Lesson 1: Concordances, Cross References, and People



Lesson 1: Concordances, Cross References, and PeopleIt’s already been a long road, but we are now finally into the second stage of the study process, which asks, “What does this passage mean?” As previously mentioned, the investigation stage asks, “What does this passage say?” and it answers that question by building up the framework for the book you are studying and then recognizing the obvious, such as terms of repetition and transitional phrases.Now, in the interpretation stage of study, we will take an even closer look at our chosen book by allowing Scripture itself to give us more information. You might have heard the phrase, “Let Scripture interpret Scripture.” That’s what this part of the process is about.It’s so important that we don’t skip to the interpretation before we have given full respect to the investigation. Many sincere students have ended up confused because they rushed to answer “What does this passage mean?” before fully investigating what the passage says. Once you have given full diligence to uncover what the passage is saying, it will be time to gain an understanding of what it means, and this is where the Bible begins to tell us about itself. Below are two necessary tools for interpretation:An exhaustive concordanceThe primary purpose of a concordance is to help you find all the verses that contain a particular word. An exhaustive concordance lists every place that a particular word is used in Scripture, as well as how the word was used in its original language. The concordance does not provide commentary; it is merely an index of English, Greek and Hebrew words used in Scripture. Before the existence of the Internet, a concordance had to be accessed through a massive hard copy. Now, countless sources are available for exhaustive concordances. Below are several places where you can access a concordance online:Many more exist, and they are all similar to each other. A favorite with many is Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, but you just need to choose one you like and get to know it, because it will be an invaluable, time-saving tool for you.Allow me to give you a few words of caution about the use of a concordance.Let’s say you want to find the verse about a man who has friends showing himself friendly, and you want to explore what that word friendly means in its original language. A concordance will list a few words of the surrounding text to help you find the verse you are seeking if you are looking for something specific, or just to give you an idea of what each verse is about if you are exploring a topic rather than seeking a specific verse.In Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, you will find three verses listed under FRIENDLY. The verse we are looking for is Proverbs 18:24, and it is listed like this:Pr. 18:24friends must shew himself f.: ……. 7489It is important to remember that the Old Testament was primarily written in Hebrew and the New Testament in Greek. So you must be careful when using Strong’s numbers. Numbers that are not italicized are for the Hebrew dictionary; italicized numbers refer you to the Greek dictionary. Pay attention to that detail, or you will come to some wrong conclusions.Next you would turn to the Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary of the Old Testament in the back of Strong’s and look up the number 7489.Following the Hebrew word and pronunciation, the entry looks like this:7489…a prim. root; prop. to spoil (lit. by breaking to pieces); fig. to make (or be) good for nothing, i.e. bad (phys., soc. or mor.): … I think that is enough to give you the idea that what Mr. Strong is defining here is not the currently accepted understanding of the word friendly and doesn’t seem to apply to this verse in the KJV.Understand that people like Strong lived long before the KJV-only controversy and were often comfortable with many different versions of the Bible. You can see evidence of this kind of thinking with the entry in the Hebrew dictionary for Proverbs 18:24a. Sometimes the underlying Greek or Hebrew is clarifying the meaning of the English word we are studying. But sometimes, without saying so, men like Dr. Strong might be defining another word from a different manuscript without specifying. You come to a place in your study where you must decide whether the definition you find clarifies the use in your Bible or gives an alternate definition. Obviously, a lot could be said about that, but going into more detail is for another time. At this point, you just need to be aware of the possibility.You must also take the abbreviations into account as you look at these entries. At the beginning of both the Hebrew and Greek dictionaries, you will find the meanings of the abbreviations. If you are not willing to take the time to look up the meanings, you will very quickly become confused and the dictionaries in the concordance will be almost useless to you.One example of the helpfulness of a concordance can be found in a verse like Proverbs 28:16a, KJV: “The prince that wanteth understanding is also a great oppressor.”I don’t know about you, but it seems a bit odd to me that a prince who is wanting understanding is also a great oppressor. When you read something in the Bible that seems contradictory like this, that’s when you can be certain you need to utilize both your dictionary and a concordance to shed further light on the meaning of that passage. Strong’s defines wanteth in the Hebrew as lacking. When you realize the Bible is saying the prince who lacks understanding is a great oppressor, that gives a quite different meaning to the verse…and one that makes a whole lot more sense.If you are a careful student, you will sometimes find that looking up words you think you know well can give you surprising answers. Look at Isaiah 43:13 as an example: “Yea, before the day was I am he; and there is none that can deliver out of my hand: I will work, and who shall let it?”Many have interpreted “and who shall let it” to mean “who shall allow it.” But looking up the word let in a concordance will show that you are looking for some definition other than allow here; you become aware that it’s time to dig deeper. The actual meaning is prevent, which again gives an entirely different interpretation to the verse in question.A cross-referenced BibleSimilar to using a concordance, utilizing the cross-reference section in your Bible will allow you to use Scripture to interpret Scripture, thus allowing you to further answer the question, “What does this passage mean?” Martin