What Is the Dictionnaire Du Nouveau Testament
The Dictionnaire Du Nouveau Testament is a French-language reference work covering terms, concepts, and theological topics found in the New Testament. It was first published in installments starting around 1907, with the main edition compiled under Joseph Ferrier and later revised by other editors. Multiple editions exist, and you will find them listed under slightly different titles depending on the publisher. The core idea is straightforward: each entry is a short article written by a specialist, organized alphabetically by French heading, and aimed at pastors, seminary students, and serious lay readers who need a quick but competent overview of a term or topic. I first ran into this resource while trying to pin down the French scholarly consensus on a specific Greek term used in Pauline literature. The English alternatives were either too academic or too popular-level. This dictionary sat somewhere in between, which made it useful for getting a general sense before diving into primary sources.
Dictionnaire Du Nouveau Testament: How It Works
The dictionary is organized as a traditional alphabetical reference. Each entry is self-contained, meaning you do not need to read the entire book to get value. You look up a term, read the entry, and move on. The entries typically cover the Greek original, key translations, theological significance, and sometimes a brief bibliography. That last point matters because it gives you a path forward if the entry raises more questions than it answers. The quality varies from entry to entry. Older editions tend to have longer, more discursive pieces, while newer abridged versions are tighter. If you are using the full multi-volume set, expect each volume to contain several hundred entries across a wide range of topics, from individual Greek words to broader themes like covenant, justification, and eschatology.
How to Use This Resource Effectively
The biggest mistake I see people make is treating it like a translation dictionary. It is not. If you look up the word "grace" and expect a one-to-one equivalent for the Greek charis, you will be disappointed. The entries assume you already know basic Greek and that you are looking for theological context, not lexical substitution. Here is the practical workflow I use: First, identify the Greek term you are interested in. Then look up the French equivalent in the dictionary. Read the entry carefully, paying attention to the sections on usage across different New Testament authors. Next, note any secondary references or bibliographic suggestions at the end. Finally, consult the primary sources the entry points to if you need deeper analysis.
Get the Full Details
This process usually takes about twenty to thirty minutes per term when you are just starting out. Once you get used to the layout, you can cut that down significantly. The entries are not written for speed reading. They are dense.
Where to Access the Dictionnaire Du Nouveau Testament
The original editions are in the public domain in many jurisdictions because they were published over a century ago. You can find digital copies on archive.org, Google Books, and various French theological repositories. Some editions are available as free PDF downloads. Others require a library subscription or a physical copy from a seminary or university library. If you want a clean, searchable digital version, look for the Ferrier edition or the later revisions by Émile Châtelain and others. The formatting in older scans can be inconsistent. Page numbers vary between editions, so cross-referencing can be frustrating unless you are comfortable flipping between versions.
Recommended Digital Sources
Archive.org has multiple scans of the original French edition. Internet Archive also hosts the French version with OCR, though the OCR quality is uneven, especially for Greek text. For better accuracy, some users prefer the scanned images over the text extraction. Jeanne-Marie Perrot and other later contributors updated certain entries, so check the publication date to make sure you are looking at the most current version available for your purposes. I need to be blunt about what this resource cannot do for you. It is not a substitute for a Greek lexicon. If you are doing serious exegesis, you still need BDAG, Liddell-Scott, or the Tyndale Greek Lexicon. The dictionary entries summarize scholarly opinion at the time of publication. That means some entries reflect theological positions that have been challenged or refined since the early twentieth century. The French language is another barrier if you are not fluent. Many English-speaking readers skip this resource entirely because they assume they need perfect French. You do not. You need enough French to navigate theological vocabulary, and even then, you will benefit from having a Greek-French dictionary nearby to double-check terms. I keep a copy of the Dictionnaire du Nouveau Testament open alongside Louw-Nida for Greek semantic domain work. It is a slow process, but it works.
Another issue is that some entries are dated in their scholarship. The dictionary was compiled before the major Dead Sea Scrolls discoveries and before many critical editions of the New Testament were finalized. If an entry makes a claim about textual criticism, verify it against a current critical text like NA28 or UBS5. I learned this the hard way when an entry on a specific Pauline passage cited a manuscript reading that had since been revised in newer critical apparatuses. The entry was not wrong for its time, but it was incomplete for current scholarship.
When This Resource Falls Short
If you need a comprehensive lexical analysis of a single Greek word, this is not the right tool. Use a proper lexicon instead. If you need up-to-date archaeological or historical background, the older editions may lack relevant information. If you are working with a non-French audience, you will need to translate the entries yourself, which takes considerable time. For those cases, consider supplementing with English-language resources like the Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary, the ICC commentaries, or the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology. These are more current and written in a language that does not require additional translation effort. The Dictionnaire Du Nouveau Testament remains valuable for its depth on specific theological terms and for readers who already work in French theological contexts. It is not a universal solution.
A Practical Example from My Own Work
I was researching the French theological treatment of dikaiosune in Romans when I hit a wall with the English sources. The debate around "righteousness" versus "justice" in Pauline theology is longstanding and poorly resolved in many commentaries. I turned to the dictionary entry for justiciance and related terms. The entry laid out the semantic range clearly, traced the usage through key Pauline passages, and referenced French scholarly debates I had not encountered in English. It did not give me a final answer, but it gave me the right questions to ask. The workaround for the dated scholarship issue was simple: I noted every claim in the entry that involved textual or archaeological detail, then verified those claims against current resources. The theological observations held up reasonably well. The historical details required correction. This is a common pattern across many entries in the older editions.
Final Thoughts
The Dictionnaire Du Nouveau Testament is a solid reference work for French-speaking theologians and anyone comfortable working in French theological literature. It covers a broad range of New Testament topics with contributions from specialists. The entries are generally reliable for theological content, though dated on historical and textual matters. It is not a standalone tool. Use it alongside current lexicons and commentaries, and be prepared to verify specific claims against newer scholarship. If you can read French at a theological level, it will serve you well. If you cannot, the effort required to make it accessible may outweigh the benefit compared to English-language alternatives.
