Review: The Baker Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words

The Baker Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words

Edited by Tremper Longman III and Mark L. Strauss (BakerBooks)

The Baker Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words combines some features of a concordance, lexicon and typical Bible dictionary, all rolled into one accessible volume. More than 40 biblical scholars help provide context and meaning of biblical words, from “abandon” to “zeal.”

The volume actually includes three dictionaries. In the first, writers explore words from English versions of the Scripture, examining the varied Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek words from which they are translated. The second is a Hebrew-English dictionary, and the third is a Greek-English dictionary. In the latter two sections, the entry for each Hebrew or Greek word includes two numerals—one corresponding to the numbering system developed by James Strong for his well-known exhaustive concordance of the Bible and the other related to a more recent numbering system developed by Edward W. Goodrick and John R. Kohlenberger III. Entries vary in their usefulness with regard to revealing various shades of meaning.

One obvious drawback of the approach used in this volume is the simple fact that modern Bible readers use a wide variety of English translations. So, the starting point for a word study will vary from one reader to another. For example, if someone is trying to examine the words translated “effeminate” and “homosexual” in the New American Standard Bible version of 1 Corinthians 6:9, neither of those English words appear as an entry in this reference work. Instead, a reader must look at the entries for “sexual immorality” and “prostitute” to find any assistance.

The Baker Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words is not geared toward scholars with a firm grasp of biblical languages. Rather, it provides a simple-but-versatile tool for serious students of Scripture, lay Bible teachers and busy ministers working from an English translation of the Bible. It’s not an all-purpose tool, but it never hurts to have one more implement in a toolbox.

Ken Camp, managing editor

Baptist Standard