How to use Accordance?

[Chris Chadwick]

First, please treat me gently as I am a lay person using Accordance for sermon/teaching preparations, as well as for academic study. I see a lot of information about the features of Accordance, and what it can do, but I am interested in seeing how people takle a particular task.

 

For example I have been asked to speak soon on The Beatitudes. They would like me to provide a general background and overview of the relevant section from the Sermon on the Mount and then give some of my own views as to what the verses might be saying to a congregation today.

 

I recognise that there are many ways of 'skinning this cat'. We would probably all approach it differently, and end up with a slightly different take on it. But I am just interested in knowing how you might apporach it.

 

i.e. Which 'Tools' might you use to get an overview, before perhaps consulting a commentary for more specific insights. Do you have a prefered method, and particular resources that you always follow/consult?

 

With so many modules available I sometimes wonder if I am using the information available to me in the most productive way. I have the premier level of Accordance and wonder if some of those General/English Tools would be better used by me if I understood their particular usefulness more fully. So any feedback/insight into this would be beneficial... How might you go about doing this task?

 

Just interested...

 

Chris

[stoessel]

i.e. Which 'Tools' might you use to get an overview, before perhaps consulting a commentary for more specific insights. Do you have a prefered method, and particular resources that you always follow/consult?

 

I almost invariably begin by bringing up parallel windows and see how other Gospel writers handled the same topic. In this case, the synoptics all deal with the sermon in varying ways. Drawing comparisons (similarities as well as differences) between them can be fruitful and is, in any case, essential homework. Accordance makes such comparisons very easy.

 

Usually, there will be some words or phrases that need a particularly careful look. I keep saved window settings that allow me to quickly bring up the same passage in my favorite English Bible, plus Greek and Hebrew. From there I will follow the leads using the Greek and Hebrew tools.

 

I also use the Anchor Bible Dictionary to quickly get to extensive explanations of words or topics. I have the books on my shelf behind me, but the Accordance text is searchable so much faster, and I can copy from it to my notes. The Atlas can be very useful if understanding geographical relationships is critical to the understanding of a passage.

 

There's my two cents worth. Happy studies!

Ed

[Lorinda H. M. Hoover]

I usually start with a window with a tab with several panes containing different translations. In my case, NRSV, BHS and LXX or GNT and NET. I then read through the passage in both English translations, making note of differences.

 

I also make a note of repeated and/or important words, often looking at how they are used in other parts of the Scripture.

 

One thing I have discovered is that some English translations (especially the NRSV) "hide" repeated words or roots by translating them with different English words. Sometimes this is needed because the Greek or Hebrew word has a wider meaning than one particular English word. But sometimes it is for "stylistic" reasons, since repetition is less desirable in English than in Hebrew or Greek. Thus I run my searches for repeated words in the original language. If you don't know Greek and/or Hebrew another way to do this is to run a search for repeated Key numbers in one of the keyed texts (KJVS, NIV-G/K or NAS95S).

 

The NET notes are very helpful in getting a handle on translation issues, references for Scripture quotations and variations in the original language manuscripts.

 

The Outlines module is helpful for getting a feeling for the setting of a particular passage within the wider context/flow of the Biblical book.

 

The Cross References module is also helpful for finding other related Scriptures, although sometimes it is hard to see how a given cross reference relates to the passage.

 

As may be evident from my stream-of consciousness comments here, I don't have a very ordely or disciplined approach to studying a passage. Where I go and what modules I consult depends on what catches my eye in a particular passage on a particular day and (hopefully!) the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

[Chris Chadwick]

There's my two cents worth. Happy studies!

Ed

 

Thanks, it is really interesting to hear your approach. Already I have learned something that will be useful for me... it had not occured to me to save the window! Simple but so useful!

 

Thank You

 

Chris

[Chris Chadwick]

As may be evident from my stream-of consciousness comments here, I don't have a very ordely or disciplined approach to studying a passage. Where I go and what modules I consult depends on what catches my eye in a particular passage on a particular day and (hopefully!) the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

 

Lorinda,

 

Ordely or otherwise, it is still interesting to hear of your proposed approach. I too seem to follow what seems important, but I wonder sometimes if I might find some of the modules more useful if I understood there general content more fully. i.e. when it is better to consult one type of Tool over another. Dictionaries for word understanding, Commentaries for the views of others, but what is good for a contextual overview? What for a snapshot view. What for a more indepth appraoch.

 

The exploration is half the fun I guess, but I always wonder if there is a 'better' way. :-)

 

Chris