Jews
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Jews. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
HEBREWS, or ISRAELITES, a people whose ancestors appear very early in the written history of mankind on the banks of the Euphrates, Jordan, and Nile, and whose fragments are now to be seen, in large or small numbers, in almost all the cities of the world; and though thinly scattered , both among the rudest and most civilized nations, preserving through thousands of ages common features, habits , religion, literature, and the same language -a phenomenon unparalleled in history . Descended from Abraham, am, the Jews were at first called Hebrews, from the alleged ancestor of that patriarch, Heber. After the time of Jacob, their first appellation was replaced by the word Israelites , from İsrael, a surname of Jacob. The term Jew, derived from Judæus , dates from the captivity in Babylon. The Jewish people assign their origin to Abraham , whom they designate the father of their race. After Abraham, Isaac , his son , became their chief; then Jacob, or Israel, the son of Isaac. Jacob had 12 sons, among them Judah, the ancestor of David and of Jesus Christ. The descendants of Jacob multiplying very rapidly, they were eventually divided into 12 tribes, each of which was regarded as having been founded by one of the children of Jacob. In the closing years of his life Jacob settled in Egypt , in the land of Goshen. His posterity, powerful at first, were afterward enslaved and persecuted by the Pharaohs. Moses delivered them from their bondage in Egypt, and put himself at their head to conduct them into the land of Canaan. Under his leadership , the Jews miraculously passed the Red Sea, when Pharaoh and all his host were drowned . After wandering for 40 years in the desert, where Moses died, they reached the Land of Promise , their leader being Joshua, who had succeeded Moses. Joshua established the Jews in the Land of Promise and, dividing the country into 12 parts, gave a portion to each of the 12 tribes. After Joshua, the government was confided to a council of elders, then to judges; subsequently it became monarchial. Saul was the first king of the Jews; David succeeded him, and was followed by Solomon. These three kings established the dominion of the Jews throughout the ancient land of Canaan, and, for a short period, the kingdom extended to the Euphrates and the Red Sea, on which Solomon possessed the port of Elath. But on the death of the last king, the 12 tribes were divided, and from that schism sprang two kingdoms. The kingdom of Judah remained faithful to the lineal descendants of David, and offered allegiance to Rehoboam, son of Solomon ; the kingdom ki of Israel elected for its sovereign Jeroboam. These two kingdoms, weakened by perpetual warfare and discord, were in the end enslaved. The kingdom of Israel was destroyed by Shalmaneser , King of Assyria, and the kingdom of Judah by Nebuchadnezzar, who first carried captive to Babylon a great part of the inhabitants, and afterward took Jerusalem by ass assault, destroyed the temple, and reduced to slavery the whole of the people . After a captivity of 70 years, the Jews obtained from Cyrus permission to reestablish themselves in Jerusalem, where they were governed by high priests . After the fall of the Persian empire, the Jews passed successively under the dominion of Alexander; of Ptolemy, King of Egypt; of Seleucus Nicator, King of Syria; and after once more falling under the sway of the kings of Egypt, were subsequently enslaved by the Syrians. Against these the Jews rose, under the leadership of Maccabæus, and threw off their yoke. The Maccabees became the hereditary sovereigns. Subsequently, the Romans interfered in the internal affairs of the Jewish kingdom and placed Herod I. on the throne of the Maccabees, 37 b. c. the reign of Herod that our Saviour was born. After the death of King Herod , Palestine was distributed among his sons, and divided into four portions, called tetrarchies (Judæa, Galilee , Abilene, Ituræa); but in a few years the Romans sent into the country a pro-consul, who governed in their name, and shortly afterward Rome was sole master of the whole kingdom. It was under The Jews, impatiently supporting the Roman sway, revolted many times. The Emperor Titus took Jerusalem in the year 70, after a fearful siege of five months, as was prophesied. The city was again taken, under Adrian, in the year 135: the Jews were in great part exterminated; those who survived being driven forever from Jerusalem. From this period the Jews, ceasing to form an independent nation, have been scattered vere permi uvate com In Chri we had to u cion. They in 1290 and fron In Germa Etter foo Spanish do In Fra at Bay 1784 poll Unite 5,000 ater-m diver y prese eature, of squilin Semitic simitive Mi nom desert began to 5, and a senes. were inst handing nd in almd strious nts of bus over the earth. When Christianity became the religion tivity, and in the professions. Their the professions. religion is founded entirely on of the Romans, their condition became the Old Testament; it denies very miserable. In 418, military service entirely on