Mounce vs Renn

[Mike Ross]

I am thinking about purchasing Mounce Expository Dictionary.  How is it compared to Renn's? What is the difference?

[Michael Hunt]

Hi Mike,

 

Here is a sample of both on the word Gift (Renn is first and Mounce is second)

 

GIFT, GIVING

 

——————————OT WORDS——————————

 

mattānāh [מַתָּנָה, 4979]

This noun is derived from ‏נָתַן‎ nātan, “to give” (GIVE) and means “gift.” ‏מַתָּנָה mattānāh occurs seventeen times.

In the first instance, the term indicates “gift” in the sense of that which is freely bestowed (i.e., among people) — for example, Abraham gives gifts to the sons of his concubines (Gen. 25:6); and gifts are given to the poor (2 Chr. 21:3; Esth. 9:22); also Ezek. 46:16, 17.

מַתָּנָה mattānāh also refers to gifts given to God as an act of worship (cf. Exod. 28:38; Lev. 23:38; Num. 18:29; Deut. 16:17; Ps. 68:18). Ezek. 20:26, 31, 39 refer to the perverse, vile “gifts” of child sacrifice to Yahweh.

God’s gift as something freely bestowed upon his people is indicated in Num. 18:6, 7, where the Levites are described as being God’s gift to his people for the purpose of serving him in the tabernacle. Finally, Prov. 15:27; Eccl. 7:7 refer to gifts in the sense of “bribes.”

 

mattān [מַתָּן, 4976]

A synonym for ‏מַתָּנָה‎ mattānāh, above, מַתָּן mattān is found on five occasions. “Gifts” among people in general terms are mentioned in Prov. 18:16; 19:6; 21:14. Gen. 34:12 refers to a marriage “gift”; and in Num. 18:11 the wave offering is indicated as God’s “gift” of sustenance for the priests and Levites through the people of Israel.

 

mattāt [מַתָּת, 4991]

A synonymous term for both ‏מַתָּנָה‎ mattānāh and ‏מַתָּן mattān (see above), מַתָּת mattāt means “gift” on six occasions. God’s “gifts” to humankind of food and drink, as well as labor, are mentioned in Eccl. 3:13; 5:19. 1 Kgs. 13:7 refers to a “gift” in the sense of “reward.” Our “gift” to God in the form of an act of worship is indicated in Ezek. 46:5, 11. Prov. 25:14 refers to “gift” in a general sense.

 

shōḥad [שֹׁחַד, 7810]

שֹׁחַד shōḥad is a noun found twenty-three times, denoting a “gift,” “reward,” or “bribe.”

The meaning “bribe” in relation to a corrupt legal transaction is indicated in Exod. 23:8; Deut. 16:19; 1 Sam. 8:3; Ps. 15:5; Prov. 17:23; Isa. 1:23; 5:23; Ezek. 22:12; Mic. 3:11. God is said to have never taken a “bribe” in Deut. 10:17; 2 Chr. 19:7.

The presentation of a “gift” is noted in 1 Kgs. 15:19; 2 Kgs. 16:8. The sense of “gift” or “bribe” is possible in Prov. 6:35.

Isa. 45:13 refers to a hypothetical “reward” offered to God.

 

nādān [נָדָן, 5083]

נָדָן nādān is a rare noun denoting a “gift,” a “monetary payment,” offered to one’s “lovers” in Ezek. 16:33. The sense here is metaphorical, alluding to Israel’s compulsive worship of idol deities — her “lovers.”

 

——————————NT WORDS——————————

 

dōron [δῶρον, 1435]

δῶρον dōron is a noun found nineteen times with the primary meaning “gift” in a variety of contexts.

“Gifts” presented to the Christ child are noted in Matt. 2:11.

Offering a “gift” at the altar in the context of worship is noted in Matt. 5:23ff.; Luke 21:1, 4; Heb. 5:1; 8:3ff.; 9:9; 11:4. A non-ritual reference to a “gift” is found in Rev. 11:10.

In an intangible spiritual sense, δῶρον dōron refers to saving faith as the “gift” of God in Eph. 2:8.

 

dōrea [δωρεά, 1431]

δωρεά dōrea is a variant form of δῶρον dōron, above, denoting a “gift” in all eleven occurrences of the term. The usage of δωρεά dōrea is entirely spiritual. References to salvation and eternal life as “the gift” of God are found in John 4:10; Rom. 5:15, 17; 2 Cor. 9:15; Heb. 6:4.

