[B-Greek] On Thayer and BDAG
Michael Aubrey
mga318 at yahoo.com
Fri Jul 18 17:17:14 EDT 2008
> This notion that a definition is better than a gloss because it uses more than
> one word strikes me as not self-evident.
That's a confusion of method and results. I would agree that "head" is just as good if not better than "the part of the body that contains the brain." But both the word and that phrase are results not method. The word "head" could just as easily be considered a definition rather than a gloss. Its possible to have one word definitions.
Its a difference of method. The gloss method's focus is words for translation and typically glosses are pulled directly from translations. And there are problems. 1) no gloss or even set of glosses will likely be adequate for every instance of a given word. 2) The semantic range of a given word cannot be accurately represented by a gloss or set of glosses. 3) glosses in a different language potentially misrepresent the meaning of a given Greek word simply because the receptor language does not use such an expression.
The fact is, glosses are easy. That's why we've had them for thousands of years. Definitions take work. But they will be more likely to accurately represent *Greek* semantics.
> Maybe Thayer's glosses (and for that matter, the glosses in Bauer's
> second edition) go back so far because they are good ones to use. Or maybe lexicons take an infinite amount of work and it was easier to just borrow from the predecessors than think through new glosses. ILL Lee's book and give it a read.
> Can anyone show me one clear thing wrong in Thayer that BDAG corrects?
EKSIS
The gloss "habit" goes back to the Vulgate which ironically was semantically correct at time time, but was interpreted incorrectly later on.
BDAG is correct because Lee wrote an article on the lexical history of the word and it convinced Danker.
>I'm not trying to be argumentative, but I'm not the one who keeps bringing this up.
I understand. I don't really care for arguing and I understand your point completely. My perspective is different than those you've argued with before.
Beginners don't need BDAG, but I don't see Thayer as being very helpful either. Both are bloated with more information than the *beginner* would know what to do with.
What do I say about lexicons and learning?
First year get something uptodate, but small, something that is actually handy for the beginner. And get Zerwick at the end of that year.
After two years or so, simply put, they should get as many lexicons as they can. Because just like Bible translations, there is no single lexicon that has got it right. And whether you're reading BDAG or Thayer or LSJ, read critically, compare your lexicons and do your own homework. It'll be a whole lot of work, but you'll learn the language better.
Mike
http://evepheso.wordpress.com
PS - John Lee's book is a very entertaining and fast read too!
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