Any opinions of the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible?

[favored_one]

Has anyone used one of these? Is it your favorite? Just curious...any imput would be appreciated!

 

[daveleau]

I have a hardback version of this by Kohlenberg. I like it, but was disappointed in the fact that it is not as exhaustive as I would have liked. It seems like every time I go in with a question about a word, that word was not chosen to be highlighted with a reference number to the lexicon. The idea of having a lexicon in the Bible is a great idea. I guess it would have been too big to put every word other than the common things like "the" "as" and others that take up so much room in the back of a NIVEC or Strong's.
I hate to say it, but it is not my favorite. I still like my New Scoffield, Dake and NIV Study Bibles better. My absolute favorite is my parallel KJV/ NIV w/ both concorances in the back. It is very helpful during sermons.
I have not found one good all-inclusive study Bible that has everything I want: maps, concordance, study notes, parallel KJV/NIV and lexicon.

God bless you,
Dave

 

[favored_one]

Thanks for the reply dave. It sure would be nice to have a parallel KJV/NIV study bible with maps, harmony of the gospels, nice notes, cross references, book introductions and nice binding and leather...and it not weigh 8 pounds or have to come with a magnifying glass for the small print!

 

[daveleau]

I think it could be done. I guess there just isn't a large enough market for the parallel Bibles, yet.

 

[DanielRB]

Thanks for the reply dave. It sure would be nice to have a parallel KJV/NIV study bible with maps, harmony of the gospels, nice notes, cross references, book introductions and nice binding and leather...and it not weigh 8 pounds or have to come with a magnifying glass for the small print!

Hi FavoredOne,

I like the Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible. But I understand your dilema--you don't want to carry around a huge pile of books just to have them handy.

My solution: I have a tablet PC with a huge library that God has been gracious enough to let me build up over the years. I've got the Hebrew & Greek Bibles, several English translations (including NIV, KJV, NKJV, NASB, RSV, NRSV, Amplified, ESV and several others), Hebrew & Greek lexicons, commentaries, Church history--a ton of stuff (including the Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible. )

My tablet PC is about the size of a notebook, and I can carry it everywhere--Church, Bible studies, work, etc. It's even in a leather cover. The only downside is limited battery life.

Yeah, it's not the cheapest solution, but the library itself is a lot cheaper than buying the paper books. I use Libronix available at http://www.logos.com/, but there are many other good software packages out there--even free ones.

In Christ,

Daniel

 

[daveleau]

www.e-sword.net is a great free resource. My only wish is that they would add the NIV, but licensing is an issue and costs them money. It has over 2 dozen commentaries, over 3 dozen Bible translations, dictionaries and a ton of other stuff for all groups of Christians (RCC, Orth, Protestant).

I've seen logos mentioned several times but never been there. I'll check it out now, Daniel. Thanks.

Another option is that I buy all of my books from the used-book flea-market of sorts at abebooks.com. Their selction rarely makes me purchase new books. I've built a significant hardback library over the past few months at a fraction of the price of new books. My latest addition came in today: The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology by Elwell. I only saved a couple of bucks on that one. But on Bauer, Arndt's and Gingrich's "A Greek English Lexicon of the NT and Early Christian Writers", I saved $100 by getting it at $25. A nice copy too. If you are buying sets, you have to be wary of whether you are getting the whole set, though.

 

[Beoga]

i have an nasb one and i really like reading it.
I like it cause i don't know greek or hebrew, but at least i can get a definition of the original words and stuff.

 

[favored_one]

Thanks to everyone for the responses!

Daveleau, a lexicon and interlinear will be my next purchases! Until the money rolls in, I have the Hebrew-Greek KJV Study bible and the Companion Bible by Bullinger to help me with my language meanings. DanielRB,I will investigate those computer programs but I see this being a problem because I share this computer with my husband and he is a computer junkie! If I get one of those Bible software programs and spend as much time with it as I do reading my bibles...there will be trouble!!

 

[daveleau]

lol...that's why we have 3 computers in our house...and no kids, either. (One's an older one that is being repaired.)

This is a good thread to check out: http://www.christianforums.com/t735235

 

[hopper]

Hi favored-one et al,

I think the HGKSB is the best one-volume original language reference Bible available. There's a similar thread in the Bible Folder at Forums in the Community section of www.crosswalk.com .



FYI: AMG publishers also does Spiros Zodhiates' Complete Word Study NT (and one with parallel Greek), Complete Word Study OT, and a great dictionary for each. The OT Word Study Dictionary is recently released, and has been awaited for over a decade.

Though almost as big as a Strong's, they go much more in depth than the Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible, which I still favor for carrying around. (see http://www.amgpublishers.com)

I’ve gotten the most use out of the HGKSB and the NT Complete Word Study Dictionary (which is easier to use than a proper lexicon) – (and heavy, like a Strong’s).


