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1. In the Hebrew Bible the first part of the canon (§1)—the Law and the Former Prophets, or the books from Genesis to Kings—contains a consecutive narrative from the creation to the Babylonian exile. Not merely by canonical arrangement or in terms of content but also in view of its historical development, there are good reasons to divide it into two parts. The first part consists of the Pentateuch, which ends with the death of Moses and therefore with the conclusion of the age of the founding of…

1. Name Exod. 2:10 explains the name “Moses” with a philologically impossible Hebrew etymology (deriving it from mšh, “draw out”). In fact, the name is the short form of an Egyptian name such as “Thutmose” (from mśy, “bear”), without the theophoric element. 2. Career In the OT Moses is the central figure in the early history of Israel (§1). Commissioned by Yahweh, he rescued the people from oppression in Egypt, proclaimed the law to them at Sinai, led them through the desert, and died immediately before their entry into West Jordan. Tho…

[English Version] Zimmerli, Walther (20.1.1907 Schiers, Graubünden – 4.12.1983 Oberdiessbach, Bern), Alttestamentler. Z. studierte 1925–1929 in Zürich, Berlin und Göttingen, wo er 1931 unter Johannes Hempel promoviert wurde. Nach einem Pfarramt in Aarburg (Aargau) erhielt er 1935 einen Lehrstuhl in Zürich, 1950 in Göttingen. Im Rahmen des von A. Alt und seinen Schülern gezeichneten Geschichtsbildes skizzierte er eine Theol. des AT, die im Widerspruch zu G.v. Rad das »Wagnis des Zusammendenkens« von…

[English Version] Wette, Wilhelm Martin Leberecht de (12.1.1780 Ulla bei Weimar – 18.6.1849 Basel). Nach dem Besuch des Gymnasiums in Weimar, wo ihn J.G. Herder beeindruckte, studierte der Pfarrerssohn 1799–1805 in Jena bei J.J. Griesbach, H.E. G. Paulus und J. Ph. Gabler Theol. und erlangte 1805 die venia legendi aufgrund einer Diss., die mit der Spätdatierung des Deuteronomiums gegenüber dem übrigen Pentateuch (: IV.) die Pentateuchforschung des 19.Jh. eröffnete. In den »Beiträgen zur Einleitung in …

[German Version] The Georgia Augusta was founded in 1737 as a university for the electorate of Hannover, which was tied to England by personal union. During its first decades, its conception and for-¶ tunes were determined by the Hannoverian minister Gerlach Adolph Freiherr von Münchhausen. State dominance persisted also after this period. The faculties attained greater importance than the office of prorector (the Rector magnificentissimus was the sovereign), whose holders kept changing. In some respects, Münchhausen followed t…

[German Version] (Sep 26, 1847 on the estate of Sophienhof near Kiel – Feb 6, 1926, Berlin) studied theology and ancient Near Eastern cultures (most important teacher, F. Delitzsch; doctorate in Leipzig, 1874), and was professor of Old Testament at Strasbourg (1876–1881), Marburg (1881–1900), and Berlin (from 1900). A sober conservative on the basic issues of …

[German Version] (Jan 20, 1907, Schiers, Grisons – Dec 4, 1983, Oberdiessbach, Bern), Old Testament scholar. Zimmerli studied from 1925 to 1929 in Zürich, Berlin, and Göttingen, where he received his doctorate in 1931 under Johannes Hempel. After a pastorate in Aarburg (Aargau), he was appointed to a chair at Zürich in 1935, then at Göttingen in 1950. Within the framework of the history developed by A. Alt and his students, Zimmerli sketched a theology of the OT that – in contrast to that of G. v.…

[German Version] (Nov 16, 1803, Göttingen – May 4, 1875, Göttingen), an orientalist and an Old and New Testament scholar, received the Dr.phil. from Göttingen in 1823 (with a dissertation on the composition of Genesis), and became associate professor in 1824 and professor in 1831 in the faculty of philosophy. Removed in 1837 as one of the “Göttingen Seven,” he went to Tübingen, w…

[German Version] The concept of literary criticism appears to have been created in order to designate the direction of biblical exegesis (V, 4; Biblical scholarship), from which the History of Religions School chose to demarcate itself. Unlike the historians of religion, however, it is not possible to speak of a “school” with an agenda and actual followers. J. Wellhausen is considered to have been a central figure of the school of literary criticism; his scholarly active period is probably what is…

[German Version] Eißfeldt (Sep 1, 1887, Northeim – Apr 23, 1973, Halle/Saale) studied from 1905 to 1908 in Göttingen and Berlin, was senior member of the ¶ Johanneum from 1908 to 1912, and early preacher at the Jerusalem and New Church in Berlin 1912–1922. He received the Lic.theol. in Berlin in 1911 and the Dr.phil. in Göttingen in 1916. He was assistant professor in Berlin from 1913 to 1922 and, from 1922, professor of OT and…

[German Version] (Mar 25, 1812, Haseldorf near Hamburg – Jul 21, 1889, Rostock), Old Testament and New Testament scholar, known for his struggle against the Lutheran church officialdom as represented by T. Kliefoth. As a student, this intensely religious farmer's son was influenced in Kiel by C. Harms and in Berlin by E.W. Hengstenberg, from whose rigid orthod…

