Biblical Greek Language and Lexicography: Essays in Honor of Frederick W. Danker

Currents in Theology and Mission, June, 2005 by Edgar Krentz

Biblical Greek Language and Lexicography: Essays in Honor of Frederick W. Danker. Edited by Bernard A. Taylor, John A.L. Lee, Peter R. Burton, and Richard E. Whitaker. Grand Rapids and Cambridge: William B. Eerdmans, 2004. xxi and 266 pages. Cloth. $36.00.

If an American New Testament scholar ever deserved a Festschrift, Frederick Danker would stand close to the top of the list. He singlehandedly revised the standard lexicon of New Testament Greek in magisterial manner, thus putting every New Testament scholar, every pastor with even a smattering of Greek still alive, and every seminary student who takes the Bible seriously in his debt. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, third edition, edited and revised by Frederick W. Danker (University of Chicago Press, 2000) is one of the core volumes that belong on every desk, consulted frequently in the study of the New Testament. Scholars with the knowledge of ancient Greek literature, epigraphic texts, and papyri needed for lexicography are few indeed; when one adds to that the requisite knowledge of the scholarly literature on the New Testament since 1800, all of which Fred Danker has, he is a rara avis indeed, and highly deserves this token of respect and admiration from other well-known scholars of ancient Greek. Having been his colleague without interruption since he came to Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, in 1954, and after that at Christ Seminary-Seminex and the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago until he retired in 1988, I have known Fred as a thoughtful and supportive colleague, an inspiring teacher, and an indefatigable scholar, who sees both the big picture and controls the infinite minuscule data that underlie lexicography. Seventeen colleagues in the lexicography and philology of ancient Greek have produced a fitting tribute to him; they include two former students, John H. Elliott and James W. Voelz. I am sorry that only one of his faculty colleagues, Jack Elliott, was asked to write. Many, including me, would have gladly contributed.

The editors include a revised form of the essay Fred delivered in 1999 on the publication of BDAG: "Lexical Evolution and Linguistic Hazard" (pp. 1-31). Danker gives an extended history of the Preuschen--Bauer series of lexica, a valuable supplement to Bauer's introduction in BDAG. While it should have been included in BDAG itself, it now is available for the wide audience it deserves.

The editors wisely include a picture of Fred as frontispiece, a brief biography, and a select bibliography. It is too bad that none of the anecdotes that reveal Fred's wit and humor that endeared him to students could be included. He is one of those, like many in academia, who deserve to have someone do an oral history on material drawn from interviews.

I can pick out only a few of the articles for special attention, though the whole is a rich feast for anyone interested in New Testament philology. Elliott is the only former student or faculty colleague to contribute: "Look It Up. It's in BDAG," a brief description of the lexicon's value. Richard Whitaker gives a helpful survey of "Concordances and the Greek New Testament." And there is a aeries of articles related to the Septuagint: Katrin Hauspie, "The LXX Quotations in the LSJ Supplements of 1968 and 1996," Erik Eynikel and Katrin Hauspie, "The Use of [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] in the Septuagint," Bernard A. Taylor, "Hebrew to Greek: A Semantic Study of [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] for the New English Translation of the Septuagint," Cameron Boyd-Taylor, "Linguistic Register and Septuagintal Lexicography," and Bernard A. Taylor, "Deponency and Greek Lexicography." Clearly there is need for and interest in preparing an extensive lexicon to the Septuagint.

This is a worthy tribute to an outstanding scholar. Ave, Frederice! Saluto te in amore.