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[German Version] (Dec 17, 1918, Essen – Nov 14, 2000, Essen). After earning his doctorate in Heidelberg (1944) and his Habilitation in Bonn (1948; associate professor of Old Testament there from 1951), Kraus accepted an appointment as professor of OT in Hamburg in 1954, and was professor of Reformed theology in Göttingen from 1968 onward. The son of an Essen pastor, he grew up in Wuppertal. He was instrumental in establishing the Protestant theological faculty in Hamburg and became the successor of O. Weber in the …

[German Version] I. Concept and Terminology – II. Religio-historical Aspects – III. Theological Significance I. Concept and Terminology References to Yahweh's “kingdom” or “kingship,” using the abstract nouns מַלְכוּת/ malkût (1 Chron 17:14; 28:5; Pss 103:19; 145:11–13; Dan 3:33; 4:31 [Eng. 4:34]; etc.), מְלוּכָה/ mĕlûkāh (Obad 21; Ps 22:29*),מַמְלָכָה/ mamlākāh (1 Chron 29:11), and מֶמְשָׁלָה/ memšālāh (Pss 103:22; 114:2; 145:13), appear only in late texts of the Old Testament. Even if the notion is earlier (see II below), the disparity between th…

[German Version] (Sep 7, 1862, Breslau [Wrocław] – Jan 24, 1945, London). After doctoral studies (diss.: Das Buch Esther in der LXX, 1889, publ. 1890), Jacob taught religion at a college in Breslau, then served as a rabbi in Göttingen (1891–1906) and Dortmund (1906–1929). He was one of the most significant biblical scholars of the 20th century. His time in Hamburg (1929–1938) saw the completion of his monumental commentary on Genesis (1934, repr. 2000) and the start of his work on his equally monumental commentary o…

[German Version] As part of the ritual for the great Day of Atonement, (Lev 16, cf. 23:26ff.; Num 29:7 ff.), the high priest Aaron lays his hands (Laying-on of hands) on a he-goat, the so-called scapegoat (Vulgate caper emissarius, Fr. bouc émissaire, Ger. Sündenbock), putting the sins of the Israelites on its head and then employing someone designated to take it to “an isolated place” or “the wilderness” (Lev 16:8, 10, 21f.), where rabbinic tradition says that it meets its death ( m. Yoma). Various interpretations have been proposed for the name Azazel (עֲזָאזֵל; Lev 16:8, 10, 26) that…

[German Version] (May 11, 1913, Frankfurt am Main– Feb 18, 1997, Tübingen) received his doctorate under Alexander Scharff from Munich in 1936, habilitated in 1942, was assistant to the Protestant theology faculty at Tübingen beginning in 1950, named extraordinary professor in 1960, Professor of Egyptology in 1964, and emeritus since 1978. Brunner was the founding father of Egyptology at Tübingen and made important contributions to the study of Egyptian language ( Abriß der mittelägyptischen Grammatik, 21967), Egyptian history, literature and religion ( Grundzüge einer Geschic…

[English Version] . Im Rahmen des Rituals zum großen Versöhnungstag (Lev 16, vgl.23,26 ff.; Num 29,7 ff.) wird ein Ziegenbock, der sog. S. (Vulgata caper emissarius, franz. bouc émissaire, engl. scapegoat), vom Hohepriester Aaron durch Handaufstemmung (Handauflegung: II.) mit den Sünden der Israeliten beladen und durch einen dafür bereitstehenden Kultaktanten in eine »abgelegene Gegend« bzw. in die »Wüste« gebracht (Lev 16,8.10.21f.), wo er nach rabb. Tradition zu Tode kommt (mJoma).Während für den in diesem Zusammenhang erwähnten Namen Azazel (עֲזָאזֵל Lev 16,8.10.26) …

[German Version] I. Exegesis – II. Fundamental theology I. Exegesis 1. “Biblical Theology” (BT) is not an unambiguous term. It means either “the theology contained in the Bible” or “theology in accordance with the Bible, with ¶ scripture” (Ebeling 69–70). In the first sense, BT is a historical concept; in the second, a normative concept. In the first instance, it concerns a particular theological discipline; in the second, the nature of theology…

[German Version] I. Old Testament – II. Art History I. Old Testament Cain and Abel, the children of the first human couple Adam and Eve, are the protagonists of one of the characteristic fraternal narratives of the book of Genesis (cf. Jacob and Esau). Their names are semantically associated with the pre- or non-priestly Paradise narrative of Gen 3*: While the meaning “transitoriness” may be discerned in the name Abel (הֶבֶל, Gen 4:2, 4, 8f., 25), the name Cain (קַיִן, Gen 4:1–25, Tubal-Cain Gen 4:22 [a description of metallurgical skills], as a tribal name in Nu…

1. OT and Judaism 1.1. Atonement is a central concept in biblical theology. Along with the traditional misunderstanding of appeasing an angry deity, the penal definition of making good an offense and the viewing of the cultus as a human work have impeded a more relevant approach. In the OT, atonement breaks the nexus of sin and its evil consequences by “channeling ¶ the baneful influence of the evil into an animal that died vicariously for the man (or for the cultic object). Expiation was thus not a penalty, but a saving event” (G. von Rad, 271). The basis …

