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[German Version] I. Terminology and Scope The book of Psalms is a unique collection of 150 poetic texts compiled to make a work sui generis. Its Hebrew title תְּהִלִּים(סֵפֶר) /( sēper) tĕhillîm, “(Book of) Praises,” is already found at Qumran (earliest instance: 4QMa [= 4Q491] 174, 1st cent. bce). As in the New Testament occurrences from about a century later (Luke 20:42; Acts 1:20: βίβλος ψαλμῶν/ bíblos psalmṓ n), it appears to be used primarily in the technical sense of a scroll containing psalms (cf. the frgm. 4QPs), but it might also denote a form of the Psalter. In 11QPsa, a collections of psalms from the 1st century ce (see III, 2.a below), 3,600 tĕhillîm and 450 שִׁיר/ šîr (sg.; “songs”) are ascribed to David, who is characterized as a sage (11Q5 XXVII 2–11: Davidic Compositions). Some of the latter are identified as being intended for the temple cult (cf. Sir 47:8f.). To what extent the psalm tradition of Qumran presupposes the canonical Psalter is disputed. The titles Psalms or Book of Psalms in common use today go back to the Septuagint (ψαλμοί/ psalmoí, “songs with string accompaniment,” for מִזְמוֹר/ mizmôr [57 times in superscriptions] or ψαλτήριον/ psaltḗ rion, “stringed instrument,” for נֵבֶל/ nēbel, “standing lyre,” or more commonly “harp”). Philo of Alexandria and Flavius Josephus were probably thinking of tĕhillîm when they called the psalms (ascribed to David) ὕμνοι/ hýmnoi, “hymns of praise” (Philo Migr. 157, etc.; Jos. Ant. VII 305, etc.). An earlier term appears to have been תְּפִּלוֹת/…

[German Version] (Evangelical Instruction). In 1947, H. Kittel programmatically and with a significant range of effectiveness introduced into the discussion the term “evangelical instruction” with the intention of replacing the school subject of religious instruction ( Religionsunterricht…

[German Version] Lament I. Religious Studies – II. Bible – III. Systematic Theology – IV. Practical Theology – V. Judaism I. Religious Studies Lament has its roots in human exper…