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> Getting Started with Greek/Hebrew Word Study

Biblical Studies (Divinity):

Getting Started with
Greek/Hebrew Word Study
Commentaries

Lectionary Resources

Research Databases

Reference Tools: Atlases, Dictionaries,

Concordances, etc.

Getting Started with Greek/Hebrew Word

Study

Font & Language Tools

Bible Texts and Translations (Online)

Steps for Word Study: Reference Room

Steps for Word Study:

Reference Room Edition

Looking to dive deeper into your study of a

passage? Even if you're just beginning to
learn Greek or Hebrew, it can be helpful to
your exegetical process to identify the
Greek or Hebrew words being used in the
English translation of the Bible you are
reading. These steps will point you to
books in the Divinity Library Reference
Room and walk you through

(1) finding a word in a concordance,

(2) finding the Greek or Hebrew

term that corresponds with the
English word,

(3) finding a short definition of the

word in a lexicon, and

(4) finding longer theological

articles on the word.

Two numbering systems are used to

identify the Hebrew and Greek words from
which English translations have been
derived. Knowing one or both of these
systems can be helpful in utilizing the
textual analysis tools. The Strong's
numbers [S] are keyed to the King James
Version and
the Goodrick/Kohlenberger numbers
[GK] are keyed to the New International
Version.

1. Find the number matching the

ENGLISH word you're researching,
using a concordance. This resource
will also begin to tell you what other
verses use the same (or related)
words.

Strong's Exhaustive
Concordance of the
Bible
Call Number: DIV REF
BS425 .S8 2007
This concordance uses
Strong's numbers [S]. The number will
start with H [Hebrew] or G [Greek],
followed by (usually) four digits.

The NIV Exhaustive

Concordance by
Goodrick & Kohlenberger
Call Number: DIV REF
BS425 .G62 1990 c.1
This concordance uses
Goodrick/Kohlenberger numbers [GK]. The
number is usually 3-4 digits.

2. Find the GREEK/HEBREW term

behind your English word, and
continue exploring other Bible
verses where the word
appears, using one of these
concordances:

New Englishman's
Hebrew Concordance
Call Number: DIV REF
BS1125 .W662 1984 c.1
Arranged numerically by
Strong's number [S].

Hebrew-English
Concordance to the Old
Testament
Call Number: DIV REF
BS1121 .K65 1998 c.1
Arranged numerically by
Goodrick/Kohlenberger number [GK].

New Englishman's
Greek Concordance
Call Number: DIV
BS2302 .W495 1972 c.1
Arranged numerically by
Strong's number [S].

The Greek-English
Concordance to the
New Testament
Call Number: DIV REF
BS2302 .K657 1997 c.1
Arranged numerically by
Goodrick/Kohlenberger number [GK].

3. Using the GREEK/HEBREW term

you found during Step 2, use a
lexicon to find a brief definition of
the word:

The Brown-Driver-
Briggs Hebrew and
English Lexicon
Call Number: DIV REF
PJ4833 .B76 1996 c.1
The lexicon is arranged
according to the Hebrew alphabet, but you
can also use the index beginning on page
1129 that gives Strong’s numbers and the
corresponding page in BDB.

A Greek-English
Lexicon of the New
Testament and Other
Early Christian
Literature
Call Number: DIV REF
PA881 .B38 2000 c.1
The lexicon is arranged according to the
Greek alphabet.

4. Lengthy articles in English on the

Hebrew/Greek word can be found in
the following resources:

Theological Dictionary
of the Old Testament
Call Number: DIV REF
BS440 .B5713 1974 [16 vols.]
This is an ongoing set, without an index,
arranged by the Hebrew alphabet (so you
must read Hebrew to be able to find the
article).

Theological Wordbook
of the Old Testament
Call Number: DIV REF
BS440 .T49 1980 [2
vols.]
There is an index at the
back of Vol. 2 that uses Strong's numbers
[S].

New International
Dictionary of Old
Testament Theology
and Exegesis
Call Number: DIV REF BS440 .N438 1997
[5 vols.]
A Table of Conversion in vol. 5 can be
used to locate the entry by Strong’s
number [S]; volumes 1-4 are arranged by
the Goodrick/Kohlenberger number [GK].

Theological Dictionary
of the New Testament
Call Number: DIV REF
BS2312 .K5813 1964 [10
vols.]
Volume 10, page 61+ has
an index to the set by Strong’s number [S].

The New international

dictionary of New
Testament theology
Call Number: DIV REF
BS2312 .N48 1986b [4
vols.]
Arranged in English by
broad terms. Volume 4 includes scripture
and detailed word indexes which assist in
locating specific terms.

Exegetical Dictionary of
the New Testament
Call Number: DIV REF
BS2312 .E913 1990 [3
vols.]
Use the index of English
words in volume 3 to locate articles.

Steps for Word Study: Online

Steps for Word Study:

Online Edition

Working remotely this semester and

wondering what to do about an assignment
that asks you to interact with Strong's
numbers? When you can't visit the Divinity
School Library and build yourself a fortress
of Reference Room books, there are a few
important websites and tools that will help
you walk through the same steps we've
given on the left hand side of this page:

(1) finding a word in a concordance,

(2) finding the Greek or Hebrew

term that corresponds with the
English word,

(3) finding a short definition of the

word in a lexicon, and

(4) finding longer theological

articles on the word.

