GEDALIAH, JUDAH, DON – Portuguese printer; born in Lisbon, where he was engaged as foreman in the printing-house of Eliezer Toledano. Driven out of Portugal at an advanced age, he settled in Salonica, and about 1515 set up the first Hebrew printing...
GEDALIAH (GADILIA), JUDAH BEN MOSES – Turkish rabbi; lived at Salonica in the sixteenth century. He was the author of (1) "Masoret Talmud Yerushalmi," an index to the Jerusalem Talmud (Constantinople, 1573); (2) a commentary to Midrash Rabbah (published in the...
GEDALIAH IBN YAḤYA – See Ibn Yaḥya.
GEDILIAH – Rabbi and Talmudist of the seventeenth century; came originally from Jerusalem, traveled in Italy, and lived in Leghorn; he was also rabbi in Verona. He corresponded with Samuel Aboab and Moses Zacuto, and was highly esteemed by...
GEDOR – 1. Son of Jehiel, father of Gibeon and ancestor of Saul (I Chron. viii. 31, ix. 37).2. Son of Penuel (I Chron. iv. 4).3. Son of Jered (ib. iv. 18).4. City of Judah (Josh. xv. 58), not far from Hebron. It is now called "Jadur."5....
GEGENWART, DIE – See Periodicals.
GE-ḤARASHIM – 1. Town—the name of which means "the valley of craftsmen"—founded by Joab, one of the tribe of Judah (I Chron. iv. 14).2. Town inhabited by Benjamites (Neh. xi. 35). In this passage Ge-Ḥarashim is mentioned with Lod and Ono,...
GEHAZI – Elisha's servant (II Kings iv. 12 et seq.; v. 20, 21, 25; viii. 4-5).—Biblical Data: Gehazi is mentioned first in connection with the history of the woman from Shunem. He explains to the prophet her desire to have a son (ib. iv....
GEHENNA – Nature and Situation. The place where children were sacrificed to the god Moloch was originally in the "valley of the son of Hinnom," to the south of Jerusalem (Josh. xv. 8, passim; II Kings xxiii. 10; Jer. ii. 23; vii. 31-32;...
GE-HINNOM – Name of the valley to the south and south-west of Jerusalem (Josh. xv. 8, xviii. 16; Neh. xi. 30; II Kings xxiii. 10; II Chron. xxxiii. 6; Jer. vii. 31 et seq., xix. 2, xxxii. 35). Its modern name is "Wadi al-Rababah." The...
GEIGER, ABRAHAM – German rabbi and scholar; born at Frankfort-on-the-Main May 24, 1810; died at Berlin Oct. 23, 1874; son of Rabbi Michael Lazarus Geiger (born 1755; died April, 1823) and Roeschen Wallau (born 1768; died Aug., 1856.) Geiger was...
GEIGER, LAZARUS – German philologist; born at Frankfort-on-the-Main May 21, 1829; died there Aug. 29, 1870. His father was Solomon Michael Geiger, the eldest brother of Abraham Geiger. Eliezer Geiger began the study of Hebrew at a very early age,...
GEIGER, LUDWIG – German literary historian; son of Abraham Geiger; born at Breslau June 5, 1848. After having been educated for the rabbinate under paternal supervision, Geiger entered Heidelberg University, where he applied himself to the study...
GEIST DER PHARISÄISCHEN LEHRE, DER – See Periodicals.
GELDERN, SIMON VON – Traveler and author; born 1720; died 1774. He was the great-uncle of Heine, who describes him in his "Memoirs" as an adventurer and Utopian dreamer. The appellation "Oriental" was given him because of his long journeys in...
GELIL HA-GOYIM – See Galilee.
GELILAH – The wrapping of the scroll of the Law in its vestments after the lesson has been read from it. In the German ritual it follows the "hagbahah" (lifting up), and its performance is deemed a lesser honor than that of the latter; in...
GELLER, PETER ISAACOVICH – Russian painter; born at Shklov Dec. 10, 1862. He studied at the Odessa School of Design, and entered (1878) the St. Petersburg Art Academy, where he won (1881-83) two silver medals, and (1885) a gold medal for his painting "St....
GEMARA – See Talmud.
GEMARA NIGGUN – The chant used by students in reading the Talmud. See Cantillation.
GEMARIAH – 1. Son of Shaphan the scribe. It was in Gemariah's chamber that Baruch read to the people the prophecy of Jeremiah (Jer. xxxvi. 10-12). Gemariah was one of the princes who entreated King Jehoiakim not to destroy the roll taken...
GEMAṬRIA – A cryptograph which gives, instead of the intended word, its numerical value, or a cipher produced by the permutation of letters. The term first occurs in literature in the twenty-ninth of the thirty-two hermeneutic rules of R....
GEMEINDEBUND, DEUTSCH - ISRAELITISCHER – An association of Jewish corporations in Germany, founded July 3, 1869, on the occasion of the Jewish synod at Leipsic, and incorporated Feb. 13, 1899. The federation has for its object the exchange of experiences in matters of...
GEMMINGEN, URIEL VON – See Reuchlin, John.
GEMS – Precious stones, usually cut or polished for ornamental or other uses. Gems were not indigenous to Palestine; they were imported, under Solomon, in ships from Ophir (I Kings x. 11; II Chron. ix. 10), or brought by wandering...