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1. Scope 1.1. Definition Apocalypticism, which was forged within the Judeo-Christian tradition, comprises a literary genre, a set of eschatological concepts, and a world-renouncing lifestyle. Apocalypticism differs from eschatology, millenarianism, and messianism. Eschatology reflects on the end of the old aeon, apocalypticism on the way to the new aeon. Millenarianism appeals to the vision of a millennium without work or government, apocalypticism to an otherworldly lifestyle. Messianism counts on …

[German Version] I. The Memoirs and Their Interpolations Until the 15th century, the Hebrew Bible treated the book ascribed to Nehemiah by modern Bible editions ¶ and the canonical book of Ezra (II) as a single work under the name of Ezra (LXX: Esdras β’). The book recounts the reorganization of the province of Judah after the end of the Babylonian Exile. Obeying God’s will and with the support of Artaxerxes, the great king of Persia, Ezra the priest and Nehemiah the governor publicly read and then implemented the Torah of Moses, setting …

[German Version] The Hebrew lexeme “Hebrews,” documented since the 1st century bce, is presumably related linguistically to a term “ḫab/piru/i” or “ʿpr.w,” which was widespread in the ancient Near East in the 2nd millennium. These texts refer to population groups that found asylum in the country in question either as foreign refugees or sometimes as prisoners of war, or that distanced themselves from the resident society; they hired themselves out for menial service in private or official capacities (esp. …

[German Version] I. General – II. Canonical Book of Ezra – III. 1 Esdras – IV. 4 Ezra – V. 5 Ezra, 6 Ezra I. General In the Masoretic canon, Ezra and Nehemiah were considered one book of Ezra on into the 15th century. The LXX adopted this as Esdras β᾿ and numbered its chapters 1–23; it prefaced, however, as Esdras α᾿, a(n older?) freer translation of 2 Chr 35f.; Ezra 1–10; Neh 7:72b-8:12 and expanded it with a pagan account (chs. 3–5) not attested in Hebrew. The Vulgate classified …

[German Version] I. History of Religions – II. Biblical – III. Greco-Roman Antiquity – IV. Judaism – V. Practical theology I. History of Religions 1. Term . Astrology is the functional use of quantitative astronomical observations and calculations in the service of a qualitative cosmic and anthropological interpretation of the heavens. Inasmuch as the first of these two elements has not yet been, or is minimally, …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies 1. General. The words for time denote in different languages, according to their etymological derivation and symbolic semantic field, different ways of dividing natural and cultural forms of progression and sequences of events into parts separated and distinguished from one another. The German word for time, Zeit, comes from Old High German zīt; “divide (up)”, from the root *dāi, “divide,” and implies the general dividing function of ideas of time, as factors in ordering experience of the world. Different ideas of time …

[German Version] I. The ancient Greek, Syriac, and Latin versions of the book of Daniel offer about half again as much material as the Hebrew/Aramaic version. The major Greek and Latin churches consider these Additions to be canoni¶ cal (cf. Catholic Bible translations). The Reformers, however, set them aside as apocrypha. The Additions probably are based on Semitic originals; the medieval Chronicle of Jerahmeel apparently preserves the Aramaic version of 3:24–90 and the dragon narrative. II. The passage inserted into ch. 3 (as vv. 24–90 = Additions …

[German Version] I. Old Testament – II. Early Judaism – III. New Testament – IV. Historical Theology and Dogmatics – V. Social Ethics I. Old Testament Although English Bibles have generally used kingdom of God to render Heb. מַלְכּוּת/ malkût and Gk βασιλεία/ basileía with a divine subject (genitive), some modern translators prefer instead a purely functional term such as kingship, without spatial or geographical connotations. Such connotations were definitely implicit in the Hebrew expression, which furthermore is used only in the singular for king…

[German Version] (baptized Nov 4, 1587, Halle – Mar 24, 1654, Halle), German organist and composer. From 1603 to 1607, he was already organist of the Moritzkirche. Then from 1607/1608 to 1609, he studied organ and composition with J.P. Sweelinck in Amsterdam. When the administrator of the archbishopric of Magdeburg took up his residence in Halle, Scheidt became his court organist in 1609 and Kapellmeister in 1619. When the administrator left the city in 1625 for military duty, Scheidt found himself unemployed. Only from 1628 to 1630 did he find temporary employment as Director musices of…

