How to do a concept study

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#1
#1
No, really! What I need to learn how to do (again), not something I'm going to teach on.

I used to be able to do them, but haven't done one for so many years I forgot how. Now I'm going to tell what I want to study about, but please don't give me the answers, because doing the research is part of how I learn. Hand it to me, and I feel less inclined to pay attention. Fair enough?

The concept is "deliver." I already learned it's a two-way street, because it means "freed" or "handed over." But I want to learn both concepts because they seem to go hand in hand.

I started with Bible dictionaries, and then thought I'd check out Nave's. Alas, Nave's doesn't have that topic. According to the dictionary, it's three different words, but I don't know how to look them up on the eSword app for Strong's. (Please tell me I don't have to read the tiny print in the five-pound book version of Strong's. lol) Soooo, now what?
 
Angela53510

Angela53510

Senior Member
#2
Jan 24, 2011
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#2
First, I really do not like these "backward" studies. In other words, taking an English word and then trying to figure out what it means in the original languages.

The reason for my dislike, is that context is everything in understanding these words. So doing a study of a word that may have 2 or 3 or even 8 or 9 different meanings, without reference to the sentence or clause they are in, is just like finding a pig in a poke!

For instance, Vine's lists 11 separate words for "deliver." The meanings are all quite different. Plus 2 more which have to do with "delivering a child." I don't have a backwards dictionary for Hebrew, but I counted 7 different numbers in Strong's, not including cognates. (Yes, I hauled out my 5 lb Strong's. I guess the book was pretty lonely, anyway!)

So if you want to do a study of an English word, you really are going to either have to figure out which verse you want to examine, with "deliver" in context, or just talk about all the different words in Greek and Hebrew, for this concept in English.

In Hebrew we did papers that were word studies, but we took a word in Hebrew, looked at how it was used, and equivalent words in the New Testament, as well as the LXX. It was quite interesting.

Just remember when you are doing this study, not to read into the Greek and Hebrew the concepts in English. The concepts can be quite different in the original languages, or "close but not quite."

Have fun!
 
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#3
#3
Angela53510 said:
First, I really do not like these "backward" studies. In other words, taking an English word and then trying to figure out what it means in the original languages.

The reason for my dislike, is that context is everything in understanding these words. So doing a study of a word that may have 2 or 3 or even 8 or 9 different meanings, without reference to the sentence or clause they are in, is just like finding a pig in a poke!

For instance, Vine's lists 11 separate words for "deliver." The meanings are all quite different. Plus 2 more which have to do with "delivering a child." I don't have a backwards dictionary for Hebrew, but I counted 7 different numbers in Strong's, not including cognates. (Yes, I hauled out my 5 lb Strong's. I guess the book was pretty lonely, anyway!)

So if you want to do a study of an English word, you really are going to either have to figure out which verse you want to examine, with "deliver" in context, or just talk about all the different words in Greek and Hebrew, for this concept in English.

In Hebrew we did papers that were word studies, but we took a word in Hebrew, looked at how it was used, and equivalent words in the New Testament, as well as the LXX. It was quite interesting.

Just remember when you are doing this study, not to read into the Greek and Hebrew the concepts in English. The concepts can be quite different in the original languages, or "close but not quite."

Have fun!
Click to expand...
How do I not study it in English? I'm a monoglot. I only know English, but I do take Strong's verse and then read it in context, so everytime Strong tells which verse, I read it, and then read the chapter, or try to figure out where the subject starts and ends, (and pray there is a start and end without reading the whole book. lol) Does that work, or do I really have to figure out what those hieroglyphs mean? (Greek and Hebrew look like Chinese to me. Lots of squiggly lines in square shaped "hieroglyphs." I have absolutely no talent for understanding other languages.)

And, viola! You helped answer a question I asked hubby today. eSword has Nave's for free, but not Vine's, (that cost), so I asked him if I could buy Vine's. And he told me to haul out our Vine's (from somewhere in our many bookcases and neither one of us knows where it is anymore) to see if it is helpful. Looks like, at the very least, it's worth finding Vine's.

Thanks for answering.
 
Angela53510

Angela53510

Senior Member
#4
Jan 24, 2011
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#4
I could see some rhyme and reason in Greek, but Hebrew was all squiggles. It was so nice to really study it, and find out that all those squiggles not only meant something, but it was God's Word!

I taught French, and I used to be fluent in it. I also studied German and Spanish for a few years. Those languages were excellent background for studying Greek and Hebrew. Noun cases don't really exist much in English, they are basic in German. Word order differences, accents, breathing marks are used in French. And grammar. I had a lot of English grammar, back in the day, but French, German and Spanish grammar piled on that, made grammar easy when I studied it.

Although I almost tripped and fell a few times with Intermediate Greek this year. Talk about hard grammar! But I am catching on, more or less.

Do get Vine's. It is not a second language, but he does transliterated and give lots of words. I hope your study goes well.
 
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