Orientation for Word Studies in Exegesis Papers

You should perform a more thorough, inductive study of 2-3 words for your paper.  If a word shows up very frequently in Greek literature (including many times in the New Testament or just your author) you might need to restrict your study to the ways in which the New Testament or just your particular author uses it. Your inductive study should be supplemented by consultation of the works listed below, but there should be evidence that you have done more than consult secondary literature for at least 2-3 special words.

Also …

Virtually any word that you do not already know well should be looked up in:

Bauer, W. (Danker/Arndt/Gingrich). A Greek-English Lexicon. 3^rd edition. Chicago: Chicago University Press, 2000.

Words that are exegetically important for your passage should be looked up in:

Balz, H. and Schneider, G., ed. Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, 3 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1990-93.

Theologically “weighty” words should be studied in the following (with caution regarding typical word-study fallacies):

Brown, Colin, ed. The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 3 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975-1978.

Kittel, G. and Friedrich, G., ed. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 10 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964-76. (You might want to start with an overview by reading the abbreviated version: Kittel and Friedrich, eds. and abridged by G. Bromiley. TDNT, 1 vol. edition. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1985.)