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1. Term Synagōgē is a Greek term meaning “gathering, conventicle,” used first by Philo (15–10 b.c.–a.d. 45–50), then by Josephus (ca. 37–ca. 100), and also in the NT for a place of gathering. The Hebrew equivalent is bēt ha-kĕneset (Aram. bē kĕništā), meaning “community house” or “house of the assembly” (from the root kns, “assemble”). In the Egyptian diaspora and in Josephus we also find the term proseuchē, “place of prayer.” Other terms such as sabbateion (house in which a Sabbath service was held) are infrequently used. M. Luther’s (1483–1546) translation Judenschul in the NT is ba…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. Judaism – IV. New Testament – V. Church History – VI. Dogmatics and Ethics I. Religious Studies Humility is an attitude of conscious abasement (Humiliation) and submission. Some modes of expressing humility, such as postures or gestures, can be traced to biological roots; others are conventional, for example a “humble glance” or foot washing. In many cases we encounter an inversion of what is culturally normal, for example nakedness in the poverty (IV) movements of the Middle Ages.…

[German Version] I. Antiquity …

[German Version] I. Old Testament The word shekhinah (שְׁכִינָה), a postbiblical noun from the root שׁכן/ škn, “settle, dwell,” denotes an aspect of God’s presence in the world, usually translated as “indwelling” or “habitation.” The term indwelling suggests the Egyptian theology of cultic images, according to which the deity in heaven “descends” upon his image in the earthly temple and “unites” with it (Assmann). The earliest reference to the Old Testament shekhinah theology is in 1 Kgs 8:12f., in Solomon’s words at the dedication of the temple; it was substantially transformed over the course of several centuries. The shekhinah theology of the preexilic period was rooted in a theology of the temple (II, 4) or Zion (Isa 8:18; Ps 46:6*; Deut 12:5, 11; etc.; prophetic criticism in Amos 5:17; Mic 3:11; etc.); in the exilic period, it underwent a revolutionary change, incorporating a nationalistic element looking to the restoration of Israel as the people of God (Ps 74:1f.; Ezek 43:7, 9; Exod 25:8; 29:45f.; 1 Kgs 6:11–13; cf. Exod 33:5; etc.). In the Persian period, i.e. with the building of the second temple, the reference to the temple reappeared but now joined with the reference to Israel (Zech 2:9, 14f. [Eng. 2:5, 10f.]; 8:3; Joel 4:17, 21 [Eng. 3:17, 21]; Ps 135:21; etc.). In the Hellenistic period, a step was taken that was to prove critical for the use of the theme in early Christianity (cf. Luke 17:20f.; John 1:14; Rev 21:3; etc.), with the theologoumenon of Wisdom’s “resting place” on Zion (Sir 14:7–12, with traditio-historical precursors in Job 28:20–28 and Prov 8:22–31), for which integration of creation and history is characteristic (Gese, “Weishei…

[German Version] I. Early Judaism The Hebrew word for pericope, parasha (פָּרָשָׁה, pl. פָּרָשִׁיּוֹת), comes from the root פרש/ prš, “divide, separate” and means “portion, section.” It appears twice in the Bible in the sense of “exact amount” (Esth 4:7; 10:2). In rabbinic literature, it is used almost exclusively for a portion of the Bible, varying in length. As the names of various parashiyyot suggest, a fixed division may be assumed ( Gen. R. 36.9; b. Ber. 9b–13a). The Masorah of the Hebrew Bible distinguishes between an open – petuḥa, from פתח/ ptḥ, “open” – parasha, starting at the beginning of a line, and a closed – …

[German Version] I. History of Religion – II. The Early Church – III. Middle Ages, Reformation, Counter-reformation – IV. The Modern Period – V. Martyrs of the Orthodox Church – VI. Judaism – VII. Islam – VIII. Missiology I. History of Religion The term martyrium (Greek μαρτύριον/ martúrion) was coined in early Christianity, where it denotes a self-sacrificial death in religious conflict as a witness to faith Historical and systematic references are found in many contexts, in which comparable terms imply something slightly different. For example, the Islamic šahīd, “witness,” generaly falls in battle and submits to that fate motivated by the hope of paradise (V). In Christian usage, …

[German Version] I. Concept Talion is derived from the Roman lex talio…

[German Version] Shammai, called “the Elder,” lived around the turn of the eras. According to the chain of tradition in m. ’Abot 1:1ff., he and Hillel formed one of the so-called pairs who received and handed on the Torah revealed to Moses. The rabbinic…

[German Version] I. Names and Terms – II. Religious Studies – III. Ancient Near East and Old Testament – IV. New Testament – V. Church History – VI…

[German Version] I. Old Testament – II. Judaism – III. New Testament – IV. Church History – V. Dogmatics and Ethics – VI. Practical Theology I. Old Testament The designation Decalogue (“ten words”) for the series of ten commandments derives from the Greek translation of the Hebrew ʾaśeret haddebārîm (δεκάλογος “ten words”). It is employed in late deuteronomic theory in Deut 10:4 for the Decalogue, in Deut 5:6–21 and by the post-dtr. redaction of the …