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How to Use a Concordance

If you thought a concordance was for finding a

verse reference you have forgotten, you have

never discovered the value of using a

concordance. Some people might even look up

a word and study all of the references listed for

the English word, but this only gives you part of

the information. It’s like studying one side of a

coin without even realizing there is another side

of the coin that looks different.

When selecting a concordance, make sure you

get an exhaustive concordance because that

will contain every word in the Bible. Don’t settle

for a smaller “complete” concordance because

it is like a “best of” version of the concordance.

Plus, these smaller concordances don’t contain

the original language dictionaries so you can

learn the meaning of a word in the original

Hebrew or Greek.

The most important factor in selecting a

concordance is to get a concordance that

corresponds to the Bible translation you are

using. If you are using the New International

Version, then use an NIV exhaustive

concordance. If you use the New American

Standard Version, then use an NASB exhaustive

concordance.

Because so few people seem to know how to

use a concordance for thorough word study, I

want to provide a more detailed explanation.

Here are the steps you might use when doing a

word study. These instructions will make the

most sense if you have a concordance out as

you go through each step.

1. Look up the word in an exhaustive

concordance that corresponds to the

Bible translation you are using.

2. Look down the list of Bible references

for that word until you find the

reference of the text you are studying.

3. Note the number found just to the right

of the verse reference. When you look

up a word, the column of numbers

listed to the right of the verse

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references in a concordance are the

numbers that correspond to the

definitions for the original Hebrew or

Greek words.

4. Look up that number in the

corresponding dictionary in the back of

the concordance. If it is an Old

Testament reference, you will use the

Hebrew dictionary; if it is a New

Testament reference, you will use the

Greek dictionary. Some concordances

use italics as a visual reminder for

numbers referring to the Greek

dictionary.

5. Once you find the number in the

correct dictionary at the back of the

concordance, you will see the Hebrew

or Greek word and its definition,

followed by a list of ways it is translated

in that particular Bible version. Each

word or phrase in this list is followed by

a number in parenthesis. This tells you

how many times that word is translated

using that word or phrase.

6. Write down the English pronunciation

of the Greek or Hebrew word and its

definition.

7. Write down the list of English words

(and quantity) used to translate this one

Greek or Hebrew word. This is your

exhaustive list of every time this word

occurs in the Bible, even though it may

appear as different words in English.

(Note: if you had only studied one

English word, you would have missed all

the other uses of the word in the

original language.)

8. Go back to the concordance section and

look up each English word on your list.

Find the word and scan down the list

looking for the same Greek or Hebrew

number. Write down the reference(s).

Repeat for each English word on your

list. You now have a complete list of

every Bible reference where the original

Greek or Hebrew word was used.

9. If the list is long, you may wish to limit

your list to an appropriate context. If

you are studying the gospels, you may

limit your reading to other references in

the gospels. If your passage is in one of

the epistles, you may wish to limit your

reading to other references in the

epistles.

10. Look up each reference in your Bible

and reap the rich rewards of seeing the

breadth and depth of God’s Word.

Observe how the word is used in

various ways. Look for similarities and

differences. Summarize your findings to

explain the basic meaning of the Greek

or Hebrew word without using the

various English translations of the word.

That is, you cannot define love with the

word love.

By now you have gained a fuller understanding

of all the ways the original Hebrew or Greek

word was used. This brief explanation doesn’t

do justice to the process, but I hope you’ve at

least gained a glimpse for the wealth of

information contained in a concordance and

why you shouldn’t settle for anything less than

an exhaustive concordance for the translation

you use most.

©2012 Christy Bower. The author grants permission to distribute

print or digital copies with the copyright notice intact.

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