Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Peter Kirk" <Peter_Kirk AT sil.org>]

Fred, you and your students might consider a site licence for the CD
version of HALOT, which comes to less than $100 per user, details as
follows or see
http://www.brill.nl/catalogue/productinfo.asp?product=9165:

> The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament on CD-ROM,
>     The Windows-version, Institutions, ( 1-5 users)  US$599
>     The Windows-version, Institutions, ( 6-10 users) US$799
>     The Windows-version, Institutions, (11-25 users) US$999

Of course you would have to discuss with Brill the licensing terms. I
doubt if students could take away licences when they leave, but I guess
they could pass them on to new students.

Peter Kirk

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Fred Putnam [mailto:fputnam AT biblical.edu]
> Sent: 14 March 2002 15:27
> To: Biblical Hebrew
> Subject: Koehler-Baumgartner Brill 2002
> 
> 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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