How to do simple Biblical Research
This is going to be difficult, but I will give it a shot. Using the Zodhiates Word Study New Testament, here is how the start of John 3:16 looks (sort of):
For-1063 God--artnn2316 so--ad3779 loved--aina25 the--art3588 world--nn2889 [in the book, the numbers are above the words]
The number corresponds to the Greek word and is tied to Strong's Concordance. So, if we wanted to know what the word "loved" was, we would look up 25 in the Strong's (or in the back of the Word Study book-very convenient).
The number 25 word in Strong's concordance is the Greek word "agapao" which means "to love". If you wanted to know more about the word "agapao" you would need either a dictionary or a lexicon. Using a lexicon you would find that "agapao" refers to God's love to man and man's love for God.
Before the number 25 above, there are some letters. In Zodhiates Word Study New Testament these are grammatical markings. In the case of our "agapao" word, we have the letters aina. The code for these letters means: "aorist indicative middle". Aren't you glad you asked?
These are grammatical designations for a Greek verb. They deal with voices, tenses and moods which are not to be confused with lions and tigers and bears oh my. I have enough problems with English grammar without trying to understand the intricacies of Greek grammar, but it is good to know a few basic things.
For instance, in the Greek, the "aorist indicative" is interesting in that indicates action which is not continuous. This is important in John 3:16 because when it says that God so loved the world, it is not making a blanket statement regarding the God of love loving the world. No, this is a statement regarding a particular thing which happened. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son... God so loving is directly tied into God giving His only Son.
So, we learned something just by understanding a little tiny bit of Greek grammar. Another interesting thing is the word translated "so". We see that it is Greek word number 3779 which is the Greek word "outo". This word is more or less impossible to figure out just by using a simple concordance. But, if you use something like the Zodhiates Word Study Dictionary it is possible to find out what this word means in this verse.
Looking up 3779 I see four Greek words which are all demonstrative adverbs coming from the word "houtos". All the way at the end of a long discussion of these words is usage number 5 which includes the John 3:16 occurrence. As used in this verse, the word "outo" is spoken of degree or extent. It means so, but in relation to a degree or manner. Interestingly, in John 3:16 the degree is a comparison.
God SOOOOO (added Os for emphasis) loved the world-We are to ask-"How much did He so love the world?" The answer is-That He gave His only begotten Son. What this wonderful verse is communicating is the degree of love manifested by God by giving the world His only Son. God could only give His Son one time, and He did it. Why? Because He SOOOOOO loved the world.
Many people would read (or try to read) this post and scratch their head and wonder what kind of crazy person is writing this confusing blog. Well, I am not crazy (yet) and all I am trying to do is attempt to show the simplicity of honestly working the Word of God as opposed to just reading it or listening to someone else tell you what it means. Trust me when I tell you that there are few things as gratifying in this life as spending some time working the Word of God-line by line and verse by verse. To me, it is like going into a mine and coming out with a bucket full of gold powder. To me, it is like walking into an orchard and being surrounded by countless fruit trees all laden with ripe fruit. To me, there is nothing as fulfilling as pulling out the books and diligently studying the Word of truth.
I know this probably appears very intimidating to some, but doing a word study in the Bible is really quite simple if you have the right books and a little bit of instruction. I urge you to do a simple little study by either finding a verse like we did in John 3:16 or just pick a word and track its usages through the Bible.
Honestly, my weak point in language is grammar. Fortunately, my wife comes from a family with degrees in English. Working together we can usually figure out enough of the Greek grammar to see the point.
I sincerely pray this has helped someone out there to understand the simplicity of working the Word of God. Not only is it something we need to do, it really is fun once you know the basics as far as research principles.
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Author: blessings2you
Location: Warrenton Missouri USA
Gender: Male
Age: 57
Blog Entries: 826 (archive)
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god called me to serve him when i was 16 years old while on a church work trip in new mexico in 1969. in the 40 years since; i attended bible school/leadership training, been ordained to the christian ministry and worked full time for a non-denominational ministry for nearly ten...
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in 1969 god stepped in and transformed my life as a sixteen year old teenager. after a couple of years of intense emotional ups and downs, i decided i needed a firm foundation in my life that went beyond emotional experiences. it was the decision to become involved with a...
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