Customer Reviews

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Coded with Strong's Concordance Numbers

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Great, classic book on NT Greek words and their usage. He gives a good deal of derivation information, which is very valuable. Note to fellow Greek students: even though your book may include all the vocabulary you need, you should still get this book right away. One of the hardest thing about learning languages (at least for me) is memorizing vocabulary, and having the derivations makes it much easier. Example: the word PROSWPON (face). Mounce gives the memorable phrase "Pour soap on" as a mnemonic; but even more helpful to me was Thayer's explanation that PROSWPON is derived from PROS+OPS="what's in front of your eyes." Another one: ENOPION (before). Thayer explains it comes from EN+OPS="in the eyes of". Beautiful.

Another thing I especially like is how he relates many Greek words to words in other languages, not just English. For example, "IDE" could be defined as look, behold, etc; but Thayer would give the helpful hint "Latin: ecce". Where useful, he also lists equivalents for some words in German, French, etc.

The only drawback is that it's an reprint of an old (1880?) text, so some of the print is a little hard to read, and some of the references are hard to figure out and then to find. But, especially for the money, it's a great tool.

A simple but in depth reference book that lets us look up any word in the new testament and find out it's meaning, or meanings, it's pronunciation and Greek spelling, it's roots, and derivations, places it is used in the Bible, and all kind of other interesting thing in a paragraph or so. The only other thing you should know before you do buy this is you have to have a Strong's concordance to work with to know which English Bible words correspond to which Greek word.

Thayer went great lengths to produce an excellent lexical resource. Many would agree. But shortly after publishing, his book became outdated. Koine Greek was no longer viewed as a Holy Spirit invention (which was thought for a long time since scholars could not find 10% of the NT vocabulary in secular writings until about the last century). Since Thayer's release, Koine lexicography has taken great strides and has since left this dictionary far behind (see "Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics" by Daniel B. Wallace).

One positive of Thayer's dictionary is his study of etymology. Understanding how words form is very helpful in vocabulary memorization. But I'll add a word of caution illustrated by this short etymology lesson: "Butterfly" does not mean "a fly made of butter."

As words evolve (or devolve), they do not always retain their meanings. Koine vocabulary is an example that has been required to simplify in order to be accepted by various cultures. The words will not always fit etymological patterns or classical definitions.

Why then is Thayer's still so popular? It's cheap. It's public domain. And it's easy to use. Purchase at your own risk.

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

This book elaborates on the often brief definitions of Greek words in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. It's easy to use, incorporating the same numerical codes as Strong's. It also contains an exhaustive English index. Use this reference tool to discover exciting new things about the Bible!

This is an update to the review I wrote before I actually knew some Greek. There are two reasons I downgraded my rating from five to four stars. The first is that this is not the 'best' Koine Greek - English Lexicon. That title is held by Frederick Danker's new edition of Bauer's Lexicon. The second is that even as a 'second best' it is weak in that its Biblical quotes are all from the KJV, a translation which most scholars no longer use. Thayer retains four stars by the virtues I cited below, plus the fact that Danker costs many, many times more than Thayer, and even Danker Lite, which has much less information, costs almost three times the cost of Thayer.

`Thayer's Greek - English Lexicon of the New Testament' represents the fourth type of dictionary connected with New Testament study I have found. With some important caveats, it may be the single most useful `dictionary' for the serious NT scholar.
The first `dictionary' such as the HarperCollins and Anchor dictionaries are actually `encyclopedias' and not dictionaries, as they provide practically none of the lexical and philological information found in dictionaries, while providing many other things which are useful. The second, at the opposite end of the spectrum, is represented by the lovely leather-bound dictionary by Barclay M. Newman, Jr. and published by the United Bible Societies and the slightly larger volume published by the Cambridge University Press, prepared by Warren C. Trenchard. These are minimalist dictionaries, primarily useful as an aide de memoir, especially if you happen to be away from your library, or any other good reference library, for that matter. The third type is the multi-volume `theological' dictionary, including the four volume `New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology' edited in its English translation from the German by Colin Brown and the ten-volume `Theological Dictionary of the New Testament', edited in German and completed around 1933 by Gerhard Kittel, and translated into English by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Both are true dictionaries, which are most similar to the mammoth Oxford English Dictionary, but with even longer studies of the various ways words were used. Thayer's dictionary, which dates back to the late 19th century, is a single volume work with virtually complete lexical material, far more than the slim, portable dictionaries, but without the theological and historical analysis of the giant works.
Thayer's is in many ways very similar to the much friendlier `Vines Complete Expository Dictionary', except that it limits itself to NT Greek, while Vines gives Old and New Testament terms, in English translation. But, the comparison to Vines is important, because Thayer shares with Vines a feature none of the other works do. That is a coding of all Greek words to Strong's concordance, by key number. This one feature can easily make the difference between choosing this book over all the others. The second most important reason I've found for selecting Thayer is that he has words which none of the other giant works had! And, the information thus provided illuminated the very text I was studying for presentation at a Bible study class. Nothing works like success!
Thayer's down side for some people is that the print is very small. If your eyesight is compromised in any way, so that you may have trouble reading telephone directory listings, you will not have fun with Thayer's small font, especially since you may be dealing with a Greek script with which you are only casually familiar. This was a concern for my tired eyes, but finding that one word I needed turned the tide, and gave me the will to break out the magnifying glass, if necessary.
If you can afford money or room for only one Greek NT dictionary, and you really feel you need one at hand, this may one is worth much serious consideration.

