Must Have Hebrew Dictionaries
Theology students, theologians, biblical scholars and
biblical researchers, in most of the time, if not always, start their studies
and researches by consulting dictionaries. Those who take biblical studies at
Universities when starting their biblical Hebrew grammar studies are recommended
by their instructors to buy good Biblical Hebrew dictionary. During their
Hebrew classes, students learn limited numbers of vocabularies. This situation
changes when they start their exegetical studies. An exegesis has an important
element called lexical and grammatical analysis. It mainly consists of studying
the most important keywords in a given passage. Student and researcher must have
a good Hebrew dictionary to help them study their keywords efficiently. Here Hebrew
dictionary comes in.
There are many Hebrew dictionaries on the market. Just like
I was some years ago when I started my biblical studies, I know there are many
students out there who are sometimes confused and spend hours and hours on Google
to find out which Hebrew dictionary(ies) to pick up. I know it is hard for a
beginner to decide. This short article is meant for you.
Before I go on and start doing some reviews on the existing Hebrew
dictionaries on the market, I will first talk a little bit about how biblical
studies at Universities or Bible Schools look like. As I said above, a serious
bible studies must start from Hebrew grammar in which students learn how to
read, analyze and translate simple and complex Hebrew sentences. During this
period students learn reasonable number of Hebrew vocabularies from their Hebrew
grammar textbooks. Any Hebrew grammar has a limited number of vocabularies for
students to remember. Their numbers vary from one textbook to another. A beginner
student has to learn at least 20–25 vocabularies every week. This gives a monthly
total of 80–100 vocabularies. These vocabularies help students learn the most fundamental
Hebrew words such as “God,” “king,” “town,” “to create,” “horse,” “man,” “woman”.
I always remember how I learn the first verse of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
by heart:
בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹהִים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ׃ : bereshit
bara’ Elohim et hashamayim wet ha’arets.
The next step in the biblical studies is when bible students
start their studies of bible background. Mainly it consists of various studies
on geography, Old Testament parallels, culture and manners. These topics focus
on how biblical people really lived. OT students must know these backgrounds if
they want to do successful exegetical studies. For students who prepares
themselves for church ministry, these backgrounds are very helpful in the
preparation of their sermons or bible teachings.
1. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon (BDB)
A trio of eminent Old Testament scholars--Francis Brown, R. Driver, and Charles Briggs--spent over twenty years researching, writing, and preparing "The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon." Since it first appeared in the early part of the twentieth century, BDB has been considered the finest and most comprehensive Hebrew lexicon available to the English-speaking student. Based upon the classic work of Wilhelm Gesenius, the "father of modern Hebrew lexicography," BDB gives not only dictionary definitions for each word, but relates each word to its Old Testament usage and categorizes its nuances of meaning. BDB's exhaustive coverage of Old Testament Hebrew words, as well as its unparalleled usage of cognate languages and the wealth of background sources consulted and quoted, render BDB and invaluable resource for all students of the Bible.
2. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (HALOT, 2 volume Set)
This is the Study Edition of the The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, which has proven to be a valuable resource for scholars and students, now published in two handy volumes. In this Study Edition the complete vocabulary of the Hebrew Bible, including texts in Aramaic, is available. The dictionary combines scholarly thoroughness with easy accessibility, and so meets the needs of a wide range of users. The enormous advances that have taken place in the field of Semitic linguistics since the days of the older dictionaries of Classical Hebrew are well documented and assessed, as well as the often detailed discussions in modern Bible commentaries of words where the meaning is particularly difficult. The alphabetical ordering of entries rather than the traditional arrangement of words according to their roots is particularly helpful to the new student, and also saves the advanced user much time. This 2 volume edition is an unabridged version of the five volume edition of The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament.
This set replaces the 5-volume set with ISBN 9789004119567.
3. New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis (NIDOTTE, 5 volume set)
This is
the Study Edition of the The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the
Old Testament, which has proven to be a valuable resource for scholars and
students, now published in two handy volumes. In this Study Edition the
complete vocabulary of the Hebrew Bible, including texts in Aramaic, is
available. The dictionary combines scholarly thoroughness with easy
accessibility, and so meets the needs of a wide range of users. The enormous
advances that have taken place in the field of Semitic linguistics since the
days of the older dictionaries of Classical Hebrew are well documented and
assessed, as well as the often detailed discussions in modern Bible
commentaries of words where the meaning is particularly difficult. The
alphabetical ordering of entries rather than the traditional arrangement of
words according to their roots is particularly helpful to the new student, and
also saves the advanced user much time. This 2 volume edition is an unabridged
version of the five volume edition of The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old
Testament.
