William Dicks, and Friends on the List:
Those who answered the question about the Lexicon to buy if a
person can only afford one were entirely correct--buy Bauer if you are
primarily concerned with the NT, LSJM for other Greek texts.
But I suggest a slightly different strategy, for curious reasons
applying just now.
Point (1): LSJM has recently appeared with a brand-new,
magnificent Supplement by Glare, whose entries are signalled by a little
star in a circle next to the entry in the main lexicon. AND, the pre-
publication price [which I paid a couple of years ago, though the lexicon
only came out last summer] of $100 (vs. $135 for the old edition, and $125
for this one regularly) has been extended to Jan. 31, 1997! This edition
is simply a stupendous piece of scholarship!
Point (2): The current edition of Bauer-in-English is a bit long
in the tooth, and will be replaced within (probably) a couple of years by a
revision Fred Danker has been fiddling with for a few years now. The Press
says "maybe six months?" Fred is much more vague, and this last Saturday
night (during a 3-hour dinner we had) gave many excuses (all valid!) for
the delays, leaving me with the impression that something more like a
couple of years might be needed.
ERGO: My own recommendation would be that since buying Bauer now
would require replacement in a couple of years, whereas buying LSJM
now would mean getting something really new, not to be replaced for thirty
years, one should buy the LSJM + Glare for $100 QUICKLY, use it for two or
three years, then hope that the new Bauer would be out, and buy it. (If
you still can't afford a second lexicon, you could probably then sell your
LSJM for $100, and break even!) [Bauer is now $55; a new edition will
surely be $75 or so unless a depression hits us.]
Edward Hobbs
< I would like to know which lexicon to purchase if I had only 2 choices and
<could only afford one: Liddell-Scott or BAGD. Why?
<William G Dicks (Systems Analyst - C++ & Theology Graduate) wd@isis.co.za