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Course 5 · Lesson 6.2

Lexicons and concordances: how to read an entry

10 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 5 outline

Module 1: What the Languages Are and What This Course Can Do

  1. The languages of the Bible: Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek
  2. What an introduction can and cannot do: no fluency, and why
  3. Biblical Hebrew in brief: history, script and sound
  4. Koine Greek in brief: history, script and sound

Module 2: Hebrew Fundamentals

  1. The Hebrew alphabet, reading right to left, and the vowel points
  2. Roots, nouns, gender, number and the construct chain
  3. Hebrew verbs: perfect, imperfect and the seven stems in outline
  4. A core Hebrew vocabulary and how to learn it

Module 3: Greek Fundamentals

  1. The Greek alphabet, accents and breathing marks
  2. Nouns, cases and the definite article
  3. Greek verbs: tense, aspect, voice and mood in outline
  4. A core Greek vocabulary and how to learn it

Module 4: The Texts: Masoretic, Septuagint and New Testament Manuscripts

  1. The Masoretic Text and the codices that preserve it
  2. The Septuagint and where translators consult it
  3. Greek New Testament manuscripts and printed editions
  4. How variants are recorded in footnotes and critical editions

Module 5: How Translations Are Made

  1. Formal and dynamic equivalence, and the middle positions
  2. Who translates: committees, churches and traditions of translation
  3. Hard cases: idioms, word play, gender and untranslatable words
  4. Reading a translation’s preface to learn its principles

Module 6: Tools for the Reader

  1. Interlinear Bibles: what they show and what they hide
  2. Lexicons and concordances: how to read an entry
  3. How to do a word study, step by step
  4. Common word study errors and how to avoid them

Module 7: Evaluating Translation Differences

  1. Locating the Hebrew or Greek words behind a verse
  2. Types of translation differences: text, grammar, word meaning and style
  3. A worked example from the Old Testament
  4. A worked example from the New Testament
  5. Knowing your limits, and when to ask a specialist

All courses

Program / Course 5: Biblical Languages / Lesson 6.2

What you will learn

  • Distinguish a lexicon, a concordance and a theological dictionary and say what each is for.
  • Name some standard Hebrew and Greek reference works and what sets them apart.
  • Read the parts of a lexicon entry, including numbered senses and references.
  • Use a concordance to list the occurrences of a word and see its range.

The big idea

A lexicon is a dictionary of the Hebrew or Greek words of the Bible, listing their meanings, with references. A concordance lists every place where a word occurs. A theological dictionary gives longer essays on important words. Used together, they let a student see a word’s full range and compare uses. Their entries are compressed, and reading them takes practice. Some popular tools, such as old lexicons, are out of date, and no entry takes the place of reading the word in its context.

Key terms

Lexicon
A dictionary of a language, here of biblical Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek, giving meanings, grammar and references.
Concordance
An index of every occurrence of words in a text, with the verse in which each appears.
Headword
The word at the head of an entry, in its dictionary form.
Sense
One of the distinct meanings a word can have. Entries number them.
Theological dictionary
A reference work with longer articles on important biblical words and their use.
Domain lexicon
A lexicon arranged by areas of meaning, such as words for love, and not alphabetically.
Frequency
The number of times a word occurs in the text.

Background

A good lexicon is built from evidence. The compilers collect the uses of each word in the Bible and in other writings of the period and group them into senses. The best Hebrew lexicons draw on related languages such as Aramaic and Akkadian. The best Greek lexicons draw on papyri, inscriptions, the Septuagint and the writings of Jewish and Christian authors. Their work shows that meaning comes from use.

A concordance is a simpler tool with a different job. It tells where a word occurs. By following its occurrences, a student gathers the evidence and begins to see which senses are common. The two tools work together: the lexicon gives the compilers’ summary, and the concordance lets the student check it.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: Standard works

For Hebrew, the lexicon known as Brown, Driver and Briggs, abbreviated BDB, has been a standard for over a century, and is organized by root. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament by Koehler and Baumgartner, known as HALOT, is a larger and more recent work, with fuller use of comparative languages. The Dictionary of Classical Hebrew is a newer, larger work still. For Greek, the lexicon of Bauer, Danker, Arndt and Gingrich, abbreviated BDAG, is the standard for the New Testament and early Christian writings. Liddell, Scott and Jones, abbreviated LSJ, covers the whole of ancient Greek. The Louw and Nida lexicon arranges Greek words by area of meaning.

Older works, such as Thayer’s Greek lexicon, are still found in cheap or free editions. They are often out of date, because they were written before the discovery of many papyri and before modern study of Greek. A student should use the standard modern works where possible.

Step 2: Concordances

The best known English concordance is Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of 1890, which lists every English word of the King James Version with its verses, and assigns a number to each Hebrew and Greek word behind it. Young’s Analytical Concordance arranges the English words under the Hebrew or Greek words they translate. There are concordances of the Hebrew Bible, of the Septuagint and of the Greek New Testament that list the original words themselves. Electronic Bible programs and websites can do the same work quickly.

Strong’s dictionary entries are very short and based on older scholarship, and should not be taken for a full lexicon. The numbers are useful as an index, and the glosses are only a starting point.

Step 3: Reading an entry

A lexicon entry usually begins with the headword in the original script, followed by its transliteration and its grammatical category. Then come the senses, numbered or lettered, each with a short gloss and the verses that illustrate it. Smaller notes add grammar, related words, uses in other languages, a list of English renderings and references to scholarly discussions. Abbreviations are explained in the front matter, and a student should read the key before the first look up.