the the divinity of Jesus Christ; but nies the divinity of interdicted was them; in 610 the Emperor Heraclius persecuted them nevertheless ertheless teaches i with many cruel enactments. Islamism lowers to believe in the coming of the teaches is fol- Messiah, who coming o will collect the scattered Jewish people and treated them less rigorously. Under the lect the scat reign of the Caliphs, the Jews of found a great empire. no other revelation a great em Asia, of Africa, and of Spain, were The Jews admit no other revelation than that of Moses and permitted to live in peace, and to the prophets; they observe at the present th prophets; cultivate commerce, letters, and the sciences. time the same ceremonies which t time the In Christian Europe, especially during the ancient Hebrews practiced-the ancient Heb the period of the Crusades, the Jews celebration of the Sabbath, the Passover, ation of the had to undergo every form of persecution the abstinence from certain viands which the abstinence . They were driven from England in are termed unclean. With the ancient termed uncl 1290, from Central France in 1395, Jews all the priests were of the tribe of Tews all the pr and from Spain and Sicily in 1492. In Germany Levi; they thus , they belonged, like serfs, to the name of Levites, which, at the pres- Levi; they thus bore ent time, is changed which, at the the emperors and the nobles, who bought to rabbis. After the dispersion of the to rabbis. A and sold them at their pleasure. Jews, during the reign of Adrian, the Jews, during The Inquisition was a particularly bitter principal doctors of religion assembled at rincipal doctor. foe to the Jews, especially in the Tiberias, where they formed a grand Tiberias, wh Spanish dominions. In the 16th century, their council, or Sanhedrim, and founded a ouncil, or Sar condition became much improved. In school which became the nursery of their which beca France they were allowed to settle at rabbis. These last composed, under the s. These Bayonne and Bordeaux in 1550; in title of the Talmud, a work, designed to contain the Talre the oral law and traditions 1784 they were relieved from the poll tain the o tax which had hitherto been imposed of Jews. T on them. Shortly afterward the other work was completed in the year 500 of the Jews. This the Christian era; European States, following the example year 500 and, with the greatest portion of the Jews, the great of France, treated them in a more liberal it became the basis of their faith; some, ecame the ba spirit. however, refused to accept it. Hence arose wever, refused The Jews the division of the Jews into are spread the division quarter of the globe, being exceedingly over every numerous in Russia, two sects the T. Germany, Poland, and the N. of Africa. mudists, or Rabbinists, who follow the rival sects-the Tal- Talmud; and the who follow t There are over 3,000,000 in the Caraites, who follow the strict letter of the Old United States. One estimate is who folle Testament. Old Testamen 11,000,000 throughout the See ANTI-SEMITES. world. Though inter-mixed for 1,800 years with so many diverse nations, the Jews have not only Hymenomycetes, which grows on decay-
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
Israelites or Hebrews. A Semitic people related to the Chaldeans and the Arabians. Tradition derives their descent from Abraham and the patriarchs. The story of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, and the twelve sons of Israel, is familiar to the reader of the Old Testament. There were twelve tribes, one for each son. According to the Biblical account they were a pastoral people. During a season of famine they sojourned in Egypt, where they were enslaved and forced to work at grievous tasks, making "bricks without straw." They were rescued and brought forth by Moses, their great leader. They were led by a cloud. They crossed an arm of the Red Sea dry shod and wandered for forty years in the wilderness. At Sinai they received the ten commandments written on two tables of stone. Finally they reached Palestine, the Promised Land, flowing with milk and honey. They dispossessed in part the original inhabitants and settled down, raising the olive and rearing cattle and sheep. The Jews lived for a time under a form of church government, Aaron being their first high priest. Eli, Samuel, and Elijah were judges. Then came a monarchy. Saul, David, and Solomon were the most noted kings. Jerusalem was taken from the Jebusites and converted from a small fortress into a walled city. The Ark of the Covenant, the sacred symbol of their religion, was placed at rest in the temple built by Solomon, the favorite son of David. The Hebrews got on well with their seacoast neighbors, the Phoenicians, but their country lay in the great highway between Egypt and Babylon. It was impossible to avoid entanglement in the wars between these nations. The kingdom of Solomon was divided into two rival peoples, the ten tribes of Israel and the kingdom of Judah. Both were carried away into captivity, the Ten Tribes to Nineveh, Judah and Benjamin to Babylon. The former have never been heard of since. Judah, whence the name Jews, was permitted, with Benjamin, to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the ancient city. The birth, life, and suffering of Christ belong to the latter part of this period. In 70 A. D. Jerusalem was taken by storm by the Romans and reduced to ruins. Its very name was changed. The Jews were forbidden to set foot on the site of their ancient city and were commanded to disperse. Since that time the Jews, as a nation, have no history. They have followed the advances of trade into all parts of the earth. Although it was long the dream of the faithful Jew that some time his people would be reunited at the Holy City, and though Jerusalem has now for centuries been open to their return, their ancient hopes seem farther from realization than ever. In fact, the younger element of the race has abandoned the notion. The Jewish Year Book gives the present number of Hebrews at about 11,000,000. They are dispersed throughout the civilized world. There are in England 97,350 India 17,194 Australia 15,268 Canada 6,414 Austria-Hungary 2,076,378 Russia 5,189,000 Roumania 300,000 Germany 586,948 Turkey 466,361 France 72,000 Italy 50,000 Netherlands 97,324 Egypt 25,200 Morocco 150,000 Abyssinia 120,000 Algeria 43,500 United States 1,253,218 Other countries have from a few hundred to a few thousand each. There are 300 Jews even in China. There are half a million in New York City. London, Vienna, and Lodz, in Poland, have 150,000 each. Zangwill's Children of the Ghetto describes the Jews in London. For centuries the Jews were forbidden to own land. Their property was literally at the disposal of the spoiler. A Jew might hope for no redress in a court of law. Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice shows very clearly how little justice the Jew might expect at the hand of the Christian. In the day of the Inquisition Jews were expelled from Spain, and they have been all but driven out from other countries time and again. After centuries of oppression they are now fairly secure in their rights as citizens in all Protestant and Catholic countries. They are secure also in the land of the Turk, but are still subject to persecution and even massacre in the countries adhering to the Greek Church . In Russia, especially, where the people have a grudge against them as money lenders and foreclosers of mortgages, the Jews have been mishandled frightfully. Of late a very great emigration has set in from these countries to America. Between 1881 and July 1, 1903, no less than 761,598 Jewish emigrants landed at New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. New York has more Jews than any other city of the world. In this country, they become sellers of fruit, junk dealers, peddlers, tailors, clothiers, merchants, manufacturers, physicians, teachers, money changers, bankers, and traveling salesmen. But, although the cattle on a thousand hills were Abraham's, and David tended his father's sheep at Bethlehem, the Jews are seldom, if ever, gardeners, farmers or stock raisers. In America, at least, they are never beggars. The church cares for its own needy. In New York City, out of a Hebrew population of 500,000, possibly a score of Hebrews, ineligible for one reason or another to their own institutions, are supported at public expense. The Hebrews maintain orphan asylums and halls for the aged infirm in the leading cities of the United States. In the cities of Continental Europe the Hebrews live in a quarter of their own, known as the Ghetto (Get'to). They build their synagogues without soliciting outside help. They keep the seventh day, that is to say, Saturday, as the Sabbath. Their clergy are known as rabbis. They are strongly Unitarian in belief, regarding Christ merely as an illustrious Jewish teacher. They seek no proselytes, they practice circumcision, reject pork as unclean, and eat no meat not killed under the immediate inspection of their own rabbis. Slaughter houses arrange special hours when the rabbis come to slaughter animals for the Hebrew meat shops. In addition to having given the Bible and Christianity to the world, the Jews are entitled to respect for their contributions to music, the sciences, and general literature. In music, finance, and statesmanship, they are represented by such names as Mendelssohn, Rothschild, and Disraeli. The true Jew desires that his people shall remain always apart from the world--a sect by itself. The greatest care is taken to bring up children right and to prevent intermarriage with the Gentiles, as all people of the outside world are called. People believe that ultimately the Jews will become merged in the great family of nations. Hebrew is still the language of the Jewish home. For commercial purposes the Jews acquire the language of the country in which they live. See Josephus ; Jerusalem ; Red Sea ; Palestine ; Temple ; Bible ; Jubilee ; David ; Absalom 2026 Editor's Note: This entry was written amid the great Jewish migration — two million fleeing Russian pogroms for America between 1881 and 1914 — and on the eve of everything: the readers' lifetime held both the catastrophe and the founding of Israel. See American Jewish history . (Ed: BR 2026-06-25)