What's the best Dictionary/Lexicon?
Apparently I have quite a few dictionaries and lexicons in my library. Unfortunately I don't really know much about them all, I'm new to Logos and studying the bible. Also, I use Logos most of the time on my ipad pro and when I longpress a word it shows the dictionary info for that word and I love having that at my fingertips.
I got excited when I saw the TDNT on sale the other day so I bought it. But…. I made it my primary Lexicon and it is essentially worthless on Mobile. Ok, that's fine. I don't regret buying it because I'm building resources for future study and I'm sure I'll use it someday, but for now it's not helpful.
I've been using the Vine Complete Expository Dictionary and I like it alot. But…. It got me to thinking, I should ask all of you, is there a better Bible Dictionary/Lexicon? Are there 1, 2, or 3 that are considered better than all the rest? What do you recommend?
Best Answers
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For use on mobile I like the following in no particular order:
Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words | Logos Bible Software
The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament | Logos Bible Software
The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament | Logos Bible Software
The Baker Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words | Logos Bible Software
The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament | Logos Bible Software (This is by the D in BDAG)
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My default for everyday Bible Study (although I also have many more far more in depth-ones) is Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary. It is complete without being massive or overwhelming and I know that 99.9% of the time, the word I am looking for will be in it, so I have prioritized it as my go-to dictionary. As a hardcover book it was 1,440 pages, and I loved it so much that my Bible Study group also bought a copy as a gift for one of our members who was leaving town years ago. She is now back in town and told me a while back she loves it and is still using it all.the.time! 😁
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Lexicons generally describe non-english formal dictionaries (eg greek, hebrew). Encyclopedias is Logos's name for regular dictionaries and encyclopedias (typically english headwords).
Your problem, however, is that the Danker lexicon also has an index for english headwords (as also Nelson's).
So, prioritizing will depend on your preference, when an english word. Of course, for greek, only Danker will respond.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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Recommend the DBLs…Dictionary of Biblical Languages (Hebrew) & Dictionary of Biblical Languages (Greek). They don't include extraneous bloat like HALOT does, and they include hyperlinks to many (sometimes all!!…Red + below indicates all refs. incl.) of the verses where a word is used in the Bible, so you can see the context just by hovering. Also includes links to Strong's , TWOT (also highly recommended), and Louw/Nida (LN). They make a good starting point for any inquiry.
Fwiw, Strong's gets a lot of guff from folks who consider it lowbrow, but it is the only lex that indicates proper syllabic stress for pronunciation, and it also includes a word occurrence count.
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Comments
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For use on mobile I like the following in no particular order:
Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words | Logos Bible Software
The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament | Logos Bible Software
The Complete Word Study Dictionary: Old Testament | Logos Bible Software
The Baker Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words | Logos Bible Software
The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament | Logos Bible Software (This is by the D in BDAG)
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My default for everyday Bible Study (although I also have many more far more in depth-ones) is Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Dictionary. It is complete without being massive or overwhelming and I know that 99.9% of the time, the word I am looking for will be in it, so I have prioritized it as my go-to dictionary. As a hardcover book it was 1,440 pages, and I loved it so much that my Bible Study group also bought a copy as a gift for one of our members who was leaving town years ago. She is now back in town and told me a while back she loves it and is still using it all.the.time! 😁
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Thank you @Simon’s Brother and @Carmen Gauvin-O'Donnell ! I looked at my library and I own 2 of the ones you recommended:
I went ahead and added the others to my wish list so I can try to catch them on sale.
But… When I went to prioritize them in my list of prioritized books I became confused. The first one comes up as a "Lexicon" type in my library and the second is a "Encyclopedia" type in my library. So…. What's the difference and how does it effect when I click on a word to get more information on the word? Any help understanding the difference is greatly appreciated.
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Lexicons generally describe non-english formal dictionaries (eg greek, hebrew). Encyclopedias is Logos's name for regular dictionaries and encyclopedias (typically english headwords).
Your problem, however, is that the Danker lexicon also has an index for english headwords (as also Nelson's).
So, prioritizing will depend on your preference, when an english word. Of course, for greek, only Danker will respond.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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Ok, Now that I actually understand the difference between a Lexicon and a Encyclopedia (thank you @DMB ), below is a list of all the Lexicons in my library. Which one would you say is the best one that will show both English and Greek/Hebrew words and give really good info on the words?
Screenshot of Library:
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Well, english/greek headwords is the exception, and probably you chose the best for you. Some of the Strongs have both english and greek indices. I don't think your Enhanced Strongs does.
