Greek and Hebrew dictionaries allow you to learn more about the meanings of the original words used in the Old and New Testament within the Olive Tree Bible App. Within this article, we will demonstrate how to use the Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd. ed., also referred to as 'BDAG'.
If you haven't downloaded BDAG yet, you will find the download steps for your device(s) in this Help article.
There are several ways to use BDAG within the Olive Tree Bible App. In these examples, we are using an iPad but the functionality will be similar in all our apps and with Greek dictionaries.
1. Traditional Dictionary
Open your dictionary in the main window through the Library. Tap the title at the top of the screen to open the Table of Contents. From here, you can navigate to the word you are looking for as you would in an English dictionary.
2. Search
With your dictionary in the main window, tap the title again at the top of the screen. Select 'Browse Dictionary'.
Enter the Greek Word you are looking for. Tap your desired word from the search results to read the article.
These first two options require a working knowledge of biblical Greek. But don’t worry if this isn’t your strength. With the app, there are ways to use BDAG without needing to know Greek. Find out how below!
3. Strong’s Tagged Bibles
If you have a Strong’s Tagged Bible, using BDAG is a snap. Open your Strong’s Bible from the Library. We are using the ESV Strong’s Bible in this example.
Tap the word you want to learn more about in the Strong's text. In this example, we tapped on 'worship' in Romans 12:1. From the Strong’s pop-up window, tap 'Lookup [Greek word]'.
You will now see any articles from BDAG that are related to the word you looked up. Tap your the BDAG cover and you can read the article on the Greek word in the pop-up window.
You even have the option to expand this resource into the Parallel tab of the Study Center for easier reading. Tap the diagonal arrow icon in the upper right corner of the pop-up window for the option to Open in Parallel.
4. Original Languages
Along the same lines, Greek parsed texts like the NA28 with Parsings work very well with Greek dictionaries. Open the NA28 or another Greek text with Parsings from the Library and tap on a word.
Tap 'Lookup [Greek word]' on the pop-up window.
Tap the article in the dictionary you have been using to read about that word.
5. Interlinears
Finally, BDAG works well with our Interlinear Bibles. If you’ve never used an interlinear in the app, we have a Help article on Interlinear Bibles here. Follow the same method as described in #4 to use the dictionary in a Lookup.
Conclusion
We hope this article on the Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd. ed. (BDAG) been helpful for you. You can purchase this title on our website here. We also offer a BDAG and HALOT Collection here. Please note that BDAG and the BDAG/HALOT Collection are non-refundable.
If you have any further questions about using BDAG, please submit a ticket. We’ll be happy to help you!