| WAGENSEIL, JOHANN CHRISTOPH – German Christian Hebraist; born at Nuremberg Nov. 26, 1633; died at Altdorf Oct. 9, 1705. In 1667 he was made professor of history at Altdorf, and was professor of Oriental languages at the same university from 1674 to 1697,... |
| WALTON, BRYAN – Christian Hebraist; born in 1600 at Hilton, Yorkshire, England; died in London Nov. 29, 1661; educated at Magdalene and Peterhouse colleges, Cambridge. He became a London clergyman and was involved in the question of tithes... |
| WAW – Sixth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The name possibly means "nail" or "hook," and the shape of the letter in the Phenician alphabet bears some resemblance to a hook. "Waw" is a labial spirant, identical in sound with the... |
| WETTE, WILHELM MARTIN LEBERECHT DE – Christian Biblical critic and theologian; born at Ulla, near Weimar, Jan. 12, 1780; died in Basel June 16, 1849. He took his doctorate in Jena, where he became privat-docent in 1806. The following year he was appointed professor... |
| WOLF, JOHANN CHRISTOPH – Christian Hebraist and polyhistor; born at Wernigerode Feb. 21, 1683; died at Hamburg July 25, 1739. He studied at Wittenberg, and traveled in Holland and England in the interest of science, coming in contact with Vitringa,... |
| YIR'AM OF MAGDIEL – Italian Biblical commentator; lived at Rome in the tenth century. Yir'am was styled "of Magdiel " in conformity with the rabbinical interpretation which refers the name "Magdiel" (Gen. xxxvi. 43) to Rome (comp. Rashi ad loc.).... |
| YOD – Tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The name seems to be connected with "yad," meaning "hand"; the Phenician "yod" remotely resembles a hand in form. The letter is a palatal semivowel, identical in sound with the English "y."... |
| ZAYIN (ו) – Seventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The meaning of the name is uncertain. In sound the letter is a sonant sibilant, its phonetic value corresponding to the English "z." It interchanges with the surd sibilant ("s"), and occurs... |