Old Testament

The Book of Qohelet awakes curiosity in the reader already because of its title. In assigning a title to this book, modern translations of Qohelet follow the trace of the Old Greek of the LXX (Ecclesiastes, Der Prediger). It is striking, however, that the title Qohelet appears mostly in the framing chapters of the book, where it is enhanced with a few (fictitious) biographical notes. Beyond the framing sections, Qohelet appears only once more, where the commentators suggest to be considered a descriptive note (comment), probably a gloss.

The Hebrew root הבל is one of the most frequent expressions of the book of Qohelet, so to say one of the keywords of his theology. Besides, within the entire Old Testament, this term appears most frequently in this book. Insofar as הבל carries a value judgment for the message of Qohelet, this term is hugely important. Within the history of research, scholars either concentrate on specific loci of the occurrences or focus on the Hebrew expression in general.

Many of the parallels between rabbinic and early Christian writings can be explained by their common heritage and their shared opposition to pagan society. Their attitude towards spectacles may be an exception because the Hebrew Bible does not provide any guidance in this regard, yet their arguments against pagan entertainments are often based on the same proof text (Ps 1:1). This may be the result of intensive academic communication, but it could also be traced back to a common oral tradition.

Job 19,25–27 are probably the most widely known verses from his book. This pericope is often evoked on funeral occasions, and many Christians undoubtedly ponder those while struggling with the issue of death. The current study does not aim to correct the Christian faith. From the perspective of systematic theology, the Redeemer of Job and that of the Christians is the very same Christ. This essay attempts to outline the meaning of the text through linguistic and poetical analysis. A text (including a spontaneous one) informs a reader even by the way it was created.

This study attempts to sketch the biblical and Christian ethical dimensions of collective crime by analysing biblical texts and terminology relevant to the topic. The definition and critique of collective crime was born in Germany in the aftermath of political, philosophical and legal debates after the second world war.

This paper discusses three Hebrew gratulatory poems from the corpus of so-called carmina gratulatoria hebraica composed by 17th century Hungarian peregrines in Franeker (Holland). It introduces the genre and context of this type of poems.

Did the Jews engage in missionary activities in the New Testament era? Since most of the first Christians were of Jewish background, with their centre in Jerusalem, and considering the relevance of missionary activity in early Christianity, this is a highly significant question. Before the ministry of Apostle Paul, Christians of (primarily) Jewish origin were those who defined the circle and practice of potential followers of Christ.

The astronomical part of the Ethiopian Book of Enoch refers to an interesting phenomenon, namely the length of the longest day of the year. This data is particularly significant in localising this astronomical observation on the world map. Since the length of the year’s longest day depends on geographical latitude, this data could hint at the latitude of the place, i.e. the approximate geographical location where the Book of Enoch may have been composed.