You'll want to use your Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs for your hebrew.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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For lexicons on the Greek NT, while I am certainly biased, I might recommend the Lexham Research Lexicon of the Greek NT. It is probably already in your library (assuming you've purchased a library since L10 was released) along with counterparts for the Hebrew OT and Septuagint.
Rick Brannan | Bluesky: rickbrannan.com
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There are different levels and kinds of lexica, so the answer will also depend on your level and needs:
- Academic "classic" lexica (e.g. BDAG)
- Semantic lexica (e.g., Louw & Nida)
- Theological lexica (e.g. NIDOTTE)
- Popular lexica with glosses (e.g. Strong's)
- Exegetical lexica (e.g. EDNT)
And perhaps others I forget about.
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Recommend the DBLs…Dictionary of Biblical Languages (Hebrew) & Dictionary of Biblical Languages (Greek). They don't include extraneous bloat like HALOT does, and they include hyperlinks to many (sometimes all!!…Red + below indicates all refs. incl.) of the verses where a word is used in the Bible, so you can see the context just by hovering. Also includes links to Strong's , TWOT (also highly recommended), and Louw/Nida (LN). They make a good starting point for any inquiry.
Fwiw, Strong's gets a lot of guff from folks who consider it lowbrow, but it is the only lex that indicates proper syllabic stress for pronunciation, and it also includes a word occurrence count.
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"The Unbelievable Work...believe it or not." Little children...Biblical prophecy is not Christianity's friend.
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Basically, the idea of a “best” lexicon is the problem. Different lexicons accomplish different things. The more you understand the language the lexicon is for, the larger number of excellent options exist. I use BDD, BDAG, and HALOT when I am trying to work through the nuance of a text, but I also use grammars and good exegetical commentaries as well. That said, when I am just reading and curious, I use lexicons like LN or Mounce. Personally, I find that the notes in the NET Bible are very helpful if I don’t wish to have multiple tools open and I am just reading. I still own the bound copy of Strong’s my father bought me in the early 1970s, but I don’t use it as a tool. It fills a need I no longer have but as David above said, it has good use cases.
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I don't think there's a 'best,' but rather several good options based on your needs. There are a few 'bad' ones, however. (And I can't speak authoritatively on Hebrew, as I'm primarily a Greek user.)
The bad: Thayer is known to be incorrect in many places and should not be used by anyone serious about a Greek lexicon. Strong's has a lot of followers, but is dated, a bit simplistic (often does the x=y of translation, which is bad) and not the best choice. I don't rule it out but it's not where I go first.
The good: BDAG is considered the best Greek lexicon by many. The Lexham Research Lexicon of the GNT is a great option as well. Louw-Nida is a little different in character, being a dictionary of semantic domains, but it indispensable if you want to know the range of meanings and is keyed to the interlinear in Logos.
As for Hebrew, I use BDB and the Lexham Analytical Lexicon the most, but again, I don't use Hebrew enough to have a dog in that fight.
For dictionaries, the Lexham Bible Dictionary is accessible by most and is fine. For the most up-to-date of a set of similarly-titled books, be sure to get the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis.
There are other options as well…you should try out several and see which ones fit your style the best when you hover (popups) or click (context menu options).
Eating a steady diet of government cheese, and living in a van down by the river.
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Thank you, that is super helpful.
When I said “best” I’m really thinking best for mobile where I can click on it and it shows a bunch of information about the original language word. Right now I'm really liking the DBLs for the reasons @David Paul mentioned above.0 -
If you are going to be using DBLs regularly, a few things to consider…you could probably figure these things out over time, but it helps to know. I showed a Hebrew example above…in DBLG, in place of TWOT, you will find links to TDNT. You will also find related links back to DBLH and DBLA…whether this is because the OT dictionaries were completed first or because it has to do with the LXX relationship, I'm not sure. And, yes, there is a DBLA, the Aramaic volume which won't get tons of use, but you need to prioritize it along with Hebrew and Greek.
Useful to understand is why the entry numbers for Strong's, TWOT, and DBLs don't match up. Strong's tends to isolate based on spelling, so words that might be considered homonyms but with different meanings may be located in a single entry. TWOT creates entries based on root families, with subentries given letter tags after the assigned number, so TWOT has fewer numbers compared to Strong's. DBLs separate out the various homonymic semantic variants as individual entries, so it has more numbers compared to Strong's.
Also, here is a link that describes how to prioritize items in your library so that the links to Strong's, TWOT, TDNT, etc. work correctly.
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"The Unbelievable Work...believe it or not." Little children...Biblical prophecy is not Christianity's friend.
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