Although I think the HGKSB is the best single-volume language-aid complete Bible around, but it can be dangerous.

Most seminary, or Bible language students are required to learn Hebrew and Greek; but few retain fluent usage for their ministry. The HGKSB is therefore a helpful tool to have. The difficulty arises when we feel as though we’re expert translators or have special insights into the Bible languages simply based upon lexical aids, grammatical notes, and tense forms. We can get to feel a little too comfortable with definitions of words, without actually knowing much about particular syntax and language usage. This can lead to a misunderstanding or mistranslation of Scripture, while giving us a sense that we got everything right, because we went to original language sources.

Admittedly, this might be a fine point. But there have been many times I’ve heard a pastor or layman jump to Greek or Hebrew definitions, certain that they had a correct understanding of the text, only to find that something entirely different was indicated by further study of the language and text.

I would agree that the AMG study helps are a great resource for us dummies, so long as we remain humble about it, and don’t use them to strong arm our positions, without actual in depth language research.
-hopper

 

[Gold Dragon]

You guys probably all know this site, but I really like to use

www.studylight.org

It doesn't have as many translations and commentaries to compare as e-Sword, but it does have an interlinear with the NASB and KJV with

2 sources for the Hebrew :
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia
Septuagint

3 sources for the Greek :
Nestlé-Aland 26
1894 Textus Receptus
1991 Byzantine

It includes Strongs, Dictionaries, Lexicons, Commentaries. All free and it is always available online from anywhere and linkable.

 

[DanielRB]

Although I think the HGKSB is the best single-volume language-aid complete Bible around, but it can be dangerous.

Most seminary, or Bible language students are required to learn Hebrew and Greek; but few retain fluent usage for their ministry. The HGKSB is therefore a helpful tool to have. The difficulty arises when we feel as though we’re expert translators or have special insights into the Bible languages simply based upon lexical aids, grammatical notes, and tense forms. We can get to feel a little too comfortable with definitions of words, without actually knowing much about particular syntax and language usage. This can lead to a misunderstanding or mistranslation of Scripture, while giving us a sense that we got everything right, because we went to original language sources.

Admittedly, this might be a fine point. But there have been many times I’ve heard a pastor or layman jump to Greek or Hebrew definitions, certain that they had a correct understanding of the text, only to find that something entirely different was indicated by further study of the language and text.

I would agree that the AMG study helps are a great resource for us dummies, so long as we remain humble about it, and don’t use them to strong arm our positions, without actual in depth language research.
-hopper

Hi Hopper,

This is an excellent point. A little knowledge can be a dangerous thing--where misapplication of original language tools is used to support things that the Bible never taught.

One thing to remember: if you come up with a novel interpretation that is at variance with most major translations, there is a good chance that it is an error. That's not to say the translators were infallible; however, their knowledge of Greek and Hebrew will likely exceed your own.

In Christ,

Daniel

 

[hopper]

Another good one volume (though very pricey) companion to the HGKSB is E.W.Bullinger’s Compaion Study Bible. His is a very unique and often overlooked study Bible from the late 1800’s, focusing on language study, cross references, and interpretive commentary, and available from Kregel publications ( http://www.gospelcom.net/kregel/index.html ).



Bullinger died in 1913, before some of the great modern archeological discoveries that have helped to shed light on Bible language meanings (particularly Hebrew and Aramaic). His language helps are not as in depth as the work of Spiros Zodhiates’ HGKSB; however, his unique study structures make this a very useful and enjoyable study tool. He writes in the same interpretive vein as Scofield, Finis Dake, and Clarence Larkin. Like Dake, he mixes many aspects of study together - word studies, alternate translations, figures of speech, commentary, and cross references. But his appendixes are packed full of information like that of the Thompson Chain Reference Bible (they’ve even been published separately and can be found online at several sites, including http://www.therain.org/appendixes/ ).



Also, like Dake, he had quite a penchant for numbers and lists. He wrote one of the best books available on, “Number in Scripture”, and a book outlining prophetic structures in the constellations, “Witness in the Stars”; as well as, “Great Cloud of Witnesses”, on heroes of the Christian faith, and a number of other study aids still useful today.

 

[agenes]

Any opinions of the Hebrew-Greek Key Word Study Bible?

Take the time to learn Greek and Hebrew. It is worth it.

 

[daveleau]

I like Bullinger. He wrote the "Figures of Speech in the Bible". A very highly regarded book and one pulled frequently from my shelf for use.

Interestingly, I also have a Dake and like it a lot too. I've heard very little about it, though. It has its quirks, but...