Rating: 
Summary: Nazi scholar's Bible dictionary
Review: Gerhard Kittel was both a Bible scholar and a Nazi who supported segregating Jews into ghettos where they would be denied civil rights in the broader German society. Others from a Nazi anti-Jewish scholarly thinktank also contributed to this work. Kittel was arrested by the French after WW2. This work has scholarly importance, but given the sensitivity of Bible scholarship produced under Nazi auspices, I hope that over time a revised edition of this work will be produced by a team of scholars, including Jews, reviewing and adding to the original work.
Rating: 
Summary: Kittel & Friedrich - An exhaustive work for linguistic use
Review: Gerhard Kittel's work has been a massive undertaken and has made good use of external evidence to assist in a well-rounded understanding of the times in which various biblical texts were believed to have been written. Unfortunately - as in any religion, many attempt to use this work in order to "prove" a particular point, thereby missing much of the beauty of etymology in the study of hermeneutics. TDNT is a wonderful work for any student of linguistics, regardless of religious orientation.
Rating: 
Summary: Useful, economical, frustrating
Review: I find the "little Kittel" easy on the budget and shelf space. However, as one who has had Greek in seminary, I find the use of transliterations for all the Greek words to be a pain. I'd rather look up Greek in Greek than trying to figure out which English word equivalent is used or how they transliterate things.The lack of any Strong's numbers or actual greek-text index detracts from this otherwise valuable resource. Besides that, it is a gold mine of exegetical insight.
Rating:
Summary: A serious and excellent resource, but has serious drawbacks
Review: I will speak about The Theological Dictionary of Kittel/Friedrich (tr. Bromiley) in general, then in its full vs. abridged form, and finally compare it to other resources. Let me say first, though, that my judgements are based on examinations of only a few articles. I am relatively new to this Dictionary. Anyone's first impression must be that this work is obviously an extraordinary scholarly achievement. Articles tend to be packed with detail from several sources: Classical Greek usage, Hellenistic Philosophical and Theological/Religious vocabulary, Old Testament (Hebrew and Septuagint) examples, modern scholarship, Gnostic usage, and to a lesser extent material from Early Church Fathers, Dead Sea Scrolls, and later Judaism. I find, in fact, that the Philo's thought and Gnostic thought is overemphasized, at the expense of Patristic thought and Dead Sea Scrolls' content. I have yet to find any reference to St. Augustine's genius commentaries or treatises. (At least in the article on pneuma [Spirit] I would expect some use, or at least mention, of De Trinitate.) The writing is concise enough and readable enough for the intended (very serious) audience. Some familiarity with Ancient and Hellenistic history is essential. Anyone with intermediate skill in Ancient Greek will find the 10-vol set readable, but one needn't know Greek to find the abridged version entirely readable. One must keep in mind, however, that it is indeed a "theological" work, and often that theology is poor. I begin to wonder even whether almost all the time was put into gathering massive amounts of texts and relavent modern analyses, so that almost no time was put into careful theologizing. For one example, in volume 6, p. 405, I read, "Lk. here [12:10] removes the saying about the sin against the Holy Ghost. . . from its Marcan context because he cannot possibly see the decisive manifestation of the Spirit in the exorcisms of the pneumatic Jesus." Another example, I've quickly come across instances that assert that St. John's Gospel and St. Ignatius of Antioch's writings brought aspects of Gnosticism into Christianity. One last example, in that same article on Pneuma (Spirit), it is said that the inference from Scripture that the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity is a mistake (vol. 6, p. 433). Any reader who wishes to take this Theological Dictionary of the New Testament as a final religious authority should therefore keep in mind that in so doing he makes a few talented modern linguists more authoritative than the authors of the New Testament in matters of faith. I recommend that such a switch of faith would be unwise. The abridged version as a rule removes the need to know Ancient/Hellenistic Greek. Passages and phrases from Greek works are referred to, but not cited. The footnotes are gone, and sometimes the content is dramatically reduced. This is necessary, for example, in cases where articles on words (or related word sets) span over 100 pages in the large volumes. Happily, some of the examples of bad theology that I gave in the above paragraph did not make it into the abridgement. Finally I'll consider a random example of a short entry from the abridged version for comparison: ----- pnoe. 1. This word means "blowing" (wind or fire), "snorting," "afflation," the "sound" of a wind instrument, e.g., the flute. 2. In the LXX it denotes the stormy wind as God's breath (2 Sam. 22:16). The human spirit is God's inbreathing (Job 27:3). pneo is the human spirit or wisdom in such passages as Prov. 1:23; 11:13; 20:27; 24:12. 3. Philo in Allegorical Interpretation of Laws 1.33.42 suggests that pnoe in Gen. 2:7 signifies the spirit that is created in the divine image. 4. A mighty wind (pnoe) announces the Spirit's coming in Acts 2:2. The Creator gives the breath of life to all people in 17:25. ----- The corresponding unabridged entry, in comparison, instances the meanings in classical Greek literature with several specific citations. It lists the Hebrew words translated into pneo in the Septuagint. It references its meaning "the breath of life" through the Old Testament and deuterocanonicals. It expands on Philo's puzzlement that pneuma was not used instead in Genesis. And finally, it notes that the use of pnoe in Acts gives the account a "concrete realism." Vine's Expositary Dictionary of New Testament Words, in contrast, only mentions the meanings "breath", "blowing", "wind", and "blast of wind". No other meanings, even from the Old Testament, are listed, and verse references are few. However, the immediate comparison of the word with its synonyms says something about the entry's symantic range that Kittel/Friedrich/Bromiley's Dictionary often misses. New Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon, in comparison, defines pnoe as breath, the breath of life, and wind (from Homer on). It suggests comparison with one of the synonyms (pneuma), and lists one of the Hebrew words from which pnoe is translated in the Septuagint. The number of references to Old and New Testament verses are approximately the same as the number in the Abridged Theological Dictionary. More shades of meaning for pnoe, which are not listed in any of the above works, are found in second century Patristic writings, as detailed in Lampe's specialized Patristic Greek Lexicon. Hatch and Redpath's Concordance to the Septuagint shows that in fact 5 Hebrew words were translated pnoe in the Septuagint. Looking up each of these in a good Hebrew reference, I trust, will shed further light on the semantic range pnoe would have had for (at least) many early Jewish Christians, some of whom authored New Testament books. In conclusion, if you want to know the full range of meaning for a New Testament word, no one (in fact no three) dictionary(/ies) will suffice. At least, I haven't found any that are complete enough. I would like to see a serious revision of the theological content of Kittel/Friedrich/Bromiley's Theological Dictionary, along with the addition of Patristic commentary, completion of Hebrew-to-Septuagint notes, and expansion on the treatment of Hebrew/Aramaic counterparts to the Greek words. Until then, it will still be of great use as a reference for academics.
