how to use BDAG

Ronnie Smith
Ronnie Smith Member Posts: 8
edited November 2024 in English Forum

To all,

Forgive me for admitting I actually own a program I don't know how to use. I own BDAG , but have not figured out how to use it yet. Is there a place to type in words ans have the meaning provided. I don't seem to be able to find out how to actually use it or find a tutorial on it.

Comments

  • Levi Durfey
    Levi Durfey Member Posts: 2,214 ✭✭✭

    Hi Ronnie,

    One way to use BDAG (the way I mostly use it) is through the Bible Word Study tool in Logos. The Logos Wiki has a very detailed page on how to do word studies in Logos, with links to tutorial videos. Here's the link: http://wiki.logos.com/Logos_5$3a_Bible_Word_Study

  • Levi Durfey
    Levi Durfey Member Posts: 2,214 ✭✭✭

    Another way is to right-click on a word in a Bible, and choose the BDAG from the context menu. Note that you should have "Lemma" selected in the context menu and that the full name of BDAG is "A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature"

  • Doc B
    Doc B Member Posts: 3,585 ✭✭✭

    Integ said:

    the full name of BDAG is "A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature"

    This begs a question I've had in the past, but had forgotten to ask until I read this post: is it possible to change the name of a resource so that is shows up in the contextual menu under a new name? I.e., can we fix it where BDAG shows up in the list as 'BDAG'?

    Eating a steady diet of government cheese, and living in a van down by the river.

  • NB.Mick
    NB.Mick MVP Posts: 16,037

    Doc B said:

    can we fix it where BDAG shows up in the list as 'BDAG'?

    yes we can. I just did this for Lewis and Short, the Latin lexicon - changed the title and added a short title:

     

    Edit: here's how:

    Have joy in the Lord! Smile

  • fgh
    fgh Member Posts: 8,948 ✭✭✭

    This may also be useful. As well as Information and Power Lookup.

    Mac Pro (late 2013) OS 12.6.2

  • Don Awalt
    Don Awalt Member Posts: 3,522 ✭✭✭

    NB.Mick said:

    yes we can. I just did this for Lewis and Short, the Latin lexicon - changed the title and added a short title:

    Nick, how did you get it to show both names separated by a colon? I only get the Main Title showing...

  • George Somsel
    George Somsel Member Posts: 10,153 ✭✭✭

    To all,

    Forgive me for admitting I actually own a program I don't know how to use. I own BDAG , but have not figured out how to use it yet. Is there a place to type in words ans have the meaning provided. I don't seem to be able to find out how to actually use it or find a tutorial on it.

    When using BDAG, double-clicking on a Greek word will take you to the entry for that word.  It is the same as with an English dictionary in that there are generally several glosses (words that may be used to represent the original).  Don't fall into the trap of using the first gloss you encounter or the one you happen to like best, but check the entries listed to see the various ways the word is used and how it relates to other words in context.  Simply picking a gloss at random is hardly better than using a translation (without the original text).

    george
    gfsomsel

    יְמֵי־שְׁנוֹתֵינוּ בָהֶם שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה וְאִם בִּגְבוּרֹת שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה וְרָהְבָּם עָמָל וָאָוֶן

  • Doc B
    Doc B Member Posts: 3,585 ✭✭✭

    Don Awalt said:

    Nick, how did you get it to show both names separated by a colon? I only get the Main Title showing...

    Don, what I did was type it the way I wanted it (the main title). I changed "A Greek-English Lexicon..." to "BDAG: A Greek-English Lexicon...". I'm guessing that's what Mick did.

    Worked great.  Thanks for the tip, Mick!

    Eating a steady diet of government cheese, and living in a van down by the river.

  • Doc B
    Doc B Member Posts: 3,585 ✭✭✭

    I own BDAG , but have not figured out how to use it yet.

    Didn't really mean to hijack your thread, Ronnie.  BTW, welcome to the forums.

    Did you get the info you needed?

    Eating a steady diet of government cheese, and living in a van down by the river.

  • Milford Charles Murray
    Milford Charles Murray Member Posts: 5,004 ✭✭✭

    Peace, Ronnie!                      *smile*                     I also would like to welcome you to the Logos Community Forums!   

                             I have my BDAG set up like George does ...     when I -- for example -- double-click in NA28, I am immediately taken to the BDAG article automatically ...

                              It's late here in Eastern Canada, and I'll check it out tomorrow -- am retiring now!                    However, I think that BDAG needs a certain prioritization level to work that way ....                Perhaps someone else in this thread can share how high it needs to be prioritized in order to work with a double-click!             *smile*                                 Good Night all!

    Philippians 4:  4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand..........

  • NB.Mick
    NB.Mick MVP Posts: 16,037

    Doc B said:

    Don Awalt said:

    Nick, how did you get it to show both names separated by a colon? I only get the Main Title showing...

