[B-Greek] BDAG Sale Details

Harold R. Holmyard III hholmyard at ont.com
Tue Nov 9 08:20:07 EST 2004


Dear Craig,

>I have 2nd edition BAGD. Is there much difference between 2nd and 3rd
>edition? I notice at a local Christian bookstore here 3rd edition is
>AU$199.95 and 2nd edition is AU$124.00 (and Dan Starcevich has 2nd for
>US$10!!!).
>
>Anyhow, is it worth going from 2nd to 3rd, or just wait for 4th ;-)

HH: Here are some unsolicited reviews from 
Amazon.com that include both opinions.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0226039331/104-5509718-2034327?v=glance

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and 
Other Early Christian Literature
by Walter Bauer, Frederick William Danker (Editor)

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List Price:	 	$125.00
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Edition: Hardcover

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Product Details

*	Hardcover: 1188 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 2.31 x 10.34 x 7.94
*	Publisher: University of Chicago Press; 3rd edition (November 30, 2000)
*	ISBN: 0226039331 | All Editions

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------------------------------------------------------------------------

*	1 person recommended A Classification of 
Semantic Case-Relations in the Pauline Epistles 
in addition to A Greek-English Lexicon of the New 
Testament and Other Early Christian Literature
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Editorial Reviews

Book Description
Described as an "invaluable reference work" 
(Classical Philology) and "a tool indispensable 
for the study of early Christian literature" 
(Religious Studies Review) in its previous 
edition, this new updated American edition of 
Walter Bauer's Wörterbuch zu den Schriften des 
Neuen Testaments builds on its predecessor's 
staggering deposit of extraordinary erudition 
relating to Greek literature from all periods. 
Including entries for many more words, the new 
edition also lists more than 25,000 additional 
references to classical, intertestamental, Early 
Christian, and modern literature.

In this edition, Frederick W. Danker's broad 
knowledge of Greco-Roman literature, as well as 
papyri and epigraphs, provides a more panoramic 
view of the world of Jesus and the New Testament. 
Danker has also introduced a more consistent mode 
of reference citation, and has provided a 
composite list of abbreviations to facilitate 
easy access to this wealth of information.

Perhaps the single most important lexical 
innovation of Danker's edition is its inclusion 
of extended definitions for Greek terms. For 
instance, a key meaning of "episkopos" was 
defined in the second American edition as 
overseer; Danker defines it as "one who has the 
responsibility of safeguarding or seeing to it 
that something is done in the correct way, 
guardian." Such extended definitions give a 
fuller sense of the word in question, which will 
help avoid both anachronisms and confusion among 
users of the lexicon who may not be native 
speakers of English.
Danker's edition of Bauer's Wörterbuch will be an 
indispensable guide for Biblical and classical 
scholars, ministers, seminarians, and translators.


------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spotlight Reviews (What's this?)
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

  Consider the 1979 edition at half the price (used)!, April 12, 2004

Reviewer:	 	A reader (Northfield, 
Minnesota) Danker brings tremendous industry and 
learning to this new edition of what is, without 
question, the ultimate lexicon of New Testament 
Greek in English. Since so many other reviews 
appraise the (very great) absolute value of the 
3rd edition, I feel that it's appropriate to 
sound a cautionary note about whether the 3rd 
edition really shines that much relative to the 
2nd edition. (...)

In short, the 2nd edition is a monument of 
scholarship, a rock of scholarly solidity and 
clarity that has not been suddenly rendered 
obsolete. One's enthusiasm for shelling out for 
the 3rd edition is a bit dampened when you 
consider several issues:

(...)To conclude, there is obviously an audience 
who needs to have the absolute most current 
edition: namely, scholars who are going to follow 
up all the references in the bibliography, who 
need to have the published record (the 3rd 
edition) of every iota of deepened reflection 
reached by Danker. But the 2nd edition is not 
just a book now useful only to "unscholarly" 
readers. It was published in 1979, making use of 
Qumran material, etc., and it continues to offer 
its users a lucid and authoritative account of 
the NT lexicon.

I am not a NT specialist, but a Classics 
professor. I think my demands for quality 
philological information with which to read the 
NT are pretty high. The 2nd edition meets them to 
my satisfaction. I'd not be distressed to have 
only the 3rd edition--on the whole, its 
advantages outweigh its annoyances--but there is 
certainly not $50 worth of difference in the 
value of these editions.