Luther once wrote that “Scripture is its own expositor.” When we have a question about what a Scripture passage means, we can turn to an infallible rule of interpretation: Let Scripture interpret itself. For this reason, any quality edition of the Bible will include a thorough cross-reference section, which will aid the reader in “comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (I Corinthians 2:13). Learning how to use cross references will render most commentary unnecessary.For example, in my Bible next to I Corinthians 13:2, which says, “And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge: and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing,” the following verses are listed as cross references: Matthew 7:22, I Corinthians 12:8-10, 28, and 14:1 for the word prophecy; and Matthew 17:20 and 21:21, Mark 11:23, and Luke 17:6 for the phrase “so that I could remove mountains.” When I look up those references in my study of I Corinthians 13, I gain a deeper knowledge of what the passage means. Scripture is being used to interpret itself to me, and I can see without any outside sources what it has to say.Outside of the Bible, one of the best sources for biblical cross references is R.A. Torrey’s The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, which is a comprehensive, user-friendly tool that should be in every serious student’s library. You can also access it at no cost at tsk-. It contains over half of a million Scripture references and parallel passages and is the most exhaustive listing of biblical cross references available anywhere. The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge shows how Scripture interprets itself on every verse, topic and important word and will be invaluable to your study process. CONCORDANCE AND CROSS-REFERENCE HOMEWORK: In my Concordance/Cross-Reference notebook pages, I cross referenced the words fellowship, advocate, propitiation and overcome. You can see what I wrote in my notebook in Illustrations 11 and 12 below. I chose these words for no other reason than because I wanted clarification on these particular words. Most often, I use Strong’s through a phone app, but I sometimes also refer to The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge here.Under “Chapter 1, fellowship (v. 3, 6, 7)” you will first see the Greek word for fellowship along with the definition; this information comes from looking up fellowship in the Strong’s Concordance app. This is what the app looks like in the App Store.First, I select the word fellowship in the app.This is the information I see next from Strong’s.In Illustration 16, you see Usage by Word and Usage by Book. Touching the words below those headings will bring up the verses.As an example, when you select communion (3) under Usage by Word, the next screen will show you the three verses where that word is used, the same ones listed in my notebook in Illustration 11. Just so you are aware, the app will occasionally not show as many verses as you would find in the physical copy of Strong’s. If you want to refer to the physical copy, the Strong’s number is given in the app. The letter preceding the Strong’s number indicates the Hebrew or Greek dictionary.People Another obvious detail to take note of at this point is the people mentioned in the book you are studying. Since epistles are letters written to specific people or churches, it is important for us to know who those people were and why they are mentioned. Studying the people mentioned in a book of the Bible will look different from book to book. A book of history, for example, will not only mention more people than an epistle like Philippians, but also cover a longer period of those people’s lives. It often makes sense to us that a book of history will largely be about people, but it can be easy for us to skip over a listing of people in a book such as an epistle, because we have gotten used to skipping over “what isn’t about me.”Getting to know the people mentioned in an epistle is useful not only because it will help frame your historical knowledge of the book, but also because you will gain greater insight into other books of the Bible, thereby once again allowing you to “cut straight” through Scripture. This part of the process, like any other part, can take a while. You can spend as much or as little time here as you’d like. Galatians, for example, includes Barnabas, Titus, James, Cephus and others. Some of these names you might recognize, and some you won’t. They are all mentioned for a reason. Take the time to find out why. What significance do they have to the people in Galatia, to Paul, or to the writing of the book?Please remember that you won’t find everything you are looking for the first time you sit down to study the Bible; increased knowledge comes as you study more of the Bible. Most people want to come away from their study of a book of the Bible with concrete answers about every single thing in it, and it just doesn’t work that way. Bible study is a lifelong process that keeps adding and adding to your knowledge base and understanding of the Word of God. The books of the Bible are individual, but even more than that, they are connected; and the more you learn about the rest of them, the more you’ll understand the one you’re currently studying.Sometimes you will be surprised by what you learn. For example, Romans is written by Paul, but in the last chapter we read, “I Tertius, who wrote this epistle…” If Paul wrote Romans, then who is Tertius? That would be important to uncover. Be careful that you don’t “read past” such assertions as this without asking yourself why he is claiming to be the author and searching for the answer.Another example is found in Hebrews 4, where we see the name “Jesus.” If we don’t take the time to look closer, we will miss the fact that “Jesus” in Hebrews 4 is actually talking about Joshua. (The names translate the same in Hebrew and Greek.)When studying the people of an epistle, it is helpful to utilize the book of Acts as commentary. Acts is not an epistle. Instead, it is a narrative that summarizes everything that comes after it, from Romans to Jude; so, in turning to Acts, you will see the same people that are mentioned throughout the Epistles. Acts, therefore, is a commentary on the Epistles; and in studying them side by side, you are allowing the Bible to speak for itself without having to turn to outside sources. Spending the time necessary to find out who the people are can take a while, but it’s worth it. All the while, you are continuing to “cut straight” through Scripture, you are broadening