52 of 52 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
the next book to buy after your Bible, May 25, 2000
I am surprised that there aren't more reviews on this book. Next to your Bible, a concordance and a Bible dictionary are the two most likely candidates for serious students of the Word, and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance is by far the most popular concordance, hands down. Whenever I do a study, you can be assured that I use the concordance to either look up verses, find out how many times a word is used, or find the basic meaning of a word in the original language. As a concordance it is great, but for word studies you will probably need a dictionary or lexicon that will give greater detail in their definitions. But this should not stop you from purchasing the book, because almost all other modern references now use the Strong's numbering system. So, start with Strong's, use it as your concordance and do use it for the basic definitions, but then as you progress you can purchase other reference volumes that will give you more information but will still utilize the same numbering system. Although the hardback is tremendous, I prefer the softcover edition. It is not as large and bulky, usually costs less, and it can fit inside of your briefcase.
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44 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You cannot beat the original, March 22, 2004
Although it has been twenty years since I have used my KVJ Bible, Strongs is still the best. It has been my number one Bible study tool for almost thirty years of ministry. I do not know what I would do without it. Over the years, I have tried to use contemporary concordances but have found them wanting. Nothing is as exhaustive of a resource as Strongs.
For students who lack training in the original languages, the numbering system and Greek and Hebrew lexicons in the back or invaluable aids to Bible study. It gives the student non-technical access to the original languages. And for the most part, it does a pretty good job.
Any weaknesses? Only a few. Occasionally I find a word that Strong overlooked, but they are few and far between. Considering that this massive research was done without the aid of a computer, this is really an amazing feat. I have tried them all and you cannot beat the original.
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30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm sorry I waited so long, October 8, 2007
If you don't own/use a full reference size concordance currently, please read this. I didn't own or use one of these until I was in my 40's. Big mistake! As another reviewer suggested, you should buy one of these right after you purchase your Bible. Incorporating a comprehensive concordance into your bible study will revolutionize the whole experience for you. If you don't own one of these, buy one.
Functions: In its most basic usage, the concordance allows you to select any word in your Bible, and see what that original word was in Hebrew or Greek, and what it means in that language. Another basic function, the concordance will allow you to select a word and locate every place in the Bible where that word is used. Very handy for locating a chapter/verse that you can't fully recall. For example by looking up "begotten", or "world", or "loved" . . . you could quickly find John 3:16 (I usually use a palm-sized Franklin Electronic Bible for this purpose). There are myriad other things you can do with a concordance as you become familiar with it.
An important idea in my opinion --- as it is stated within Scripture that they were given by inspiration of God, thus, it is widely held that they are without error (when this statement was penned by the Apostle Paul, he was directly referring to the Hebrew scriptures, or, "Old Testament"). However, would you believe that ALL (including the KJV) English translations contain erroneous, or just sometimes ambiguous or weak, word translations? There are a variety of reasons for this and the mistakes or weaknesses were not necessarily inserted with evil intent. For example, would you argue that the thousands of new bibles that we are shipping overseas now days in the Chinese or Arabic tongue are translated perfectly, clearly, and without error, by holy inspiration of God? Probably not, but they are GOOD ENOUGH and will serve their purpose well. Well, the same is true of your KJV (shocking, huh?). But the Strong's helps, both with sorting out error and just simply understanding original language intent and meaning.
The Strong's (we use the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance edition) seems to be the gold standard in this area of publication. Many study bibles and reference publications include cross references to Strong's numbering system. I own a huge Young's Concordance, and even that publication includes cross references to Strong's numbers.
A couple of additional comments: 1. If you are not familiar with using a full reference size concordance, don't be put off by fear . . . Strong's is very easy to use and you can literally open it up, thumb around in it, and become "self-taught" in minutes. 2. If you have a teenager (or even younger) in your home, buy them one of these and show them how to use it. A child's quick mind will easily make an enjoyable game out of word transalations, no?
All of the concordances that I own are referenced to the King James Version bible translation. I am not knowlegeable regarding concordances of other English translations.
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