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[German Version] I. Geography – II. History – III. Religion I. Geography The name of the Ammonite tribe or people is derived from a legendary hero named Ammon. The name, used both by themselves and others, defines them as “the children of Ammon” (בְּנֵי עַמוֹן/ bnê ʿaammôn). Their capital city, Rabbath-Ammon, the citadel of today's ʿAmmān, lay on the central Transjordan plateau. Ammon shared a border to the south or south-west with …

[German Version] (German Society for the Study of Palestine; in short: Deutscher Palästina-Verein [DPV]), was founded in 1877 in Wiesbaden by Carl Ferdinand Zimmermann (Basel), Albert Socin (Tübingen), and E. Kautzsch ¶ (Basel). The goal and objective of the DPV is the scientific study of the history and culture of Palestine, especially its ancient past, by promoting and publishing archaeological, topographical, ethnological, philological-epigraphical-literary, history-of-religions, and natural studies. Since 1878, the DPV has published an annual journal ( Zeitschrift de…

[German Version] (east of the Jordan) in the Wādī ṣ-Ṣīr approx. 25 km west of ʿAmmān is identical with Tyros (Sourabitta and Tauros). In the 3rd century bce, Tyros was in the possession of a branch of the Jerusalemite Tobiads, who acted in Tyros as commanders of a semi-autonomous military colony in the service of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Following disputes with the Oniad family, the Tobiad Hyrcanus ben Joseph retreated to Tyros (2 Macc 3:11; Jos. Ant. XII 186–236; cf. CIJ 868). It is uncertain whether the half-Judahite or – Ammonite Tobyah mentioned in Nehemiah 2–4; 6; 13 ¶ (5th cent. bce) was an…

[German Version] (Heb. גֶזֶר “separate area” [?]; in hieroglyphics Q٤̲r and in cuneiform Gazri, etc.), one of the largest ancient Near Eastern sites in Palestine, lies on the northwestern sands of the Shephalah near the intersection of the Via Maris and the Jaffa-Jerusalem road. It was first identified with Tell Ğazarī by Charles Clermont-Ganneau in 1871, and excavated by R.A. Stewart Macalister 1902–1909, Alan Rowe 1934 and by G.E.Wright, William G. Dever and Joe D. Seger 1964–1974, 1984 and 1990.…

[German Version] (Tell es-Saʿīdīyeh). Pritchard’s excavations between 1964 and 1967 and Tubb’s since 1985 show that occupation of this site in the central Jordan valley began in the Early Bronze period at the latest; at the end of the Late Bronze period and in the early Iron Age it experienced an urban florescence, probably as the residence of an Egyptian governor. The unique water supply system consisted of a roofed staircase leading to a spring outside the walls. After an occupation gap, the cit…

[German Version] Madaba, an ancient town located approx. 30 km southwest of ʿAmman. Settled at the latest by Early Bronze Age I (with interruptions), Madaba was disputed between Israel and Moab in the mid-9th century bce (cf. Num 21:30; Josh 13:9, 16), until Mesha of Moab finally conquered the city (Mesha Stone). Madaba was part of the Babylonian Empire from the 6th century bce onward (Isa 15:2). Controlled by ¶ Arabs (Nabateans or Banu ʿAmirat) in the Hellenistic and early Roman periods (CIS 2.1, 196; 1 Macc 9:36; cf. Jos. Ant. XIII 11, 18) and temporarily occupied by Maccabees (Jos. Ant. XII…

[German Version] (Bronze Age to Late Antiquity). Power-radiating objects, such as scepters or ceremonial weapons, or implements needed to perform cultic procedures, such as libations and incense offerings, but in which there is no inherent magical power, can be designated cultic objects. As such, they have been attested in Palestine since pre-historic times and found use in the official and the private cult, were made of the most varied materials, and mostly preserved …

[German Version] (DEI; German Protestant Institute for the Study of the Holy Land in Antiquity). After, among others, the Deutscher Verein zur Erforschung Palästinas (German Society for the Study of Palestine) was founded in 1877, the École Biblique (The Bible school) in 1893, and the Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft (German Oriental Society) in 1898 (Excavati…

[German Version] (Tell Deir ʿAllā) lies in the central Jordan rift, 5 km to the east of the Jordan River and 1.5 km north of the Jabbok, and was a junction of of important north-south and east-west routes. Excavations by the University of Leiden (Hendricus Jacobus Franken, Gerrit van der Kooij) and the University of Irbid (Moawiyah M. Ibrahim, Zaidan Kafafi), …

[English Version] . Laut den Ausgrabungen durch Pritchard 1964–1967 und seit 1985 durch Tubb war die im zentralen Jordantal gelegene Ortslage spätestens seit der FB-Zeit besiedelt, erlebte in der ausgehenden SB-Zeit und der frühen E-Zeit eine urbane Blüte, wahrscheinlich als Sitz eines äg. Gouverneurs. Das einzigartige Wassersystem bestand aus einer überdachten Treppe, die zu einer Quelle extra muros führte. Nach einer Besiedlungslücke lebte die Stadt als Teil des Kleinstaates Israel wieder auf, b…