The age of the work should not be a consideration, as this type of research doesn't have the 'shelf-life' of historical research subject to new archeology.

I am simply beginning my journey with NT Greek, and am loving every minute of it while using this resource. It is very extensive, yet easy to understand. I would highly recomend it.

Thayer's lexicon is considered a "classic" Greek reference tool. And many people to this day favor it. However, it is in fact an outdated work. It was produced in the 1800s, and much has been learned about the Greek of the NT since that time.

Thayer's still has some value. And I did refer to it some as I was working on my Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament: Third Edition (ALT). However, much more often, I referred to newer lexicons like Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament or A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature.

But what makes this lexicon so favored is that it is inexpensive since it is in the public domain. Moreover, many newer editions are coded to Strong's Concordance numbers. This makes this work accessible to non-Greek readers. And it is good that people are introduced to Greek word studies in this way.

However, too many people seem to think they can figure out what the Greek "really" means by getting the Strong's number and looking up the word in this lexicon. There is much more to studying the Greek text than such simplicity, as anyone who as actually taken the time learn Greek and worked with the actual Greek text will tell you.

So I would say this lexicon might be good to have as one resource, but I would strongly recommend getting a more up-date lexicon to compare it to. And trust the newer lexicon to this one.

Although I have both Arndts and Thayers lexicons, I find myself reaching again and again for Thayers. After almost thirty years of ministry and Bible study, my well-worn copy of Thayers Lexicon is a trusted friend. It is simple and easy to use. The definitions, unlike Arndts, are briefer and to the point, dealing almost exclusively with Biblical definitions. More importantly, it can be trusted to give you accurate definitions without falling prey to the influence of modern cults.

Unfortunately, in the attempt to be politically correct and to avoid being labled intolerant, Biblical scholars are under tremendous pressure to bow to non-classical definitions of Greek words to reflect, or at least include, cultic definitions. Of course, a working knowledge of Greek is needed to use this book.

Granting the age on Thayer's and the recent advancement in lexicography, I will say that there are better works available than Thayer's (e.g, BDAG). But I still find Thayer's to be useful in some places.

Keep your Thayer's and make references when you can, but do not make it your primary tool. You need to trust more recent scholarship.

For anyone needing a good reliable lexicon at a decent price, Thayer is a good choice. True, it came
out before the papyri discoveries, but what is most important isn't how old or new a work is, but how
accurate it is. Thayer ranks excellent in that area. There is a mistake here or there, but that's true
in any work, and if you get the Hendrickson edition, it has the Strong's numbers, for those who don't know
Greek well. If one needs a newer lexicon, they are available large and small, some on the used market for
a fraction of the price.

I occasionally read a few rather critical reviews of Thayer, saying it's out of date, and be sure to get
the BDAG if you want to learn the correct meanings of the Greek. BDAG is a bit on the high-price side
(especially for students on a budget), also it's not perfect (I have noticed a couple of entries where
they inserted their own theology, even ignoring the historians). That happens, which is why one must be
alert in ANY work written by humans, and let the Bible be the final authority.

So then, if you want a BDAG and have the $120+ to spend, of course get it, and use it well. Or if you need
only NT material, you might look at the CONCISE edition for half price (sometimes you can go even lower if
someone "wants bookshelf space". However, just because Thayer is from the 1880's, please don't think it's
not a reliable lexicon (remember the Bible itself is rather old). I read many works from scholars that quote
it. It will give you plenty of help in learning the meanings of the words of God in the original language.