Lexicon Vs Dictionary

Bob Diebel

I was looking for the difference, a description of a Lexicon Vs Dictionary.

Looking on the internet is very confusing with a lot of cross-talk.

Any and all help in understanding the difference would be much appreciated.

Thanx,

In HIM,

Bob D.

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Jack Caviness

In the Logos universe,

Dictionaries are English language dictionaries (suppose that is also true of other languages)

Lexicons are Original Language dictionaries (Greek, Hebrew, Aramaic)

Encyclopedias are Bible dictionaries.

Joseph Sollenberger

From the following smart search in Logos: Compare and contrast dictionary and lexicon.

A dictionary and a lexicon are closely related reference works with subtle distinctions. While the terms are often used interchangeably, a lexicon can be understood as a dictionary between two languages[1]. A lexicon lists words, typically in alphabetical order, and provides their range of meanings through equivalent words in another language. In a Hebrew lexicon, for instance, specific biblical references often accompany word definitions, serving both as a dictionary and a type of concordance[2]. Dictionaries are fundamentally word-books arranged in a fixed order (usually alphabetical) for quick reference, with varying levels of detail - from bare definitions to longer treatises[3]. Importantly, they differ from Bible dictionaries, which are more encyclopedic, discussing concepts across interrelated terms, whereas lexicons/dictionaries focus on defining individual words[1]. Scholars caution that lexicons are not infallible and merely list possible meanings, so interpreters must always evaluate word usage in specific contexts[2].

[1] Lee M. Fields, Hebrew for the Rest of Us: Using Hebrew Tools to Study the Old Testament, Second Edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2023), 57.
[2] Jason S. DeRouchie, How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2017), 271.
[3] E. C. Richardson, “Dictionaries,” in The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia, ed. James Orr et al. (Chicago: The Howard-Severance Company, 1915), 843–844.

This is the common understanding for those working in Biblical studies, but there are lexicons that list words for field specific domains containing technical words with non-general meanings. To most these would look like a specialized dictionary but the work is usually titles as "A lexicon of …". These lexicons often use a single language and offer no translation to another language.

Rick Brannan

A "Dictionary" is usually understood as a resource regarding words in a particular language, usually providing short definitions. This is an assembly of known words in a language ("comprehensive", "exhaustive") or a subset of most-used words, or words in a particular domain.

Technically a "Lexicon" is a resource about words in a given corpus. So a "Lexicon of the Greek New Testament" is a resource on words in the corpus "Greek New Testament". Some corpora are larger (e.g. BDAG, "A Lexicon on the Greek New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature"), some are smaller (e.g. a lexicon focused on words used by a particular author, or a corpus of Akkadian tablets [like the Amarna Letters]).

Ben

Dictionaries are for same-language; lexicons are for cross language, like English-Greek or French-Ugaritic.