The “gift” of the Holy Spirit as the accompaniment to personal conversion is noted in Acts 2:38; 10:45; 11:17. See also Acts 8:20. Then, the divine “gift” of grace is indicated in Eph. 3:7; 4:7.

 

dōrēma [δώρημα, 1434]

δώρημα dōrēma is a rare synonym for δῶρον dōron and δωρεά dōrea, above, denoting the “gift” of salvation in Rom. 5:16; and a “gift” in the general sense of God’s goodness to humankind in Jas. 1:17.

 

doma [δόμα, 1390]

δόμα doma is a noun found four times meaning “gifts” in a general, tangible sense in Matt. 7:11; Luke 11:13; Eph. 4:8; Phil. 4:17.

 

charisma [χάρισμα, 5486]

χάρισμα charisma is a noun denoting a “spiritual gift” throughout its seventeen occurrences.

The meaning “spiritual gift” as given by God in a general sense is indicated in Rom. 1:11; 11:29; 12:6; 1 Cor. 1:7; 7:7; 2 Tim. 1:6; 1 Pet. 4:10. Specific “gifts” granted by the Spirit of God are noted in 1 Cor. 12:4, 9, 28ff.; 1 Tim. 4:14.

χάρισμα charisma denotes the “free gift” of salvation in Rom. 5:15, 16; 6:23.

 

merismos [μερισμός, 3311]

μερισμός merismos is a rare noun denoting the “gifts” of the Holy Spirit in Heb. 2:4.

 

——————————Additional Notes——————————

In order to understand the full significance of “gifts” in both Old and New Testaments, other terms such as “blessing” and “offering” must also be considered. This is especially true when God’s gift to humankind is in view, whether it is applied to his own covenant people, or to those outside of that special unique relationship.

See Also:  BLESS OFFERING

 

 

Renn, Stephen D., ed. Expository Dictionary Of Bible Words. Accordance electronic edition, version 1.1. Peabody: Hendrickson, 2005.

accord://read/Renn-Bible_Words#10254

 

 

 

GIFT

 

Old Testament

Noun: בְּרָכָה (bᵉrākâ), GK H1388, (S H1293), 71x. bᵉrākâ, usually translated “blessing,” denotes the pronouncement of good things on the recipient or the collection of those good things themselves. The NIV also translates bᵉrākâ as “gift” (1 Sam. 25:27; 2 Ki. 5:15; 18:17; 20:20) or “present” (30:26). See bless, blessing.

Noun: מִנְחָה (minḥâ), GK H4966 (S H4503), 211x. The basic idea conveyed by this word is “gift.” minḥâ can designate an offering in general or, more specifically, a “grain offering.” See grain offering.

Noun: קָרְבָּן (qorbān), GK H7933 (S H7133), 80x. qorbān means “offering, gift”; it is one of the most general terms for an offering to the Lord in the OT. See offering.

Noun: תְּרוּמָה (tᵉrûmâ), GK H9556 (S H8641), 76x. tᵉrûmâ can be translated as “offering, portion, gift, contribution.” See offering.

 

New Testament

Noun: δωρεά (dōrea), GK G1561 (S G1431), 11x. dōrea conveys the idea of a “gift” or present that is unwarranted and received without merit. Paul brings emphasis to the unmerited aspect of salvation by writing, “For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!” (Rom. 5:15; cf. “gift of righteousness” in v. 17). In Eph. 3:4, Paul refers to his own reception of God’s gift in Christ: “I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power” (cf. 4:7). When Jesus is talking with the Samaritan woman at the well, he offers himself to her as “the gift of God,” the living water that keeps on giving (Jn. 4:10).

dōrea also refers to what is given as a result of salvation through the work of the Holy Spirit. Peter declares, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38; 8:20; 10:45; 11:17; cf. Heb. 6:4). Unmerited gifts from God should evoke the greatest response of gratitude in the hearts of those who receive them: “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift” (2 Cor. 9:15). See NIDNTT-A, 157.*

Noun: δῶρον (dōron), GK G1565 (S G1435), 19x. dōron basically means a “gift” or “present”; most frequently it denotes an “offering” to God (Mt. 5:23–24; 23:18–19[2x]; Heb. 5:1; 8:3–4; 9:9; 11:4) or the temple (Lk. 21:1, 4). It is most commonly linked with prospherō (see bring) as its direct object, and this construction likely infers the OT sacrificial system (see also sacrifice, thyō). In Jewish society such gifts were usually given through the priesthood (Heb. 5:1; 8:3–4). Although a dōron was offered to God, Jesus questioned its sincerity and integrity when it is offered with a wrong motive or at the expense of proper obedience (Mt. 15:5).

