All the time you read a post or thread by someone who believes they have mastered the original languages of the Bible. They often try to impress others with their Bible knowledge by citing Greek and Hebrew word definitions from a concordance. Please review the following article and see whatâs wrong with this exclusive approach to Bible study.
Strongs Concordance, A Good Tool Gone Bad
A Gary Shogren Blog
For Bible students who donât use Hebrew and Greek, the Strong Concordance is a popular tool, available online. [1]
But it has a serious limitation â namely:
the âdictionaryâ in the back of Strongâs is not really a dictionary at all, and should not be used to find the âreal, true, or root meaningâ of a word
And this means that, using the Strongâs does not make you an expert in Greek or Hebrew! Not an expert, not even a novice.
Let me illustrate: I will use the KJV version of Strongâs, since that is the one version I have on hand, but the same thing applies with the ESV or NASB editions.
We are all familiar with Matthew 1:20 â
But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Letâs say I want to learn more about the words angel (Strongs #G32). Look in the back, and it says:
capture aggelos
So, it can mean a messenger, or an angel, or perhaps (Strong is thinking of its use in Rev 2-3) perhaps it refers to the pastor of a church. However, Strong is not telling you what the word means in Matthew 1:21. Rather, he is merely telling you (the material after the â) that âThis is how the KJV translated angelos in the New Testament, as angel or as messenger.â
The âright answerâ in Matthew 1:21 is the special use of the word to mean a spirit messenger of the Lord, an angel.
However, the word also appears in James 2:25 â âwas not Rahab the harlot justified by works, when she had received the messengers, and had sent them out another way?â Here the better translation is âmessengers.â It simply wonât do to announce, âJames says the two spies whom Rahab hid were angeloi, literally âangels.ââ No he doesnât! It doesnât mean âangelâ in this particular verse.
What Strong does do is to show how a word was translated into one English version (KJV, NASB, ESV), but doesnât give you any help in choosing messenger or angel in any given passage â the Bible student has to study the context of the verse, not the possible meanings of the word. And while Strong shows you where in the New Testament the word is used, it cannot tell you how it is used in any one passage. [2]
Most words have a range of meaning rather than a point of meaning. The NT has two of its known meanings from antiquity, but beyond that, it was used in other ways in Greek literature â for example, it was the title of the goddess of Artemis and also of the god Zeus. Birds that brought messengers from the gods were called âangelos.â An aphthoggos angelos was a beaconfire. But saying that an angel in the Bible is âliterallyâ a beaconfire or literally a bird is less than useless, it is positively misleading.
Letâs go back to Matthew 1:21 â the angel tells Joseph, âFear not!â The Strong number is G5399. Strong says concerning this verb â
phobeo
Here there are several options. Does the angel tell Joseph not to frighten somebody? No, because in the original he uses the passive voice. So the KJV translations (signaled by the â) are âbe afraid,â âfear,â or âreverenceâ; these short definitions are known as âglosses,â as in the word, glossary. In the context of Matthew 1, the verb clearly means âDonât be afraid,â that is, donât have the unpleasant emotion of fear. It does not mean âreverence,â not here â but it does mean that in other passages, for example, âfear Godâ (1 Pet 2:17) or as another version has it, âreverence Godâ (NEB).
Linguists use the term âsemantic range of meaning,â which means the range of meaning that a word might have, depending on its usage in context. We can illustrate the range of meaning of phobeo (passive voice) thusly:
Capture2
A word has a semantic range, but that doesnât make it a free-for-all, where you can just pick any meaning that suits you, buffet-style. Context is king in word study, as it is in much of Bible interpretation. (The same thing can be said about the Amplified Bible, which is sometimes misused in the same way.)
