Bible word study: How do you choose which words are worth studying?
Hi
Can you help me?
Bible word study: How do you choose which words are worth studying?
Do you have a method for choosing which words in a passage are worth studying?
Not all words are worth studying.
It occurs to me if you compare translations and the translations don't agree on how to translate a word, then that would be a word worth studying. 
But what other criteria would you have for selecting a word in a passage to study?
A word does not always carry the full range of meaning as defined by a dictionary, but context defines its true meaning.
I am hopeful my fellow Logos users can give me some pointers...
Thanks
P A
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I use the important word section of the passage guide.
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Thanks Kenneth
But what is their method for choosing those words? [:)]
P A
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But what is their method for choosing those words?
From the help file:
Important Words Section
The Important Words tool aggregates data from all commentary resources (not just those in the user’s Library) to expose words with a high frequency of references. This tool not only surfaces frequently referenced terms but also ranks them according to “importance.” This ranking system is based on the number of references collected from commentary resources. Frequently discussed terms will appear higher in the ranking system. References include both English and original language terms. For example, the term “word” is referenced by its English designation as well as the Greek term logos. The Important Words Tool counts references from both designations and ranks the term accordingly. By selecting an “important word,” users may discover a list of references in relevant resources so that they can continue their investigation.
Given a passage, the Important Words section returns a list of the significant words that passage contains. Results are displayed with the most frequently referenced (in commentaries, not in the biblical text) terms listed first. The section displays the original language lemma, transliteration, pronunciation button , and gloss. When a word is expanded, the section displays all the verses containing that lemma in the guide passage with links to the preferred Bible. Each word also displays a link to open the Lemma in Passage section for the selected lemma.
Hovering over the section header displays the Settings menu, which allows users to specify which Collection the section will search.
Logos Help (Bellingham, WA: Faithlife, 2018).
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Thanks Graham that is useful and fascinating [:)].
So my next question is what method do the bible scholars (the people who write commentaries) use to identify to the key words in the passage worthy of study.
I just want to understand the logic of what makes a word worthy of further study.
Thanks
P A[:)]
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How do you choose which words are worth studying?
I don't have set rules, P A. I try to look for the flags the writer is waving for us.
Examples:
- Writers often reuse key words or phrases. As you read and re-read the passage, you'll feel, "That word again?" Right-click, choose the lemma, and click search Bible. That highlights each occurence of the word, so you can decide how central it is.
- If writer uses the word/phrase to introduce and wrap up the passage (inclusio) that's a clue.
- If the writer explains a word/phrase, contrasts the opposite, or uses synonyms, they're drawing our attention to it.
- Look for markers that slow us down, and ask, "Why am I being told this at this point?" (discourse analysis).
In addition to the words/phrases the writer emphasized, I'll explore words I don't understand, or words that don't make sense to me in that context. Typically that's a right-clilck | lemma | lexicon. For a New Testament text, I might see how that word was used in the LXX as a way of seeing how they saw it.
(You may have noticed that I'm more focused on understanding what the narrative meant in its cultural and linguistic context than on developing a systematic theology. God's revelation of himself to us flows out of God's revelation of himself to them.)
HTH.
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Thanks Allen
That is helpful [:)]
It might seem to some that I am asking a really obvious and simple question. But I am just trying to refine/ sharpen the way I do it. I want to do word studies in a responsible and logical manner.
Sometimes it is good to discuss the obvious, as it can help correct error or poor study methods. And sometimes others can offer precious pearls of wisdom.[:)]
It is good to know how Logos generate their important words by measuring the frequency they are cited in works such as commentaries. But to me a good bible student first mines the coalface for themselves and then compares their work with that of others later to make sure they are on the right track.
Blessings to you[:)]
P A
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Do you have a method for choosing which words in a passage are worth studying?
Not all words are worth studying.
It occurs to me if you compare translations and the translations don't agree on how to translate a word, then that would be a word worth studying.
But what other criteria would you have for selecting a word in a passage to study?
A word does not always carry the full range of meaning as defined by a dictionary, but context defines its true meaning.
This is a great question. I've got 28 years of preaching behind me, so a lot of what I do is more instinctive than deliberate. Taking Matthew 6:19-21 as an example, I think I would investigate the words in bold:
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
Sometimes investigation means a quick glance at the Word By Word guide section, sometimes it means an hour digging into something.
I would spend more time considering:
- How does the previous content (Matthew 6:1ƒƒ) lead into this pericope?
- How does this pericope build upon the previous content?
- How does this pericope lead into the content to come?
- How do "moth and rust" and "thieves" compare and contrast?
- How does one "lay up treasures in heaven"?
- Why is the human heart so connected to one's treasures?
