I. Introduction To Thayer's Lexicon

A. This version of Thayer's Lexicon incorporates the numbers from the Strong's dictionary.

B. A "lexicon" is like a dictionary. The Thayer's Lexicon lists only the Greek words used in the New Testament.

II. The Purpose Of This Book

A. To provide background and expanded definitions of the Greek words used in the New Testament.

B. Comparison to Strong's Concordance. Only one or two lines of information is given. More complete information is needed. Thayer's expands on the information given in Strong's.

C. The benefit of using Thayer's is providing more information than Strong's when needed.

D. There are other New Testament Lexicons available:

1. Walter Bauer's A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament by Arndt and Gingrich.
2. Colin Brown's Dictionary of New Testament Theology.
3. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament by G. Kittel.

E. A Word of Caution Is Necessary (not found in all editions): J. H. Thayer was a Unitarian. His theological position is exposed in some of his explanatory notes. His definitions are always written in italics and are accurate.

III. A Description Of Thayer's

"The objective of this lexicon is to provide for the serious Bible student a comprehensive understanding of each Greek word used in the New Testament. This is done by discussing the origin and classical usage of each word; by giving an accurate and full definition of it; and by illustrating its applied definitions with references to various verses of Scripture in which it occurs. Because of its thoroughness it is a very important tool for doing 'word studies.'"

A. Introductory Material.

1. List of Ancient Authors (xiiif).
2. List of Books (xviif).
3. Explanations and Abbreviations (xxf).

B. The Lexicon.

1. The words are given in order of the Greek alphabet. At times the order of the Strong's numbers and the order of words in Thayer's are not the same. The reason is they are based on different Greek texts.
2. The Article. The word is given, along with explanatory notes and a technical apparatus. Relevant Scripture references are given. Various ways the word is used are listed, indicated with a bold number or letter. When an asterisk appears at the end of an article, every New Testament occurrence of the word has been listed in the article.
3. The definitions are found in italics. The Primary Definition appears first in an article, either before or with no explanatory numbers or letters. Applied Definitions appear with numbers and letters. Scripture references are places where a specific use is found.

C. The Appendix.

1. Later (691), words used after Aristotle.
2. Borrowed Words (692), mostly from Hebrew or Latin.
3. Biblical words (693f).
4. Words Peculiar To Individual Writers (698f).

 

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