A New Reader's Lexicon of the Greek New Testament

I like the chapter and verse layout. It makes it easy to use when translating. The only drawback is that this is an abridgment not a full lexicon so often you may not get the full semantic range of a word that is needed to fit the context of the passage you ate working on.

I had inherited a Kubo from my dad years ago but gave it as a gift to one of my Greek students. I am now in a class that wants us to have a Kubo but on the strength of the reviews of the Burer and Miller I got this instead, assuming it would do what the Kubo did and more.In fact it does far less. While supposedly statistically superior, the lexical numbers are one of the least important features of both lexicons for translation. The B&M also adds a third statistic showing the number of times a word is used by the canonical author. These benefits, such as they are, are where any improvement over the Kubo ends.The purpose of reader's lexicons is to facilitate the quick reading of the GNT so that by eliminating wasted time in extensive lexical work a reader can take in more and more Greek. The quicker pace encourages the reader and in time they master more and more of the text and the need for the reader's lexicon fades.Now both the Kubo and the B&M give aids for all words occurring fewer than 50 times in the GNT. So far so good. Naturally, or so I thought, one would include a list of all those words just in case they had not yet been fully memorized, or if one's memory slipped, or as an aid to memorization. But this list is absent from the B&M! So one has to procure the list elsewhere. The Kubo, however, does have the list as an appendix.The Kubo also had a "special vocabulary" list at the beginning of each book that lists words that, while occurring fewer than 50 times in the NT, occur more than 5 times in a particular book. Memorize these and you'll be able to work through that book faster. There is no special vocabulary list in the B&M.In fact there is n o t h I n g in the B&M other than the running lexicon for each book. No appendices, nada.The Kubo, however, in addition to the list of words occurring more than 50 times, and the special vocabulary lists, includes an appendix of irregular verb forms, and a minor grammar for beginning translation.In effect one needs at least two if not three resources in addition to the B&M to do what the Kubo does in one. Which isn't even to mention the older Kubos came in a lovely blue cloth hardcover while as a physical object the B&M is bulkier and uglier, with a modern plastic hardcover and a cheesy image of a minuscule manuscript.If a reader's GNT is not sufficient for your purposes and you want a reader's lexicon, just do yourself a favor and find an old Kubo.

What a great volume! I really like this resource as a Greek reading companion. The seemingly small improvements over Kubo really are significant. This volume is simpler to use, more informative, and frankly just more accurate. Does it make Kubo totally useless? No, of course not. It you only have $5 to spend, Kubo will do much in the same fashion that if you don't have the $140 for BDAG (3rd Ed.) the older 2nd Ed. (BAGD) at around $30-40 is still serviceable for many intents and purposes. But if you have the means, Burer and Miller have produced a superior resource.While the content is the key, the physical quality of this volume should also not be overlooked. This is a lovely hardcover with excellent paper and binding. It really seems made to last. It easily lies open to the pages I am using. The paper will is great for marking and taking notes. It is a larger book (7x10 I believe) but that makes it an excellent desk reference book.All in all I am delighted that I purchased this book and foresee it as a constant companion to my Greek reading.

The preface begins, "Unfamiliar vocabulary proves to be an enduring challenge for students of New Testament Greek." Very true IMO.Also a challenge is that accessing a computer loaded with original language software that contains electronic lexicons [i.e., like BibleWorks] is not always practical, nor even possible.And let's face it, who hasn't succumbed to the temptation of getting bogged down in a software's "library" of resources. This interrupts reading, simply reading the text. Reading gets interrupted. I hate it when that happens.So sometimes you've gotta go with a lexicon that's a book. Which book? A book well thought out with the "reader" in mind; such as, "A New Reader's Lexicon of The Greek New Testament [NRL]."The type is incredibly easy on the eyes. The contextual definitions are consulted from the most current lexical resources [primarily BDAG 3rd Edition], thus trustworthy."Having the NRL opented next to a copy of the Greek New Testament solves the problem of rare [unfamiliar] vocabulary and enables the student to translate [read] without interruption while unlocking the meaning of the text." (Also from the premise, bracketed information mine)

What prompted me to purchase this lexicon in 2015 was Dan Wallace's recommendation of prioritizing this lexicon over a readers Greek New Testament. I agree with Dan that having parsing available weakens one's ability to exercise mental muscles to parse from memory, a skill that must have been learned during first year greek. I bought Kubo 30 plus years ago and still use it from time to time when Burer is at a different location physically. I also have the UBS Readers Greek New Testament which gets to be utilized in a plane, car or the bathroom. But when it comes to reading and translating with reasonable speed , Burer is second to none.

This book is a big help in reading the New Testament in its original language - and not just because it gives verse-by-verse translations of the less-familiar words. It also shows how many other times each word appears in the current book and in the whole NT. This makes it possible to see which words might be worth memorising, and frequently to see cross references elsewhere.It's worth mentioning too that this book is built to last - beautifully bound and printed on quality paper. Unlike an increasing number of hardback books with cheap bindings, it will lie flat on the table - an essential quality for a reference book like this!My one criticism would be that sometimes the translation glosses are rather narrowly specific to the context of the verse where they are listed. For example, ἄπιστος is glossed as "unbelievable, incredible" under Acts 26:8 (which is the meaning it bears there, combined with a passive verb), without any reference to the more usual meaning of "unbelieving, unfaithful". Moreover, on occasions this narrowness has a significant bearing on the exegesis of the passage in question. For example, in Mark 5:36 παρακούω is glossed as "hear what is not intended for one's ears, overhear", which obscures the debate over whether Mark means that Jesus "overheard" what the people were saying, or that he "ignored" it.

A clear asset to new testament greek reading.

I think that this will be the classic text for years to come. Clear concise and easy to use. I particularly like the critical apparatus.

This book is okay on the surface but has one major niggle, it's too big and bulky which means its only ever going to be useful on a desk and not helpful to carry around. If you are only ever going to able to use it on a desk you might as well use a proper lexicon and or a computer.