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What would you buy first, BDAG or Big Kittel?


Dan Wagner

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I believe that Rod is referring to James Barr's The Semantics of Biblical Language (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1961). Barr discusses TWNT (the German edition of the lexicon) at length in the eighth chapter. Most of his reservations concern the relationship between theology and lexicography in the work; in his view, the former has exerted too much influence on the latter. He concludes his analysis with the statement that "when the same conceptions of language and its relation to theological statement go out from the more purely lexicographical task to the task of theological construction... the use of arbitrary and theologically-dictated pseudo-linguistic arguments becomes easier."

 

Also, on an ideological level, it may be noteworthy that Gerhard Kittel joined the National Socialist Party shortly after Adolf Hitler assumed the chancellorship of Germany in 1933 and was arrested and charged with war crimes in 1945 (he died before criminal proceedings could be completed). Later scholarship has been divided on the question of the relationship between Kittel's political and religious views and the structure and content of TWNT/TDNT. An excellent discussion of these issues is Wayne Meeks, "A Nazi New Testament Professor Reads His Bible: The Strange Case of Gerhard Kittel," in Hindy Najman and Judith H. Newman, The Idea of Biblical Interpretation: Essays in Honor of James L. Kugel (Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism 83; Leiden: Brill, 2003), 513-544.

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  • 1 month later...

Dan -

 

I want to encourage you to stick with it. We used Mounce for 1st year Greek. It's excellent. By the way, I began my Greek studies at 56. I am now 60. I think the effort it took actually helped my old brain, though my old eyes have given me some problems. I only audited Greek - $90/semester instead of about $400 to take it for credit. However, I took all the quizzes & tests, wrote all the papers (except one), and participated in class. The professors and college were so very gracious to include me.

 

I agree with what Dr. J said in his podcast - writing out vocab on cards helped with the learning process. It also enabled me to pull out of the pack what I had mastered (or thought I had mastered). I used colored half-index cards, and put nouns on two of the colors, verbs on two of the colors, and adjectives + what I called "annoying little words" on the last color. I also numbered each card in the corner by where they occurred in Trenchard's Complete Vocabulary Guide to the Greek NT (worth buying - got mine at Amazon). Now I know this sounds very OCD, but it really helped me. Start at the very top of the card, especially for the verbs, because you will be adding more stuff as you proceed to principle parts.

 

The other thing that helped me with Greek (and chemistry - my only degree is a BS in chemistry), was to use a lot of paper and write out what I was trying to learn - paradigms and vocab for Greek. I learned a long time ago that I can make up for what I lack in raw talent with work and discipline. If you have a full-time job, your time is going to be limited, but if you devote some time each day, you will make progress, and it really is worth it. What difference does it make if it takes you 2 years to cover Mounce?

 

I will be back on these forums asking for advice as I try to do Hebrew on my own. My professors said it could be done, and my Greek classmates voted and said I should. I've purchased Pratico & VanPelt. We'll see how it goes. The Hebrew font is even harder for me to see than the Greek, and looks to me like someone dipped a hen's feet in ink and turned her loose. I'm hoping it won't be totally bewildering when I get started!

 

Hang in there,

 

Julie

 

Hi, I am taking Hebrew from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This is my first year, and I am really loving it. You have a specific online class once a week for one hour with a teacher from eTeacher. You have a book (Bibilcal Hebrew A with Units 1 -30) that you go through. They have been teaching Hebrew for 96 years or something like, and it shows. You should check them out if you want.

 

Diane

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Thanks, Diane. I'll check it out next month. We're finishing an addition to our church and have been heavily involved (tired!), and are planning a trip to visit out son in Denver. Once things calm down around here, we're going to try to take on Hebrew together.

 

Have you had any Greek? I've heard from several sources that Hebrew, once the alphabet is learned, is a bit easier. What do you think? I have absolutely loved Greek and use it daily.

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BDAG. Kittel is good to have but it is not a lexicon.

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