Rating: 
Summary: The Best Work in its Category, Bar None!
Review: If you are looking for an exhaustive reference work for NT Greek usage, then Kittel & Friedrich provide it in their Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Nothing even comes close to the scope of scholarship in this work. However, one note of caution is in order. Many of the theological points made in the work are from a liberal, Neo-orthodox point of view. Therefore, this type of reference is for the advanced Bible or seminary student that possesses a strong foundation in the Christian faith and at least a working knowledge of New Testament Greek.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Work in its Category, Bar None!
Review: If you are looking for an exhaustive reference work for NT Greek usage, then Kittel & Friedrich provide it in their Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Nothing even comes close to the scope of scholarship in this work. However, one note of caution is in order. Many of the theological points made in the work are from a liberal, Neo-orthodox point of view. Therefore, this type of reference is for the advanced Bible or seminary student that possesses a strong foundation in the Christian faith and at least a working knowledge of New Testament Greek.
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Summary: An Essential Tool for New Testament Study
Review: Kittel's series is an essential tool for New Testament study. It's somewhat of a Cliff's Notes to New Testament word study, pulling together the research which would otherwise be tediously done in BAGD, Liddell & Scott, Hatch & Redpath, Moulton & Milligan, and elsewhere.
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Summary: TDNT - the reference par excellance for NT Greek words
Review: Several of the other reviews listed by Amazon under this Volume 2 of TDNT by Kittel&Friedrich seem to refer to the single volume abridged edition or some volume that is indexed in English. In my personal study of NT Greek, I have invested in some 25 references or so (lexicons, concord., word studies, dictionaries, grammars, etc.) and I have not found anything that approaches the scope and completeness of the multi-vol. TDNT. It is a very worthwhile investment for serious NT study.
Rating:
Summary: TDNT - the reference par excellance for NT Greek words
Review: Several of the other reviews listed by Amazon under this Volume 2 of TDNT by Kittel&Friedrich seem to refer to the single volume abridged edition or some volume that is indexed in English. In my personal study of NT Greek, I have invested in some 25 references or so (lexicons, concord., word studies, dictionaries, grammars, etc.) and I have not found anything that approaches the scope and completeness of the multi-vol. TDNT. It is a very worthwhile investment for serious NT study.
Rating:
Summary: Useful, clear, and concise; potentially easy to use.
Review: The work is helpful. Some times the comments are basicically definitional while at other times the comments add nuances and flavors I would have missed.. E.g., when studying a book that discusses spirituyal warfare, one author--a scholar--suggested that Luke 10:18 implies that Satan left heaven mad at believers, and went on the attack. I had always been taught that he was forced out. Upon looking up the word translated,< FALL>, which is transliterated <PIPTO>, the point is made that the word typically meant to fall unintentionally. I thought anyone who storms out of a place angry does so intentionally; while anyone who is thrown out is typically suprised. I settled for the traditional view. It does not always answer my questions so neatly, but I am happy with the investment. I am very cautious about giving the highest rating out to any thing or any one but Jesus. It is relatively easy to use. I have used it less than 10 times but the table of Greek words and the table of English words seem to match up very well with those in Vine's expository. (I own the expanded edition and have not looked at the regular edition in some time, but I do not think it would be significantly different. I would expect the word usage/choice for the entries to be the same.) Nazi Heritage: I almost past up the work for this reason. One does not need to be a Christian to do thorough exegesis especially as it relates to individual word meanings. Classical Greek scholars do exegesis quite well. Many Conservative Christian scholars quote them. Many are not Christians. One of my favorite philosophy instructors at school thought Christianity irrational. During our frequent discussions, his ability to interpret was at times astounding. (He was not a religous philosopher. It's a long story.) He could never accept the reality of the spiritual truths presented by Christ, but he could interpret well enough. The original authors of this work seem to do that well.
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