now AVELLINO, anciently a town of the Hirpini, between Beneventum and Salernum. Long. 14. 50. E. Lat. 41. 0. N.

ABEN-EZRA, ABRAHAM, a celebrated rabbi, born at Toledo in Spain, called by the Jews the wise, great, and admirable Doctor, was a very able interpreter of the Holy Scriptures; and was well skilled in grammar, poetry, philosophy, astronomy, and medicine. He was also a perfect master of the Arabic. His principal work is, Commentaries on the Old Testament, which is much esteemed: these are printed in Bomberg's and Buxtorf's Hebrew Bibles. His style is clear, elegant, concise, and much like that of the Holy Scriptures: he almost always adheres to the literal sense, and everywhere gives proofs of his genius and good sense; he, however, advances some erroneous sentiments. The rarest of all his books is entitled Jesud Mora, which is a theological work, intended as an exhortation to the study of the Talmud. He also wrote Elegantia Grammaticae, printed in octavo at Venice in 1548. He died in 1174, aged 75.