This is
the Study Edition of the The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the
Old Testament, which has proven to be a valuable resource for scholars and
students, now published in two handy volumes. In this Study Edition the
complete vocabulary of the Hebrew Bible, including texts in Aramaic, is
available. The dictionary combines scholarly thoroughness with easy
accessibility, and so meets the needs of a wide range of users. The enormous
advances that have taken place in the field of Semitic linguistics since the
days of the older dictionaries of Classical Hebrew are well documented and
assessed, as well as the often detailed discussions in modern Bible
commentaries of words where the meaning is particularly difficult. The
alphabetical ordering of entries rather than the traditional arrangement of
words according to their roots is particularly helpful to the new student, and
also saves the advanced user much time. This 2 volume edition is an unabridged
version of the five volume edition of The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old
Testament.
Only one
hermeneutical text published prior to the New International Dictionary of Old
Testament Theology & Exegesis can be held up reasonably to its measure of
quality and the exhaustive nature of the research that produced this immense
work. That singular collection worthy of comparison is its counterpart, the New
International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, edited by Colin Brown. This
5 volume addition to that acclaimed work, though intimidating in the
achievement it embodies, is intended for serious Old Testament and exegetical
study by men and women of all walks of life -- both academics and pastors,
students and laypersons. Volume one contains a Guide to Old Testament Theology
and Exegesis in which ten essays have been compiled to thoroughly explain
proper hermeneutics and interpretation, as well as guidelines for using this
source material. Volumes one through four contain the Lexicon of the Old
Testament, all words found in the text ordered by Hebrew alphabetization for
easy reference, and coupled with a Goodrick / Kohlenberger cross-referencing
number to be used in conjunction with Strong's numbering system. The
relationship of each word in different contexts and languages is also
explained, including alternative words, and the particulars of their semantic
domain. All this information is, of course, complete with bibliography. Volume
four also begins the Topical Dictionary. Therein can be found articles on the
theology of each Old Testament book individually, as well as discussion of
biblical concepts, people, places, events, and literary pieces, all information
that is cross-referenced to the preceding Hebraic Lexicon. Finally, volume five
contains a series of indexes: Hebrew Index, Scripture Index, Subject Index, and
an index of Semantic Fields. Taken as a whole, the New International Dictionary
of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis is an unparalleled accomplishment in
the field of biblical hermeneutics.
4. Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (TDOT, 10 Volume Set)
This multivolume work is still proving to be as
fundamental to Old Testament studies as its companion set, the Kittel-Friedrich
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, has been to New Testament studies.
This multivolume work is still proving to be as
fundamental to Old Testament studies as its companion set, the Kittel-Friedrich
Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, has been to New Testament studies.
The TDOT volumes present in-depth discussions
of the key Hebrew and Aramaic words in the Old Testament. Leading scholars of
various religious traditions (including Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Reformed,
Anglican, Greek Orthodox, and Jewish) and from many parts of the world
(Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Israel, Italy, the
Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States) have been
carefully selected for each article by editors Botterweck, Ringgren, and Fabry
and their consultants, George W. Anderson, Henri Cazelles, David Noel Freedman,
Shemaryahu Talmon, and Gerhard Wallis.
The intention of the writers is to concentrate
on meaning, starting from the more general, everyday senses and building to an
understanding of theologically significant concepts. To avoid artificially
restricting the focus of the articles, TDOT considers under each keyword the
larger groups of words that are related linguistically or semantically. The
lexical work includes detailed surveys of a word’s occurrences, not only in
biblical material but also in other ancient Near Eastern writings. Sumerian,
Akkadian, Egyptian, Ethiopic, Ugaritic, and Northwest Semitic sources are
surveyed, among others, as well as the Qumran texts and the Septuagint; and in
cultures where no cognate word exists, the authors often consider cognate
ideas.
TDOT’s emphasis, though, is on Hebrew
terminology and on biblical usage. The contributors employ philology as well as
form-critical and traditio-historical methods, with the aim of understanding
the religious statements in the Old Testament. Extensive bibliographical
information adds to the value of this reference work.
