#Theological wordbook of the new testament colin brown how to#

#Theological wordbook of the new testament colin brown how to#

What is the difference betw een kratos (вЂњmightвЂќ),В for example, and ischys (вЂњstrengthвЂќ)? I have my suspicions on how to answer this question, but I would like to have seen the new edition provide an updated analysis.

The older edition provided little discussion on how the different words in a semantic field relate to each other. Silva does provide a concise list of concepts at the beginning of the first volume (below), but it is a poor substitute for a more technical treatment of semantic fields. Yet the new edition reverts back to single word, alphabetized entries. One needs to identify an entire constellation of words and their meanings (what linguists call a вЂњsemantic fieldвЂќ), and then examine the discourse in which these words are found, to provide a comprehensive treatment of how New Testament authors understood the concept of power.В A study on just a single word would leave out too much information and be misleading. This format immediately informs the reader that no one word can encompass an entire concept. In the older edition (above), the dictionary listed out the definitions of kratos (вЂњmightвЂќ), ischys (вЂњstrengthвЂќ or вЂњpowerвЂќ), bia (вЂњforceвЂќ), and other lexemes all under the category: Strength, Force, Horn, Violence, Power (see above). Giving a detailed definition/discussion of each word as with ОІбЅ·О± and its cognates Paragraph describing how the different words in a semantic field relate before

Notice that the dictionary is organized by concept, with a very short beginning

To be fair, the NIDNTTEВ does describe the KoinГ©В or common uses of hilastД“rionВ in its entry, but I fault the dictionary for not drawing out the theological implications of such usage.В For a theologicalВ dictionary aimed at aiding exegesis and interpretation, the dictionary, at times, demonstrates too narrow a focus on Jewish backgrounds without due consideration to how Greek discourse might also inform the lexical choices of the New Testament authors. But hilastД“rionВ in Greco-Roman discourse can also mean вЂњpropitiate.вЂќ Defined in this way, New Testament writers could be employing the word hilastД“rionВ to help explain how the death of Christ propitiates or satisfies the justice of God. When, for example, Paul talks about hilastД“rionВ in Romans 3:25, the dictionary unsurprisingly defines the term as вЂњatonementвЂќ in parallel with the Old Testament use of the Hebrew kippurВ as an вЂњexpiationвЂќ or вЂњcovering overвЂќ of sin. I do wish, however, the dictionary would explore more thoroughly how the everydayВ use of Greek words contributes to the vocabulary of the New Testament.