BDAG def starting with def 3

[Kristin]

This is a basic question, but it is something that has confused me for awhile, especially concerning BDAG. If you look up words, it starts with the first def, then second, etc, etc, but once in awhile it starts with a weird number.

 

For example, if you look up νίκη, BDAG says "ἡ (Hom.+; ins, pap, LXX; TestSol 10:9 C; TestJob 1:3 [proper name]; SibOr 13, 38; EpArist 180; Philo, Leg. All. 3, 186 ὅταν νικήσῃ νίκην; Jos., Ant. 6, 145 al.; Tat. 19, 3) victory, then as abstr. for concr. the means for winning a victory..."

 

Uh, where is def 1 and 2? Is it saying proper name is the first def, and however Philo uses it is the second? Or the LXX is the first and the second is Josephus? Yet it does not say 1) or 2) and it actually doesn't say the defs that Josephus and Philo used. So I am just confused. Is there a way to access the first and second defs?

 

Thanks,

Kristin

[Steven S]

@Kristin, if I'm reading this entry correctly, the closing parenthesis between "3" and "victory" is the companion to the opening parenthesis before "Hom.+". Therefore, I'm assuming the "3" you're referencing actually is associated with the reference to Tatian (i.e., "Tat. 19, 3").

[darrylmy]

The way that I read this entry (and I may be wrong) is that BDAG is providing one sense: victory. This is how I understand the entry

 

Quote

νίκη, ης, ἡ

Lexeme with genitive suffix and article

 

Quote

(Hom.+; ins, pap, LXX; TestSol 10:9 C; TestJob 1:3 [proper name]; SibOr 13, 38; EpArist 180; Philo, Leg. All. 3, 186 ὅταν νικήσῃ νίκην; Jos., Ant. 6, 145 al.; Tat. 19, 3)

Addition information on Classical and Koine usages with the sense, 'victory'. 'The usage in TestJob 1:3' is actually a proper name. Philo is simply included amongst the other references in the parentheses.

 

Quote

victory,

The sense of νίκη

 

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then as abstr. for concr. the means for winning a victory (but cp. also the custom of speaking of the emperor’s νίκη; ‘victoria’ as attribute of the emperor on coinage: Coins of the Roman Empire in the British Museum, ed. Mattingly, I 241, no. 214 [Nero])

Abstract usage of the sense, 'victory' with parenthetical reference to numismatic usage with a reference to a further work.

 

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1J 5:4.

NT reference for the sense 'victory' used abstractly for "the means for winning a victory"

 

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—B. 1406. DELG. M-M. TW.

Further lexical resources.

 

I would further refer you to the late Dr. Decker's handout. See here. HTH!

Edited January 11, 2023 by darrylmy

[Donald Cobb]

7 hours ago, darrylmy said:

The way that I read this entry (and I may be wrong) is that BDAG is providing one sense: victory. This is how I understand the entry

 

Lexeme with genitive suffix and article

 

Addition information on Classical and Koine usages with the sense, 'victory'. 'The usage in TestJob 1:3' is actually a proper name. Philo is simply included amongst the other references in the parentheses.

 

The sense of νίκη

 

Abstract usage of the sense, 'victory' with parenthetical reference to numismatic usage with a reference to a further work.

 

NT reference for the sense 'victory' used abstractly for "the means for winning a victory"

 

Further lexical resources.

 

I would further refer you to the late Dr. Decker's handout. See here. HTH!

 

This is my understanding too. This may be the cause for the misunderstanding: 

 

Philo, Leg. All. 3, 186 ὅταν νικήσῃ νίκην; Jos., Ant. 6, 145 al.; Tat. 19, 3)

 

The reference is to Philo, Leg. All. 3, 186 (if you have Philo, that passage comes up in Instant Details).

[Roman Mazur]

Dear Kristin,

 

I have checked printed edition of BDAG. All the posts above are correct: the parenthesis after digit 3 is a closing parenthesis that starts at (Hom. etc.

 

To be honest - I have checked only for this entry, but I presume that the other instances are correct as well, even if some graphical or printed presentations are ambiguous.

 

Roman

[Kristin]

9 hours ago, Donald Cobb said:

The reference is to Philo, Leg. All. 3, 186 (if you have Philo, that passage comes up in Instant Details).

 

Thank you for the clarification everyone!

 

@Donald Cobb, now that I am looking at it, this makes sense. I think the issue came from the hyperlink only hyperlinking the "Tat" and that is it. I assume that is a bug, as I have seen stuff like that before where it hyperlinks part of a reference.

 

Since I am not sure if it is just my version or everyone's looks like this, I will attach a screenshot of how the hyperlinks look on my end.

 

Kristin

 

[Steven S]

@Kristin, I can confirm my BDAG entry is hyperlinked exactly like yours. Is it possible that Tatian is not available in Accordance, and so the text developers just hyperlinked the BDAG abbreviation rather than a (non-existent) resource? For example, while both Philo and Josephus are linked to an Accordance module, the Epistle of Aristeas, like Tatian, is only linked to the BDAG table of abbreviations.

[darrylmy]

10 minutes ago, Steven S said:

Is it possible that Tatian is not available in Accordance, and so the text developers just hyperlinked the BDAG abbreviation rather than a (non-existent) resource? For example, while both Philo and Josephus are linked to an Accordance module, the Epistle of Aristeas, like Tatian, is only linked to the BDAG table of abbreviations.

 

 

1 hour ago, Kristin said:

 

Thank you for the clarification everyone!

 

@Donald Cobb, now that I am looking at it, this makes sense. I think the issue came from the hyperlink only hyperlinking the "Tat" and that is it. I assume that is a bug, as I have seen stuff like that before where it hyperlinks part of a reference.

 

Since I am not sure if it is just my version or everyone's looks like this, I will attach a screenshot of how the hyperlinks look on my end.

 

Kristin

 

 

Glad that we of the community were able to help!

 

I think these conclusions are both correct. But (in the spirit of wanting to be helpful, I would like to add that) I think the more fundamental issue is to recognize how BDAG formats its entries (so a closing parentheses is not mistaken as part of the hierarchy of the entry itself, which BDAG does not use). The formatting is explained in the Foreword (p. viii), and also detailed in the linked paper by Dr. Decker (who was a power Accordance user as well). His guide to using BDAG is also published in his Koine Greek Reader.