A dōron can also be a gift between people—once used as an expression of mutual celebration (Rev. 11:10) and once as an expression of honor (Mt. 2:11b, speaking of the Magi at their meeting with the infant Jesus).

Perhaps the most important occurrence of dōron is in Eph. 2:8: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” Clearly, the context of this verse shows that this dōron from God—our salvation—is unearned and undeserved, in order that God alone might receive the glory and praise (Eph. 1:4–14). See NIDNTT-A, 157.

Noun: ἐλεημοσύνη (eleēmosynē), GK G1797 (S G1654), 13x. Generally, eleēmosunē indicates either (1) the act of giving to the needy or poor (Mt. 6:2, 3, 4; Lk. 11:41; Acts 9:36; 10:2), or (2) the actual gifts or alms (Acts 3:2, 3, 10; 10:4). eleēmosynē is closely related to eleos (see mercy) in that it represents a gift of mercy or compassion. Typically, the KJV translates eleēmosynē as “alms” or “almsdeeds,” whereas the NIV translates the word according to its context (e.g., Acts 3:10, “the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful”). In most instances, this word occurs in the plural.

eleēmosynē is mostly used to demonstrate that concern for the welfare of others in need should be a characteristic of Christ’s followers (cf. Mt. 25:34–46; Gal. 1:10). In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus instructs his followers how they should offer their gifts for the needy (Mt. 6:2–4)—a sharp contrast to the self-serving hypocrisy of the Pharisees. See NIDNTT-A, 179–80.*

Noun: εὐλογία (eulogia), GK G2330 (S G2129), 16x. In its most general sense, eulogia means “speaking well.” The word is especially used for the blessings God bestows on others as well as the blessings and praise he receives. See blessing.

 

Noun: χάρισμα (charisma), GK G5922 (S G5486), 17x. charisma means “gift, spiritual endowment.” It refers to that which is freely and graciously given by God regardless of its kind, physical or spiritual. Paul views deliverance from mortal danger a charisma in 2 Cor. 1:11. In Rom. 1:11, Paul hopes to share words of hope and comfort with the Romans. charisma is equated with eternal life or redemption in 5:15–16; 6:23. God’s “gifts” can never be revoked (11:29).

All but one occurrence of charisma appear in Paul’s letters, 1 Pet. 4:10 being the only non-Pauline reference. But that verse matches thematically with Paul’s use of the word in Rom. 12 and 1 Cor. 12—namely, spiritual gifts provided by God’s generosity on certain individuals, intended to benefit others. A sample list of such gifts is given in Rom. 12:5–8 and 1 Cor. 12:7–11, 28–31. Timothy received a charisma by the laying on of hands and is exhorted to fulfill zealously his God-given duties (1 Tim. 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6). Paul even attributes his ability to maintain a celibate life as a charismatic endowment (1 Cor. 7:7). See NIDNTT-A, 601–4.*

 

Mounce, William D., D. Matthew Smith, and Miles V. Van Pelt, eds. MED. Accordance electronic edition, version 1.3. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.

 

accord://read/Mounce_Expository#4806

[Michael Hunt]

If you take the entry on the greek word χάρισμα (charisma) for example Mounce is slightly more verbose.

 

As to the differences, I will let Mounce in his Introduction speak for itself.

 

Introduction

 

When God chose to reveal himself and his will, he usually did so with words. And what precious words they are. Because every word is “breathed out by God” (2 Tim. 3:16), “every word of God proves true” (Prov. 30:5). While words have meaning primarily in the context of sentences and paragraphs, we still tend to cling to individual words. They guide us; they help us; sometimes they tease us when their meanings are elusive and flexible, especially when they come from other languages and from people immersed in different cultures. Mounce’s Expository Dictionary (MED) will help you learn the meaning of the words God has used.

What are the distinctives of this book? (1) The integration of Old and New Testament words. The OT was written primarily in Hebrew, with parts in Aramaic; the NT is in Greek. But because the Old and New Testaments are one revelation, these words are tied together and can only be explained together. You cannot understand the NT concept of “mercy” (GK G1799) without understanding the OT word ḥesed (GK H2876).

(2) Words are defined in biblical context. As I discuss in “How to Do Word Studies” (pages xvii-xxx), words have “bundles of meanings.” They have a range of meanings, and it is the context of the sentence primarily that determines what any one word means in any one verse. While looking at the meaning of the parts of a word (its “etymology”) can be interesting, the meaning of many words has moved beyond the sum of its parts. And apparent etymologies can be deceptive; a “butterfly” is not a dairy product with wings.

