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  • From: "Fred Putnam" <fputnam AT biblical.edu>
  • To: "Biblical Hebrew" <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: Koehler-Baumgartner Brill 2002
  • Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 10:26:46 -0500


I just purchased the study edition of HALOT from Eisenbrauns ($33 off list
until 31
March), and immediately found myself reaching for it first and carrying it to
class (rather
than BDB). My colleague Rick Houseknecht and I both agree that its price
makes it
prohibitive for most of our [seminary] students, and so students purchase BDB
(@ $30-
40) (rather than, e.g., Holladay, since, in my experience, many students
outgrow
Holladay by the end of seminary).

1. Lexemes are listed alphabetically, not grouped under their putative root,
with cross-
references to terms from the same root. This alone makes it far easier to use
than
BDB, especially for persons who are not constantly in the Hebrew text, or who
have not
studied the historical development of Hebrew, or who have not spent a fair
amount of
time studying BDB itself in order to understand its organization (which is an
outstanding
example of assumed information).

2. HALOT includes extensive bibliographic information that includes the vast
amount of
lexical and comparative work done since 1907 (before such discoveries as
Ugarit and
DSS). The bib. in the articles is supplemented by an even more extensive bib.
at the
end of the fifth vol. (Aramaic), which attempts to make the earlier
discussions current.

3. The glosses in HALOT are no better or worse than those in BDB (although
they tend
to be current language rather than reflecting the English translational
tradition of KJV et
al. (, e.g., "heretofore", "hither")). Trevor's observation that the glosses
do not always
capture the essence of the German original is accurate, but since these are
suggested
glosses rather than meanings, this is not a crucial distinction. HALOT seems
to have
fewer "discussive" entries than BDB (e.g., BDB's paragraph on MA$AL "proverb,
parable", which is exceptional even in BDB). [Of course, no lexicon of BH/BA
offers the
extent or type of information found in TDOT, NIDOTTE, or even TWOT, but these
are
intended to supplement, not replace the lexica.]

4. Brill has done an excellent job with HALOT/SE in maintaining the
original's clarity
(ease of reading) and binding (which feels slightly lighter than the
five-vol. ed.); two
volumes are certainly more cumbersome than one [BDB], but much less clumsy
than
five [HALOT], and certainly less expensive.

I'm not trying to talk anyone into buying something that you won't use, nor
do I get a
commission on sales, but I think that HALOT/SE is a reasonably priced source
of state-
of-the art of Hebrew & Aramaic lexicography. I would require it of all Hebrew
students, if
only the price were c. $100.

Regards,
Fred

Frederic Clarke Putnam, Ph.D.
"Dominus illuminatio mea."

Professor of Old Testament
Biblical Theological Seminary
fputnam AT biblical.edu
215-368-5000x150 (office & voice-mail)





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