Novum Testamentum Graece With Dictionary: Nestle-Aland

I would be hard pressed to convince if I were told that this one book would change my studies and help enhance my love for the written Word of GOD. I would find it difficult to believe if told that this one compendium would be a must own and have its place right in my library as one of my go to books. As it turns out, I have been made a believer. After having read much about this edition well before its release, and after having owned the 26th edition, I was wondering if the changes would warrant a purchase, considering its steep price. I chose to take the plunge and purchase the Novum Testamentum Graece edition with Dictionary. The Institute for New Testament Textual Research in Münster has done a masterful job in this publication. I honestly cannot wait for this to be fully available in certain online Bible softwares! My review, unfortunately, will not cover the differences in the 28th and the 27th edition(as some people have requested that I do) for the simple reason that I never owned the 27th edition and don’t intend to purchase it just to read through it and review the newer edition in comparison to the older edition.Manuscript TraditionThe sheer richness of the Church’s tradition in regards to preserving the Word of GOD is highlighted wonderfully in this scholarly edition. A tiny little treasure trove placed directly between the front hard cover and first page is a tiny little pamphlet like insert that covers the consistently cited Witnesses along with the Signs and Abbreviations. Here you will see the sheer enormity of cited manuscripts as well as getting a general feel for the Greek Witnesses, of which I found particular interest was in the Book of Revelation. Anyone familiar with my recent debate on the Reality of the Enduring Torment and Suffering of Hell will realize that I cited quite a bit from this ancient Commentary.Inside this new edition, we are treated to a gorgeous list of abbreviations of Church Fathers whose Patristic citations are employed when necessary, and of course, when relevant. One can’t help but appreciate the magnitude of riches bestowed upon us:Basil of Caesarea, the Great Augustine, the Venerable Bede, the Giant Athanasius, Clement, John Chrysostom, the Golden Mouthed, Gregory of Nyssa, the Legendary Irenaeus, Justin the Martyr, the at times unorthodox Origen..and many many more. We’re even treated to relevant abbreviations from Pelagius and Marcion(as cited in Tertullian, Epiphanius, and Adamantius), a real treat for the student or even scholar of pastristic studies!The Greek Text, a glorious example:Titus 2:13 προσδεχόμενοι τὴν μακαρίαν ἐλπίδα καὶ ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς δόξης τοῦ μεγάλου θεοῦ καὶ σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ ΧριστοῦRendered best in the EnglishTitus 2:13 while we wait for the blessed hope and the manifestation of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.The Patristic giants always interpreted this passage in an orthodox manner:Chrysostom: And Paul said: “from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all things, God blessed forever, Amen.” 18 And again: “No fornicator or covetous one has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.” 19 And still again: “through the appearance of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” And John calls him by the same name of God when he says: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God; and the Word was God.” 20 On the Incomprehensible Nature of God 5.2. 21 The Dictionary Edition:The 28th edition that I am reviewing is the one that comes with an extensive Greek dictionary connected with the historical text of the New Testament. A whole book in and of itself, anyone serious in Biblical studies really should purchase this! Running at 220 full pages, we can spend a whole evening reading along and familiarizing ourselves with the words that GOD chose to use in bringing about his glorious message. Anyone with a cursory understanding of Greek would greatly benefit from this extensive dictionary, and anyone quite familiar with the language can expect to get a great brush up when covering words that they no doubt don't encounter very often. Highly recommended!

I was concerned about buying this from Amazon because for some reason Amazon says that this book only has 232 pages. I assure you, it has 890 pages of Biblical text and appendices. It has 220 pages of dictionary (which is a really good condensed dictionary that not only gives the definition, but the root word as well). Totaling 1110 pages.The format of the text and critical apparatus is very similar to the NA27. The base text is only changed (if my research is correct) in the catholic epistles.The bright yellow part that you see on the cover is a "half" dust-jacket. It can be removed. Thus, if you're judging a book by its cover, it looks a lot like NA27.I also noticed that the NA28 critical apparatus does not include information on the subscriptio-s found at the end of each epistle. This information was included in the critical apparatus of NA27. (Realistically, this will affect very few people)

I love this version of the NA text. My favorite part is the built in dictionary. The only two things I would prefer (but are both currently unavailable) is that this edition with the dictionary actually come in black as advertised. The edition I received is blue, but no big deal, the content is more important and is excellent. The second thing is I wish they made the large print version WITH dictionary. You can only purchase either the small font edition with the dictionary (the product I am reviewing), or opt for a large print version but it doesn't have a dictionary. The size is handy though as I am on the go all the time and its smaller size makes it more portable. The font is also much better than previous versions I have had. Overall this is an excellent product and I would highly recommend it!

1) Name & description should be changed to the publisher's official description of this book: "Flexisoft edition with blue imitation leather cover..." Like many have said, _not_ leather.2) If deciding between this & the UBS 5th edition, choose based on what you'll use the book for. I wanted the critical apparatus to see which manuscripts supported which variants (usually to see which were oldest). If you want that, choose this book, the NA 28th ed., _not_ the UBS 5th. The UBS 4th had many, many variants & manuscripts listed, but the UBS 5th does not! If you are buying one to read it more than study it, go w/ the UBS 5th Readers Edition.

This is the normal NA 28 with an added Dictionary... it is blue and not in leather (the binding is almost exactly the same as my NA 27 that it is replacing: blue "leather-like" textured paper over a thin hardback binding). I was disappointed that the claim of leather was false, because that was what I really wanted, but there does not appear to be any true leather bound NA 28s available. The dictionary is a nice feature and made the price reasonable. But, if you must have leather, this is not the Greek text for you. Caveat emptor.

The Nestle-Aland editions of the GNT are, in my opinion, the best editions available for reading and studying the text as well as for scholarly research in textual criticism. I've used the 26th, 27th, and now the 28th editions. This edition includes the addition of the new Editio Critica Major (ECM) under the guidance of Barbara Aland. The ECM in the textual apparatus is a new, interesting and informative tool for evaluating variants. I highly recommend this edition for anyone learning NT Greek as well as for seasoned scholars.

The dean of biblical interpretation where I went to seminary considers this Greek NT as close as one can get to the original. As I heard a NT Greek prof say, "this is the NT, everything else is translation."