Search problems: lexicon and whole-library

Andy Derksen
Andy Derksen Member Posts: 5 ✭✭
edited November 2024 in English Forum

Hello, forum.  I'm hoping some resident experts can help with these issues.  I have Logos 5.2b SR-9 (5.2.2.1629).

1.  When I want to look up a Greek or Hebrew word in the Enhanced Strong's Lexicon, I typically will use the form "G5176," or alternatively, if a prompt appears, "Greek GK #5176."  It almost never goes to that particular word, but to some other.  I don't recall this ever being a problem with Libronix.

2.  If I want to search for a phrase throughout the entire library, I'll put the phrase in quotation marks, as I would in Google or other search engines.  But the Logos search engine automatically looks up every instance of every individual word, rather than the specific phrase.  Depending on what I'm looking for, sifting through all those results can be a real pain.  Why isn't there an option to narrow down the search to a specific phrase?

Ironically, in re. to #2 I find the same problem exists in trying to search the help forums.

Thanks and blessings,

Andy

Comments

  • DMB
    DMB Member Posts: 14,635 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Hi Andy ... welcome to the forums (and the difficulty of searching the forums).

    In answer to your first question, I forgot the answer to that one! (I edited this.)  Note that 5176 > 4796 which then ref's GK 5176.  If I remember right, it's the separate numbering systems (as also TDNT).  For that reason, I just use Swanson.

    In the second issue, you're right.  https://wiki.logos.com/detailed_search_help has the details; see 'Phrase'.

    "If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.

  • MJ. Smith
    MJ. Smith MVP Posts: 55,544

    1. I have an aversion to Strong's numbers so I don't use them. If you use an interlinear with the Strong's search you can tell what is happening in the positioning of the matches. If you have any examples that are incorrect in the sense that the highlight is not assigned the Strong's number for which you are searching, please post an example. Note: I used an inline search to simplify showing what is going on.

    2. Placing a phrase in quotations marks should work. Can you post an example of it failing.

    Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."

  • George Somsel
    George Somsel Member Posts: 10,150 ✭✭✭

    Andy, I strongly urge you to use something other than Strong's.  The problem(s) with Strong's are that (1) It is old and therefore doesn't take into account newer scholarship and (2) What you find in Strong's are simply the glosses used by the translators of the AV (AKA: KJV).  If you insist on using Strong's you are doing nothing better than reading the AV (in which case, that's what you might as well be doing).

    george
    gfsomsel

    יְמֵי־שְׁנוֹתֵינוּ בָהֶם שִׁבְעִים שָׁנָה וְאִם בִּגְבוּרֹת שְׁמוֹנִים שָׁנָה וְרָהְבָּם עָמָל וָאָוֶן

  • NB.Mick
    NB.Mick MVP Posts: 16,330

    in the Enhanced Strong's Lexicon, I typically will use the form "G5176," or alternatively, if a prompt appears, "Greek GK #5176."  It almost never goes to that particular word, but to some other.  

    Andy,

    the reason for this is a wonderful feature in the Enhanced Strong's Lexicon: it is indexed according to four different organizational schemes, one of them being Strong's numbers (its primary sort order), another being the more recent GK-numbers (GK stands for Goodrick-Kohlenberger), then the Greek lemma and lastly the TDNT "big Kittel" lexicon.

    So inputting "Greek GK #5176" tells the ESL to go to the place where GK-number 5176 is explained - which is Strong's #4796. 

    I've added a screenshot where you can see this, coming from the NIV RI for 1 John looking for the lemma arche which is Strong's #746, we see that ESL to the right will open exactly there - this is Greek GK #794 (the Swanson's DBL lexicon Denise wrote about is organized according to GK-numbers and can be seen in the middle). 

    Have joy in the Lord! Smile

  • Rosie Perera
    Rosie Perera Member Posts: 26,194 ✭✭✭✭✭

    2.  If I want to search for a phrase throughout the entire library, I'll put the phrase in quotation marks, as I would in Google or other search engines.  But the Logos search engine automatically looks up every instance of every individual word, rather than the specific phrase.  Depending on what I'm looking for, sifting through all those results can be a real pain.  Why isn't there an option to narrow down the search to a specific phrase?

    Hi Andy, and another welcome to the forums to you.

    Logos does use the same syntax (quotation marks) as Google for searching for a phrase. So I'm surprised to hear you experienced something other than that. Could you give us a screenshot of your search tab after doing the phrase search with the results showing that it looked up every instance of every individual word, so that we can help you troubleshoot what is going wrong? Here's how to take and post a screenshot: https://wiki.logos.com/Screenshot 

  • Andy Derksen
    Andy Derksen Member Posts: 5 ✭✭

    Ah, now I've got the numbering system understood, so thanks to Denise and others who answered that question!

  • Andy Derksen
    Andy Derksen Member Posts: 5 ✭✭

    I don't have either a "liking" or dislike of Strong's numbers.  They're used in a superb interlinear Bible-search/study program I use, and so I need to be able to look up those numbers in a lexicon.  If they're cross-referenced to some other system, that's fine, as long as I can get there from my interlinear.

  • Andy Derksen
    Andy Derksen Member Posts: 5 ✭✭

    I don't rely on Strong's to tell me what a word means.  I only use the numbering system for cross-referencing.  I do my own word-studies based on actually looking at usages of the word in all verses where it shows up.

  • Andy Derksen
    Andy Derksen Member Posts: 5 ✭✭

    The search problem - using "-----" to search for particular phrases - has been intermittent.  So I'll have to wait for a new example to crop up, then make a screen-capture and show that here.