(3) The “Golden Nugget.” Whenever possible, we have tried to give you something special, something that makes for a good illustration; “Paul tells Timothy not to become entangled in civilian affairs (2 Tim. 2:4); the word ‘entangled’ is used elsewhere of a rabbit entangled in a briar bush.” We have also tried to list those most familiar verses; “This is the same word that Jesus uses when he says, ‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son’ (Jn. 3:16).”

(4) MED is not keyed to just one English translation but works with many, ranging from the King James Version to present-day translations.

(5) MED uses two numbering systems, one developed by Edward W. Goodrick and John R. Kohlenberger III (“GK”), and the older system developed by James Strong (“S”). While the latter is better known, the former is more complete and ties MED in with many of the best study tools.

(6) Hebrew and Greek words are organized around the English words generally used to translate them, and all Hebrew and Greek words are given in their original script as well as in English transliteration. While you can enjoy learning some aspects of the original languages, you do not need to have a working knowledge of Greek and Hebrew to use this book. (If you have not studied Hebrew or Greek, I would encourage you to read “How to Do Word Studies,” pages xvii-xxx.)

(7) There are actually three dictionaries in this book. The first is the main set of word studies, organized by their English translation. It includes all Greek words occuring ten times or more, all Hebrew words occuring fifty times or more, and other words occuring less if they are theologically or exegetically significant (excluding some proper nouns, adverbs, conjunctions, and particles). The second is a Hebrew-English dictionary alphabetized by Hebrew order, cross-referenced to the first part. We have included all Hebrew words that occur fifty times or more, and any theologically significant word that occurs fewer times (excluding proper nouns, adverbs, conjunctions, and particles). Frequencies are taken from John Kohlenberger’s list. The third is a Greek-English dictionary alphabetized by Greek order, also cross-referenced to the first part. It includes all the Greek words that occur in the NT. Frequencies are taken from the GNT-T module of the Accordance software program, which I developed.

(8) MED has an effective and accurate cross-reference system. If a Hebrew or Greek word is translated basically by one English word, it will be discussed at that location. If, however, a Hebrew or Greek word is translated by multiple English words, we have chosen one English word and there you will find the primary discussion. If you go to the other English words, there will be a short definition and a cross-reference to the main article. If a translation uses an English word that is generally not used by the other translations, there will just be a cross-reference, such as, “Longsuffering, see patience.”

(9) Under every English entry we list first the OT Hebrew words (if applicable) and then the NT Greek words (again, if applicable). Within each of these categories words are generally sorted by verb, noun, adjective, adverb, and then other forms. If you are studying the actual Hebrew or Greek word, you can also locate them in the second or third dictionary. There you will see the full range of meanings for that word, and can then follow the cross-references to the fuller discussion in the first part of MED.

(10) The articles are written in such a way that if you want to do further study, you can move smoothly to other major word studies. For Hebrew words we recomend the five volume New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis, edited by Willem A. VanGemeren (Zondervan, 1997). For Greek words we highly recommend the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology: Abridged Edition, by Verlyn D. Verbrugge (Zondervan, 2000). This is an abridgment of the excellent three-volume New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, edited by Colin Brown (Zondervan, 1978). If you want to venture more deeply into Greek beyond word studies, being able to use it without spending years in all the detailed work, may I recommend my own Greek for the Rest of Us (Zondervan, 2003).

I have spent much of my professional life writing books so that people can understand their New Testaments better. I am glad to have completed this trilogy: Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, The Interlinear for the Rest of Us, and Greek for the Rest of Us. My special thanks to the forty-two Ph.D. students and scholars who wrote these articles, the three assistant editors without whose work this book could not have been finished in my lifetime (Verlyn Verbrugge, Miles Van Pelt, Matt Smith), and to my father, Robert Mounce, who shared much of the burden. Thanks to Jack Kuhatschek, the Zondervan editor who first approached me about the project and provided invaluable assistance in defining the basic approach of the book, to my friends Ed and Tacie Taylor of Stonehaven, to my church, Shiloh Hills Fellowship, who understand that part of my ministry is to write, and special thanks to my wife Robin and our three children, Tyler, Kiersten, and Hayden, who patiently waited for me to finish reading “one more article” before resurfacing for the evening.

May God richly bless you as you strive to know him and his Word better.