Was this review helpful to you?     (Report this)



6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

  Quite Usable, January 27, 2001

Reviewer:	 	Jonathan Bailey (Lawton, 
OK USA) - See all my reviews I am reviewing the 
second edition of this book, having only recently 
discovered the third edition, which may have a 
number of differences. This lexicon is one of the 
more thorough lexicons of the New Testament. It 
gives a wealth of information about each word, 
including several definitions as well as examples 
of its use in various places in scripture and 
other ancient writings. Even opinions of various 
scholars about meanings are found. The book is 
touted as the lexicon that gives you the 
information that you need to make a personal 
decision about what the word means, discovering 
the definition on your own. The most common 
complaint about the lexicon is that it is so 
exhaustive that it can be difficult to use, and 
people often prefer to have a smaller dictionary 
that will just give them a quick definition. I 
have personally been quite impressed by the 
usability of this lexicon, however. For each word 
there are short, concise definitions in italics, 
and one can ignore all the supplementary 
information if one wills. If one can only afford 
one lexicon, I would hope they would get this 
one. It is the standard lexicon, and the 
complaints about it being cumbersome are 
unfounded. --This text refers to the Hardcover 
edition

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

  This one is a must, September 28, 2004

Reviewer:	 	Drew Evans "Third Angel" 
(Michigan) - See all my reviews
    Don't listen to one reviewer's suggestion to 
save some money and buy a used second edition. 
Gordon D. Fee in his masterful introduction to 
exegetical method, says very strongly:

"This third edition of Bauer is a considerable 
improvement over the first two editions--so much 
so that if you have not yet purchased a lexicon, 
THIS ONE IS A MUST (rather than a secondhand 
second edition, for example)."

There simply isn't anything that beats this one, 
and so if digging into the bible is what you 
want, you have to get the right tools. This is 
the shovel for you. Save up and accept no 
alternatives. You will be happy you got this work.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

  I spent my babys milk money for this!, March 24, 2004

Reviewer:	 	Robert Wynkoop (Washington State) - See all my reviews
    While attending seminary, like most 
theological students, I purchased Thayers 
Greek-English Lexicon. It was good and easy to 
use. But as I advanced in my studies my 
professors were increasingly critical of Thayer 
and expected us to use the more scholarly 
Arndt/Gingrich. So as a impoverished theological 
student with a wife and baby, I purchased 
Arndt/Gringrich with my babys milk money so I 
could be more scholarly.

I wish I saved my money. Do not get me wrong. It 
is by far the superior lexicon. Its definitions 
are massive and the survey of a words etymology 
is unsurpassed; but realistically, it has more 
information than this country preacher is looking 
for. Like detective Joe Friday of Dragnet fame, 
all I want is the facts.

Behind me as I write this review is my 
theological library. Two lexicons, 
Arndt/Gringrich and Thayers stand side by side. 
Occasionally, when I need a lexicon in my 
biblical studies, I always turn to Thayer. So 
unless you are planning on writing for a 
theological journal, save your babys milk money 
and use Thayer. --This text refers to the 
Hardcover edition

  Invaluable resource, December 1, 2003

Reviewer:	 	Rev. Dr. Bradley L. Sidle 
(Xenia, OH USA) - See all my reviews The third 
edition of this classic work contains even more 
examples, citations, and helps than the second 
edition. I personally preferred the less ornate 
Greek text of the second edition, but this is a 
very small critique of a tremendous work.

No serious scholar should be without this. And 
for those who are perfectly comfortable with 
computer aided research, this hard copy has the 
appeal of being strikingly browse-able, like 
window-shopping in the language.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

  an essential, September 19, 2002

Reviewer:	 	NotATameLion (Michigan) - See all my reviews
    With the exception of the short dictionary at 
the back of my Greek New Testament, no tool has 
been of more use in my study of Biblical Greek 
than this lexicon.

More than just a dictionary, the strength of this 
lexicon is that it gives both specific meanings 
of words in context as well as a knowledge of the 
shadings of meaning that a word carries 
throughout the Bible. This moves the student from 
a general grasp of a thing to an attentiveness to 
the precise way God has made himself known--there 
is nothing quite like it.

As other reviewers have noted, this is probably 
not a good place for beginners hoping to do a 
word study to jump in. I'd recommend Vine's for 
that. I also recommend that those serious in the 
study of Biblical Greek use this book in 
conjunction with a Greek New Testament, Mr. 
Mounce's Grammar (his lexicon is handy too), and 
Zerwick's Grammatical Analysis. This broad group 
of tools should help keep you from falling pray 
to a single interpretive spin. Don't let its size 
and price scare you off--this book is essential 
for the student of Biblical Greek. --This text 
refers to the Hardcover edition

					Yours,
					Harold Holmyard


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