For NT Greek, we have lots of good tutors [even a CD ROM], numerous
lexicons of various kinds, Metzger's Lexical Aids and similar resources,
including Trenchard's Complete Vocabulary Guide to the Greek NT, and, for
me, the most useful of all, Kubo's Reader's Lexicon.
Similar resources are available for studying the Old Testament in Hebrew.
[Not that I have used them as much as I should!]
But there is a big hole in LXX resources. Of course, it is fitting that the
other resources became available first, but I think that the time has come
for some equally useful Septuagint tools.
I would like to ask a few questions of list members concerning LXX
resources, which should be responded to privately. If you are kind enough
to respond, I will post the results to the list.
1. Do you currently use the LXX? Approximately how many times per year?
2. If you do not currently use the LXX, would you be more likely to, if
there were appropriate tools available, such as I am outlining below?
3. Would you use a book similar to Metzger's which:
assumed knowledge of words which occur 50 times or more in the NT [and
which can be found in Kubo's Reader's appendix]
gave you a list of words which occur 50 times or more in the LXX but
occur less than 50 times in the NT
gave you lists of words that occur 40, 30, 20 etc times, similar to
Metzger's?
included a brief guide to using the LXX as a tool for NT and OT
studies?
4. If there were a one volume Reader's Greek-English Lexicon to the LXX,
which included the above in appendices and was styled on the Armstrong,
Busby and Carr
Hebrew-English Reader's Lexicon of the OT, would you be prepared to pay
approximately $100 for it and use it?
The ABC Hebrew lexicon was progressively published over 8 years, and then
came out in a 1 volume format. If an LXX lex ...(hey, I like that! LXX
lex!) is produced, it will be a similar lengthy exercise, as a labour of
love, as any publishing company which took it on would not make any money
out of it!
Thank you for your time in reading this.
David McKay
music@fl.net.au