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[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Israel – III. Christianity I. Religious Studies The term comes from the Lat. “altare,” which is derived from “adolere,” “burn” (thus already Sextus Pompeius Festus, De verborum significatione, v. 14: “altaria sunt in quibus igne adoletur”). In addition to “altare/altaria”, the common term “ara” (from “areo,” “burn”) has the same meaning. Accordingly, the Roman altar could be defined as “place of fire” or “sacrificial hearth.” In Greek, there are a number of alternating terms. Of these θυμέλη/ thymélē and θυσιαστήριον/ thysiastḗrion (fr…

[German Version] (Heb. חָרְמָה), a site mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, in the south, in or at the margin of the Negev. On the basis of Num 14:45 and Deut 1:44, we may surmise a location on a commercial route from the southern steppes into the Judean mountains. References in 1 Sam 30:30 and Isa 15:30 assume a place that existed from the end of the 11th century on into the monarchial period (Kingship in Israel). In Josh 19:4 (par. 1 Chr 4:30), Hormah is claimed for the tribe of Simeon (Tribes of Isra…

[German Version] (“seven wells,” interpreted in popular etymology as “well of the oath,” cf. Gen 21:31; 26:33). A location in the Negev, which, in the pre-Priestly historical narrative, is linked to the patriarchs Abraham (I) (Gen 21:27–32a, 33) and Isaac (Gen 26:23–33). The mention of אֵל עוֹלָם ( 'el ʿôlám), “God everlasting” (Gen 21:33), suggests an ancient cultic site, though this will hardly have been dedicated to a local deity. Rather, a sanctuary for Yah…

[German Version] a village in Judah (1 Sam 30:28), is mentioned as one of the locations whose loyalty David (I) secured by sending them a share of the plunder. In the list of cities of Judah in Josh 15:22 Aroer appears in a distorted form; only the LXX has preserved a reminiscence of the original name by rendering it ᾽Αρονηλ (Aronēl). The extant parts of the Shishak list do not mention Aroer, a conspicuous omission given that most of the cities mentioned are located in t…