Notice the order of senses. Some lexicons place the most common sense first, and others the oldest. Look at how the verses are distributed across the senses. If one sense has a single reference, that is a signal that it is rare or disputed. Compare the entry with the sense in the verse you are studying.

Step 4: A worked example

Take the Hebrew word hesed. A Hebrew lexicon lists senses that include loyalty or faithfulness toward a covenant partner, kindness shown to those in need, and in a few places a negative sense of reproach. The references show it used of God’s love for Israel, as in Psalm 136, and of the loyalty between people, as in the story of Ruth. A concordance of the King James Version shows the word translated as mercy, kindness and lovingkindness. The student sees the range in the entry and in the occurrences, and sees why translators have not agreed on one English word.

Take the Greek word pistis. The Greek lexicon gives trust, faith, faithfulness and the content of what is believed, with references to the New Testament and other writers. The concordance shows its frequency in Paul and Hebrews. The student sees that choosing among the senses in a particular verse is a decision that depends on context.

  1. Which lexicon am I using, and how recent and reliable is it?
  2. Have I read the abbreviations and the key to the entry?
  3. How many senses does the entry give, and which has the most references?
  4. Which sense best fits the verse, and what in the context says so?
  5. What does the concordance show about where else the word occurs?
  6. Am I treating the compiler’s summary as final or checking the evidence?

Examples

A rare sense

A lexicon gives three senses for a word and lists a single verse under the third. The compiler says the sense is uncertain. A student who wants to use this sense for an argument should be cautious, because the evidence is slight.

A concordance search

A student wants to know how Paul uses the word dikaiosyne. A Greek concordance lists every occurrence. The student reads each in context and sorts them by sense, finding that Paul uses the word in more than one way. This is the beginning of a real word study.

An old lexicon

A student finds a definition of a Greek word in an old free lexicon. A modern lexicon gives a different sense, based on papyri found later. The student concludes that the old definition should not be trusted without checking.

Different perspectives

Scholarly

Lexicographers agree that meaning is found in use and that a good entry gives the evidence for each sense. They disagree on how to arrange senses, how many to distinguish and how far to rely on related languages.

Protestant

Protestant preachers and teachers have long used Strong’s and Young’s concordances. The tradition’s emphasis on the words of Scripture has produced many reference works, and also many warnings about the limits of word studies.

Catholic

Catholic scholars use the same standard lexicons and contribute to their making. Catholic study Bibles draw on them in their notes.

Orthodox

Orthodox students of the Greek text use these lexicons together with the writings of the Greek fathers, whose use of biblical words shows how the church understood them.

Jewish

Jewish scholars have a long tradition of Hebrew lexicography, from the medieval grammarians to modern works. They draw on the rabbinic literature, which shows how Hebrew words were understood by later readers.

Why it matters

Lexicons and concordances are the main means by which a reader without the languages can examine a word. Used properly, they replace a single gloss with a range of evidence. Used badly, they encourage unfounded claims. Knowing how to read an entry is the first step to doing a word study well.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: The lexicon gives the meaning of the word.

Correction: The lexicon gives the compiler’s summary of the senses found in the evidence. The meaning in a verse depends on context.

Misunderstanding: Strong’s dictionary is a reliable lexicon.

Correction: Strong’s numbers are a useful index, but the dictionary entries are brief and old. Use a modern lexicon for meaning.

Misunderstanding: A concordance shows how the Bible defines a word.

Correction: A concordance shows where a word appears. The student must read the uses and judge. The Bible does not usually define its words.

Misunderstanding: The first sense listed is the right one.

Correction: The order of senses follows the compiler’s method. It may be frequency, history or logic. Check the key.

Knowledge check

What is the difference between a lexicon and a concordance?

A lexicon is a dictionary that lists the meanings of words, with grammar and references. A concordance is an index that lists where each word appears. The lexicon gives a summary of senses, and the concordance lets a student check the uses for themselves. Used together, they show a word’s range.

Name two standard Hebrew and two standard Greek reference works.

For Hebrew, Brown, Driver and Briggs (BDB) and the Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (HALOT). For Greek, Bauer, Danker, Arndt and Gingrich (BDAG) for the New Testament, and Liddell, Scott and Jones (LSJ) for ancient Greek generally. Louw and Nida is a domain lexicon.

Why should a student be cautious about Strong’s dictionary entries?

They are very short, dating from 1890, and based on older scholarship. The numbers are a convenient index to the original words, but the glosses do not show the range of senses or recent evidence. A modern lexicon should be consulted for meaning.

How can a student tell if a sense in a lexicon entry is well supported?

By looking at the references under it. A sense with many references across several authors is well attested. One with a single reference or a note that the meaning is uncertain is weak. The student can check the references in a concordance and read them in context.

Think it through

  1. How is looking up a word different from understanding it?
  2. What would you want to know about the compiler of a lexicon before trusting it?
  3. Why might a concordance be more useful than a lexicon for some questions?
  4. What does it say about language that dictionaries are revised again and again?

Independent assignment

Reading one entry closely

In your own notebook, write 350 to 500 words. Choose a word from the core vocabulary lessons, such as hesed or pistis. Read its entry in two reference works if you can, or use two sources your library or a reliable website offers. Record the senses, the references and the order. Use a concordance to list at least ten occurrences and sort them by sense. Write what the entry and the concordance show, and where they disagree. Do not send this to anyone.

Further study