![]() How to study the Bible - How to use Strongs Concordance
Psa 119:9-12 (KJV)
Dear Friends in Christ,
The book has been in existence for over 100 years, and is the first example of a manually searchable database of Bible words. There is even a Hebrew and Greek Dictionary in the back, with the English words keyed to the corresponding Hebrew or Greek words by a simple numbering system, thereby eliminating the need to read the other language, and yet allowing one to get an understanding of the deeper meanings of the original word which often helps to clarify misunderstandings in interpretation of a Bible verse. The only way to improve on Strong's Exhaustive was to computerize it and add a search engine. An example of a Computerized Strongs Concordance, along with many other useful Bible Study tools, are all available at the following website online and no need to download.. http://bible.crosswalk.com/index.cgi I suggest that you become familiar with using this classic Bible study tool to further your own education in God's Word....doing topic studies, word studies, character studies and doctrine studies. We are truly blessed in this age with the opportunity to use these tools for the furtherance of our growth in Christ and the furtherance of God's Kingdom. Let us not let them become an un-used blessing, especially when there is so much darkness in the world around us. Jer 15:16 (KJV)
In Christ.................brother bob........<>< .
HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE Lesson 5b : How To Use the Strong's Concordance http://www.theanswer.org/biblestudy/strongs.htm A concordance is an index, or alphabetical listing, of words used in the Bible, with references to chapter and verse. Strongs is an exhaustive (or complete) index of all the words used in the King James Version of the Bible. It lists every word in the Bible including every "a", "and", "the", "but" and similar words, and every verse where they are found. A concordance is a tool for the Bible student to study all the places in the Bible where a particular word is found, or more broadly, to study a Bible topic, a Bible subject, person, idea or doctrine. There are several reasons for using a concordance: (1) TO LOCATE A VERSE OF SCRIPTURE Remember the time you could remember a Bible verse, or part of a Bible verse, but you just couldn't remember where it was in the Bible? This is the most common reason why people use a concordance. HOW? Find the verse by looking up in the concordance the most striking word in that verse. Try not to use "common" words. The more common the word, like ""the" or "God" the longer the list in the concordance, and consequently the harder the verse is to find. For instance, in John 3:16 a more striking word would be "only begotton" or "perish". (2) TO FIND THE DEFINITION OF ORIGINAL GREEK AND HEBREW WORDS. Let's consider, for example, the word "accusers" in 2 Timothy 3:3. This word is found in the main concordance and alongside is found the number 1228, which refers to the Greek dictionary in the back of the concordance. Notice that the numbers for the Old Testament Hebrew words are "regular," while the numbers for the New Testament Greek words are in italics. In the case of number 1228 in the Greek dictionary, the order of information is as follows: 1. the Greek word 2. the "transliteration" of the Greek word, or how it is written in English letters 3. how to pronounce the word 4. the etymology of the word, or where the word came from 5. the definition of the word, in this case "a TRADUCER: specifically SATAN compare 7815 O.T." 6. the different ways the word is translated into English in the King James. The translations always appear after the (:). In our example. we learn that this same Greek word appears in the English New Testament as "false accuser," "devil," and "slanderer." Now take your Concordance and work through the same steps with a word from the Old Testament: You can start with the word "awe" in Psalm 4:4. (3) TO DO WORD STUDIES, or to find all the places a particular Greek or Hebrew term is used in the Bible. It's one thing to find all the places in the Bible where the English word "propitiation" is used. But what if this word is translated differently in different verses? The most accurate and precise way to study Bible ideas is to find all the places a particular Greek or Hebrew word is found. One way is to use a Greek or Hebrew concordance. Or..... you can use your Strongs. Let me show you how. Remember, all the different ways a word is translated are found at the end of each listing in the Hebrew and Greek dictionaries. So you have to work backwards by looking up the English translation words in the main concordance, and then you look for the number. Let's use our example: 'propitiation' in 1 John 1:9. First, note the number 2435. Then write down all of the verses where this number occurs. Where else does it occur? ROMANS 3:25 and 1 JOHN 4:10. Second. make a note of the different ways the word is translated. How else is it translated? Only one way: MERCYSEAT. Third. look back into the main concordance index: "mercyseat.' This tells us that our search has ended. There is only one other place where this Greek word hilasteron is used: in Hebrews 9:5. So the term is found only four times in the New Testament. (4) TO DO TOPICAL STUDIES, that is, the study of related words and ideas. When we organize everything the Bible has to say on a given subject we call it a DOCTRINE. There are any number of TOPICS in the Scriptures. To do a Topical Study simply take your Concordance and look up ALL the references where that particular word is used and write them down. Then look up the verses and begin to study them. John Bunyan, author of Pilgram's Progress once wrote: "I dare not presume to say I know I have hit right in everything; but this I can say I have endeavored to do. I have not fished in other men's water. My Bible and concordance are my only library in my writing." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --Bible Study Verses to Ponder-- 2 Tim 2:14-16 (KJV)
{15} Study to show thyself approved unto
God,
2 Tim 2:14-16 AMPLIFIED
14 Remind [the people] of these facts
15 Study and be eager and do your utmost
to present yourself to God
16 But avoid all empty (vain, useless,
idle) talk,
2 Tim 2:14-16 (TLB-The Living Bible)
{15} Work hard so God can say to you, "Well
done."
2 Tim 2:14-16 (Expanded Translation)
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God Bless You.....brother bob.......<>< If you have comments or questions, email
me at ixtheus@execpc.com
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