Customer Reviews

A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament

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This dictionary is an old standard, and still very helpful. It is organized by roots. This means that all words are listed under the consonantal root (usually three consonants), regardless of what additional consonants or vowels have been added at the beginning or elsewhere. When I was a beginner in Hebrew, I found this system difficult to follow. However, with practice I started to get used to which roots lost their first consonant in derived or conjugated forms, and which ones had unstable second and third consonants. Now I can use this dictionary without much difficulty.

If you are a beginner in Hebrew, this dictionary is definitely a good one to plan to get, but you would be better served initially by A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. This dictionary organizes words alphabetically rather than by roots, a feature which saves beginners a lot of frustration. As you progress, you should also consider getting a much more recent comprehensive lexicon of Biblical Hebrew, The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. This dictionary is based on much more recent scholarship that Brown-Driver-Briggs, but it is considerably more expensive, so BDB is an economical choice for good, if not cutting edge, scholarship. In case it matters to you, the edition I am reviewing here is the one without Strong's numbers. I have no interest in Strong's numbers, but if you find them helpful, take a look at this edition of BDB: Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon.

This is a great Hebrew lexicon with detailed entries with references to the other semitic languages such as Aramaic, Arabic, Syriac, and Ethiopic. In fact, it even has a biblical Aramaic lexicon as an appendix.

Why a lexicon? "In the beginning was the WORD." Word usage is enormously helpful to Biblical understanding. H.W.F. Gesenius (mid 1800's) is acclaimed as the Noah Webster of Old Testament Hebrew lexicons (dictionary). He brings to the Old Testament a wonderful blend of Christian/Jewish background and insight. Be sure to note not only the word you are looking up, but also the words that surround it, for they too often lend very interesting and even uncanny insight (divine providence).

Well, my book has now traveled. I thought it would be perfect candidate for buy-back as it has been well-cared for and lightly used. The book jacket does show shelf-wear. I am retiring and down-sizing my library, but I guess the Lord intends for me to keep this book as it was rejected. Another book my son ordered for a class which was NEVER used and in perfect condition was also rejected. Puzzling, but I thought to warn others who may be considering buying books with the idea of being able to turn them around when they're no longer required. Other books that were pristine inside but were soft jacket and so the covers were not great were also rejected.