Biblical Greek Language and Lexicography

by Bernard A. Taylor, John A. L. Lee, Peter R. Burton

As the basis of modern translations of the Scriptures, biblical Greek and lexicography are disciplines vital to our understanding of the original Christian message. This volume, which celebrates the career of Frederick W. Danker, presents the state of the art in Greek and biblical language studies.
Amid the important topics of discussion are how one discovers the meaning of words, current tools available to students of language, and the approach being used in the latest New Testament and Septuagint Greek dictionaries. Added features of this book include appendices listing current Greek-English dictionaries and grammars and current Greek dictionary and language projects as well as indexes of biblical references, Greek and Hebrew words, and grammatical terms.

266 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2004

Reviews

[Rodney Harvill · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explores the breadth of and plumbs the depths of Biblical Greek lexicography, and I honestly had no idea just how extensive and complex the field is or the diversity of opinions among its practitioners although that should come as no surprise. One of the things I learned from reading the book was that lexicons sometimes try to do too much. Many times, the meaning of a word is a combination of its basic definition and how it is used in a specific context, but some lexicons try to capture all those context-specific meanings in the form of glosses rather than provide basic definitions that can accommodate the full range of meaning. Come to think of it, I think the excessive use of verse-specific glosses is the approach taken by Thayer. This is probably one of the reasons I am not fond of it, either.

Another area of discussion pertained to verbal aspect theory. More specifically, which drives the aspect, the verb tense, lexical considerations or context? Some verbs are more suited to durative aspect (often attributed to present tense), and others are more suited to punctiliar aspect (often attributed to aorist). Given that I myself have been concerned about having a verb tense carry too much theological and hermeneutic weight, I really appreciated the wide-ranging discussions among the articles compiled in this book.

[Frederick · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to understand the methods of the scholars behind the Bible translators, the ones who create lexicons, dictionaries which fundamentally provide meanings of words in Greek and Hebrew, then you need to read this book. If you are interested in the history of Biblical interpretation, the transmission of Bible manuscripts, and Biblical translation then this book is essential. Even if you are a secular student who enjoys going to Tufts’ Perseus project to study Aristotle and Plato it would be a good idea to read this book because the lexicons modern translators use are hopelessly flawed and while they may be useful for acknowledging that a word may have been used a certain way by someone, they are not authoritative on any absolute meaning and certainly not the meaning in the context of the Bible. The scholars in this book, for instance, admit that the revered Liddel-Scott-Jones is, “sadly dated,” and worse.

Here are some other quotes from the book that reveal that Greek lexicography, as it stands today, is wholly inadequate as a base from which to criticize the time-honored and God-approved King James Version of the Bible. Regarding lexicons dating from the early 1800’s to now;

“The fact is that opinions will very often differ over the precise wording of lexical definitions even - or perhaps, especially - after careful consideration of a proposed definition.”

“…there is the fact that even the latest lexicons derive their material from their predecessors, and a great deal of it has been passed on uncritically over the course of centuries.”

“…we cannot know for certain that what we find in front of us when we look up a word is sound.”

“…all the existing lexical entries in all our dictionaries are now obsolete and await reassessment in the light of the full evidence, or at least checking to see if there is further evidence to be added.”

“Lexicons are regarded by their users as authoritative, and they put their trust in them. Lexicons are reference books presenting a compressed, seemingly final statement of fact, with an almost legal weight. The mere fact that something is printed in a book gives it authority, as far as most people are concerned. And understandably: if one does not know the meaning of a word, one is predisposed to trust the only means of rescue from ignorance. Yet this trust is misplaced.”

So, don’t pick up your Strong’s Greek dictionary to criticize the Bible you have in front of you unless you have an agenda to undermine the common Christian’s faith in the words God wanted us to have. In that case, I refer you to the, “Yea, hath God said,” crowd in 2Corinthians 2:17 & 11:14-15.

[Charlie Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book consists of a series of essays written in honor of the great lexicographer, Frederick W. Danker. The essays are academic level discussions of issues related to the Greek language and lexicography. These discussions are of crucial importance to any serious Bible student or scholar, especially those who teach or preach.

[Guilherme Nunes · Rating 5 out of 5]

As 5 estrelas são pelo artigo do Stanley E. Porter(pois só li esse: "Apect Theory and Lexicography" Alto Nível!