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[German Version] I. Aramaic Targumim Targum texts first attracted the attention of Jewish exegesis (VIII, 2; Bible translations: I, 4) and of Christian Humanism. In the late 18th century, the scholarly study of Targum literature then began in the wake of the Wissenschaft des Judentums (Berliner; Ginsburger). Targum research also received decisive impulses from the discoveries of the texts from the Cairo Geniza (II; Kahle, Klein), the discovery of the Targum Neofiti in 1956 (Díez Macho), the publication of hitherto unknown Yemenite manuscripts (Sperber), as well as …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. History of Scholarship – III. Ancient Near East – IV. Old Testament and Early Judaism – V. New Testament – VI. Philosophy of Religion – VII. Christianity – VIII. Liturgical Practice – IX. Ethics I. Religious Studies 1. Concept The word “cult” comes from Lat. cultus. Cicero ( De senectute 56) uses the phrase cultus deorum in the sense of “worship of the gods.” It invariably refers to acts of “care and tending”; in secular contexts the word denotes agrarian work (cf. agriculture). There are analogous words in other ancient languages…

[German Version] This Jewish work, from the period before the destruction of the temple in 70 ce, is extant in only four shorter fragments transmitted by various church fathers (including Justin, Epiphanius, Clement of Alexandria, Augustine, Cyprian, Gregory of Nyssa, and Tertullian). Fragment 1, the longest, contains a parable of a blind person and a lame person, intended to show that the body and the soul must be t…

[German Version] (Biblical Scholarship, Hermeneutics, Interpretation) I. Religious Studies – II. History of Religions – III. Greco Roman Antiquity – IV. Bible – V. Church History – VI. Practical Theology – VII. Biblical Scenes in Art – VIII. Judaism – IX. Islam I. Religious Studies Exegesis (for etymology see III below) is the explanation, interpretation, or analysis of sacred or otherwise religiously central documents by experts; it enables and encourages the access of a …

Part of 14 Tobit 14.6.1 IntroductionThe later texts of the Tobit tradition include an Aramaic version. This version draws for the most part on the long text in the book of Tobit (GII; represented by LXXS, 14.4, and the Vetus Latina, 14.8). It places a strong emphasis on tithing.1 14.6.2 ManuscriptsThe entire text is attested in Ms. 2339 of the Bodleian Library as the fifth text in a Midrashim collection (ABodl2339). The manuscript itself traces back to the fifteenth century (or the late fourteenth century). It is written in an oriental, Sephardic script, and is of…

Part of 14 TobitThe five texts of the Tobit story that survive as fragments include four versions in Aramaic and one version in Hebrew (14.2). This discovery has shed new light on the Tobit story, in terms of contents, its text, and its historical context, as its close relation to the Aramaic literature from the Second Temple period (for example, on such topics as demonology, endogamy, eschatology, etc.) became apparent when compared with the other Dead Sea Scrolls. As the text form dovetails, for the most part, with the Greek long text (GII; 14.4), the Qumran finds provide a crucial a…

Part of 14 Tobit 14.3.1 IntroductionThe medieval Tobit tradition comprises five different Hebrew texts in total. They have been available in the text edition published by Weeks, Gathercole, and Stuckenbruck (here abbreviated as WGS) since 2004; this edition thus constitutes a milestone in Tobit research.1The texts included therein are as follows: 1. “Hebraeus Muenster” (Constantinople 1516, in the WGS edition “H3”); 2. “Hebraeus Fagius” (Constantinople 1519, in the WGS edition “H4”); 3. “Hebraeus Londini” (BL Add. 11639, in the WGS edition “H5”); 4. Hebraeus Gaster (Or. 99…

Part of 14 TobitThe five manuscripts of the Tobit story that survived as fragments in the Qumran library include one version in the Hebrew language. In connection with the textual evidence in the Aramaic language (14.5), this find has shed new light on the Tobit story, both in terms of contents, as well as of its textual and historical context, as its close relation to Aramaic literature from the Second Temple period (cf. themes of demonology, endogamy, eschatology, etc.) became apparent when compa…

Part of 1 Overview Articles - 1.3 Primary Translations 1.3.3.1 Introduction, Definition, and TerminologyThe term Targum means, if taken literally, “translation.” In biblical studies, the term refers to the Aramaic translations of the individual books of the Hebrew Bible, which originated in the rabbinic period (or in the early Middle Ages).1 It can also be used in a wider sense of the word for the fragmentary Aramaic translations of Leviticus and Job as they were found at Qumran as well as for the Aramaic translation of the Samaritan Pentateuch.The term תַּרְגּוּם is based on the Hebrew root ת…