1. General 1.1. Words and Concept The English words “sacrifice” and “offering” come from Lat. sacrificium and offero. Ger. Opfer goes back to Lat. operari, “be active.” The terms suggest an active relation to the reality concerned in the different religions. The various ways in which the relation is described may thus affect the concept. Even though a distinction might arise between real and symbolic sacrifice, sacrifice is always at the heart of religion and widely influences human conduct in other spheres as well. In religious history we may un…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament I. Religious Studies Light and darkness, day and night, the rising and setting of the life-giving sun determine the vital rhythm of nature and human beings; they find expression in feelings, in language and thought, in symbols and myths. Light is on the side of the gods, the sphere of the divine, the spirit. As a religious symbol, light represents life, salvation, and bliss. Darkness is ambiguous: it can ¶ signify death, perdition, and woe, but it can also represent protective concealment (hell, …

[German Version] I. Old Testament and Judaism – II. Christianity – III. Islam I. Old Testament and Judaism 1. Only in three passages does the Old Testament speak of humankind's being made in the image of God (collective use of הָ]אָדָם]/[ hā] ʾādām in Gen 1; cf. Gen 1:27: male and female): in the relationship between God and human beings in Gen 1:26f. and 9:6, and in the relationship between human beings in Gen 5:1, 3 (all P). Substantially the same idea is conveyed in Ps 8:6–9*; for later treatment of the theme, Sir 17:3–7 and Wis 2…

[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 dedicatio…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Practical Theology I. Religious Studies The laying-on or imposition of hands is a physical gesture usually performed in the context of a ritualized series of actions or as a symbol by itself. It can be ascribed to a divine being conceived anthropomorphically. The ritual gesture is attested in many cultures, especially in the ancient Near East, but it is not universal – it is unknown, for example, in Buddhism and Islam. Its mean…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Bible – III. Dogmatics – IV. Ethics I. Religious Studies While (re)conciliation as an instrument for reaching an amicable settlement in a lawsuit has echoes of the legal ¶ dimension of expiation, the meaning of expiation (appeasement, pacification) refers first of all to the (re)establishment of an undisturbed state or of a “sound” relationship. In contrast to atonement (Re…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. Early Judaism – IV. New Testament – V. Dogmatics I. Religious Studies 1. The judgment discussed here is not in response to a specific transgression or lapse on the part of an individual; it is a judgment upon his or her entire life, taking place only after death and determining the fate of the ¶ deceased in the next world. Because this notion implies the idea of a just recompense, it has the quality and function of a theodicy that seeks…

[German Version] I. Archaeology and Religious Studies The wild predecessors of cultured vines ( Vitis vinifera vinifera) are found especially in the north-eastern Mediterranean region and in the area of the Black Sea. The earliest evidence of collecting grapes, presumably from wild stocks, is 9,000 years old (Çayönü, Tell Aswad and Jericho). The earliest indications of vine cultivation come from the end of the 4th millennium bce in Egypt (Omari, Abydos, Saqqara). Grapes were eaten, but mostly made into wine; in southern Mesopotamia also into syrup for preserva…

Mit der vierten Auflage erreicht die RGG eine fast hundertjährige Geschichte. Alle vier Auflagen zusammen spiegeln sowohl als Gesamtdarstellungen als auch in den einzelnen Artikeln das 19. und 20. Jahrhundert wider wie kaum ein anderes Dokument der religionswissenschaftlichen und theologischen Wissenschaftsgeschichte. Bei aller Verschiedenheit der Auflagen lassen sich Gemeinsamkeiten unschwer erkennen. Schon die Planung der ersten Auflage (1909–1913) in den Jahren 1904–1906 verband die Absicht, den Forschungsstand des 19. Jahrhunderts …

[English Version] I. Altes TestamentMit Sh. (שְׁכִינָה), einer nachbibl. Nominalbildung der Wurzel שׁכן/škn, »sich niederlassen, wohnen«, wird ein Aspekt der Anwesenheit Gottes in der Welt bez., der in der Regel mit »Einwohnung« oder »Inhabitation« wiedergegeben wird. Von »Einwohnung« ist bereits im Kontext der äg. Kultbildtheol. die Rede, wonach die im Himmel beheimatete Gottheit auf ihr Kultbild im irdischen Tempel »herabsteigt« und sich mit diesem »vereinigt« (Assmann). Die atl. Sh.-Theol., deren ältester…

[English Version] I. Archäologisch und religionsgeschichtlichDie wilden Vorläufer der Kulturpflanze (Vitis vinifera L. ssp. vinifera) finden sich bes. im nordöstlichen Mittelmeerraum und im Schwarzmeerraum. Früheste Belege für Weintraubensammlung, vermutlich von wilden Stöcken, sind 9000 Jahre alt (Çayönü, Tell Aswad und Jericho). Früheste Hinweise auf Weinkulturen stammen vom Ende des 4.Jt. v.Chr. in Ägypten (Omari, Abydos, Saqqara). Trauben wurden gegessen, meistens aber zu W., in Südmesopotamien …