The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon

The Brown-Driver-Briggs is much more than a dictionary. Although I agree with the reviewers who regret that this edition doesn't have the Hebrew-English index in the back, I never even thought to look for this in all my years of owning this dictionary until I read a review saying it was missing. Here is a brief summary of what you get in the BDB, as it is most commonly abbreviated, and some things you need to know. Learning to use the BDB is often included in many Hebrew coursebooks, since it is almost like learning a language in itself. First of all, the words are NOT listed in alphabetical order. They are listed in alphabetical order under the HEADING OF THE ROOT. So, every word which is formed from the root "KTV" (such as Miktav, Ktav, and Ktovah) will be listed in alphabetical order starting with the root itself (prefixed by the "root" symbol borrowed from math), "√כתב," in the "Kaf" section. So knowing how to identify the root consonants of a word is a must before you can use this dictionary. However, this is an essential skill for understanding any Semitic language anyway, since Hebrew, Arabic, or Aramaic word meanings are just vowel shapes and helper prefixes, with a consonant-based meaning. Secondly, you will need a reference grammar like Gesenius handy in order to understand what Brown Driver Briggs is telling you about the word. The grammatical information given is very specific and often includes unusual forms such as Hithpa'al and Hothpalel. Thirdly, when you first look up a root, you will see it compared with its Semitic equivalents in Arabic, Aramaic, Akkadian, Syriac, and Ge'ez (ancient Ethiopian), as well as the occasional Ancient Egyptian or Coptic word. So knowing the Arabic alphabet is a good introduction to being able to use the Comparative Semitics tools the dictionary offers. Right now I am learning the Ethiopian alphabet (called the Ge'ez Fidel) and the Syriac script (the BDB lists Syriac words in the Serto (western Syriac) script, as opposed to Estrangelo (eastern Syriac)). Akkadian and Egyptian words are not listed in cuneiform/heiroglyph form, but instead are written in English-letter transcription. Fourthly, there are many, many abbreviations used in the dictionary. Almost all of these abbreviations are explained in the front of the book, right after the Preface. It might be handy to put a sticky marker there, or a bookmark, for easy flipping back and forth to look up an abbreviation. Fifthly, Greek is used throughout the dictionary. The most common example is the letter "ψ" used to abbreviate "Psalms." However, words or phrases in Greek are not uncommon. Less common are Latin and German insertions or titles of books. Sixthly, the dictionary is rife with Scriptural references illustrating the various forms and usages of the word. Seventh, manuscript names are also included. This information can be ignored by the beginner (I do.) These are the funny looking symbols such as old Fraktur-style German letters in a big font sometimes followed by a Greek word. Eighth, the definitions of the words are usually written in italics, interspersed among all the complicated symbols and Scriptural references found under each listing. Because the BDB is so complicated, it is extremely useful. It is also just one volume, as opposed to 6-volume sets like some dictionaries, meaning it is accessible to the beginner. Some people are overwhelmed by the complicated information presented in the BDB. They know the Hebrew alphabet, but don't know how to identify the root of a word. Or they don't speak any other Semitic or scholarly language other than Hebrew, so all the comparative Semitics data is useless to them. For such students, a pocket dictionary might be more useful and much easier to use. I want a deep understanding of the Hebrew Bible. With all the raging controversies surrounding its origins and meaning, I find it extremely useful to have so much information accessible about the etymologies of words and the comparison with other Semitic languages. I feel like if I can learn to read these other languages, I will be able to understand the hidden story behind Scripture which has been so hotly pursued ever since the birth of High Criticism in Germany in the late 1800s. So the BDB feels like an invitation to me, showing me in an attractive visual format the various important elements of Comparative Semitics and textual criticism with which I must become familiar if I want to have a deep understanding of the Hebrew Text and form an opinion about its origins.

Nice book to go with my collection. I’m learning how to read it now and understand all the abbreviations, which it tells you. I’m looking to understand Gods word at its deepest level. And also be able to find parallels in Gods word. I think this will be a great tool for me the layperson.

Excellent resource. The Strong's numbers help me.

