Books and eBooks by the Director
This page provides a review of a reference work that was consulted while working on the Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament (ALT). To purchase a copy of the third edition, click here.
Strongs Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible
By James Strong
Helpful, but within limits
Strong’s Concordance, like any concordance, is very helpful in finding verses or doing studies on how a particular English word is used in Scripture. It is based on the KJV.
But what makes this concordance unique is that it indicates the underlying Hebrew or Greek word for the English word. Every Hebrew or Greek word is also numbered. Other Hebrew and Greek reference works are available that are coded to these Strong’s Concordance numbers. Also included in this Concordance is a short Hebrew and Greek lexicon. This enables the non-Hebrew or Non-Greek reader some access to the original languages.
But it should be noted, using such resources is NOT the same as actually learning Hebrew or Greek. And far too many people seem to think they know what a verse “really” means by looking up a word in this concordance, getting the number of the Hebrew or Greek word and checking the simple dictionary in the back. Far too many times, I have had people email me with some strange ideas derived in this manner.
The problem is, just looking up a word in a simple dictionary like the one included here is not what you would call an exhaustive word study. And to make matters worse, this dictionary was produced in the 1800s, but much about the Greek language has been discovered since then. So the definitions are not always reliable.
Moreover, once you actually learn Hebrew and Greek and work with the original language texts, you will realize there is much more to the meaning of a word than can be expressed in a simple dictionary. The various shades of meaning can only be discovered by the use of more exhaustive lexicons that discuss how the word is used throughout Scripture and in extra-biblical literature.
It was such much more exhaustive resources that I utilized in working on my Analytical-Literal Translation of the New Testament (ALT). I never bothered referring to a simple and less than reliable resource like this dictionary.
That said, this concordance does have value. Use it as an introduction to working with the original languages. But remember it is just that, an introduction. Don’t think you are somehow studying the Hebrew or Greek because you can use a number to look up Hebrew or Greek word in a simple dictionary.
Also, if you use a version other than the KJV, it is helpful to also have a concordance based on that version. That is why I came out with a Complete Concordance to the ALT for users of my version.
Review of Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Copyright (c) 2008 by Gary F. Zeolla.
ALT: Reviews of Reference Works
Consulted
Analytical-Literal Translation: Main Page
ALT: Hardcopy
and eBook Formats
Text
Search Contact Information
Subject
Index Alphabetical List of Pages
Darkness
to Light Home Page
www.zeolla.org/christian