Abstract:
This study makes use of Ferdinand Hahn's insights (with Son of God as case
study) to indicate how the naming of Jesus developed in stages. It is shown that
the name Son of God was not used by Jesus. It functioned within the context of
the cultic activities of early Christianity, was taken over from the surrounding
religious, political and cultural world while its referential meaning shifted in the
various layers. Hahn focuses on the multi-stage development of the Jesus
tradition from an Aramaic "Judaism", through a Hellenistic "Judaism" to a
Gaeco-Roman stage. First the possible historical origins of the title Son of God
are discussed, after which Hahn's view is taken into consideration.