your view of the big picture of God’s Word, and you are expanding your perspective of God. At this point, I can already hear many people asking, “But where do I find this information about the people in each book and exactly who they are and how they connect to other people in the Bible?”The answer is both simple and complicated. The simple answer to where you find information is that a Google search is the most helpful source when you’re first beginning. What is complicated is that a beginner student won’t always have discernment between good and bad sources; and there is no single, infallible, magical source where we will find answers to all the people questions in the Bible. Obviously, vet your initial sources as much as possible with mature believers whose opinions you trust. But your discernment will be developed over time after a lot of reading and a lot of wading through bad information without realizing that it’s bad information until later. I am at an advantage at this point in my life because I have studied a lot of the Bible over the years, so I have a fuller understanding of who people are. The more you study, the more you know. This is why I say often throughout the course that you don’t need to know everything right now. As a beginner, I searched the Internet for almost everything that my cross-references and online Bible concordances didn’t tell me; and there was a lot that I didn’t know, and a lot that I didn’t even know I didn’t know! At the beginning of this process, knowledge will come in small and sparse patches; but the more you study the Bible, the more pieces you’ll have to the whole puzzle. “Looking closer” for the beginner means just starting anywhere (the Internet, a good study Bible, a cross-reference section that includes names of people, etc.) with the realization that you won’t have all the information that you wish you had at the beginning of this journey. But also realize that you won’t ever have it if you never begin learning it.An online Bible program is the second, better choice, but depending on the publisher of the program, even that information can be skewed. Do some research online to find out which publishers are typically more in line with your position on the Bible. The more you study, the easier this part will be; but again, it involves trial and error at first, as well as a willingness to be wrong or to have some incorrect answers. The more you study, the more you know what questions to ask, and the more you can go back to erase your wrong answers and fill in the right ones. It is not uncommon for me to find information in the study of one book of the Bible that causes me to correct my study notes from an entirely different book of the Bible. You won’t have every single answer the first time around, nor on the second or third. I usually liken this to the puzzle illustration—sometimes you’re convinced that a piece fits until much later when you realize the piece doesn’t go there at all.A huge component of Bible study is reading intentionally and thoroughly in the first place. Most people would read that last chapter in Romans and completely miss the fact that someone named “Tertius” is claiming to have written the book. Don’t just read; slow down and read with intent. In this case, the prize goes to the tortoise, not the hare.PEOPLE HOMEWORK:Begin by circling in your double-spaced text every name mentioned in the book you are studying.One by one, go through every source at your disposal to learn all you can about that person. 1.Go to a place like Bible Gateway and search every use of the name in Scripture. Make notes about each use and list any descriptions given about the person: occupation, lineage, background, etc.2.Look at notes in your study Bible regarding the name. 3.Many Bibles have a reference section of proper names. In some cases, this is useful in differentiating between people with the same name. For example, a section of proper names will often separately list the two apostles, James the son of Zebedee and James the son of Alphaeus, followed by the Scripture references where each one is mentioned. Then when you look up the name on a search of the entire Bible, that will help you know which one each passage is referencing.4.Use an Internet search for the name and passage specifically. For example, you might search Tertius in Romans 16:22. Doing so will give an explanation for why Tertius asserted that he wrote Romans when Romans 1 attributes the book to Paul.A simple search of who was Dorcas in the Bible will yield these facts about Dorcas very quickly:Dorcas was also called Tabitha, the Aramaic equivalent of Dorcas. You will also learn here that Aramaic gradually replaced Hebrew as the language of the Jews…nothing to do with names, but an interesting fact nonetheless.Dorcas’s name is a Greek word meaning “gazelle,” a reference to her beauty. You will also learn that it is common in the East for parents to name their children after animals that are considered beautiful. Scripture refers to Dorcas as a disciple, and a woman of good works and almsdeeds. Then you might want to explore the meaning of almsdeeds. Dorcas is referred to online as a Hellenistic Jewess. That should prompt you to find out what is meant by that description.Dorcas was a pious (do you know what that means?) Christian widow at Joppa whom Peter raised from the dead in Acts 9. You will also learn that Joppa was an ancient seaport of Jerusalem, which might inspire you to grab a map, where you’ll find Joppa on the southwest coast of Israel, about 30 miles northwest of Jerusalem between Caesarea and Gaza…and haven’t you heard some other famous Bible story about Joppa? (Can you say Jonah? Or Solomon?) You may read that the city is the reputed site of the home of Simon the tanner (whose occupation was considered unclean by the Jews of his day), the man with whom Peter lodged in Acts 10. You might even learn that Joppa is now Jaffa, and still a seaport today thousands of years later. All of these incidental pieces of information that you will encounter in a search of any kind simply add to your larger picture of God’s Word.Once you write down the facts that you find online, you can do further study to determine their accuracy according to Scripture.The trails of discovery are endless…and each one teaches you more about this living Book that we are privileged to hold in our hands.You won’t learn everything at once, but following these steps will give you a basic working knowledge of the people in the passage you are studying. ................
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