A member of one of the tribes of ancient Israel, whose history, culture, and religion are described in the Hebrew Bible. The term “Israelite” distinguishes the religious practices of the children of ABRAHAM and SARAH from the religion of...

The traditional division of the *Israelites. According to the *Pentateuch, each tribe was descended from one of the sons of *Jacob, except for *Ephraim and Manasseh who were the two sons of Joseph. Each tribe except *Levi had a particular...

See *TWELVE...

ISRAELITE RELIGION. In 1979 two silver amulets dating to the late seventh to sixth centuries BCE were discovered in a burial cave in Ketef Hinnom, outside of Jerusalem. The smaller of these amulets reads: "Blessed be [he or she] by Yahweh, the...

Dressed in white and spattered in blood, members of the tiny Samaritan sect gathered until the early hours of Tuesday for one of the Holy Land's most colorful religious ceremonies _ the nighttime Passover sacrifice.The entire Samaritan community, which totals just over 700 people, was...

In a ruling favorable to an inmate who sued after a Virginia prison denied his request for kosher meals, a federal appeals court on Friday upheld a federal law that protects the religious rights of incarcerated people.The state of Virginia had challenged the federal Religious...

Ultra-Orthodox Jews burned bread and other leavened foods in communal bonfires Monday, completing preparations for Passover.The weeklong holiday commemorates the flight of the ancient Israelites from bondage in Egypt, as described in the Old Testament.Observant Jews eat matzo, unleavened bread, to illustrate how their ancestors...

During World War II, with both teams in danger of folding, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Pittsburgh Steelers temporarily merged to form the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Steagles.  Have you ever wondered why TV comedy series' always last just 30 minutes while TV drama series' always last an...