Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study (Paperback)

~ (Author) "The publication in 1957 of Nelson's Complete Concordance of the Revised Standard Version Bible (Nashville/New York: Nelson) focused attention on biblical concordances in general as..." (more)
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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Danker’s indispensable volume, available since 1993 in a revised and expanded edition, has served for 40 years as the reliable guide for students and scholars to the foundational texts of biblical study: concordances, primary Hebrew and Greek texts, grammars and lexicons, Bible dictionaries and versions, commentaries, and a host of contextual tools for studying the world of the Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls. Now the volume will also include a CD-ROM, powered by the Libronix Digital Library System, making this work more convenient to use, easily searchable, and ready for notetaking, highlighting, bookmarking, and use with a word processor. The CD-ROM will also include some updated bibliography and Weblinks to related material.

From the Publisher

Minimum system requirements: Computer/Processor: Pentium 133 MHz or faster (Pentium 300 MHz processor recommended). CD-ROM drive. Operating System: Microsoft Windows 98 or later—will run on Windows 98/98SE/Me/NT 4.0 (SP3)/2000/XP. Memory: Windows 98/Me/NT: 64 MB; Windows 2000/XP: 64 MB (128 MB recommended). Hard Drive Space: 60 MB minimum. Monitor Resolution: 800 x 600 or larger. Intended for a single user.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Augsburg Fortress Publishers (June 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800635957
• ISBN-13: 978-0800635954
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #275,693 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview of resources for biblical study, December 21, 2000

By	Chris Lee (Cambridge, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study (Paperback)

This is a fabulous book, appropriately written for pastors, highly educated and well-motivated lay readers, church leaders (even lay leaders), and seminarians, addressing additional resources for assisting biblical study.

I believe the current version is the 4th edition and includes a number of computer biblical tools as well (such as Gramcord's Accordance and Hermeneutica's BibleWorks).

Frederick W. Danker is a top notch (Evangelical) Lutheran Biblical Scholar who is the final name of the Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich-Danker "A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature." (The new edition came out Nov. 2000, chaired by Danker.)

The book discusses the merits of studying the original languages, how to use lexicons (including the LSJ lexicon), bible dictionaries, concordances, encyclopedias, as well as Bible helps, commentaries, and so on. Various versions of critical apparatii are discussed (e.g., Nestle-Aland and United Bible Societies versioning for the Greek New Testament, the variants and how to use them in the Masoretic Text/Hebrew Old Testament, like the Leningrad Codex). Danker goes on to do some sample word studies.

It's not exactly for the lay reader, and you need to have some grasp of how the Bible was put together as well as interpretation. It's a great reference manual for the group mentioned above. Probably a great addition for people who like to look at issues of hermeneutics (books of this sort include Kaiser's "Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics," Carson's book, and Fee/Stuart "How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth"), interpretation, and/or linguistics.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bibliographical Tool With Much Detail, July 14, 2005

By	David S. Ritsema (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have found Danker's work to be most helpful. It is on my list of the 100 books needed for a Ph.D. in New Testament. He breaks the chapters up based upon different areas and sources: concordances, Greek NT, Hebrew OT, Greek OT, LXX, Lexicons, Dictionaries, Versions of the Bible, Judaica, DSS, etc.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Tough Read, January 9, 2007

By	J. Mitchell - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was required to read this book for a seminary class.

Dr. Danker is a scholar of top-notch quality and there is no doubt that he knows his subject matter well. Being an amateur in the methods of Biblical research however, I found much of what he wrote difficult to follow. He cites many resources that are in languages other than English (German, French, etc.) and he also sometimes uses quotes that are in other languages as well. If you already have a background in Latin, Hebrew, and Greek then this will not prove to be much of an impediment for you. On the other hand, if you are like me and have yet to study in this area then this book will prove to be more difficult.

Dr. Danker's writing style requires an audience that already has a solid foundation in the scholarly realm of Biblical study. A number of the points that he makes in the book require a certain level of background information in order to understand the significance of the point. Advanced seminarians (those with the Biblical languages under their belt), pastors, and those already doing research in the area of Biblical studies are ideally suited for this work. If you are a beginner then I would suggest taking a look at other less demanding titles.