It is perhaps easier to use an English word and illustrate its possible range of meanings. The verb ârunâ can mean all sorts of things â run, as in catching a bus; run as an athlete in a footrace; run for a political office; stockings can run; salmon can run upstream; someone can run her fingers through her hair; a river runs; Fred runs a factory. For ârun,â to paraphrase, âWeâre gonna need a bigger semantic range!â
Nevertheless, while ârunâ may mean all this and much more, it doesnât mean all these things in any given context. Suppose the news comes out that, âSenator Smith has decided not to run for president.â Only a very dull news commentator would take that as, âOh, itâs because Smith is too out of shape, no way he can run a 440 meter, let alone a min-marathon!â
Yet that is what happens in pulpits all around the world, week after week. It is self-evidently of zero help for a preacher to announce in his exposition: âThe angel tells Joseph not to be afraid. This is from the Greek verb, phobeo, which means âto be afraid.ââ Oh, really?
Thatâs why the late Dallas Seminary professor, Howard Hendricks, used to preach things like âNow this word âjoyâ is taken from a Greek word that meansâŚâjoy.ââ And this is why I insist that my students refrain from using Hebrew or Greek words from the pulpit, unless there is some really good reason to do so. If a person does not know Greek or Hebrew, perhaps itâs better to abstain entirely.
Letâs add a Hebrew example for the sake of balance. The term for âspiritâ in the Hebrew is from the word ruach. This noun is H7307. Strongâs says that it can mean Spirit or spirit (232x), wind (92x), breath (27x), side (6x), mind (5x), blast (4x), vain (2x), air (1x), anger (1x), cool (1x), courage (1x), miscellaneous (6x). Got all that? Weâll have to have the boys down in the graphics department sketch out a semantic range for that one.
So, ruach cannot mean anything, but it can mean many things, depending on what the author is using it for. It shows up in Zech 6:5 (âthe four winds from the four quarters of heavenâ); in Job 15:30 (âAnd by the breath of his mouth shall he go awayâ); in Isa 61:1 (âThe Spirit of the Lord God is upon meâ). But itâs best not to preach that, for example, Zech 6:5 literally means the four breaths (Lamaze, anyone?)
Nor is it any justification to say, Well, the Bible is inspired; or they are ancient languages; or Hebrew had hidden code meanings, therefore itâs not like reading English. Not at all! The inspired Word is written in human language using human vocabulary.
Preaching from undiluted Strongâs Dictionary or Concordance is typically a dead end. It is a tool, but does not provide a message from God. I have to say that I have seen study after study on YouTube or the net, where the author bases his or her conclusions of this sort of misuse of Strongâs. [3]
Donât use a can opener to dig a ditch; donât use a hammer to replace a light switch; donât use Strongâs for full word studies.
There is another danger I should mention â because it is free of copyright restrictions, people can also access Thayerâs lexicon online, and they can use the Strongâs numbering system to do so (so it is on Bible Hub). While this is a handy connection, it must be remembered that they donât make Thayer available because it is the best or most reliable, but because it is economical to do so. [4]
Of the word study books that are available for the English reader, Wuest and Lenski too are not reliable.
And letâs end on a positive. Vineâs is still basically reliable; Vincentâs too. But if I had to recommend one single book for the reader of the English Bible, it would be Mounceâs Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Great price too, 1300+ pages for $23.48 (https://www.amazon.com/Mounces-Complete-Expository-Dictionary-Testament/dp/0310248787). If youâre serious about Bible words, shell out the 23 bucks!
QUOTE THE QUIZ: Yes, we understand about the false prophets, but Messiah says there are those performing miracles, casting out demons and prophesying in Messiah name, yet He says what they are doing is LAWLESSNESS.â END QUOTE THE QUIZ
Quiz, let me help. Youâre first mistake, Jesus did not say â...there ARE those performing miracles...â, Jesus really said, there will be some who âwill say...â.
You made your second mistake when you tried to create an anecdotal distinction between lawlessness and sin. Quiz, this is gonna sound like a news flash but here it is: lawlessness, disobedience and sin are all the >>same<< thingâźď¸âźď¸âźď¸
Your TeddyBug and you wanna separate lawlessness and disobedience from sin so you can claim you donât sin anymore. Is that right? Correct me if Iâm wrong, please!