Then I would call up my mentors and ask them what they thought, guys like Augustine, Jim M Boice, John Gill, John Calvin, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, John MacArthur, Chuck Spurgeon, Leon Morris - those guys. I have a confession to make – I'm not a New Testament scholar teaching in a grad school, I'm a pastor preaching to a congregation, so I tend to read trusted, proven men within my own theological views. I'm not interested in preaching "Seven Views On The Heart's Treasure," but "Eternal Peace In A Temporary World."
So much depends on the experience we bring to the study process. I would advise the young pastor I mentor to "zoom in" and identify every noun, every verb, look out for participles, compare other translations, and then "zoom out" and ponder the phrases and the parallelism, and pay close attention to the fact that Jesus gives us both the premises and the conclusion of the argument.
That's probably much more than you were looking for - sorry!
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I think that I would rather do too many words studies than too few. Logos makes it so fast and easy to get a quick introduction that there is not much risk by opening the tab.
If a word is a major verb, the center of a main point, confusing to me, or if I think it would be confusing to an unchurched person, I right click it. Often, skimming the other uses and my top lexicon will convince me that there is nothing to see here and I'll move along. But the most embarrassing moment I can think of is when I first started preaching and thought I knew the meaning of a term that I did not.
Using Logos as a pastor, seminary professor, and Tyndale author
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Logos makes it so easy, you don't have to be too picky. Any word you are curious about you can right click and walla!
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Not all words are worth studying.
I'd think it depends. On why you're studying. Devotional? Critical? Teaching? Learning?
Also, which words indeed. When you get tangled up with your spouse, you say 'I should have phrased that differently.' Or 'my choice of words was ...'.
And in the Matthew 6 example above, was the phrasing choice significant (earth before heaven)? Or not. Matters?
Or take a simple construct 'in Christ'. What does 'in' mean? Or 'believe'? Jesus' jewish audiences didn't buy into YHWH?
All depends.
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Thanks Gregory
All helpful stuff Zoom in- Zoom out [:)]
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Thanks Justin
Yes always better too much word study, even if is just skimming to just check if there is anything worth pursuing...
I appreciate your honesty about the time when thought you know the meaning of a term and did not. I know the feeling [:)]
P A
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Thanks Josh
Yes any words your you are curious about or have questions about are worth investigating.
P A
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DMB
Yes you're right [:)]. It was a sweeping statement. What words are chosen and how they are phrased can matter.[:)]
I suppose I was thinking of time limiting factors. I suppose if time is pressing, just study the words that stand out, the unusual, or words that you have questions about.
But the more time spent observing and asking questions of the text the better.[:)]
Thanks
P A
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But the more time spent observing and asking questions of the text the better.
Maybe what words ones follows depends on how one got to the verse in the first place.
In the 1830s a gentleman by the name of Miller, and others, used a concordance to predict the end of the world in 1843-44.
He seems to have started with the prophecies of Daniel. As his study took him years he may have followed most of the words to see where they lead.
[I am not aware of any book following how initial his studies went]
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PA -- I appreciate your question. I have been at it for a long time... and I have my personal way of doing word studies... but I don't think I'm perfect at it. I like reading through and seeing what other do.
Thanks for posting your question.
xn = Christan man=man -- Acts 11:26 "....and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch".
Barney Fife is my hero! He only uses an abacus with 14 rows!
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How do you choose which words are worth studying?
I don't have set rules, P A. I try to look for the flags the writer is waving for us.
Examples:
- Writers often reuse key words or phrases. As you read and re-read the passage, you'll feel, "That word again?" Right-click, choose the lemma, and click search Bible. That highlights each occurence of the word, so you can decide how central it is.
- If writer uses the word/phrase to introduce and wrap up the passage (inclusio) that's a clue.
- If the writer explains a word/phrase, contrasts the opposite, or uses synonyms, they're drawing our attention to it.
- Look for markers that slow us down, and ask, "Why am I being told this at this point?" (discourse analysis).
In addition to the words/phrases the writer emphasized, I'll explore words I don't understand, or words that don't make sense to me in that context. Typically that's a right-clilck | lemma | lexicon. For a New Testament text, I might see how that word was used in the LXX as a way of seeing how they saw it.
(You may have noticed that I'm more focused on understanding what the narrative meant in its cultural and linguistic context than on developing a systematic theology. God's revelation of himself to us flows out of God's revelation of himself to them.)
HTH.
Great reply Allen! Thanks for the helpful response
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Thanks, David
Yes, sometimes word studies can be done badly. The answer I suppose to is to understand the words in context and check your work with others (commentaries).
