre-1947, see Palestine). In the late 19th century, Zionists began to agitate for a Jewish homeland. Most modern Israelis are descendants of immigrants who began to settle from the 1880s.
Jericho: Topic Page
Town in the Jordan valley, west of the River Jordan and north of the Dead Sea, 24 km/15 mi northeast of Jerusalem; population (2005 est) 19,800. The site of the old city is the center of a fertile district where palms, rose trees, grapes, and balsams are grown.
Jerusalem: Topic Page
The capital of Israel, Jerusalem is an administrative, religious, educational, cultural, and market center.
Masada: Topic Page
Ancient mountaintop fortress in Israel, the final outpost of the Zealot Jews in their rebellion against Roman authority (A.D. 66–73).
Mount Sinai
From The New Encyclopedia of Judaism
Location of the theophany, where God revealed Himself to MOSES and the people of Israel; identified in the Bible as Horeb, “the mountain of God,” where Moses had his first encounter with God at the BURNING BUSH (Ex. 3).
Petra: Topic Page
Ancient rock city, in present-day Jordan, known to the Arabs as Wadi Musa for the stream that flows through it.
Qumran
From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Ancient village on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, in what is now the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It is famous for its caves, in some of which the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Archaeological work at Qumran has yielded a profile of its history. In Israelite times it was the site of a small settlement and was probably called the city of Salt (Joshua 15.62).
Samaria: Topic Page
City, ancient Palestine, on a hill NW of modern-day Nablus (Shechem). The site is now occupied by a village, Sabastiyah (West Bank). Samaria (named for Shemer, who owned the land) was built by King Omri as the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel in the early 9th century B.C.E.
Synagogue: Topic Page
The local Jewish institution for instruction in the Torah and worship, but not infringing on the ritual or sacrificial roles of the Jerusalem priesthood. In antiquity, it was the local religious focal point of individual Jewish communities.
Temple Mount
From The New Encyclopedia of Judaism
Elevated area in the southeastern corner of the Old City of Jerusalem, site of the First and Second Temple. The area recognized today as the Temple Mount is enclosed by four large retaining walls built during the reign of Herod the Great (1st cent. BCE).
Ur: Topic Page
Ancient city of Sumer, S Mesopotamia. The city is also known as Ur of the Chaldees. It was an important center of Sumerian culture (see Sumer) and is identified in the Bible as the home of Abraham.
The Western Wall or Wailing Wall: Topic Page
Dating from the Second Temple period, the Western Wall commonly refers to an 187-foot (57-meter) exposed section of ancient wall situated on the western flank of the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem.

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