    Don, what I did was type it the way I wanted it (the main title). I changed "A Greek-English Lexicon..." to "BDAG: A Greek-English Lexicon...". I'm guessing that's what Mick did.

    confirm.

    Doc B said:

    Worked great.  Thanks for the tip, Mick!

    Glad to hear! You're very welcome!

    Have joy in the Lord! Smile

  • Don Awalt
    Don Awalt Member Posts: 3,522 ✭✭✭

    Thanks Mick and Doc. That's why I did, thought there might be some concatenation of the two titles possible. I apologize for the hijack question.

  • NB.Mick
    NB.Mick MVP Posts: 16,037

     I own BDAG , but have not figured out how to use it yet. Is there a place to type in words ans have the meaning provided.

    Ronnie,

    unfortunately I don't own BDAG (I like to go on with: yet), but there's a wiki page about this resource with some pictures and links: http://wiki.logos.com/Resource$3a_BDAG_$28Greek-English_Lexicon_of_the_NT$29 

    It seems, BDAG has a field to type in lemmas (and a TOC menu to scroll and locate an entry) like any other Greek dictionary in Logos. 

    However, the most relevant step would be to prioritize BDAG (you may simply put it on top of the list; if you have sections in your prioritization, put it on top of the Greek dictionaries). Then it should come up automatically anytime you double-click a word in the Greek NT text.

    A good and quick intro with some pictures is here: http://mattdabbs.com/2013/08/27/review-of-a-greek-english-lexicon-of-the-new-testament-bdag-on-logos/  EDIT: you may also like this short video I found: http://youtu.be/nYuWCZfJJY4 /EDIT

    However, BDAG is much richer than the small lexicons that just have "a word and a meaning" (the latter is often called 'gloss' in forum discussions). A very detailed instruction for the paper version is found (after a description and history) here: http://ntresources.com/blog/documents/UsingBDAG.pdf - this is over ten years old but still recommended on the web as the go-to instruction for BDAG. You'll be glad that Logos does some of the lookup work for you - I am not aware that someone converted this into an instruction for Logos (I'd volunteer if someone gifts the lexicon to me, hint hint). 

    Hope this helps!

    Mick

     

     

    Have joy in the Lord! Smile

  • Milford Charles Murray
    Milford Charles Murray Member Posts: 5,004 ✭✭✭

    Peace to all!                                     *smile*                                          A big, big, big Thank You to you, Mick!           *smile*                     Great Post!

               Lots of work on your part!                   ... and ...   incredibly well-done!                             Thanks for that .pdf link  ..    some great reading there!

    Fred Danker was my Professor for several classes at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, back in the late 50's and early 60's!      I still thank God for him and wish I had worked even harder as a student, eh?!    *smile*

                  Once a resource like BDAG is prioritized, Logos even has a "bonus" of "highlighting" the Scriptural Reference ...

    am attaching a screen shot                            Absolutely Great!

    Philippians 4:  4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand..........

  • Todd Frusti
    Todd Frusti Member Posts: 233

    Once a resource like BDAG is prioritized, Logos even has a "bonus" of "highlighting" the Scriptural Reference

    Thanks for pointing this out.  The feature can be a real time-saver.

  • Batman
    Batman Member Posts: 426 ✭✭

    To all,

    Forgive me for admitting I actually own a program I don't know how to use...

    I know this is old, but couldnt help but respond.
    I have to admit, I actually "own" or paid for the entire program I dont know how to use, and by the time I end up buying the Morris CDs or DVDs for $450, Logos 2zillion will be out, rendering that entirely useless. 
    Yep, I'm part of that crowd that is 90% who uses less than 10% of the software's capabilities.
    Sigh. 
  • MJ. Smith
    MJ. Smith MVP Posts: 53,644

    Batman said:

    Logos 2zillion will be out, rendering that entirely useless. 

    How much time have you spent on the forums asking questions? For some, that is the best way to learn.

    Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."

  • Batman said:

    I know this is old, but couldnt help but respond.

    Day 20 shows BDAG usage, which is a newish answer for an older thread.

    Free 30 Day Training focuses on doing a Bible Study using many Logos/Verbum capabilities  => https://www.logos.com/30-day-training.

    Some 30 Day Training capabilities need version 6 with appropriate datasets while other Bible Study techniques also work in older versions.

    Batman said:

    I have to admit, I actually "own" or paid for the entire program I dont know how to use...

    Many years elapsed between my initial purchase and installation before using Logos and Verbum enough to become somewhat proficient.

    Thankful for many friendly forum discussions; have learned a lot (e.g. add BDAG: prefix to long title) while having a lot to learn.

    Keep Smiling [:)]

  • Batman
    Batman Member Posts: 426 ✭✭

    MJ. Smith said:

    Batman said:

    Logos 2zillion will be out, rendering that entirely useless. 

