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1. OT 1.1. Translation and Usage The Hebrew word bĕrît, “covenant,” occurs 287 times in the OT, only in the singular. Even the latest attempts (e.g., by E. Kutsch) have not convincingly clarified its etymology. Showing a derivation from a Semitic root, however, would not necessarily throw light on its semantic function (J. Barr), which can and must be understood in terms of its semantic field and the relevant context. In translation, the LXX does not use synthēkē (agreement, contract) but almost always diathēkē (last will and testament). The Vg (Jerome [ca. 345–420]), howeve…

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. OT 1.1. Term The idea of law has many nuances in the OT, which we see from the different words used for it. Thus we have mišpāṭı̂m (ordinances), huqqı̂m (statutes), miṣwôt (commandments), dĕbārı̂m (words), and others. These terms cover civil and criminal law and both the ethical and the cultic sphere. More comprehensively after Deuteronomy we find tôrâ, which originally denoted only the direction of the priest in cultic, legal, and moral questions (Deut. 33:10; Hos. 4:6; Mic. 4:2; Jer. 18:18; Ezek. 7:26; Mal. 2:6–7) but in Deuteronomy is used for the whole revelati…

Words from both the Lat. iustitia (justice, justification, justify) and the Anglo-Saxon rightwise(n) (righteousness, declare or make righteous) are available in English to render terms from the single root ṣdq in Hebrew and the dikaio- word family in Greek. Accordingly, in English there are often separate treatments of “justification” and “righteousness” (e.g., R. B. Hays, J. Reumann). In German, as in many languages, the relevant terms Rechtfertigung and Gerechtigkeit are more closely related. This article treats the theology and proclamation of the doctrine …

1. General Features P. Melanchthon (1497–1560; Reformers) described the Epistle to the Romans as a compendium of Christian doctrine. In view of the historical circumstances in which Paul wrote it, this judgment has been contested in our day. Paul, it is argued, had a specific historical situation in mind, and his theological argument is thus situational. Paul himself, though, was also in a specific historical situation, which dictated the strategy he used in argument. Attention has also been drawn …

In 1941 Rudolf Bultmann (1884–1976) wrote a programmatic essay “Neues Testament und Mythologie. Das Problem der Entmythologisierung der neutestamentlichen Verkündigung” (NT and mythology. The problem of demythologizing the NT proclamation). Only after World War II, however, did a full-scale discussion—often embittered—of demythologizing take place. Other themes have replaced it now; it is no longer a main subject of ecclesiastical and theological debate. For the foreseeable future, however, it will undoubtedly be recognized as an important theological issue. According to…

1. OT To understand the meaning of “sin,” a powerful theological concept in the OT, the interpreter first needs to study the terms in the Hebrew Bible that translators have rendered into English as “sin.” The meaning of these terms can often be approximated by studying the nontheological passages in which they appear. How the words describe interactions among humans provides clues about the interaction between humans and God. (G. von Rad, K. Koch, and K. D. Sakenfeld have demonstrated in some deta…