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[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Bible – III. Missiology – IV. Judaism – V. Islam I. Religious Studies The term “circumcision” refers collectively to a variety of operations performed on the sexual organs of children and young people: for males, it includes circumcision proper (removal of the foreskin) and incision (slicing of the foreskin), as well as subincision (splitting of the urethra), monorchy (removal of one testicle), and piercing of the penis; for females, it in…

[German Version] I. Bible – II. Ancient Judaism I. Bible Isaac (יִצְחָק/ yiṣḥāq, “he laughs/smiles,” presumably a short form of the theophoric יִצְחָק־אֵל/ yiṣḥaq-ʾel, “El/God laughs/smiles”) is the second patriarch of Israel in the Genesis narratives: the son of Abraham and Sarah (Gen 21:1ff.) and, with his wife Rebekah, the father of Jacob/Israel and Esau/Edom (25:20ff.). In comparison to the narrative cycles of Abraham and Jacob, the Isaac tradition is remarkably less prominent. At the same time, the figure of Is…

[German Version] I. Old Testament – II. New Testament – III. Judaism – IV. Qur’ān I. Old Testament 1. Name. The name אַבְרָהָם/ 'abrāhām is a by-form of אַבְרָם/ 'abrām or אֲבִירָם/ 'abîrām (Num 16:1, etc.). With the meaning "Father (= God) is exalted," it corresponds to a widely dispersed West-Semitic name pattern and, as a praise or confessional name, belongs in the realm of personal piety. The otherwise unattested extended form is interpreted in Gen 17:4f. in a popular etymology as "Father (אָב/ 'āb) of a multitude (הָמוֹן/ hāmôn) of nations" - in an entirely …