The Role of Lexicons in Bible Study. There are many approaches to Bible study. Whether you prefer the inductive method or the deductive, the topical inquiry or just reading a verse at a time, you will soon come to the conclusion that detailed study eventually leads you to the very words themselves. Indeed, who has not heard in a sermon, or come across in a study the agape "love" of God? Or His hesed – God's "tender mercies" or "loving-kindness"? These two words are from different languages--Hebrew in the Old Testament and Greek in the New Testament. The English Bibles most of us read are translations of the original texts. The more inquisitive student of the Bible will ask more difficult questions of the text: Are these words common or rare? Are they part of a larger theme or the only occurrence in the Bible? Do they bear special theological significance or are they simply placeholders in the text?

In order to discover the meaning of unfamiliar words, whether in English or any other language, most people turn to their favorite dictionary. For some, it is a well worn paperback in the desk-drawer at work, while others wouldn't think of using anything less than the Oxford-English Dictionary. This title, the UBS Louw & Nida Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains ("Louw-Nida"), is the original language dictionary to consult when you decide to unearth the treasures of Greek New Testament word study.

UBS Louw-Nida: 5,594 WORDS, OVER 25,000 MEANINGS! The UBS Louw-Nida differs from other lexicons in that it was originally designed to help translators. Most Greek lexicons arrange the 5,594 Greek words of the New Testament vocabulary alphabetically with a simple list of possible definitions--leaving you, the reader, to carefully digest the examples in order to figure out which illustrate what meaning. Louw and Nida's approach breaks words and idioms down by their various shades of meaning, then groups all of those entries together and organizes them by topics (called "domains") and sub-topics. Examples of the 93 domains include: Natural Substances, Sensory Events and States, Kinship Terms, Religious Activities, Affirmation & Negation, and Moral & Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior. Grouping words into domains highlights the differences in meaning of these closely related words and idioms, which helps you discover the nuance differences between Greek words that share meanings.

* Note 1: This product requires a PC Study Bible library.

* Note 2: This product is included in the PC Study Bible Version 4: Advanced Reference Library.