[German Version] (Feb 8, 1896, Hattingen – Jun 12, 1962, Mainz), professor of OT at Bonn (1930–1935) and Mainz (1947–1962). As an active member of the Confessing Church, like his teacher Gustav Hölscher and his theological mentor K. Barth, he was removed in 1935 from his academic position in Bonn and became a pastor in Steeg near Bacharach. As his unfinished commentary on Job best illustrates, the themes of his life and his academic study were inseparably intertwined. His primary interest was OT law, which he translated into modern legal terminology, enabling it to speak to current issues. R…

[German Version] (Jan 12, 1780, Ulla, near Weimar – Jun 18, 1849, Basel). After attending the Gymnasium in Weimar, where he came under the influence of J.G. Herder, the son of a clergyman studied theology at Jena from 1799 to 1805 with J.J. Griesbach, H.E.G. Paulus, and J.P. Gabler; he received his venia legendi in 1805 with a dissertation that pioneered 19th-century Pentateuch studies, in which he dated Deuteronomy later than the rest of the Pentateuch (IV). In his Beiträge zur Einleitung in das Alte Testament (2 vols., 1806–1807), he refuted “the credibility of the books of Ch…

[German Version] (Oct 10, 1847, Bingum, Ostfriesland – Sep 1, 1928, Basel) studied in Göttingen; Habilitation, 1873; and from 1877 extraordinary professor in Göttingen. From 1889, he was ordinary professor of OT in Basel. Starting, like his friend J. Wellhausen, with the “Graf hypothesis,” he interpreted the prophets – without assuming the Mosaic law – as …

[German Version] (Aug 17, 1867, Courbevoie/Seine – Mar 10, 1948, Paris), a Protestant Old Testament scholar. Lods studied in Paris, Berlin, and Marburg, and taught in Paris at the Protestant theological faculty (1893–1906) and at the Sorbonne (1906–1937). He critically and independently assessed the issues and conclusions of research in literary and form history in the German-speaking countries and drew on contemporary archaeology, sociology, and the developing comparative religious studies to aut…

1. OT 1.1. Jewish Exegesis in Antiquity and the Middle Ages Jewish exegesis of the OT precedes Christian exegesis. It had models in the OT itself, where many of the later texts refer to earlier ones, applying, varying, and extending them in a variety of ways. More or less regular exegesis arose once the texts had taken a fixed form and become canonical (Canon). Although true commentaries with linguistic and factual elucidations came only in the Middle Ages (such as those by Rashi, Abraham Ibn Ezra, David K…

[English Version] 1.  Martin , (3.8.1902 Dresden – 30.5.1968 Shivta, Israel), Alttestamentler und Palästinawissenschaftler. Der Schüler A. Alts lehrte als PD in Greifswald (1927/28) und Leipzig (1928–1930), als Ordinarius in Königsberg (1930–1945) und Bonn (1946–1967); seit 1964 leitete er das Deutsche Evangelische Institut für Altertumswissenschaft des Heiligen Landes in Jerusalem. N. hatte führenden Anteil an der kult- und überlieferungsgesch. Arbeit seiner Zeit (Bibelwissenschaft: I.,5.), legte a…

[German Version] 1. Martin (Aug 3, 1902, Dresden – May 30, 1968, Shivta, Israel), Old Testament scholar and Palestinologist. After studying with A. Alt, he taught as a Privatdozent at Greifswald (1927/1928) and Leipzig (1928–1930) and as a full professor at Königsberg (today Kaliningrad) (1930–1945) and Bonn (1946–1967). From 1964 until his death, he headed the Deutsches Evangelisches Institut für Altertumswissenschaften des Heiligen Landes in Jerusalem. Noth played a leading role in 20th-century study of the Israelite cul…

1. OT 1.1. Using anthropomorphic or anthropopathic language, many religions described their gods in human terms; they could thus see them as wrathful. Fear of divine wrath was undoubtedly one of the main motivations behind the development of religion and also of the cult. Israel was close to its neighbors in this regard, as may be seen from an inscription of King Mesha of Moab (mid-9th cent. b.c.), who, speaking of the long-standing oppression of Moab by King Omri of Israel (§1.5), attributes it to the wrath of Chemosh, the Moabite god (KAI 181.5; TUAT 1.647; cf. 2 Kgs. 3:27). 1.2. Mention of …

1. The OT Canon 1.1. Presuppositions and Preparatory Stages Long before the OT writings became canonical in any strict sense (measuring up to a kanōn, i.e., a standard or rule), many of them claimed and received an authority that was already related to canonicity and that logically prepared the way for it. Priests, prophets, and wise men spoke with great, if not final, authority. Many of their sayings were remembered and gave instruction and direction to later generations, even if in changed or supplemented form. The …

1. OT 1.1. Historiography and Historical Thinking To a greater extent than is sometimes realized, ancient Israel (§1) shared in the very diverse “mythical” historical thinking of the surrounding world. It read present events in the light of past events, beginning in a distant primal period, which would both explain and if necessary validate them. It thus narrated, established, and handed down the stories of the past, not least of all in the cult. The course of history was determined by human conduct in…

1. OT MSS 1.1. Background In antiquity the materials used for Bible MSS were leather, parchment, and papyrus. The parchment was prepared from the skins of sheep, goats, antelopes, and other animals. Papyrus, which was made from the pith of the papyrus plant that grows in the marshes of the Nile, was imported from Egypt but usually did not last long in damp climates. The usual form for a literary document was the scroll (see, for example, Jeremiah 36; Ep. Arist.  177), especially for Jewish Scriptures used in worship services. In Christian circles scrolls were supplanted by …

[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 …