7 MAY 1887, Page 22

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. By Joseph Henry Thayer,

D.D. (T. and T. Clark, Edinburgh.)—In this volume, a double-columned quarto of more than seven hundred pages, Dr. Thayer, who is Professor of New Testament Criticism and Inter- pretation at Harvard, has translated, with revision and enlargement, Grimm's edition of Wilke's " Clavis Most Testamenti." Dr. Wilke's work appeared about forty years ago. It was followed in 1862 by a more elaborate work, based upon it, by Professor C. L. Willibald Grimm, of Jena ; and the second edition of this appeared in 1879. Professor Thayer has added some matter of his own, chiefly con.

siding of additional references, with an occasional correction ; but substantially the work is Professor Grimm's. There can be little doubt that it will take its place as the standard book of reference on the subject. It admits, indeed, of improvement, but chiefly, we imagine, in details, which can hardly be supplied except by the labour of many workers. If students will give the co-operation which Dr. Thayer invitee, they will soon make a work already admirable as nearly complete as may be. We notice that under the word euXleos, a cross reference to 7pdoca (where the interesting ex- preesion woken lanialiaat [sic] typacpa is explained), is not given. Under samlaa we should be inclined to say that in Luke xxiv., 39, " a spirit bath not flesh and home," the word certainly means a human soul that has left the body. The Disciples were terrified, and terri- fied, we may imagine, at the idea that they saw a ghost, not generally at the notion of being brought into contact with a spiritual being. The idea of a ghost is a definite and alarming one the other is not.