Book Review: Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible

Strong, James, ed. Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. Holman Bible Publishers, 1999.

For Father’s Day, my children gave me an iPod Touch. One of the first things I put onto it was a Bible from the Olive Tree Company because it included a search function allowing me to find any word in the Bible. I now use it all the time for my daily reading and my thought was that now I don’t need a concordance any more. How wrong I was, as you will see.

James Strong (1822-1894) was Professor of Exegetical Theology at Drew Theological Seminary in New Jersey, when this work was first published in 1890. Although based on the King James Version of the Bible, it is really only a compilation of facts—it’s almost like a huge computer print-out. As a concordance, it allows you to find any word in the Bible. Where it goes beyond a concordance is this— it allows you to see which Hebrew or Greek word was used to give whatever English word you are searching, and shows what other words were used to translate that same Hebrew or Greek word.

For instance, look up the word “pleased,” as in, “it pleased the Lord to bruise him.” Isa.53:10. The Concordance for this reference indicates that the word for “pleased” is Strong’s Number 2654. When we look up that number, we find that the word has been translated in the KJV by a multitude of other words, including (have, take) delight, desire, favour, like, move, be (well) pleased, have pleasure, will, or would. If we look up any of these words, we will find at least one instance where #2654 was the original. It thus becomes impossible for the non-Hebrew speaker to refine the exact meaning. Perhaps the best modern word to use would be, “It was the Lord’s will to crush him.”

When you think that this book is over 1500 triple-columned, fine-print pages from the days before computers, it’s obvious that Strong was primarily the supervisor and editor— he was backed up in the work by over a hundred colleagues. It must have even become a matter of some pride because when the title says “exhaustive”, it means “exhaustive”— even the words “a” and “an” are indexed!

The publisher now tells us that the entire book has been newly typeset, with “a key word comparison chart for six Bible translations. The words of Jesus are shown in red.” Maybe it’s time I bought a new copy!

Reviewed by Glenn Wilson 