Welcome to Day 1595 of our Wisdom-Trek, and thank you for joining me.

This is Guthrie Chamberlain, Your Guide to Wisdom 

Bible Study – Strong Numbers and Interlinear Tools – Meditation Monday

Welcome to Wisdom-Trek with Gramps! Wisdom is the final frontier in gaining true knowledge. Our mission is to create a legacy of wisdom, seek out discernment and insights, and boldly grow where few have chosen to grow before. Hello, my friend; this is Gramps; thanks for coming along on our journey to increase Wisdom and Create a Living Legacy Today is Day 1595 of our Trek, and it is time for Meditation Monday. Taking time to relax, refocus, and reprioritize our lives is crucial in order to create a living legacy. For you, it may just be time alone for quiet reflection. You may utilize structured meditation practices. In my life, Meditation includes reading and reflecting on God’s Word and in prayer. It is a time to renew my mind, refocus on what is most important, and making sure that I am nurturing my soul, mind, and body. As you come along with me on our trek each Meditation Monday, it is my hope and prayer that you, too, will experience a time for reflection and renewing of your mind.

We are continuing our series this week on Meditation Monday as we focus on Mastering Bible Study through a series of brief insights from Hebrew Scholar, Dr. Michael S. Heiser. Our current insights are focusing on practical tools for Bible study. Today let us meditate on:

Bible Study – Strong Numbers and Interlinear Tools

·      Insight Sixty-Seven: Learn About Strong’s Numbers and Their Use

It wasn’t until I was in college that I started to be more serious in my Bible Study. I didn’t know how to do that, but through my courses, I discovered a tool called Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. That resource took me to a new level. 

Strong’s Concordance was the creation of Dr. James Strong (1822-1894), an American biblical scholar. Strong was a professor of biblical literature at Troy University in New York (1858- 1861) and Drew Theological Seminary (1868-1894) in New Jersey. He first published his now-famous Concordance in 1890.

What exactly is a concordance? In simplest terms, it is an alphabetical listing of every word in an English translation along with a verse reference for that word. In the case of Strong’s Concordance, the version he used was the King James Version. For example, you could use Strong’s Concordance to look up the English word “love” and quickly see which verses have “love” in the Bible.

Strong’s Concordance is more than a list, though. Strong, and a staff of over a hundred people who helped create the concordance, also created a numbering system for the Hebrew and Greek words behind the English translation. Using the word “love” again as our example, Strong’s numbering system informs us that the Hebrew verb most often translated love’ was assigned tire number 157. The Greek word most commonly translated as “love” received the number 26. These numbers were used to create a dictionary in the back of the Concordance. After finding the number, which appears sequentially, you will find a short definition that Strong and his assistants created for the Hebrew or Greek word corresponding to that number. Therefore, Strong’s Concordance has an index of every word of the Bible in its original language.

Strong’s numbering system has proved so popular and enduring that many biblical reference tools for helping English readers study Hebrew and Greek word meanings have adopted the system. Strong’s Concordance is still in print, as are updated systems like the GK numbers. But in today’s world of personal computers, print concordances have been superseded by digital versions and more powerful tools. Whether you use books or a computer, learning about concordance numbers can move you in a new direction for Bible study.

·      Insight Sixty-Eight: Learn About Interlinear Bibles

Interlinear Bibles are one category of original language resources for Bible study that use concordance numbers. An interlinear simultaneously displays a line of an English translation and the corresponding line of the Hebrew or Greek biblical text.

A traditional interlinear shows the biblical Hebrew or Greek text on the top line and a literal English translation on the line below. Consequently, traditional interlinears follow the original language’s word order, as that is the top line. In our Wisdom Journal for today displays John 3:16 in a traditional interlinear. The numbers are GK numbers, which are—much like Strong s numbers—used in a dictionary that accompanies the interlinear.

Interlinears can be found in book form as well as in computer software. In a digital environment, interlinears are a powerful tool for original language research. English readers can find every occurrence of a Hebrew or Greek word in the Bible in less than one second. From that point, hyperlinks to specialized dictionaries for biblical Hebrew and Greek are one click away.

The disadvantage to a traditional interlinear Bible is that you can’t simply read the English in order. We’ll talk about an interlinear that solves that problem next week: the reverse interlinear.

Joshua 1:8

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.

That is a wrap for today’s Meditation. Next week we will continue our trek on Meditation Monday as we take time to reflect on what is most important in creating our living legacy. Thank you for joining me on this trek called life. Encourage your friends and family to join us and then come along tomorrow for another day of ‘Wisdom-Trek, Creating a Legacy.’

If you would like to listen to any of the past 1594 daily treks or read the daily Journal, they are available at Wisdom-Trek.com. I encourage you to subscribe to Wisdom-Trek on your favorite podcast player so that each day will be downloaded to you automatically.

Thank you for allowing me to be your guide, mentor, and most importantly, I am your friend as I serve you through this Wisdom-Trek podcast and Journal.

As we take this Trek of life together, let us always:

1. Live Abundantly (Fully)
2. Love Unconditionally
3. Listen Intentionally
4. Learn Continuously
5. Lend to others Generously
6. Lead with Integrity
7. Leave a Living Legacy Each Day

I am Guthrie Chamberlain….reminding you to ’Keep Moving Forward,’ ‘Enjoy your Journey,’ and ‘Create a Great Day…Everyday’! See you tomorrow for more daily wisdom!