Brown-Driver-Briggs Errata

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The genuine BDB, in an accurate form, is currently available online only in facsimile form (see here). There is also an edition on BibleHub, about which a bit more below. After this introductory section, this page contains a list of errors in both the PDF and BibleHub editions.

If you want to look things up in BDB, and get accurate information, your best bet is to download the PDF and keep it on your hard drive. There are various dictionaries, much more abbreviated, that call themselves “Brown Driver Briggs” on the internet, but unless their content matches that of the PDF, they’re fake news.

What we eventually need is a version of the BDB online in real web page format, as opposed to PDF. A good framework for producing it exists at Wikisource (here) but it is only 5% or less finished, and the project will probably take another 1,000-5,000 man-hours. And yes, given that it’s a Wikipedia-related project, I do mean “man” hours.

A more complete version of the same sort of thing exists at BibleHub (here). Its biggest problem is that it is riddled with errors, especially in the Hebrew bits. On top of that, it’s rearranged into the order found in Strong’s Concordance rather than the original BDB arrangement, and all sorts of abbreviations in BDB are expanded. These last two are only drawbacks from the standpoint of someone who wants to see the original article; from another standpoint they are assets.

These errata apply specifically to the facsimile found at Google Books, here.

On page 108, right column, second entry, first paragraph, under 1.a, the reference to Leviticus 19:9 should be to Leviticus 18:9.

On page 793, left column, bottom entry, third line from the bottom of the page, a reference to Jeremiah 12:14 should be to Jeremiah 12:4.

On the entry for Strong’s number 194, BibleHub, under subheading 2, bolds the phrase “followed by another clause” when it should not be bolded. In the same entry, BibleHub places an unnecessary hyphen (-) in the middle of the word “vir-tually.” Below this, in the “Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance” section, they write “rulay” where there should just be “ulay.”

At Strong’s number 197, originally page 17 of BDB, the following errors are found. Where BDB reads “Aleph” smichik, BibleHub reads smichik Aleph. Likewise the Hebrew words are disordered in various ways. Where the original reads “1. in Solomon’s temple”, BibleHub reads “Soloman’s.”

Strong’s 199, where it should read οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλά, BibleHub has only οὐ μὴν ἀλλά. Also, instead of a fancy capital G, they have “m5” for some reason.

Strong’s 205, where there should be double pipes, there are only quote marks, twice. After the mention of Job 15:35, where the Hebrew should read haroh, it reads harho, with the holam in the wrong place. In yiqtsar-aven, there appears to be a raphe over the aleph where there ought to be a maqqeph before it. Where there should be beit aven, instead there is aven beit. Where there should be bamot a’, there is ‘bamot a. A similar error appears at least twice in other parts of the entry where a’ is intended as an abbreviation for aven.

Strong’s 354, where should should be double pipes || before the word tsebi, instead BibleHub has quote marks. Same problem in front of yahmur.

Strong’s 355, where the word ayyelet appears before “Jer 14:5,” the accent ole is missing from the aleph. This problem occurs also in the ayyelet before “Ps 22:1”, and between cholel aleph and ledet yaalei, and before w’al bamotay yaamideni.

Strong’s 356, where it should read Elon (for the Hittite father of Esau), BibleHub has Eyilon, by the addition of a hiriq that doesn’t belong. Where BibleHub has smichik ubeit chet smichik aleph, they ought to have aleph smichik ubeit chet smichik.

Strong’s 357, immediately before sub-definition 1, “ayyalonah 1 S 14:31″ is missing.

Strong’s 359, BibleHub reads El Maran where it should read El Paran.

Strong’s 361, instead of reading a fancy “G” as in the original, or the word “Septuagint”, BibleHub reads “m5.” Instead of “MT” or “Masoretic Text,” they read ᵑ0. At the end of the entry, a + plus symbol is missing prior to “13t.”

Under Strong's 7486, entry for Raamses, the web edition reads corveve where it ought to read corvée.