[English Version] . Der Ortsname »Die große (Stadt) Ammons« (Jos 13,25; 2Sam 11,1; 12,26.29; Ez 25,5 u.ö.) ist die Kurzform für רַבַּת בְּנֵי עַמּוֹן/Rabbat b enê ‘Ammôn (Dtn 3,11; 2Sam 12,26 u. ö.) und kann mit Zitadelle und Teilen der Unterstadt des heutigen ʿAmmān identifiziert werden. Seit prähist. Zeit besiedelt, entwickelte sich R. während der MB- und SB-Zeit zu einem Stadtstaat. Laut 2Sam 8,12; 10,1ff. u. ö. wurde R. von David erobert. An Lot als angeblichen Gründer R., an Uria und sein angebliches Grab sowie an Sa…

[German Version] The toponym Rabbah or Rabbath Ammon, “the great (city) of Ammon” (Josh 13:25; 2 Sam 11:1; 12:26, 29; Ezek 25:5; etc.) is a shorter form for רַבַּתבְּנֵיעַמּוֹן/ rabbat bĕnêʿammôn (Deut 3:11; 2 Sam 12:26; etc.); it can be identified with the citadel and portions of the lower city of modern ʿAmmān. Settled since prehistoric times, Rabbah developed into a city state during the Middle and Late Bronze Age. According to 2 Sam 8:12; 10:1ff.; etc., Rabbah was conquered by David. Arab traditions speak of Lot as the r…

[English Version] liegt im zentralen Jordangraben, 5 km östlich des Jordan und 1,5 km nördlich des Jabbok, und war Kreuzungspunkt wichtiger Nord-Süd- und Ost-West-Verbindungen. Grabungen der Universität Leiden (Hendricus Jacobus Franken; Gerrit van der Kooij) und der Universität Irbid (Moawiyah M. Ibrahim; Zaidan Kafafi) seit 1960 haben die Grundzüge der Besiedlung nachgewiesen: Spätestens seit der MB-Zeit II besiedelt, war der Hügel in der SB-Zeit Heiligtum und Marktzentrum der Region. Zu den Fun…

[English Version] (im Ostjordanland) im Wādī ṣ-Ṣīr ca.25 km westlich von ʿAmmān ist mit ʿIrāq el-Emīr (Sourabitta und Tauros) identisch. T. war im 3.Jh. v.Chr. im Besitz eines Zweigs der Jerusalemer Tobiaden, die in T. als Kommandanten einer halbautonomen Militärkolonie im Dienst der Ptolemäer agierten. Nach Streitigkeiten mit den Oniaden zog sich der Tobiade Hyrkan ben Joseph nach T. zurück (2Makk 3,11; Flav.Jos.Ant. XII 186–236; vgl. CIJ 868). Ob der in Neh 2–4.6.13 erwähnte Halbjudäer bzw. -a…

[German Version] I. Archaeology – II. Art History I. Archaeology The term “crafts” refers to the production of objects and implements of all kinds – in other words, what are now usually called the “practical arts.” In the ancient Near East, there was no terminology for crafts, nor were there explicit theories concerning art. Sometimes mythology attributed crafts to culture heroes (Gen 4:22; 6; cf. Philo of Byblos) or some deity or patron like the later figures of Joseph, the …

[German Version] I. General – II. Biblical Archaeology – III. Christian Archaeology I. General In an earlier period, the term “archaeology” referred primarily to Greco-Roman antiquity, above all to works of art. Today, archaeology embraces all scientific efforts to derive information from the material remains of ancient civilizations in an attempt to understand them. For periods with written records…

[German Version] I. Antiquity – II. Early Church – III. Middle Ages to the Present I. Antiquity Devotional objects can be understood as objects of private piety and religiosity common in all ancient cultures (cf. Epict., Dissertationes II 8.12), where they were in demand, especially in daily life for magical/apotropaic or energetic/sacramental purposes, and were traded commercially (Philostr. Vita ap. 5.20). The term is modern, so there are no ancient equivalents; comparable Greco-Roman terms include, for example εὐλογία/ eulogía (blessing; Lat. benedictio), ϕυλακτήριον/ ph…

1. Der Begriff der ProfessionDer Begriff der Profession (= Pn.; von lat. professio, ›Gewerbe‹, ›Beruf‹, ›Stand‹, ›öffentliches Bekenntnis‹) wurde in die roman. Sprachen, ins Angelsächsische und seit dem 16. Jh. auch ins Deutsche übernommen. Er bezeichnet nicht sämtliche berufsförmigen Tätigkeiten, sondern ein spezifisches, in den verschiedenen europ. Kulturräumen unterschiedliches Spektrum. Im nzl. wie im gegenwärtigen Englisch werden unter professions v. a. akademische bzw. gelehrte und meist freie Berufe verstanden. Im SpätMA fielen Geistliche, Juris…

1. The concept of professionThe term “profession” (from Latin professio, “public acknowledgment,” “public register,” hence “business publicly avowed”; Industrial trades and crafts; Profession) was adopted in the Romance languages and Middle English, then in German in the 16th century. It has never denoted all occupations, but invariably a specific set of them, the spectrum varying from one European cultural sphere to another. Early modern and contemporary English tends to reserve the term for academic, …

[German Version] I. Cultural History The Dutch cultural historian Johan Huizinga identified play as a fundamental cultural phenomenon and thus a defining feature of human life. His thesis of homo ludens supplements the anthropological theories of homo sapiens and homo faber and other explanations of culture grounded in reason and fabrication (Labor). Huizinga posits the following definition: “Play is a voluntary activity or occupation executed within certain fixed limits of time and place, according to rules that are freely accepted …