This BDB Hebrew Lexicon is ‘alphabetized’ in Hebrew, not English. To use this, if you are not a Hebrew speaker, you must have a Strong’s Concordance, which I have. I have a Hebrew (Israel) Bible, or TNK (Tanak), a ‘Learn to Speak Hebrew’ book (plus the other two related books) by Miiko Schaffier, and Gary A. Long’s ‘Grammatical Concepts’ for Biblical Hebrew. It’s possible to use the BDB Hebrew Lexicon using the Strong’s Concordance for quick reference (it is by page number) so if you’re completely new to the Hebrew language I’d suggest the other books, either with your purchase of the BDBHL or preferably before, which would decrease the ‘shock’ value. The BDB is twenty years of intense work by the authors, and based on the work of Wilhelm Gesenius, the father of modern Hebrew lexicography. The BDB relates to OT Hebrew words and cognate languages usage. It “organizes the Hebrew words according to their roots, rather than alphabetically.” The Strong’s uses page numbers next to the Hebrew words. The Aramaic is separate and is placed by itself at the end of the BDB as a separate and subordinate element of the OT language. There is no English-Hebrew index, decided against per practical reasons not to include that. With 1185 pages I can concur. Understand that you are taking on a phenomenal body of work in this (if you’re not familiar with the Hebrew language). But if you’re serious about your biblical studies and have other books (simuch as the ones I mentioned, and there are many more) then you would very much enjoy having this (the brown and green copy, 11th printing, 2007, USA). There is a list of abbreviations after the preface, on pages xv-xxi. I suggest, if your eyes are like mine, that you use a strong pair of reading glasses, and it won’t hurt one bit to use a magnifying glass. I’m staring at age seventy and my eyes definitely require all the help they can possibly get. Enjoy your BDB. and God bless.

Good to have. The print is very small, and the book is heavy. It’s a great reference tool though.

Excellent book for studying the Old Testament Scriptures

I'm not a linguistics major or a Biblical Hebrew Scholar so I cannot testify as to the quality of the essential nature of this tome, however, it is instrumental to my Hebrew III class and the Pelt and Pratico Vocab guide just wasn't sufficient for the task. You get a lot of bang for your buck with this book. Now, The customer image of the pretty brown book is what you will get when you order from Amazon. I've talked to a few Amazon employees and all of them were ignorant as to the facts of what I would get if I ordered this book. Some will get a 7th Printing (2003),some will get 13th printing (2010), or maybe some where in-between. I got the 13th printing and it has 1204 pages while the 7th, I think, has 1185 pages. I don't know how important this things are, but I wanted to make sure to get the brown and green cover and Amazon (whose customer service is 99.9% fantastic)was unable to tell me what I would get so I just ordered and crossed my fingers. So if you order new you will most likely get the latest printing, which at the time of this writing is brown and green. Good luck in your Hebrew studies everyone, and remember if you really want to understand the TaNaCh, make sure you consult the Rabbinical Scholastic commentaries. Artscroll has a great Chumash with lots of invaluable commentary. ''''Shalom

I thought at first it would be to difficult to use, but once I started to use the Strong's numbers, I realized how easy this reference book is. I is divided up to save the headaches the user would otherwise have. can't praises it enough. the quality of binding is over the top. the cover is easy to clean yet beautiful. can easily leave on the coffee table for show. I am a huge digger in God's word and this book has become one of my favorite go to references. It takes mere seconds to use with the numbering system placed on the outer part of the page. pages are think so you don't have to constantly lick your fingers provides both Aramaic and Hebrew words along with the all the verses that are connect to each word. so getting the exact definition is literally at my fingertips. for someone not familiar with those ancient languages, I is a GEM. Thank you Brown-Driver-Briggs for this Masterpiece

Absolutely perfect!

The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon ist unter Theologen im englischen Sprachraum sehr weit verbreitet und sehr beliebt. Da es für einen günstigen Preis zu haben ist, haben auch viele nicht studierte Bibelleser, dieses Werk erworben. The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon ist somit unter Christen im Commonwealth zu einer Art Volkslexikon geworden. Das Werk gibt über alle Wörter des biblischen Grundtextes zuverlässig Auskunft und erklärt kurz und markant die Bedeutung der Begriffe. Man kann dieses Lexikon guten Gewissens weiterempfehlen.

One of the classic lexicons published by the Oxford University Press about a hundred years ago, this volume is commonly known as BDB. It's still one of the most useful dictionaries of Hebrew, tho' the scholar will probably use the 'Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament' by Koehler and Baumgartner (HALOT) especially as there's a inexpensive (ha-ha!!! it's v. costly, but by Brill standards it's cheap!) 2-volume Study Edition available now. But I prefer to use BDB for non-academic use, and strongly recommend it to students, as it is in Hebrew root order. This means it is a bit harder to find the word when you start learning Hebrew, but the advantage is you have most of the words related to the word you are looking for sitting together on the page, which gives you a bit more insight into the word. It also is very good on words in related languages, which can be useful to those who know them. But for the beginner, it can be quite hard to find some difficult words (you need to know your broken verbs well), so I would recommend having a copy of another old favourite, the Langenscheidt Pocket Hebrew Dictionary, as a backup in case you really can't find that word.

Pour un prix très raisonnable un dictionnaire très complet

testo di settore per specialisti del settore. numerosi riferimenti ,nomenclatura internazionale e significato dei termini in inglese. i termini sono in ebraico. occorre la conoscenza di ebraico ed inglese "per stargli dietro". ottimo volume.