Using Updated Bible Lexicons (the word ἕξις in Heb 5:14)

One relatively simple way that new Bible translations can be considered to be “based on the best scholarly research available” (to quote the preface of the Lexham English Bible) is to consult the most up-to-date lexicons for Greek and Hebrew (and Aramaic) words. Thus the LEB preface goes on to claim that the LEB is

designed from the beginning to make extensive use of the most up-to-date lexical reference works available. For the Old Testament this is primarily The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (HALOT), and for New Testament this is primarily the third edition of Walter Bauer’s A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BDAG). [The Lexham English Bible (ed. W. Hall Harris, III et al.; 4th edition; Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013).]

Actually, the “most up-to-date lexical reference works available” would not be these (HALOT & BDAG) but will be those such studies in recently published peer reviewed journals and books. Such research eventually ends up in the newer lexicons. Nevertheless these two lexicons (BDAG and HALOT) are a good starting place. Not many Bible translations actually say which lexicons their translations are based on, but BDAG and HALOT are fairly standard reference works.

However, I recently discovered that many of my favourite Bible translations have not always been successful in checking the updated ‘BDAG’ (2000) over the 1979 edition (‘BAGD’).

To be fair, some Bible versions published after 2000 were begun long prior to 2000 and the transition to a newer lexicon is not always thoroughly achieved. The NETBible for example, which first began in 1995 says:

Another significant change to the translators’ notes (tn) in the Second Beta Edition was the updating of all citations of BAGD to BDAG, thus keeping the NET Bible current with the most up-to-date reference materials. (With footnote: BAGD and BDAG are abbreviations which refer to the second and third editions respectively of the standard Greek-English lexicon used in New Testament studies. The third edition appeared in print after the text and notes of the NET Bible New Testament were largely completed.)

Apparently the Greek word ἕξις [hexis] (Heb 5:14) has slipped through unchecked in virtually all the recent versions which continue to translate it as "(through) practice". It is fascinating that the longstanding error for the word ἕξις [hexis] (Heb 5:14) has gone completely uncorrected even though Fred Danker updated the entry in 2000 to reflect the corrected meaning “(mature) state”:

The 2000 edition (BDAG) says that ἕξις [hexis] occurs in various literature with various meanings, namely having a physical/mental state, proficiency, or skill. It only occurs once in the New Testament, whereby

it refers to a state of maturity, maturity (compare ‘characteristic’ Philo, Legum allegoriae. 1, 10, 3).

So according to BDAG Heb 5:14 should read: solid food is for adults who because of their mature state have their senses trained to distinguish between good and bad.

Though the overall meaning of the verse is hardly affected (having an advanced/mature state with trained senses) I was still quite surprised to find that so many recent versions have failed to check the meaning of hexis in BDAG. It is easy to see why an advanced ‘state’ or ‘condition’ could be confused with what caused such a state of maturity to develop (namely, the habitual practices which result in a proficient mature state). But I expected to find at least a few post-2000 Bibles that had consulted BDAG’s lexicon.

So far I have not found any recent Bible versions that have updated their translations to reflect the meaning in BDAG! So far I have looked up NET, ESV, ISV, NIV 2011, NLT, Green’s KJ3, CNT, Voice, TLV, CEB, and SNT. The Source New Testament (SNT) appears to translate hexis with a combined sense by having “a result of practice” with a footnote: ἕξις exis, “skill as the result of practice.” This appears to provide a compromise between ‘state of proficiency’ and the older presumed meaning (‘practice’). HCSB (2004) is perhaps even closer to BDAG by choosing to completely omit the phrase ‘because of their maturity’, seeing it as redundant (as it would come immediately after the phrase ‘the mature’).

Though it is possible that all the other recent translations are actively disagreeing with BDAG (2000) and choosing to favour BAGD (1979) my guess is that this example is not deliberate and has slipped through unnoticed, largely because the overall meaning of the verse remains the same. Still this is a little sloppy for versions like LEB which claim to be based on BDAG and HALOT.

To summarise: The earlier 1979 Bauer-Danker lexicon (BAGD) had incorrectly given the meaning for ἕξις [hexis] as “practice” which was corrected to “maturity” in the updated 2000 edition.[For the history of how the earlier erroneous meaning for ἕξις [hexis] developed see John Lee, A History of New Testament Lexicography (New York: Peter Lang, 2003), 279–95. Lee shows that the error came about because lexicons were simply copying a presumed meaning from older Bible translations, rather than researching the meaning afresh.]]

Yet none of the 21st century Bible translations I have looked up include the meaning as given in the lexicon of BDAG (‘maturity’), besides possibly HCSB which omits the word altogether due to the perceived redundancy with ‘the mature’. The remaining versions provide further evidence that for certain words (like hexis in Heb 5:14) the description ‘up-to-date research’ is barely apt for the state of newer Bible versions if out-dated lexical meanings from 1979 are still going unchecked in the 21st century.