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A New Reader's Lexicon of the Greek New Testament

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This title caught my eye when I was browsing Kregel's list of upcoming releases earlier this fall. If you were to take a look at the bookshelves in my office, you'd probably come to the conclusion that I certainly don't need another lexicon. Chances are you'd be right. Normally, I'd quickly skim the description of a forthcoming lexicon and move on. However, there were two things that piqued my interest. First, I was drawn to the beautiful image of codex 2882 (courtesy of the Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts) on the cover. Second, I noticed that the foreword was written by Daniel B. Wallace. Dr. Wallace's contribution to the study of New Testament Greek in the past few decades is envious and commendable. The fact that he wrote the forward for this new lexicon told me it deserved more than just a cursory glance.

The commendations from various Bible scholars in the front of the book and on the back cover have two common themes. First, the majority of them describe this work as a much needed update and improvement on a similar work by Sakae Kubo published by Zondervan. Second, they are very pleased that the vast majority of the contextual definitions come from BDAG. In the forward, Daniel Wallace touches on the two themes mentioned by the other scholars. He also mentions the importance of the three-fold tagging of word frequency in this volume, noting it will be of great value to the beginning and intermediate Greek student as well as the experienced exegete. Dr. Wallace has great hopes for this new work, which is expressed best in the following quote from the end of the foreword, "What Kubo did for the last generation, Burer and Miller's NRL will do for the next."

The student, pastor, and serious layperson will appreciate the layout and features of the entries in this lexicon. Every word, including proper names and place names, that occur fewer than fifty times in the New Testament are defined in context. The word frequency statistics based on the NA27/USB4 Greek New Testament are computer generated. The frequency information for each entry contains some or all of the following: number of times the word appears in the verse, number of times the word occurs in the book, number of times the word occurs in works by the same author, and number of times the word occurs in the entire new Testament. In addition to word frequency, each entry has some or all of the following cross references where the word occurs less than three times: occurring in 3 or fewer verses in the same book, occurring in 3 or fewer verses within the author's writing outside the current book, and occurring in 3 or fewer verses outside the current author's writing. There is a wealth of statistical information for each and every entry.

Every serious student of New Testament Greek should consider adding this lexicon to their library. Coming in at just under thirty dollars, the reasonable price makes this book accessible to even those with the smallest of book budgets. This book will become a mainstay on my desk and I'm confident it will enhance my study of the Greek New Testament. I agree with Dr. Wallace, that A New Reader's Lexicon of the Greek New Testament will have a great impact on this next generation of aspiring Greek scholars.



Michael H. Burer is assistant professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, where he received his Ph.D. He has published a number of scholarly works and contributed as an editor to the New English Translation--Novum Testamentum Graece New Testament.

Jeffrey E. Miller earned his Th.M. from Dallas Theological Seminary and is senior pastor at Trinity Bible Church in Richardson, Texas. He has published both scholarly and popular works.

If you went to a school that required the memorization of words that only appear more than fifty times, this book is a necessary counterpart to NA27. By removing the special sections of Kubo, it improves on its predecessor in a big way. Flipping back and forth through Kubo was a bit cumbersome. Uninterrupted reading of the Greek NT is encouraging to the student, and confidence is an important step towards mastery. Even if you have Bibleworks or Accordance this book is worth owning; the student shouldn't feel like a computer is necessary for proper Greek reading. Finally, using the standard lexicon, BDAG, bolsters the authority of the book.

I noticed one reviewer recommended Zondervan's "Reader's NT" over this. Although I have the Zondervan, I must say I have been using Burer's lexicon more for a few reasons: [1] Burer's Lexicon has definitions of words that appear 50+ vs. Zondervan's 30+ (there is an additional lexicon in the back of the Zondervan, but then you're back to flipping around); [2] Zondervan lacks the TC apparatus, and so if you're using NA27 with Burer's lexicon you still have access to the wealth of text critical information. [3] The Zondervan NT I have is somewhat poorly made; it has not held up that well for me. It is a paperback with faux leather. Admittedly, though, books take a great amount of abuse in my hands.

A nicely printed lexicon that gives the vocabulary on each chapter of the Greek Next Testament. It is good tool for the reader to tap the chapter and place it alongside him as he reads the bible and flips to that page if it is needed. It can also be used as a quick revision tool.

This lexicon is NOT exhaustive. However, it is particularly useful for anyone who has a fairly good grasp on Greek and a fair amount of Greek vocabulary memorized. The lexicon itself is unique in its orderly verse by verse approach. For each verse it lists the less common words that are not likely to be memorized by a student of Greek such as myself. I've recently been translating portions of Romans, and I've found this to be invaluable as invariably each word I come to that I am unsure of its meaning is listed in this lexicon. The time saved flipping through an alphabetized or any other lexicon makes me very grateful for this lexicon. The lexicon does NOT include parsing of verbs except in very rare cases. This again is great for me as it enable me to be able to translate while holding me to my own knowledge for the declension of nouns and particular parse of a verb. Worth it.

The preface begins, "Unfamiliar vocabulary proves to be an enduring challenge for students of New Testament Greek." Very true IMO.

Also a challenge is that accessing a computer loaded with original language software that contains electronic lexicons [i.e., like BibleWorks] is not always practical, nor even possible.

And let's face it, who hasn't succumbed to the temptation of getting bogged down in a software's "library" of resources. This interrupts reading, simply reading the text. Reading gets interrupted. I hate it when that happens.

So sometimes you've gotta go with a lexicon that's a book. Which book? A book well thought out with the "reader" in mind; such as, "A New Reader's Lexicon of The Greek New Testament [NRL]."

The type is incredibly easy on the eyes. The contextual definitions are consulted from the most current lexical resources [primarily BDAG 3rd Edition], thus trustworthy.

"Having the NRL opented next to a copy of the Greek New Testament solves the problem of rare [unfamiliar] vocabulary and enables the student to translate [read] without interruption while unlocking the meaning of the text." (Also from the premise, bracketed information mine)

This book is a great resource. It is well laid out and easy to use. It is a must have for those translating Greek.

Don't waste your money on this book. Instead buy Zondervan's A Readers's Greek New Testament, or the similar book published by UBS. What these books do is give you the definitions of all words occuring less than 30 times underneath the printed New Testament. This way, you do not have to flip from book to book. The advantage of having the definitions in the same book can not be overstated. The fact is, the earlier lexion by Kubo, of which this book is really just a revision, was already made obsolete; to revise a book that is no longer needed seems an odd thing to do. Now, this book does give you all the words that occur less than 50 times, not 30, but I don't think this amounts to many words, and it's certainly not worth the money. A Reader's Greek New Testament also gives more glosses per word. The frequency statistics in A New Reader's Lexicon are good to have, but again, not worth the expense or inconvenience of a separate book.