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I have learned a lot from my fellow Logos user over the years. I suppose because it is big and diverse family of bible geeks[:)] you get to listen and learn about subjects that you might not hear in your local church family.[:)]
If you have the knowledge and passion for God's word share it! [:)]
P A
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What a great question P A. I also take a more heuristic approach. I am looking for repeated words or phrases, repeated lemmas. I also look closely at the verbs. They are usually carrying the weight of he narrative or argument the writer is making. I don't necessary do a full on word-study of each verb. But Logos makes it pretty easy to go through the standard lexicons quickly and see the range of meanings a word has and the gloss they offer in a particular passage.
Dan
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Good reply, thanks. Similar to what I was thinking. Main verbs seem to be a great starting place as they can carry so much info. And repetition is a key, especially in OT like Psalms or even narrative.
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Back when I was learning Greek in school, we'd have to deal with every single word in a verse. While that sounds terribly picky, it means you don't discount anything mundane.
One thing I am noticing more is that words used at the beginning and the end of a passage are often clues as to the whole passage's meaning. This might be more of an OT thing, but it's noticeable.
The mind of man is the mill of God, not to grind chaff, but wheat. Thomas Manton | Study hard, for the well is deep, and our brains are shallow. Richard Baxter
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I am looking for repeated words or phrases, repeated lemmas. I also look closely at the verbs. They are usually carrying the weight of he narrative or argument the writer is making
I am of similar thought to Dan. verbs (especially when a tense changes), repeated lemmas, repetition within a Louw-Nida domain, similar sounding words in audio of original language. words fronted in discourse tagging.
Making Disciples! Logos Ecosystem = Logos10 on Microsoft Surface Pro 7 (Win11), Android app on tablet, FSB on iPhone, Proclaim (Proclaim Remote on Fire Tablet) & FaithlifeTV via Connect subscription.
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IIRC, there's a good essay on word studies by John Walton in the first volume of NIDOTTE.
"The whole modern world has divided itself into Conservatives and Progressives. The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of Conservatives is to prevent mistakes from being corrected."- G.K. Chesterton
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Is it necessary to choose a word in the Bible to study? Any meaning can be understood in the context of the text and in a different context it will sound different.
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Generally... for me... I start looking at the passage I am studying.... and I ask 3 questions...
1. Who is talking?
2. To whom they are talking to?
3. What are they talking about?
Then, having answered those questions.... I pick words that relate to those questions... and drill down on the words (open them up to find what is meant by them in the context of the passage). With the Logos "right click on the word" or "changing to Interlinear" I find one can chase a word pretty good. With the Interlinear.... I use Strong's, Vines, Thayers and there are others of course.... But I find this can get me started and sometimes get me along on my way to understanding how the word is used in that particular passage. Context is important.
And when one gets into Greek or Hebrew...the difference in the language is a bit of a hindrance as one word can mean different things.
For example (don't mean to start something, just using a good example here)...
"Oinos" (wine) as it's used in John 2 where Jesus turned water to "wine".... "Oinos" is the Greek transliterated word for wine. It can be either "alcoholic or fermented" or "non-alcoholic or non-fermented" So after chasing the word down...and finding that out... then one has to go back to what is the CONTEXT of the passage (or surrounding passages) as to how the word is actually used and even to who is talking and to whom are they talking or whom is talked about.
Many people just read the passage and think... "Jesus turned water to "alcohol" ... so alcohol is ok to drink. But is it really the case? In the O.T. a Priest could not imbibe in alcohol.... and Jesus is our "High Priest".... soooo... our High Priest can do what other Priests were forbidden to do? hmmm....
And to go along with that... vs 10 talks about the guests being "well drunk" (which encourages another good study about Jewish customs at weddings) and about the word itself.... Would Jesus actually participate in helping people to get drunk.... when drunkenness is a sin? I don't think Jesus ever sinned, myself.
In fact a good study of "wine or Oinos" throughout the New Testament is a very good study to get into.
Does God actually say "if your sick, drink some alcoholic beverage for your stomach's sake? (1Tim 5:23)?? Maybe I need a lot of wine because I am very very sick? hmmm.... Isn't it funny how the human mind works around some things? lol
Word studies can be verrrry intttttteeeerrrrrristing!!!! [8-|]
Bottom line - word studies are important... they can enhance our understanding of God's word greatly!
I do word studies all the time....and I have lots of Notes in Logos about those word studies.... because I have soooo much to remember.... and at the point I need the information... my brain index is messed up... and I have to re-index my brain .... which takes forever....
Whew! Yep.... I am thankful for Logos Notes!!! lol
xn = Christan man=man -- Acts 11:26 "....and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch".
Barney Fife is my hero! He only uses an abacus with 14 rows!
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