Product Description

Presenting the Vine’s of the 21st century! Edited by William Mounce, author of the best-selling biblical Greek textbook, this volume draws on world-class contemporary scholarship to set a new standard in biblical word studies. No knowledge of Greek required. Perfect for busy pastors and anyone who wants to better understand God’s Word.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #154987 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 1344 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780310248781
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
"5 stars!....Ideal for church leaders who want to do careful, word-by-word Bible studies but have never learned Greek or Hebrew. You'll be able to look up terms in English, find their Greek or Hebrew equivalents, and get added insight into what the word really meant in its original context. — Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox

(Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox )

From the Back Cover
For years, Vine’s Expository Dictionary has been the standard word study tool for pastors and laypeople, selling millions of copies. But sixty-plus years of scholarship have shed extensive new light on the use of biblical Greek and Hebrew, creating the need for a new, more accurate, more thorough dictionary of Bible words. William Mounce, whose Greek grammar has been used by more than 100,000 college and seminary students, is the editor of this new dictionary, which will become the layperson’s gold standard for biblical word studies. Mounce’s is ideal for the reader with limited or no knowledge of Greek or Hebrew who wants greater insight into the meanings of biblical words to enhance Bible study. It is also the perfect reference for busy pastors needing to quickly get at the heart of a word’s meaning without wading through more technical studies. What makes Mounce’s superior to Vine’s? · The most accurate, in-depth definitions based on the best of modern evangelical scholarship · Both Greek and Hebrew words are found under each English entry (Vine’s separates them) · Employs both Strong’s and G/K numbering systems (Vine’s only uses Strong’s) · Mounce’s accuracy is endorsed by leading scholars

About the Author
William D. Mounce (PhD, Aberdeen University) lives as a writer in Camas, Washington. He is the Vice President of Educational Development at BibleGateway.com and the president of Biblical Training, a nonprofit organization offering the finest in evangelical teaching to the world. See BillMounce.com for more information. Formerly he was the preaching pastor at a church in Spokane, a professor of New Testament and director of the Greek program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a professor of New Testament at Azusa Pacific University. He is the author of the bestselling New Testament Greek resources, Basics of Biblical Greek, and served as the New Testament chair of the English Standard Version translation of the Bible.

Customer Reviews

Very Good... but...
The book is overall very good quality inside and out. It self-proclaims that it is MORE "accurate, up-to-date, complete numbering system, and user-friendly" than Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary. My review is mixed, even though overall I do like the book.

PROS:
1. Indeed, some of the entries are more up-to-date than Vine's. But you cannot really tell the difference. A simple lay person has to believe that it is up-to-date.
2. I do find OT entries more complete than the Vine's, but shorter in definition. It simply has more entries for OT words than Vine's book. And I find it useful.
3. Dictionaries at the back really helps. These dictionaries are not concordance dictionaries where you find them at the back of concordance. These dictionaries provide short but clear definitions for the word at hand. Truly handy.
4. Hardcover book is clean and tight. Pages are thin (like the pages of the Bible)... this could be either pro or con depends on your preference.

CONS:
1. Some NT entries are not necessarily better than Vine's in my opinion. Such terms as "envy" "godly, godliness" and OT entry "wisdom" are better explained in Vine's. Hence, some entries are better than Vine's but other entries, the Vine is clearly better.
2. Personally, I do not like the format of the book (but this is subjective judgment). Under the English entry, both Hebrew and Greek corresponding words are discussed. To me this is a bit inconvenient. I like the Vine's format better: having separate entries for Hebrew words and Greek words.

Overall, I do like the book and recommend it. But I suggest that you use the book with good old Vine's Expository Dictionary. For my studies, Vine is hard beat.

Not all that "Complete"
The title says the dictionary is "Complete," and the cover blurbs call it "Vine's for the 21st Century," and say that compared to Vine's, Mounce's work is "More accurate," "More user-friendly," has "More up-to-date definitions" and a "More complete numbering system."

Undoubtedly these things are all true. It also features, in my opinion, a more readable layout, more contemporary and reader-friendly wording, and the fact that OT and NT words are not divided into entirely separate sections of the book is logical and convenient.

Finally, the inclusion of concise, "Strong's-like" lexicons at the end of the book is a nice touch.

The complaints:

Despite its claims of being "complete," it is most certainly not so. Only when closely examining the Introduction does one understand the curious inability to locate certain words: "It includes all Greek words occurring TEN times or more, all Hebrew words occurring FIFTY times or more, and other words occurring less if they are exegetically or theologically significant." (Emphasis added by reviewer.)

This makes sense if and only if concision is the overriding goal. After a bit of consideration, it is easy to realize that it is often those words LEAST used that are MOST in need of careful definition and exposition. This is a significant drawback, and in my opinion makes the title of the book misleading if not outrightly untruthful.

Involved in a debate about the Biblical teaching about homosexuality? Sorry, except for the very brief entry in the Strong's-type lexicon in the back of the book, you won't find any mention of "arsenokoites" in this tome.

In contrast to Vine, Mounce also seems to provide "exposition" that avoids some of the ongoing controversies in Christianity.

Trying to suss out whether Heaven and Hell really are "everlasting" or merely "age-long" as various "eonian" proponents claim? Vine frames parts of his definitions in such a way that they seem intended to directly address claims posited by some eonians and Universalists; Mounce's definitions are clear and adequate, but less "direct" in terms of addressing controversies.

Renn and Mounce
Late to arrive was Mounce's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words (Zondervan, though copyrighted 2006). This is very similar to a recently produced (2005), Vine-replacement dictionary from Hendrickson, Stephen Renn, ed., Expository Dictionary of Bible Words: Word Studies for Key English Bible Words Based on the Hebrew And Greek Texts. Both dictionaries do different things. For instance, Mounce has a Hebrew-English and Greek-English Dictionary in the back that gives a more substantive definition (with scriptural references) than Renn, who simply indexes each Strong's entry (original language) with its English counterpart. Thus, words not covered in Vine's (Renn) get some coverage in Mounce.

In the body proper, however, Renn is more substantive: first, in that many entries have an "Additional notes" section that describes the transition of word meaning from the OT to the NT; second, Renn is more comprehensive in words covered. For instance, under "Sacrifice," the noun ḥag is also covered under OT words (though its primary referent is "feast"), while the adjective eidôlothyton is covered under NT words. However, Mounce has the advantage of deriving from the NIV rather than KJV. Sometimes this advantage becomes apparent, as when one reviewer of Renn decries a lack of entry for apostasia when, in fact, it could be found under "Forsake" when checking the index. However, in Mounce, apostasia (2x) is only found in the Greek-English dictionary in the back.