Title:

Using Your Concordance

Objective:

To teach how to use a bible concordance.

What:

Concordance: An alphabetical index of the words that appear in a book.

A concordance will tell you how many times a particular word is used in a book.   A concordance may or may not contain a dictionary of the words listed.

There are bible concordances for each translation of the bible (i.e. Amplified, NIV, etc.)  and each concordance explains their usage.

·        It is best to have a bible concordance with dictionaries of the words listed in the concordance.

·        The Old Testament is translated from Hebrew/Aramaic, the New Testament is translated from Greek

·        A concordance will list each occurrence of a word in the bible; the NESC, and other concordances, will also list the scriptures that word is found in.

·        Make sure to read the "How to Use this Book” or "Instructions” located at the beginning of your concordance.

This study will focus on the New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of The Bible (NSEC).

Why:

Why use a bible concordance?

·        As an aid to bible study

·        To assist in quickly finding scriptures

·        To gain greater understanding of scriptures

The Bible was originally written in Hebrew/Aramaic and Greek. In order to understand the actual meaning of the English translations, you need to look at the meaning of the words in their original languages.

As believers we are to study the Word of God to be able to live, teach, exhort, reprove and rebuke

·        Galatians 3:11

·        2 Timothy 2:15

·        Titus 2:7-8

·        Titus 1:9

How:

How do you use a bible concordance? (NSEC version)

Scenario 1: You want to know what God’s Word says about healing.

·        Beginning with locating the word "healing” in the alphabetized concordance.

·        If you are looking for a specific scripture that contains the word healing read the context lines located under the word healing.

·        The context lines will give you the text of the scripture where healing appears, the location ( Luke 9:11), and a reference number (2322)

·        Using the reference number of 2322, you can locate the meaning of the word healing as used in Luke 9:11 by going to the Greek dictionary and finding number 2322 in the listings.

Scenario 2: You want a better understanding of a scripture.

·        Begin by looking up the various words of the scripture in the concordance

·        Using the numerical reference numbers given, locate the numbers in the appropriate dictionary; Hebrew/Aramaic for Old Testament and Greek for New Testament, to get the definitions of the words.

·        See article : Sharper Than A Two-Edged Sword

Conclusion:

Bible study can be both interesting and fun when you have the right tools.  Invest in different translations of the Bible and concordances.  Each concordance has its unique systems, so make sure to read all the instructions before using.  With the tools we have been given we are well able to "study to show [ourselves] approved unto God… 2 Timothy 2:15

Definitions taken from:

Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary