Search

[German version] I. Near East and Egypt The Near East is part of the original range of the wild pig ( Sus scrofa L.), which was evidently used in various places for breeding the domestic pig; the earliest examples date from the 7th millennium BC [6. 73]. The pig (Sumerian šaḫ(a); Akkadian šaḫû [3]) was of some significance during most periods and in most regions of the Near East, probably esp. as a provider of meat. The few pictorial representations usually depict wild pigs. Pigs are mentioned from the beginning of written records in Mesopotamia…

[English version] I. Vorderasien und Ägypten Vorderasien liegt im urspr. Verbreitungsgebiet des Wild-Sch. (Sus scrofa L.), das offenbar an verschiedenen Stellen zur Züchtung des Haus-Sch. verwendet wurde; die frühesten Beispiele stammen aus dem 7. Jt. v. Chr. [6. 73]. Das Sch. (sumerisch šaḫ(a); akkadisch šaḫû [3]) spielte in den meisten Perioden und Regionen des Vorderen Orients eine gewisse Rolle, wohl v. a. als Fleischlieferant. Auf den wenigen bildlichen Darstellungen finden sich v. a. Wild-Sch. Seit Beginn der schriftlichen Überl.…

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. Basically, a distinction must b…

[German Version] I. Antiquity 1. The Greek word συναγωγή/ synagōgḗ (cf. LXX), like כְּנֶסֶת/ kneset, orig. meant “assembly”; only later did it come to mean “place of assembly” (Heb. בֵּית הַכְּנֶסֶת/ bet ha-kneset). It is therefore uncertain, for example, whether Acts 6:9 refers to congregations of Hellenistic Jews or their synagogues. Other synonymous terms were also common: προσευχή/ proseuchḗ (“prayer/place of prayers”) – found almost exclusively in the Greek Diaspora – and (ἅγιος) τόπος/( hágios) tópos or Aramaic אַתרָא קְדִישָׁא/ʾ atra qedisha (“holy place”) – found pri…

[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. 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 …

[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…

[German Version] I. Concept Talion is derived from the Roman lex talionis, in which it referred to a regulated act of retribution – in keeping with a legal norm that was meant to place limitations on self-administered justice. This stands in contradiction to the general understanding of talion as “doing as you are done by,” also in the sense of self-administered justice. In modern usage, talion is thus particularly understood in the sense of blood revenge or vendetta. The latter meaning is therefore focuse…

[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 texts that mention him are highly stylized and must be considered literary constructs with little basis in historical reality. He is rarely mentioned in isolation ( Mek. ŠbY on Exod 20:8 [ed. Epstein & Melamed, 148]). Usually he serves as a foil to Hillel ( b. Šabb. 30b–31a: Hillel’s patience in contrast with Shammai’s testiness; thei…

[German Version] I. Names and Terms – II. Religious Studies – III. Ancient Near East and Old Testament – IV. New Testament – V. Church History – VI. Philosophy of Religion – VII. Fundamental Theology – VIII. Dogmatics – IX. Judaism – X. Islam – XI. History of Art and Literature I. Names and Terms 1. Devil The secular Greek noun διάβολος/ diabolos comes from one of the meanings of the verb διαβάλλω/ diaballō, “separate, sever,” which led to meanings such as “accuse, slander, deceive.” From the Greek noun came Latin diabolus, from which the English …

[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 …

[English Version] I. Namen und Begriffe 1.  TeufelProfangriech. δια´βολος/diábolos, von διαβα´λλω/diabállō, »auseinanderbringen«, daher Bedeutungen wie »anklagen, verleumden, täuschen«, lat. diabolus, daraus dt. T. In der LXX wird hebr. שָׂטָן/śāṭān mit diábolos übers., was am besten mit »Widersacher« wiedergegeben wird. In den Apokryphen finden sich sowohl T. (3Bar 4,8; AssMos 10,1) wie Satan, weiters Beliar (zumeist TestXII), Mastema (Jub 10; 11), Samma'el (3Bar 4,8; bes. rabb. Schriften). Das NT kennt keinen inhaltlich…

[English Version] . Sh., mit dem Beinamen »der Alte«, der um die Zeitenwende lebte, gehörte zus. mit Hillel nach der Traditionskette in Av 1,1ff. zu den sog. »Paaren«, welche die dem Mose offenbarte Tora empfingen und weitergaben. Texte der rabb. Lit., die ihn erwähnen, sind stark stilisiert und als lit. Konstrukt anzusehen, das kaum mit der hist. Wirklichkeit übereinstimmt. Selten wird er alleine erwähnt (MekhSh zu Ex 20,8 [ed. Epstein/Melamed 148]). Meist dient er als Kontrastfigur zu Hillel (bS…

[English Version] I. Antikes JudentumDas hebr. Wort für Perikope, Parasha (פָּרָשָׁה, Pl. פָּרָשִׁיּוֹת), leitet sich von der Wurzel פרשׁ/prsˇ, »abtrennen, absondern«, ab und bedeutet »Abgetrenntes, Abgeteiltes, Abschnitt«. Bibl. ist es zweimal in der Bedeutung »genaue Angabe« belegt (Est 4,7; 10,2). In der rabb. Lit. bez. es fast ausschließlich einen Bibelabschnitt, der unterschiedlich lang sein kann. Wie die Namen verschiedener Parashijjot nahelegen, ist eine feste Einteilung vorauszusetzen (vgl. BerR 36,9; bBer 9b – 13a).In der Masora der HB wird zw. einer offenen –…

[English Version] I. Antike 1. Das griech. Wort συn̆αγωγη´/synagōgē´ (vgl. LXX) bedeutet urspr. wie כְּנֶסֶת/kneset »Versammlung« und erst später »Ort der Versammlung« (hebr. בֵּית הַכְּנֶסֶת/bet ha-kneset); so ist es z.B. strittig, ob Apg 6,9 Gemeinden hell. Juden oder deren S. gemeint sind. Daneben sind noch andere synonyme Termini gebräuchlich: προσευχη´/proseuchē´ (»Gebet/Gebetsstätte«) – fast ausschließlich in der griech. Diaspora verwendet – und (α῞γιος) το´πος/(hágios) tópos bzw. aram. אַתרָא קְדֽישָׁא/'atra qedisha (»hl. Ort«) – v.a. in Israel in Inschri…

[English Version] I. Zum BegriffT. ist abzuleiten vom röm. lex talionis und meinte dort einen geregelten Vergeltungsakt (Vergeltung) gemäß einer Rechtsnorm, die als solche Selbstjustiz eindämmen sollte. Dies steht im Widerspruch zum …

[English Version] I. Altes TestamentMit Sh. (שְׁכִינָה), einer nachbibl. Nominalbildung der Wurzel שׁכן…