Bible Languages/Translation

[randyhall]

I am using the New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to search for definitions of particular words in the Bible. Usually it is clear which language definition is accurate (I look up the phrase in the Bible that I need clarification on, I find the reference number and when I look up the reference number in Hebrew or Greek, it is clear which definition is more contextual).

 

My problem is when a definition is not clearly contextual - if both the Greek and the Hebrew definition is equally reasonable (to me). Is there a way to know which is more correct?

 

Is the New Testament translated from Greek or Hebrew? Is the Old Testament translated from Greek or Hebrew? Is it that simple?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

Thank you,

Randy

[Helen Brown]

I am rather puzzled by your post. It sounds like you are using the book Concordance, whereas this Forum is about Accordance software. The use of Strong's numbers in the software is rather different, much easier, and clearly contextual.

 

In general the Old Testament was written in Hebrew (and Aramaic) and the New Testament in Greek (though some scholars believe there were original Hebrew or Aramaic versions of some of the Gospels).

 

So to find the Hebrew or Greek word behind a word in context, you only need to look up the Strong's number for that phrase in the one language. Other Strong's numbers that appear for a particular English word are only useful to give you an idea of the range of Greek and Hebrew words which may have been translated by this one English word.

 

In Accordance, simply triple-clicking on a word with a Key (Strong's) number opens the correct dictionary to the correct original word for that context.

[Robb B]

Randy,

 

i think Accordance could really help you out with your research. Since you're not familiar with the original languages, an additional approach to your study might be to find every place a Greek/Hebrew word is used in the NT/OT (respectively) and try to understand its definition from its usage across a range of texts in different contexts. You can find every occurrence of a word using any key number text (such as KJVS) in Accordance. Simply double-click the word you want to search for to select it, then hold down the option key and press the search button on the resource pallet (the magnifying glass). That will return every place that particular word in Greek/Hebrew is used. You could at that point open up multiple panes so you can see how various translations render that word in those contexts. If you're not sure of the context, you can click click the add context dropdown to select how many verses before and after the hit verse you want to see.

 

Adding this type of research to your study not only will help you see how powerful Accordance is for this kind of research, but it will give you a better feel for the words you are studying as they are used in various portions of the Bible. Rather than just reading defintions, you'll see the words "in action," and also see what different translators have done with them. Hope this helps!

[randyhall]

Thanks Robb for the information that you provided. I have been reviewing Accordance and Logos for some time now. I like the way Accordance is set up, but I don't have a Mac and I've read mixed reviews on the emulator. I just bought a new Dell with Vista and now I'm thinking I should have bought a Mac. That's the only thing stopping me right now with buying Accordance.