This English edition attempts to serve the
needs of Old Testament students without the linguistic background of more
advanced scholars; it does so, however, without sacrificing the needs of the
latter. Ancient scripts (Hebrew, Greek, etc.) are regularly transliterated in a
readable way, and meanings of foreign words are given in many cases where the
meanings might be obvious to advanced scholars. Where the Hebrew text
versification differs from that of English Bibles, the English verse appears in
parentheses. Such features will help all earnest students of the Bible to avail
themselves of the manifold theological insights contained in this monumental
work.
5. Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament by Ernst Jenni (TLOT, 3
Volume Set)
Only one
hermeneutical text published prior to the New International Dictionary of Old
Testament Theology & Exegesis can be held up reasonably to its measure of
quality and the exhaustive nature of the research that produced this immense
work. That singular collection worthy of comparison is its counterpart, the New
International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, edited by Colin Brown. This
5 volume addition to that acclaimed work, though intimidating in the
achievement it embodies, is intended for serious Old Testament and exegetical
study by men and women of all walks of life -- both academics and pastors,
students and laypersons. Volume one contains a Guide to Old Testament Theology
and Exegesis in which ten essays have been compiled to thoroughly explain
proper hermeneutics and interpretation, as well as guidelines for using this
source material. Volumes one through four contain the Lexicon of the Old
Testament, all words found in the text ordered by Hebrew alphabetization for
easy reference, and coupled with a Goodrick / Kohlenberger cross-referencing
number to be used in conjunction with Strong's numbering system. The
relationship of each word in different contexts and languages is also
explained, including alternative words, and the particulars of their semantic
domain. All this information is, of course, complete with bibliography. Volume
four also begins the Topical Dictionary. Therein can be found articles on the
theology of each Old Testament book individually, as well as discussion of
biblical concepts, people, places, events, and literary pieces, all information
that is cross-referenced to the preceding Hebraic Lexicon. Finally, volume five
contains a series of indexes: Hebrew Index, Scripture Index, Subject Index, and
an index of Semantic Fields. Taken as a whole, the New International Dictionary
of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis is an unparalleled accomplishment in
the field of biblical hermeneutics.
6. The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew (DCH, 8 Volume Set)
Scholars are gradually realizing that
they cannot now do without this innovative dictionary, a benchmark for the
study of Hebrew in the twenty-first century. It is the first dictionary of the
classical Hebrew language to cover not only the biblical texts but also Ben
Sira, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Hebrew inscriptions. It is the first
dictionary to analyse the exact sense of every occurrence of every word, to
follow every Hebrew word or phrase with an English equivalent, to print a
frequency table of occurrences of each word, and to provide an English-Hebrew
index. Not least among its features is an extraordinarily rich bibliography
surveying special lexicographical studies over the last century, and adding
more than 50% attested and proposed words to the stock of the Hebrew lexicon.
There are 9 volumes of the Dictionary, including Vol. 9 Index and Word
Frequency Table. See also The Concise Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, a
one-volume version of The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew.
Scholars are gradually realizing that
they cannot now do without this innovative dictionary, a benchmark for the
study of Hebrew in the twenty-first century. It is the first dictionary of the
classical Hebrew language to cover not only the biblical texts but also Ben
Sira, the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Hebrew inscriptions. It is the first
dictionary to analyse the exact sense of every occurrence of every word, to
follow every Hebrew word or phrase with an English equivalent, to print a
frequency table of occurrences of each word, and to provide an English-Hebrew
index. Not least among its features is an extraordinarily rich bibliography
surveying special lexicographical studies over the last century, and adding
more than 50% attested and proposed words to the stock of the Hebrew lexicon.
There are 9 volumes of the Dictionary, including Vol. 9 Index and Word
Frequency Table. See also The Concise Dictionary of Classical Hebrew, a
one-volume version of The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew.
7. Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT)
The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT), by Gleason L. Archer and R. Laird Harris, is an extensive, scholarly discussion of every Hebrew word of theological significance in the Old Testament and is keyed to Strong's Concordance. TWOT includes the following features:
- More than 1,400 articles written by 43 Old Testament scholars
- 400 sub-entries giving definitions only
- Extensive bibliographies of published material
- Special section of Aramaic words used in the Old Testament
- Now one volume for easy usage
Please note: Some knowledge of Hebrew is helpful in order to make best use of this resource.
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