ECCHELLENSIS, or ECHELLENSIS, ABRAHAM, a learned Maronite, whose surname is derived from Eckel in Syria, where he was bom towards the close of the 16th 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 Syria,c 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 cientale of Ibu-ar Rahib (Paris, 1653). He was engaged in an interesting controversy with Seld.en as to the historical grounds of episcopacy, in the course of which he published his Entycliiits Vindicatus, sive Responsio ad S'eldeni Origines (Rome, 1661). Conjointly with Borelli he wrote a, Latin translation of the 5th, 6th, and 7th books of the Conics of Apollonius of Perga (1661).