[German Version] I. Terminology and Problem ¶ The meaning of the word truth – Greek ἀλήϑεια/ alḗtheia, ἀληϑής/ alēthḗs; Hebrew אֱמֶת/ ʾĕmet; Latin veritas, verus – depends on the context where it appears. The meaning of the word truth in a particular context is not the same thing as the definition of the term truth; it is also not the same thing as the “function or role that can be or is ascribed to the expression or term . . . in the various contexts and discourses of daily life, the sciences, and philosophy (and theology)” (Puntel, 927). For Christian theology, the biblical use of the term truth is…

[German Version] In the canonical context, the Old Testament creates the impression that the territories adjacent to Israel were dominated by a great god Baal whose orgiastic rituals had, for centuries, tempted Israel to forsake Yahweh and thus to break the first commandment. This picture, however, is the result of a retrospective projection from the monotheistic tendencies of a later period. I. In the northwestern Semitic dialects, baʿal (in analogy to Akkadian belu[m]) designates the man who has the right to dispose of persons, animals …

[English Version] I. Religionswissenschaftlich 1.  AllgemeinDie äquivalenten Wörter für Zeit (Z.) bez. in den unterschiedlichen Sprachen je nach etym. Herkunft und symbolischem Bedeutungsfeld verschiedene Weisen einer Einteilung der natürlichen und kulturellen Verlaufsformen und Geschehensabläufe in voneinander abgegrenzte und qualifizierte Teile. Das dt. Wort Z. leitet sich von ahd. zīt, »abteilen, aufteilen, zumessen« (von der Wurzel *dāi, »teilen«), her und impliziert die generelle Einteilungsfun…

[English Version] I. Die Denkschrift und ihre ErweiterungenDas in den gegenwärtigen Bibelausg. Nehemia (N.) zugeschriebene Buch (Neh) bildete in der HB bis ins 15.Jh. n.Chr. zus. mit dem kanonischen Esrabuch (Esra/Esrabücher: II.) eine unter dem Namen Esra laufende Schrift (Esdras β' LXX). Darin wird die Neuorganisation der Provinz Juda nach dem Ende des Babylonischen Exils geschildert; nach Gottes Willen haben unter dem Beistand des pers. Großkönigs Artaxerxes der Priester Esra und der Statthalter N. durch öfftl. Bekanntgabe und pr…

[English Version] I. Begriff und ProblematikDie Bedeutung des Ausdrucks »W.« – griech. α᾿λη´ϑεια/alē´theia, α᾿ληϑη´ς/alēthē´s; hebr. /אמֶת/'æmæt; lat. veritas, verus – hängt von dem jeweiligen Kontext ab, in dem er gebraucht wird. Von der jeweiligen Bedeutung des Ausdrucks »W.« ist die Definition des Begriffs der »W.« zu unterscheiden, aber auch die »Funktion oder Rolle, die dem Ausdruck bzw. dem Begriff … in den verschiedenen Kontexten und Diskursen im täglichen Leben, in den Wiss. und in der Philos. (und Theol.) zugeschrieben wird bzw. werden kann« (Puntel 927).Für die chri…

[English Version] Scheidt, Samuel (getauft 4.11.1587 Halle/Saale – 24.3.1654 ebd.), dt. Organist und Komponist. Bereits 1603–1607 war er Organist an der Halleschen Moritzkirche. Danach studierte er Orgelspiel und Komposition bei J.P. Sweelinck in Amsterdam (1607/08–1609). Mit Einzug des Administrators des Erzbistums Magdeburg in seine Residenz in Halle wurde er 1609 dessen Hoforganist und 1619 Hofkapellmeister. Nachdem der Administrator 1625 die Stadt verließ, um Kriegsdienste zu leisten, wurde S. …

[English Version] I. Altes TestamentMit R.G. hat Luther hebr. מַלְכּוּת/malkût und griech. βασιλει´α/basileía bei göttlichem Subj. (Genitiv) übers. Moderne Übersetzer bevorzugen statt dessen einen rein funktionalen Begriff, »Königsherrschaft« o. ä., ohne räumlich-geographische Konnotation. Diese war dem hebr. Ausdruck durchaus eigen, der zudem nur im Sg. benutzt wird für Königtum (Königtum Gottes im Alten Testament) mit universalem Anspruch und von מַמְלָכָה/mamlākāh, einer von einem gewöhnlichen König regierten Einheit, abgehoben wird (1Chr 29,30; Esr …