QUOTE THE QUIZ: âYour reply was rather quick, which might show you did not look at the Greek text before answering.â END QUOTE THE QUIZ
LITTLEDAVID: Come on Quiz, a quick reply means you didnât look at the Greekâ-REALLLLLLLLY ??? First of all, the English translation is sufficiently understandable in connection to the point conveyed by RSVP. Quiz, when you say âlook at the Greekâ are you referring to your introductory level concordance and lexicon studies again??
TRINITY BIBLE VERSES anti-Trinity FLAT EARTH TEDDY HOPES YOU WONT SEE
Posted : 24 Jul, 2021 04:49 AM
you donât seem to realize making statements is not the same as stating facts. Itâs fairly safe to assume you probably never will understand so long as you hold to your sin and hardness of heart
TRINITY BIBLE VERSES anti-Trinity FLAT EARTH TEDDY HOPES YOU WONT SEE
Posted : 24 Jul, 2021 04:45 AM
TeddyBug, at some point youâll need to offer evidence instead of long pages of meaningless gibber-gobble. If you were in a court of law arguing for your incoherent anti-trinity nonsense you would be thrown outa court at your first hearing.
Flat Earth TeddyBug, who says if you believe the earth is round then you must also believe the Chinese and Australians are walking upside down as they hang from the bottom of the earth, always gets worked up when his favorite false doctrines keep getting exposed.
TRINITY BIBLE VERSES anti-Trinity FLAT EARTH TEDDY HOPES YOU WONT SEE
Posted : 23 Jul, 2021 02:56 PM
1 John 5:7 For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
(The âWordâ there refers to Christ.)
1 John 5:9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son.
1 John 5:10-12 He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
Matthew 28:19 â Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
2 Corinthians 13:14 â The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, [be] with you all. Amen. ([The second [epistle] to the Corinthians was written from Philippi, [a city] of Macedonia, by Titus and Lucas.])
Matthew 3:16-17 And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
1 Peter 1:2 â Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
John 14:26 â But the Comforter, [which is] the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Genesis 1:26 â And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
(So who is âourâ referring to?)
John 1:1-18 In the beginning was the Word (The Son), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. There was a man sent from God, whose name [was] John.
The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all [men] through him might believe. He was not that Light, but [was sent] to bear witness of that Light. [That] was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, [even] to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the Word (The Son) was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace. For the law was given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. (Here we have grace mentioned again in terms of Christ.)
No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him].
Remember the love of God the Father that was displayed in His Son.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
God the Father didnât come Himself into the world like the TeddyBug thinks.
John 10:30 I and [my] Father are one. (This means both persons are God. This is key for refutation of those that try to deny Christâs deity.)
36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
John 5:19-23 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
John 5:26-29 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
John 10:17-18 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. (God the Father wasnât giving himself a commandment. And yet this again shows Christ as God because He had the power to take up His life again.)
John 13:1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end. John 13:3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
John 14:1: Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 16:27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
John 16:28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. (It should be clear there are two persons mentioned here.)
John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the
John 17:21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
John 20:22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: (This is mention of the third Person)
John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
Whyâthank you TeddyBug for referring to me as youâre âdear readerâ. How precious, that just tugs at my heart stringsâźď¸
Is there anybody else besides me who enjoys the TeddyBug Comedy Blog? Guess Iâm one of one.
TeddyBug, hereâs the deal, I will give you 5 thumbs up for hearty and hilarious!! However, your credibility doesn't fair as well and probably wouldnât get you a job but hey, who needs a job when youâre that funnyâźď¸âźď¸đđđđ
Whyâthank you TeddyBug for referring to me as youâre âdear readerâ. How precious, that just tugs at my heart stringsâźď¸
Is there anybody else besides me who enjoys the TeddyBug Comedy Blog? Guess Iâm one of one.
TeddyBug, hereâs the deal, I will give you 5 thumbs up for hearty and hilarious!! However, your credibility doesn't fair as well and probably wouldnât get you a job but hey, who needs a job when youâre that funnyâźď¸âźď¸đđđđ
