Subject: What is Strong's Concordance?GeeVee |
Bible Note: Greetings Serenetime! I haven't heard from you for awhile my friend! I agree with you that Strong's Concordance is a great Bible help. However, just to be nit-picky, I would clarify that it is not a translation at all. A concordance simply lists every occurance of a word. For instance, if I want to find every verse in the Bible which mentions 'law', I can look under the "L" section and find every verse which includes the word 'law'. However, there are several words which can be translated as 'law', but the only way to tell which word is being translated as 'law' is to check the original Greek or Hebrew text - which most people are unable to do. So, Strong's Concordance also includes a unique number which identifies which Greek or Hebrew word has been translated as 'law' in our example. However, Strong does not translate the text, he simply uses the KJV's translation as a base from which to work. The only draw back to Strong's Concordance is that it is simply like a dictionary when it defines a Greek or Hebrew term. The actual meaning of a term depends on many factors, such as: context, form, idiom, ect.... One cannot simply plug any definition into any passage. For instance, the word 'level' in English can be a verb, adjective, or a noun. "The floor is level" does not mean that I am using the floor as a 'level'. Unfortunately, many people plug Greek or Hebrew definitions into passages in much the same way, without understanding the reasons for or against. To avoid this problem, one needs to also consult someone who actually knows the orginal languages to see if a possible definition will actually work. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |