Synagogue.

ETYM French, from Latin synagoga, Greek, a bringing together, an assembly, a synagogue; syn with + agein to lead. Related to Syn-, and Agent.
The house of worship for a Jewish congregation.
Jewish place of worship, also called a temple by the non-Orthodox. As an institution it dates from the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem AD 70, although it had been developing from the time of the Babylonian Exile as a substitute for the Temple. In antiquity it was a public meeting hall where the Torah was also read, but today it is used primarily for prayer and services. A service requires a quorum (minyan) of ten adult Jewish men.
In addition to the ark (the sacred ornamented enclosure that holds the Torah scrolls) the synagogue contains a raised platform (bimah) from which the service is conducted, with seats for the hereditary high priests. The rest of the congregation sits or stands facing it. Two tablets above the ark are inscribed with the Ten Commandments. In Orthodox synagogues women sit apart from the men.

The first of the Old Testament patriarchs and the father of Isaac; according to Genesis, God promised to give Abraham's family (the Hebrews) the land of Canaan (the Promised Land); God tested Abraham by asking him to sacrifice his son.
(lived c. 2300 BC)
In the Old Testament, founder of the Jewish nation. In his early life he was called Abram. God promised him heirs and land for his people in Canaan (Israel), renamed him Abraham (“father of many nations”), and tested his faith by a command (later retracted) to sacrifice his son Isaac.
Still childless at the age of 76, Abraham subsequently had a son (Ishmael) with his wife's maidservant Hagar, and then, at the age of 100, a son (Isaac) with his wife Sarah. God's promise to Abraham that his descendants would be a nation and Canaan their land was fulfilled when the descendants of Abraham's grandson Jacob were led out of Egypt by Moses.
Abraham was born in Ur, Mesopotamia. With his father Terah, wife Sarah, and nephew Lot, he migrated to Haran, N Mesopotamia, and then to Canaan, where he received God's promise of land. After visiting Egypt he separated from Lot at Bethel and settled in Hebron (now in Israel). Abraham was buried in Machpelah Cave, Hebron.

The second Old Testament patriarch; son of Abraham and Sarah; father of Jacob and Esau.

Hebrew name