ECCHELLENSIS, or Echellensis, Abraham, a learned Maronite, whose surname is derived from Eckel in Syria, where he was born towards the close of the 16 th century. He was educated at the Maronite college in Rome, and, after taking his doctor’s degree in theology and philosophy, became professor of Arabic and Syriac in the college of the Propagandists. Called to Paris in 1630 to assist Le Jay in the preparation of his polyglot bible, he contributed to that work the Arabic and Latin versions of the book of Ruth and the Arabic version of the third book of Maccabees. A quarrel with Gabriel Sionita, one of his coadjutors, whose work he had revised, led to a sharp controversy in which De Flavigny took part. He returned to Rome in 1642, but resumed his residence in Paris in 1645. Being invited by the Congregation of the Propaganda to take part in the preparation of an Arabic version of the Scriptures, he went again in 1652 or 1653 to Rome, where he died in 1664. Ecchellensis published several Latin translations of Arabic works, of which the most important was the Chronicon Orientale of Ibu-ar Râhib (Paris, 1653). He was engaged in an interesting controversy with Selden as to the historical grounds of episcopacy, in the course of which he published his Eutychius Vindicatus, sive Responsio ad Seldeni Origines (Rome, 1661). Conjointly with Borelli lie wrote a Latin translation of the 5th, 6th, and 7th books of the Conics of Apollonius of Perga (1661).