Todd’s Writings

Structural Lexicology and the Greek New Testament

This study demonstrates a method for using corpus linguistics to disambiguate polysemes in the Greek New Testament. Included are several examples applying the method to exegetically problematic texts. Available as paperback, hardback, or PDF.

Structural Lexicology and the Greek New Testament, by Todd Price, is a new approach to translating the Bible more accurately. Instead of treating words as discrete units with a range of many possible meanings, from which the translator then has to select, Price applies corpus linguistics to analyze Greek words in their context. Price offers an introduction to the use of digital corpora in the description and definition of New Testament Greek, introduces the concept of structural lexicology through the use of computational linguistics, computational lexicography and corpus linguistics, and explains the rationale and method for determining the contextual meaning of New Testament Greek words and phrases through an analysis of their collocations, colligations and semantic preferences. Case studies are included to show how Price’s method can improve modern exegesis.

See here to read the abstract: Long abstract