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[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Old Testament – III. Legal History I. Religious Studies Trial by ordeal is a means of decision-making as to the guilt or innocence of a suspect in legal cases where there is no available evidence or testimony, and where no guilty plea has been entered. In place of an oath, but in ¶ line with the inherent logic of the oath, a conditional self-curse was sometimes employed; this would apply in cases where, for example, a slave was disqualified from a hearing under oath, and a divine declaration of the truth was so…

[German Version] I. Religious Studies There are two basic types of interaction between trade and religion: trade growing out of the practice of religion and religious phenomena as by-products of trade. Only in exceptional cases do both have equal weight. Trade can arise from the need for sacrificial offerings, as well as for special vestments and regalia for religious specialists and other officiants, and not least the need to feed participants in religious events. Special foods required by the relig…

[German Version] I. Philosophy of Religion Unity, uniqueness and simplicity are considered God’s incommunicable properties. In philosophy of religion unity was originally thought of as the One, as the ground supporting the many in their multiplicity and difference. Thus unity was conceived as the timeless and spaceless ground and numerical beginning of the cosmos with its multiplicity of beings. In Plato’s teaching about ideas, unity as the One transcends the plurality of ideas, and has ontological pr…

A. General principles [German source] Scholars often treat the religions of the Levant (Eastern Mediterranean world 2.7.) in the context of the ‘Fertile Crescent’. This concept, however, brings together the religions of Mesopotamia, Anatolia and Egypt as dominant, while tending to neglect those of the Aramaeans (2.7.2.), the Phoenician cities 2.7.3., Israel (2.7.5.) and Judah (2.7.6.). Lumping cultures like Egypt and Mesopotamia together also has the effect of glossing over differences between them. …

A. Allgemeine Grundlagen Östlicher Mittelmeerraum 2.7. | Aramäer (2.7.2.) | Phönizische Städte 2.7.3. | Israels (2.7.5.) | Judas (2.7.6.)Eine weitere Problematik der Konzeption des fruchtbaren Halbmondes liegt darin, dass hier Kulturen wie die Ägyptens und Mesopotamiens zusammen gesehen, die zwischen ihnen bestehenden Unterschiede aber außer Acht gelassen werden. Dagegen befasst sich ein alternatives Konzept mit der Frage, »ob es auf kulturellem und religiösem Gebiet im Altertum neben den Gemeinsamkeiten des fruc…

[German Version] I. The State of Israel – II. History – III. Society I. The State of Israel The formal full name, State of Israel (Heb. Medinat Yisrael), calls attention to the spatial divergence between the political entity and the geographical and historical Erets Israel (Land of Israel, Palestine and its linguistic equivalents). Israel is located in southwest Asia, on the southern stretch of the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. In its northern half, inland from the shore, is the coastal area and further east are the hills, from n…