 

Bill Mounce

February, 2006

 

Mounce, William D., D. Matthew Smith, and Miles V. Van Pelt, eds. MED. Accordance electronic edition, version 1.3. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.

accord://read/Mounce_Expository#77

[Mike Ross]

Awesome.  Thank you for the example, Michael!

[rcdeacon]

Thanks Michael, very, very informative!

[ukfraser]

So what are you going for mike?

 

At the risk of hijacking this thread, in mounce there are links to nidntt-a, do people (michael) find this adds much? (I have the new nidntte but miss the behind the scenes linking as im lazy but wonder if its worth it as really its easy enough to get to the new full version which i find very useful!)

 

Thanks

Edited June 16, 2017 by ukfraser

[Mike Ross]

For right now, I think that Mounce would be great for it's links to NIDNTT-A, GK numbering, and his approach to his work.  Mounce usually is very thorough.  I

[John Fidel]

I prefer Mounce also because the resource links to the Mounce Greek and KM Hebrew dictionaries that ties to the Mounce Expository Dictionary.

Regarding the links to NIDNTT-A, there are two choices:

1. Have the NIDNTTE as your preferred Greek lexicon and triple click on the Greek word in Mounce or

2. If you have BDAG as you preferred Greek lexicon, then open NIDNTTE in the same pane and link it. 

 

Now you can simply open the tab with NIDNTTE once you amplify to your Greek lexicon.

 

I set this up for both Greek and Hebrew. Here is a screen shot of my tool pane. LN is my preferred Greek lexicon and Concise Hebrew my preferred Hebrew Lexicon.

 

[ukfraser]

Hi john, many thanks for such a speedy reply but we dont have tripple click on ios yet (or probably ever).

 

Should have been more specific.

 

;o(

 

I dont have renn and have found mounce is a good starting point.

Nidntte is my preferred greek lexicon and at the top of my list.

 

;o)

Edited June 16, 2017 by ukfraser

[John Fidel]

Apologies as this was not posted in the IOS forum I thought it was regarding the desktop version. Anyway, that is my workaround for the desktop version.

[Michael Hunt]

Hi Fraser,

 

I think the linking would be helpful if I owned NIDNTT-A but I don't consider it a loss since like you I have NIDNTTE :-)

 

Like John, I do most of this kind of work on my Mac where I take advantage of its feature sets to get around small issues like this.

 

Mounce would be my recommendation for the very things that he highlights in his Introduction. It also has an article at the start entitled "How to do Word Studies" which is great for the target audience of the dictionary (non-greek readers).

 

Renn came with a collection I purchased and I brought Mounce as an additional tool with the thought that I would find useful nuggets in his work that Renn didn't have.

 

Mounce is my primary Bible words dictionary when I start with a particular English word in mind (say gift in my example). When working from the text I usually bypass and got straight to my collection of lexicons which like my other resources are ordered from simple (e.g. Mounce Greek Dictionary) to those that are more complex (BDAG/NIDNTEE).

 

Michael

Edited June 16, 2017 by Michael Hunt

[ukfraser]

Many thanks michael and john and sorry for hijacking thread mike but i think you are making a good descision.

 

;o)

[Dieudonne]

I prefer Renn although it does not have links to other lexicons in Accordance. Renn lists far more Hebrew and Greek words than Mounce. Moroever, Mounce has a heavy focus on the NT but is very shallow on its treatment of Hebrew words. I have both, but I can't remember the last time I used Mounce. I have recommended Renn to my Greek students and would do same to any one out there. See Mark Wards's Review here. 

[Michael Hunt]

I'd say my preference for Mounce and his tools probably has a lot to do with my own journey of learning NT Greek. In college, our text was his Basics of Biblical Greek and this of course lead a number of students to purchase his other works. I don't have any substantial issues with Renn expect I am probably more tied into the Mounce ecosystem (saying that kind of makes you wonder about the similarities between Apple and Zondervan doesn't it?).

 

I am pleased to see Renn in the Learner English Collection and would highlight its benefits to anyone who has this. While I'm sure there are entries in either Renn or Mounce that can be used to show how "it" is better than the other, I do think the two are better together. With Mounce being only $35 (can be had cheaper on sale) it really is not out of reach for many people.

 

It is worth noting what these dictionaries are - entry level texts for non-Hebrew/Greek readers. Those who wish to go deeper are naturally going to start looking at the standard lexicons like HALOT/BDAG/BDB as well as NIDOTTE/NIDNTTE.

 

The resources that are real budget stretchers come into play when you are a serious enough to look into owning TDOT or Kittel. 

Edited June 17, 2017 by Michael Hunt