# Kittle or Kittel?



## TheocraticMonarchist

I've heard a lot of good things about "Kittle's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament". I was wondering if the link below is Kittles work, and if his name is realy spelled Kittle or Kittel. Any help? I can't seem to find anything by "Kittle" 

Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 10 Volumes - Edited By: Gerhard Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich, Geoffrey W. Bromiley - Christianbook.com


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## VictorBravo

TheocraticMonarchist said:


> I've heard a lot of good things about "Kittle's Theological Dictionary of the New Testament". I was wondering if the link below is Kittles work, and if his name is realy spelled Kittle or Kittel. Any help? I can't seem to find anything by "Kittle"
> 
> Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 10 Volumes - Edited By: Gerhard Kittel, Gerhard Friedrich, Geoffrey W. Bromiley - Christianbook.com



It's Kittel. Kittle is a common typo for the name.


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## TheocraticMonarchist

Thanks for the information. Gerhard Kittle's books are being added to my wish list


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## JohnGill

A word of caution with Kittel, it is claimed his ardent anti-semitism colored his work. It should also be noted that the biblical usage of a greek word is sometimes very different from its secular usage.


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## DMcFadden

On the the major methodological problems with TDNT is the problem of illegitimate totality transfer. Etynological etiology is not the same as usage. If it were, when someone called you "nice" they would be insulting you for being "ignorant" (cf. etymology of "nice"). Some of the more recent word studies are a better investment for your money. Consider the _Theological Lexicon of the New Testament_ (3 vols), _New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology_, _Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament_, or even the handy volume by AMG.


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## Logopneumatika

DMcFadden said:


> Consider the _Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament_ (3 vols), _New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology_, _Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament_, or even the handy volume by AMG.



I am personally not a fan of the New Internat'l Dict of NT Theology (ed. Colin Brown). It lists the words according to their English usage (from the NIV) rather than Greek. It is cumbersome if you are even remotely accomplished in Koine due to the multiple ways one Greek word can be translated. Anyone else have the same experience? 

The Exegetical Dictionary of the NT is quite good, however. Kudos to pointing us to it.


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## TheocraticMonarchist

> A word of caution with Kittel, it is claimed his ardent anti-semitism colored his work. It should also be noted that the biblical usage of a greek word is sometimes very different from its secular usage.






> On the the major methodological problems with TDNT is the problem of illegitimate totality transfer. Etynological etiology is not the same as usage. If it were, when someone called you "nice" they would be insulting you for being "ignorant" (cf. etymology of "nice"). Some of the more recent word studies are a better investment for your money. Consider the _Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament_ (3 vols), _New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology_, _Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament_, or even the handy volume by AMG.



So Kittel's got some problems .

How do these suggested dictionaries compare to "Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words"? Do they just go into more detail?


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## Logopneumatika

TheocraticMonarchist said:


> How do these suggested dictionaries compare to "Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words"? Do they just go into more detail?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Kittel's TDNT and the others mentioned are quite different from Vine's. Vine really only surveys biblical usage of words, plus he organizes the work according to their _English_ usage. The TDNT and TDOT are arranged according to the Greek/Hebrew words. The TDNT is an attempt to survey the Greek word in its pre-Christian usages both in classical Greek and in the LXX. By doing this, it is trying to get a better grasp on key biblical terms (like the Greek 'hilasmos/hilasterion' group).
> 
> While the claim of anti-semitism in the TDNT is valid, it is also helpful to remember that Gerhard Kittel himself did not write the TDNT. He did write some articles but was general editor and only for the first 4 volumes (of 10 volumes). The vast majority of the TDNT was authored by a host of NT scholars (mostly German) who were the best in their day. The TDNT should still be consulted, though it is by no means _the_ authoritative voice on the matter.
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## greenbaggins

Kittel is still useful, if only because it is still referenced. The way I use it is to look up the passage I am studying in the Scripture index. All references are there in volume 10. However, an additional feature (and one I fervently hope will be part of the TDOT as well) is that extensive discussions of a passage are written in bold type. I look up only the bold type, and wind up with another commentary on the passage. It saves time by directing you only to the most important parts of the discussions. Dennis's cautions are well-taken. They are also guilty (in the first four volumes, which were published before James Barr's critique of the work) of the etymological fallacy, which says that the root of a word determines its meaning. The correct procedure is that usage determines meaning, more importantly, contemporary usage determines meaning. This was fixed in the last six volumes, which are, hence, more valuable than the first four. But it is still useful. Don't buy it new. Buy it used. Or, get it on a software program bundled with a bunch of other things. In my opinion, the most valuable Greek dictionary is the new BDAG. I use that all the time, and it has the best ideas of syntax and usage of any Greek dictionary I have used.


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## tgoerz

TheocraticMonarchist said:


> So Kittel's got some problems .
> 
> How do these suggested dictionaries compare to "Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words"? Do they just go into more detail?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> No real problems....with anyone...you need to analyze/compare their work to other sources.
> 
> Try out the abridged 1 volume Kittel...commonly known as the "little Kittel". I've seen this volume on many a pastor's desk.
> 
> Used on Amazon for $29.
> 
> Another good source is Archer's "Theological Wordbook of the OT", used at $30.
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