Since Strong's numbers are the most

common, we will be relying here on tools
that interact with Strong's numbering
system. The websites that incorporate
Strong's numbers are Bible Study
Tools, Blue Letter Bible, and Bible Hub.

1. Look up the Bible passage you are

studying online with Strong's
Exhaustive Concordance enabled using
https://biblestudytools.com/ Use either
the King James Version or the New
American Standard Bible to access the
concordance. Look for the "Settings" icon:

Under Settings, select the checkbox that

says "Strongs Numbers," and every word
that has a corresponding number in the
concordance will now be highlighted in
blue.

2. Select any word highlighted in

blue to see the concordance
entry. This will give you the Strong's
Number, the original Hebrew/Greek
term, and a list of additional Bible verses
that use this specific word in Greek or
Hebrew.

3. Using the Strong's Number you

discovered in Step 2, search for the
term using Blue Letter Bible's
lexicon:

The search results will include brief

definitions of your term from the Brown
Driver Briggs Lexicon (Hebrew) or
Thayer's New Testament Lexicon (Greek).

4. Place a scanning request for an

article on your Greek or Hebrew
word from the Theological
Dictionary of the Old Testament or
the Theological Dictionary of the
New Testament.

From the Divinity Library website,

select My Account, then choose
Document Delivery and log in using
your Duke NetID and password.
Under the "New Request" menu on
the left, select "Article."
Place your scanning request using
your search results from Bible Study
Tools, Blue Letter Bible, etc. This
example is based on the entry for
"Sunetos" in Step 2 above, which
gave this notation: TDNT 7:888.
This means an article on the word
Sunetos appeared in the Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament
(TDNT), Volume 7, starting on page
888. Use this information to fill in
the following fields:
Title: Theological Dictionary
of the New Testament
Volume: 7
Year: 1964 (for TDOT, use
1974)
Inclusive pages: 888-
Call Number (TDNT): Div.
Sch. Ref. BS2312 .K5813 1964
v.#
Call Number (TDOT): Div.
Sch. Ref. BS440 .B5713 1974
v.#
Article Title: Sunetos
If you're stuck, here are longer
instructions for placing a scanning
request.

List of Hebrew/Old Testament Texts using

Strong's Numbers

TEXT:

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartenisa - Div

Ref BS715 1984 c.1

LEXICONS:

The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English

Lexicon - Div Ref PJ4833 .B76 1996 c.1

A concise Hebrew and Aramaic lexicon of the

Old Testament - Div Ref PJ4833 .H6 1978 c.1

CONCORDANCES:

The Hebrew English The Hebrew English

concordance to the Old Testament - Div
Ref BS1121 .K65 1998 c.1

The Englishmans̀ Hebrew and Chaldee

concordance of the Old Testament - Div
Ref BS1121 .E5 1980b c.1

WORD BOOKS:

Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament -

Div Ref BS440 .B5713 1974

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament -

Div Ref BS440 .T49 1980

New International Dictionary of Old Testament

Theology & Exegesis - Div Ref BS440 .N438
1997

List of Greek/New Testament Texts using

Strong's Numbers

TEXT:

The Greek New Testament - Div Ref BS1965

2007b

LEXICONS:

Interlinear Greek-English New Testament -

Div Ref BS1965 1981 c.1

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament :

Based on Semantic Domains - Div Ref PA881
.G68 1988

The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament - Div

Ref PA881 .M7 1997

CONCORDANCES:

The Englishman's Greek Concordance :

Numerically Coded to Strong's Exhaustive
Concordance - Div Ref BS2302 .W495 1979

The Greek-English Concordance to the New

Testament - Div Ref BS2302 .K657 1997

WORD BOOKS:

The New international Dictionary of New

Testament Theology - Div Ref BS2312 .N48
1986

Theological dictionary of the New Testament -

Div Ref PA881 .T4713 1985

More tools for word study: Interlinear Bibles

An interlinear bible is a bible in the original

text—in Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek—which
includes a translation of every word beneath
it. This allows one to “read” the original and
compare translations over time.

Interlinear Testaments in the Library

Kohlenberger, John R., ed. The Greek New

Testament : UBS4 with NRSV and NIV. Grand
Rapids, Mich. : Zondervan, 1993. (Ref.
BS1965.5 I5845 1993)
Kohlenberger, John R., ed. The Interlinear NIV
Hebrew-English Old Testament. Grand
Rapids: Regency Reference Library, 1987.
(Ref. BS715 1987)
Mounce, William. Zondervan Greek and
English interlinear New Testament (NASB-
NIV). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2008.
(Ref. BS1965.5 2008)

Online Interlinear Bibles

Biblestudytools.com Interlinear Bible

NTL Interlinear and Reverse Interlinear

Bible

Bible Hub Interlinear Bible

Tips for Using Biblical Commentaries

How to Use a Commentary and Avoid My

Rookie Mistakes

20 Tips on How to Use Bible Commentaries

Catalyst Resources

Last Updated: Jun 28, 2021 12:05 PM

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