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[German Version] The eulogy (from Gk εὐλογíα/ eulogía, “well speaking, praise”) did not develop as a distinct genre either in classical antiquity or in Christianity. Besides the general sense of “high praise,” in English “eulogy” has become a technical term for laudatory praise of someone who has died. In French the plural ( eulogies) has preserved an ancient Christian sense, denoting leftover pieces of blessed bread ( pain bénit). In the Early Church, the whole εὐλογ- word group (except in passages like Rom 16:18, where it means “flattery”) …

[German Version] I. Wisdom of Solomon 1. Canonicity and versions. The Wisdom of Solomon ( Sapientia Salomonis) is classified as a deuterocanonical or apocryphal book (Apocrypha). Both terms reflect its inclusion in the Septuagint, but the Muratorian Canon (Muratorian Fragment) even recognizes the book of Wisdom written in Greek by “friends of Solomon” as part of the New Testament. In general, though, it is classed among the antilegomena of the Old Testament. In the LXX, which itself influenced the (initially an…

[German Version] I. Term and Genre – II. Old Testament – III. New Testament – IV. Liturgical Studies I. Term and Genre The Greek word ὕμνος/ hýmnos, whose etymology is obscure, originally meant, quite unspecifically, simply “song” (the verb ὑμνεῖν/ hymneín, “ to sing”; cf. Hes. Theog. 11.33; Hom. Hym. 3.178, etc.). Yet, from the ¶ 5th/4th century bce at the latest, it meant “song for a god” (cf. Plato, Leges 700 b 1–2; Xenophanes 21 B 1.13 DK; Xenophon, Cyrupaideia 18.1.23) and thence became the general term for “religious song,” and finally for “festival song,” “song o…

[German Version] I. Bible 1. Literary analysis. The primary source for Solomon (Heb. ְׁשׁלמה/ šĕlōmōh) is 1 Kgs 1–12. It has a chiastic structure centered on the account of the design, construction, and dedication of the Jerusalem temple (II, 4; 1 Kgs 5–8); it is flanked by descriptions of Solomon’s illustrious wisdom and reign (1 Kgs 3f. and 9f.), with narratives of his rise and decline constituting the outward framework (1 Kgs 1f. and 11f.). This overall structure is a product of Deuteronomistic historiogra…