Navigating An Exhaustive Bible Concordance
Updated: 2 hours ago
One of the most helpful tools I have ever learnt to use for bible study is a physical exhaustive concordance. While I love all the bells and whistles of our modern web-based research options, my favorite is still the traditional concordance. And while most electronic bible platforms like BibleGateway and Blue Letter Bible have concordances available on their websites, I bust-out my hardback exhaustive concordance nearly everyday.
Over the last few years, I have come to realize that the majority of younger Christians today do not know what a biblical concordance is or how to navigate it's pages. Considering many of my posts are going to use the information obtained from a concordance, I thought it would be beneficial to talk about how to use this book, what information it can tell you, and how that can be applied to your scripture reading.
Every navigator needs a map and every good map has a legend; concordances are like a map if you understand the legend. The legend layouts the structure and tells you how to interpret the information. The first destination we navigate to is the english indexed word. Once we have found our English indexed word, we can then navigate to the lexical form of the original language word in the dictionary.
The front part of the concordance is the index. The entries are listed in English alphabetical order like standard English dictionaries. Below is what a typical index entry looks like:
The word index lists every usage of the listed word, RESTED, in the entire bible. Here's your concordance legend:
RESTED = the indexed word
(54) = number of times the indexed word occurs
[REST] = related word(s)
Ge = the initials for the book of the bible; in this case the book of Genesis
2:2 = chapter 2 verse 2 (followed by a segment of the verse)
8697 = original language lexical word entry
When navigating a biblical concordance, you need to keep this basic framework in mind:
Old Testament = (Biblical) Hebrew / New Testament = (Koine) Greek
Our example entry is in the Old Testament so our lexical number, 8697, is going to be Hebrew.
The second part of an exhaustive concordance is usually the dictionary; in our case Hebrew-Aramaic to English and Greek to English. The Dictionary begins with the Hebrew-Aramaic words and then moves to the Greek words. The index entry directs us to navigate to the Hebrew dictionary entry for H8697. The dictionary entries begin with H/G1 and continue in ascending order.
Here is how you read the above image:
sabat = the Hebrew lexical form and the English transliteration
v. = the part of speech; in this case a verb
[72] = the number of times this hebrew word occurred in the bible
[→ 5404, 8698, 8700, 8701, 8702, 8703]. = related words to check-out
[Q], [N], [H] = indicate the Hebrew Verbal Stem;
these are applied to the root word and change the voice
(such as active or passive) and other aspects
[H] to rest, observe the Sabbath: = Hiphil stem sabat means
“to put to an end, stop”
:- = This is the end of Hebrew Verbal Stem listings
Put an end (14), = means sabat was translated as “put an end” 14 times in total
haveS (1), = s indicates a substitution translation
So what now? Now we know the breadth of how this one word can be translated. While something can be translated one way does not mean that it should be; in seminary this is the tension of eisegesis vs exegesis.
The term exegesis (used often by biblical scholars but seldom by specialists in other fields) is a fancy way of referring to interpretation. It implies that the explanation of the text has involved careful, detailed analysis. The description of grammatico-historical indicates, of course, that this analysis must pay attention both to the language in which the original text was written and to the specific cultural context that gave rise to the text. (Kaiser & Silva, page 21)
To argue that we must use the New Testament to interpret the Old is to read the Bible backward and to participate in what is called eisegesis, that is, reading the meaning into the text, instead of using exegesis, leading the meaning out of the scripture. (Kaiser & Silva, page 71)
Successfully navigating a concordance is just a springboard into a larger study with endless possibility. From the what, that is, what does this word mean, we go to how; how is this word being used here and other places? As you explore the other uses of the indexed word in other passages, you will start to see where the different uses indicate similarities and differences which give meaningful nuance to how we ought to interpret a word in a given context. Every Christian home could benefit from an exhaustive bible concordance and they are not expensive. You can find the version I cited in this post on Zondervan’s website for under $50.
Additional Resources for further personal study:
Works Cited:
Goodrick, Edward W, and John R. Kohlenberger III. The Strongest NIV Exhaustive
Concordance. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 2004.
Kaiser, Walter C, and Moisés Silva. Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics : The Search for
Meaning. Revised and Expanded edition. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 2007.
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