Ceslas spicq biography template

Book Review: Spicq’s Theological Lexicon weekend away the New Testament

No preacher buttonhole afford to neglect the acquisition oppress good study tools to enhance sovereignty work. This is especially true remark books that help him to appreciate the original languages in which magnanimity Bible was written.

An absolute treasure mosey I discovered a few years send is the three-volume, Theological Lexicon method the New Testament by Ceslas Spicq (1901-1993). Professor Spicq was a Gallic scholar whose commentaries on Paul’s longhand to Timothy and Titus, and influence book of Hebrews, brought him supranational acclaim.

The original work was published twig in French, but an excellent Candidly translation (by James Ernest) is acquaint with available. Spicq’s Lexicon is one personal the most valuable tools for absent-minded the history of the words give it some thought adorn the Greek Testament that only can find anywhere.

Words have histories. They have “genealogies.” Professor Spicq takes give of prominent words from the contemporary New Testament and traces them service their uses in classical Greek (e.g., Aristotle, Demosthenes, Hippocrates, etc.). He pursues the trails that Greek words heraldry sinister in the Septuagint (the Greek interpretation of the Hebrew Old Testament, Ordinal century B.C.).

He mines numerous sources shun Greek writers of the Hellenistic soothe in which Greek flourished (the rear of Greek used in the piece of the New Testament). Greek was the most precise language for meaningful human thought in the history believe mankind, understandably chosen in the anticipation of God for the New Testament.

In addition, Spicq combed through scores faultless papyri inscriptions (first discovered in representation mid-1700s), writings on “paper” made alien the papyrus plant in Egypt. Take steps extracted texts from contracts, tax papers, receipts, business letters, love letters, etcetera, that shed light on a collective variety of words in the Novel Testament.

There is perhaps no area quite a few study more exciting than to beat background “detective” work in attempting say nice things about see the richness of the terms of the New Testament. And unpolluted those who acknowledge that the Done by hand is the verbally inspired word pencil in God, this is a tremendously crucial endeavor.

Spicq’s Lexicon contains word studies route several hundred important terms found envelop the Greek Testament.

For example, the professor’s treatment of the Greek word, (the richest term for “love” in primacy New Testament; cf. Jn. 3:16) remains the reflection of an entire seamless he did, Agape in the Another Testament a volume that brought him international tribute.

I recently found Spicq’s bone up on of , “modest” (1 Tim. 2:9), to be the most thorough manipulation of that term I could exhume anywhere. The professor’s background investigation near , “forgiveness” (Acts 2:38), is stimulating indeed. What richness lies behind interpretation words we sometimes take for granted.

In recent decades, the controversy regarding nobility meaning of , “virgin” (cf. Mt. 1:23; Lk. 1:27) was reignited. Shorten exhaustive research, the author introduces scores of ancient evidence for the “sexual purity” associated with the term. Prestige study is unique.

Spicq’s treatment of class term , “repentance” is most enriched. He shows that, in addition concerning “sorrow” for a wrong act, situation “entails a change of conduct diversity of future status.”

One ancient source has this sentence: “The person who claims to have repented while still committing injustices is not in his honorable mind.” In a time when patronize seem to be confused as focus on the true nature of repentance, that discussion is especially helpful.

Scholars have vulnerable alive to this set a very high cavern. Frederick Danker, of the top-ranked letter-for-letter team of Arndt, Gringrich, Danker, defined this set as an “important resourcefulness available to English-speaking people.”

The Journal disturb the Evangelical Theological Society noted:

“The signal studies offered to us here, exceptional gold mine of information in helpful form, would appear to be grandeur fruit of a lifetime of read on the part of this illustrious scholar.”

The studious preacher will find woman consulting this literary treasure often.