    How much time have you spent on the forums asking questions? For some, that is the best way to learn.

    Generally speaking, when I need an answer, I dont need to ask. I just search, and for the most part, others have had the same question. I figure why ask, when it's been asked many times before. If I need tech support, as I have a few times I'll call tech support. Once, even they couldnt figure it out. But, thankfully Vista came out, and the upgrade solved the issue. 
    So, to answer your question, a lot more than people know. I hide in the shadows. [:D]

  • Batman
    Batman Member Posts: 426 ✭✭

    " rel="nofollow">Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :) said:

    Day 20 shows BDAG usage, which is a newish answer for an older thread.

    Free 30 Day Training focuses on doing a Bible Study using many Logos/Verbum capabilities  => https://www.logos.com/30-day-training.

    Some 30 Day Training capabilities need version 6 with appropriate datasets while other Bible Study techniques also work in older versions.

    Many years elapsed between my initial purchase and installation before using Logos and Verbum enough to become somewhat proficient.

    Thankful for many friendly forum discussions; have learned a lot (e.g. add BDAG: prefix to long title) while having a lot to learn.

    Keep Smiling Smile

    Yep; I've got that bookmarked, but, I've been so busy I only have gotten through Day 2. 
    I know Logos is a great program, but some days just to read the Bible is so overwhelming. When I was older, I could find passages faster than most software programs. But, these days, my memory just doesnt work that well. In the earlier days of Bible software, I could easily find passages I didnt know the locations to. With Logos, some days I just give up, instead, to find a passage more quickly, I type the keywords of a verse and google it. To make matters worse, Ive noticed a major drop-off in my Bible reading since purchasing Logos. I'm guessing that for me, Logos is much more than I need. I'm not in Bible School right now Im not teaching right now, so, what should have been awesome 6 years ago, is basically a very expensive software program that I get the absolute minimum out of. And yet I keep adding in hopes. 
  • Doc B
    Doc B Member Posts: 3,585 ✭✭✭

    Batman said:

    yet I keep adding in hopes

    Well, stop it. [:@]

    I did. [;)]

    Eating a steady diet of government cheese, and living in a van down by the river.

  • Batman said:

    With Logos, some days I just give up, instead, to find a passage more quickly, I type the keywords of a verse and google it.

    Currently Bible Search only looks for word(s) in one numbered verse. Dreaming of Bible Search option to specify verse range for searching: e.g. 1, 2, 3, ... verses.

    Bible Search for Lord AND (anxious OR worry) in one verse:

    Lord (anxious,worry)

    does not find Philippians 4:5-6

    Basic Search boundary in Bibles is chapter so Philippians 4:5-6 is found:

    Keep Smiling [:)]

  • Edward Kim
    Edward Kim Member Posts: 2 ✭✭

    Hi, I know I'm reviving this thread yet again, but I can't seem to find an answer to a simple problem. 

    When I double click on a greek word in the interlinear view of an English Bible, if it is in the lemma form, I get BDAG. However, when it is any other form it open up the Lexham Septuagint dictionary entry. This happens even thought I'm in the NT. How do I get the link to always associate with the BDAG entry even in inflected forms? 

    I can't find a way to change this. I would greatly appreciate any help. 

    Thanks!

  • Graham Criddle
    Graham Criddle MVP Posts: 32,729

    How do I get the link to always associate with the BDAG entry even in inflected forms? 

    Try double-clicking on the lemma entry in the interlinear as opposed to the manuscript one

  • NB.Mick
    NB.Mick MVP Posts: 16,037

    When I double click on a greek word in the interlinear view of an English Bible, if it is in the lemma form, I get BDAG. However, when it is any other form it open up the Lexham Septuagint dictionary entry. This happens even thought I'm in the NT. How do I get the link to always associate with the BDAG entry even in inflected forms? 

    To add a little bit to what Graham wrote: 

    BDAG and most other Greek lexicons are indexed according to Greek lemmas. BDAG simply does not have an entry for inflected forms. This doesn't matter if you go through the lemma (either by clicking on the lemma in the interlinear ribbon or the in-line interlinear, or if you go through the lemma tab when using the right-click-menu). It's just not possible to go directly to those 'usual' lexicons from an inflected form by double-click.

    However, there are some lexicons, called Analytical lexicons, that carry all inflected forms. The Lexham Analytical Lexicon to the Septuagint is one of them (there is a Lexham Analytical Lexicon to the Greek NT as well, plus Friberg's ANLEX), and if it happens to contain the inflected form you are looking for, and if it is the highest prioritized/only available of the analytical lexicons in your library, it will open. This is actually a good thing, as it will open to the inflections table and show you the lemma. When in the analytical lexicon's lemma entry, you can lookup he BDAG entry by double click or via the right click menu.   

    Have joy in the Lord! Smile