Rodney Decker, NT professor at Baptist Bible Seminary in Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania, wrote a helpful essay about the BDAG lexicon called An Introduction to the Bauer/Danker Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.
It is helpful, of course, in describing the BDAG, but I found the historical overview of Greek lexicons particularly interesting...not least in helping me to understand the significance of the papyrus finds starting in the 1890s.
I have highlighted some sentences and phrases that struck me as I read this essay.
Bob's Comment: I highlight Decker's comments about Thayer in particular because they are quite relevant to us even now in year 2022. Some of the key web sites on the Internet that incorporate interlinear Greek/English pages, complete with lexical links to each word, still include Thayer's lexicon as a resource. These websites would include BibleHub and the BlueLetterBible.
Step Bible brings convenience combined with the $0 cost of having access to the Liddell and Scott lexicon (the "LSJ", for Liddell, Scott and Jones). It is quite phenomenal. To be honest, it may be all that you will ever need in your Greek study.
That said, if you have a family member who is looking for a birthday or Christmas gift idea for you, a copy of BDAG might be a good suggestion.
You may also purchase BDAG as an add-on module if you purchase Logos or Olive Tree Bible software. It is very convenient to use BDAG in an app, since you can click on a word in your GNT, and link directly to the BDAG entry...but you are talking about $500+ for the software approach rather than the $200+ for a hard copy lexicon.
Personally, I still like physical books. I purchase yellow highlighters by the box, and use them liberally when I do Bible study with hard copy volumes.
Just before typing these words, I purchased a "used - very good
condition" BDAG from Amazon for $101 CDN. It may be worthwhile for you to
keep an eye on the used versions of BDAG that are available on Amazon.
Every so often you will see a used version "Like New" for $150 or "Very Good
Condition" for $100.