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 PrintableVersion New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis (NIDOTTE)New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis The first impression this work gives is one of bulk: five thick volumes taking up nearly a foot of shelf space; 5,800 pages with over 3.5 million words; a potentially crippling of weight of 7.5 kilos. Even the abbreviation (NIDOTTE) is bulky. Assessing such a large-scale work, produced by over 200 authors under Willem VanGemeren of Trinity Divinity College, Illinois, is not easy. For the Old Testament specialist, Philip Johnston gives a generally laudatory four-page scholarly review in May 1999's Themelios. Here though, I want to present another viewpoint, that of the lay preacher and interested reader who wishes to grapple deeper with the ancient and often alien world of the OT. The core of NIDOTTE is made up of the Lexical Dictionary, a series of dictionary articles on the various words used in the OT. Unlike its predecessor on the New Testament (NIDNTT), this is arranged according to the alphabetic order of the original text rather than that of the English translation. This is not as forbidding as it sounds as all Hebrew words are transliterated, the articles also cite the increasingly widespread Goodrick and Kohlenberger word numbering system (the equivalent Young numbers are given in Volume 5) and there is an excellent English index (170 pages!) in the last volume. The dictionary articles themselves include a full treatment of the discussed word in its Biblical and Ancient Near East context and also any relevant post-biblical or New Testament use. Some of these articles are short while others are of almost daunting length; a number over 20 pages long. At the end of each entry comes an extremely helpful list of related 'semantic fields' that indicate parallel or similar words and can have you scurrying round the four main volumes. The undisciplined reader with limited time should be wary of these! Prefacing the Lexical Dictionary in the first part of Volume 1 is a 214-page guide made up of a series of methodological and general articles. While some of these are helpful, others make for heavy going, and some (such as those that deal with current literary and interpretative trends) are likely to be of ephemeral value compared to the lasting value of rest of the work. At the other end of the work (taking up much of Volume 4) are nearly a thousand pages of topical articles that either expand on words in the dictionary text (e.g. 'Yahweh', 'Philistines', 'Saul' etc) or present a broader picture (e.g. the theology of an individual OT book, Prophecy, Divine Warrior, etc). Some of these articles are excellent, others less so and the integration of this section with the Lexical Dictionary is not always as thorough as might be desired. Volume 5 (comparatively emaciated with a mere 800 pages) is the index volume. Scholarly stanceTheologically, the standpoint of NIDOTTE is Christian, evangelical and conservative although some of the authors would probably not use either of the latter two terms to describe themselves. Of course what either 'conservative' or 'evangelical' actually mean now is an interesting question and some of the articles (for example, 'Elijah and Elisha') make one wonder whether the new evangelicalism is closer than we think to the old liberalism. Nevertheless, it comes as a blessed relief to find scholarly writing on the OT that takes the text of a book as it stands without tearing it into a dozen differing viewpoints and 'unassimilated sources'. It is also heartening to see so many links made between the Old and the New Testament. One example is the way the index gives over 30 references to Jesus Christ as 'anointed one', 'cornerstone', 'guilt offering' etc. Another is how the essay on 'The Theology of Deuteronomy' ends with a reference to John 3.16. With an achievement of this magnitude and scope, it seems churlish to utter anything less than the loudest of hallelujahs. Yet there are some points I would want to make. ReservationsFirstly, NIDOTTE seems to be rather ambivalent about what it actually is. It is plainly more than a dictionary and although there are encyclopaedic articles it is far from being an encyclopaedia. In fact, my biggest quibble is that, despite its vast length, there were things I looked in vain for. Some omissions are trivial; for example, all we are told about the 'shapan' is that it is 'a coney' and that it is unclean. Thankfully, the footnotes to my NIV Bible are more helpful and tell me it is a hyrax. Other omissions are, however, far more critical. Despite a long search, I can find no discussion of 'manna' except in passing. Surely, in view of it being a miracle that occurred for 40 years, of its profound theological significance (extending into the New Testament) there ought to be some treatment? There are no maps to elucidate place names and those looking for things like a correlative table of the kings of Israel and Judah will be disappointed. Ironically, for many things, the very much shorter IVP Illustrated Bible Dictionary is better. Secondly, sometimes the articles are too long for their own good. For example, 'hb' (love) is a key Old Testament word but to spread the discussion on it over 22 pages is hardly helpful for the pastor in a hurry. Summaries might have been useful. Easier CDThirdly, it is unwieldy. The constant cross-referencing has one scurrying from volume to volume and it is all too easy to end up with all five volumes open on the desk. The CD-ROM version is on its way and, if implemented properly, may make use of NIDOTTE much easier; in fact, it is a pity that a copy of the CD-ROM is not tucked into the index volume. For those without any Hebrew, these books are still a very usable resource although having to have access to the G/K word numbers for a passage is a bit of a nuisance. I gather that the CD-ROM version will make life easier here and any potential purchaser should look seriously at this as an option. Fourthly, the multi-author format means inevitably that there are contradictions and inconsistencies. For example, there are overlapping articles on the problematic 'Azazel' in Volumes 3 and 4 that come to quite differing conclusions. Why too, is there a general article on Reptiles in Volume 4 (mysteriously excluding snakes, tortoises and crocodiles) but no other general article on animals, birds or plants? However, taking it for what is - and not what it isn't - NIDOTTE is a remarkable achievement and in this weight of text there are vast riches for the diligent. With a list price of £169, but apparently available for very much less (try ringing around), NIDOTTE is hardly an impulse purchase. Nevertheless, it is an excellent and lasting resource and actually very good value. If the preacher or serious Bible student does not possess a copy, then I would think that it is almost essential that they find someone who can let them access it. Personally, I'd save up to buy it. But I'd get someone to deliver it. Chris Walley© Evangelicals Now - March 2000 |
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