[B-Greek] Summary of the Danker vol.
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Sun May 2 15:09:50 EDT 2004
*Biblical Greek Language and Lexicography: Essays in Honor of Frederick W.
Danker,* ed. B. Taylor, J. Lee, R. Burton, and R. Whitaker (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 2004).
This should not be considered a formal review of the Danker Festschrift,
just a few notes now that I've finished reading it. Overall this is a very
substantive volume that is well worth it's price. The individual chapters
are diverse; some are broader in scope, others are very narrowly focused
and quite technical. In most (not all) cases it is obvious why the
individual chapters were selected for inclusion. (Unfortunately, chapters
are not numbered, making reference a bit clumsier than necessary.)
The brief bio (xviii-xxi) provides a helpful glimpse into Danker's life.
Those who are in the throes of doctoral work might be encouraged to note
that it took Danker 20 years to finish his Ph.D.! He began work in
classical Greek at the Univ. of Chicago in 1943, but did not graduate until
1963! About 10 years of this time was spent in pastoral ministry (at least
1946-54, perhaps longer).
Probably the most valuable chapter in the entire volume is the major essay
by Danker himself, "Lexical Evolution and Linguistic Hazard" (1-31), which
was the paper that he read at SBL in 1999 to introduce BDAG. This contains
much historical perspective on the lexicon as well as providing an intimate
glimpse into the process of lexicography. A few of my favorite quotes from
Danker's pen:
"Lexicographers have ... responsibility to protect the poetic power of a
word within a phrase from obliteration by bland prose" (22).
"A lexicon also should not be party to ideological distortion. Liturgical
committees frequently bowdlerize otherwise clearly defined areas of
scriptural text" (23).
"Refuge in sanctified vagueness, despite the patina of centuries of usage,
is not a lexical gesture devoutly to be greeted. Indeed, such a practice
may invite liability to the charge of linguistic incest" (24).
Most directly related to BDAG is the careful evaluation of the definitions
and glosses in the review by Terry Roberts (53-65; formerly published in
RBL). His comments make it obvious even to lexical neophytes just how
complex a task it is to define words--esp. in the context of a bilingual
dictionary.
One of the broad articles is that by John Lee, "The Present State of
Lexicography of Ancient Greek" (66-74; Lee is one of the co-editors [with
G. Horsley] of the current project to replace Moulton & Milligan's lexicon
of the papyri). This helpful survey provides a interesting peek into the
task of lexicography, including the confession that "the concise, seemingly
authoritative statement of meaning can, and often does, conceal many
sins--indecision, compromise, imperfect knowledge, guesswork, and, above
all, dependence on predecessors" (66).
William Johnson discusses "Greek Electronic Resources and the
Lexicographical Function" (75-84), particularly from the perspective of a
classicist involved with the TLG project. Just exactly what should a
lexicon be and do? The answer is much broader than providing translation
glosses.
Another well-known lexicographer, Takamitsu Muraoka, writes a brief article
on LXX lexicography (85-90). The challenges of a lexicon of the LXX are
involved, of course, with the relationship to the Hebrew text.
This is followed with a brief article by Barclay Newman (91-93) recounting
the history and process of his slender dictionary. Interesting, but not
earth-shaking.
Richard Whitaker then tackles the related topic of Greek concordances,
demonstrating that the very arrangement and contents of a concordance often
overlaps the concerns of the lexicographer (94-107).
The next four chapters are specialized studies related to Septuagintal
lexicography. Katrin Hauspie (the 'H' of the LEH LXX lexicon) evaluates the
LXX entries in the last two supplements to Liddell-Scott (108-25), and
then, with Erik Eynikel (the 'E' of LEH), provides a careful and complete
discussion of the word DRAKWN in the LXX (126-35). The third LXX article is
Bernard Taylor's semantic study of SPEUDW. He traces the complexities of
Greek-Hebrew semantics and the "interlinear" paradigm assumed by the NETS
translation project (of which he is the translator for 1 Reigns (= 1 Sam).
Cameron Boyd-Taylor then applies the concept of register from systemic
linguistics to matters of the lexicon in the LXX, asking when LXX usage may
be considered evidentiary for the meaning of a Greek word (i.e., and not
due to interlinear Hebrew). This is one of the longer and more technical
articles (149-66).
Then follow four chapters addressing the relationship of grammar and
lexicon. Bernard Taylor's second chapter in the volume is titled "Deponency
and Greek Lexicography" (167-76). Aspect, the topic of three chapters, is
addressed by Randall Buth, "Verbs Perception and Aspect: Greek Lexicography
and Grammar" (177-98--and yes, the title should, I think, have had a comma
added); Trevor Evans, "Future Directions for Aspect Studies in Ancient
Greek" (199-206); and Stanley Porter, "Aspect Theory and Lexicography"
(207-22, perhaps one of the most technical articles). These four do not
agree on everything related to aspect, but they surely surface some key
questions and suggest direction for what needs to have further work. (Any
PhD students looking for a diss. topic related to grammar will find at
least a half dozen ideas in these three chapters.) Overall, it is
interesting to see just how much agreement there is on aspect theory here.
Although the differences might too easily be magnified out of proportion,
Buth, Evans, and Porter are essentially agreed on what aspect is and that
it is one of the key elements of the Greek verbal system. But I must be
careful not to begin writing another article on these three chapters! :)
The last chapter, written by James Voelz, addresses semantics, in
particular, entailment: "External Entailment as a Category of Linguistic
Analysis" (223-30). Verbal nouns and adjectives are the primary focus as
Voelz considers how the verbal element of such words affects our definition
of the Greek word as well as other elements of meaning that are inherent in
their use in a particular context.
Following a selected bibliography of Danker's works, there are nearly 30
pages of indexes (reference, Greek, Hebrew, subject) that will be a
valuable tool to access these essays.
There is only one major wart to be found in this otherwise significant
book. One chapter has been omitted from the above summary--one that baffles
me as to why the editors would allow it to be published. It does not make
much positive contribution to the discussion (other than a few personal
glimpses into Danker's work). It is rather an uncharitable rant against the
UBS/NA text and Kurt and Barbara Aland in particular. It not only lacks
coherence and relevance, but it is in extremely poor taste for a
Festschrift, which ought to contribute to the honoree, not interject
personal vendettas against others--especially when those others are the
editors of the current German edition of Bauer's lexicon--one of whom is
now dead and cannot defend himself. Were I associated with this volume as
editor, publisher, or recipient, I would be embarrassed to have this
chapter included. Regardless of the circumstances which precipitated its
writing, an apology would seem appropriate.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Rodney J. Decker, Th.D., Assoc. Prof./NT
Baptist Bible Seminary, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, USA
www.NTResources.com
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