How to Use Strong's Concordance for Bible Word Studies
What Is Strong's Concordance and Why It Matters
In 1890, biblical scholar James Strong published the Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. He indexed every word in the King James Bible and assigned each underlying Hebrew or Greek word a unique number. Today, those numbers—called Strong's numbers—are used in Bible software, apps, and study tools worldwide.
Why does this matter? Because understanding the original languages of the Bible transforms your study. You don't have to read Hebrew or Greek. The Strong's number system is a bridge—it lets you explore the original meaning without years of seminary training.
When you read "love" in John 3:16, there are four different Greek words for love. Which one is used here? Is it the same word used when Jesus commands you to love your enemies? A Strong's number gives you the answer instantly.
Step 1: Find the Verse You Want to Study
Start with a passage that puzzles you or carries spiritual weight. Maybe you've heard a sermon on it, or a Bible study raised a question.
Example: John 3:16. "For God so loved the world..."
What if the depth of that passage turned on the specific word John chose for love? It does.
Step 2: Identify the Key Word
In most passages, not every word needs studying. Identify the theologically significant words—the ones that carry the weight of the argument.
In John 3:16:
- "God" — probably doesn't need a deep study (though it could)
- "loved" — this word carries the theology
- "world" — contextually important
- "gave" — significant: what kind of giving?
Focus on the word or words that answer your question about the passage's meaning.
Step 3: Look Up the Strong's Number (in Interlinear View)
In Gospel Daily's Interlinear Bible, open John 3:16 and click the word "loved." The Strong's number appears in the side panel: G26 agapē (or G25 agapaō in verb form).
The number tells you this is the Greek word agapē or agapaō, Strong's number 26 or 25. (Numbers prefixed with G are Greek; H are Hebrew.)
You now know John chose the specific Greek word that means unconditional, volitional love—not phileo (friendship) or eros (romantic passion).
Step 4: Read the Lexical Definition and Root Meaning
Once you have the Strong's number (G26), look it up in the Word Explorer under the Strong's tab.
You'll find:
- The Greek spelling and pronunciation
- The basic definition (agapē = love, affection, charity; the highest moral love)
- The part of speech (noun, verb, etc.)
- Related forms (agapaō, the verb; agapētos, the adjective "beloved")
- Etymology (what it's built from, though Greek word origins aren't always transparent)
This is where word study begins. The definition tells you how this word was used in ancient Greek and in the New Testament.
Step 5: Trace All Occurrences — Where Else Does This Word Appear?
This is the heart of word study: seeing how an author uses a word across different contexts.
In the Word Explorer, the concordance function shows every occurrence of G26 (agapē) and G25 (agapaō) in the New Testament. There are 116 occurrences of the noun and 143 of the verb.
Read a few key passages:
- John 3:16 — God's love for the world (soteriological love)
- Romans 5:8 — God's love demonstrated by Christ's death (sacrificial love)
- 1 John 4:8 — "God is love" (love as God's essence)
- 1 Corinthians 13 — Paul's anatomy of agapē: patience, kindness, no envy, no boasting...
- Matthew 5:44 — "Love your enemies" (volitional love, not emotional)
Notice: every time John or Paul wants to talk about unconditional, self-giving love, they choose this word. You're not learning vocabulary; you're learning how the biblical authors think about love.
Step 6: Look for Cognates and Antonyms
Cognates are related words from the same root.
- G26 agapē (noun) and G25 agapaō (verb) are cognates
- G27 agapētos means "beloved"
- Look up these too. When you see "beloved" in the epistles, you're encountering the same theological family of words.
Antonyms or contrasting words help you understand what something is not.
- In John 21:15-17, Jesus asks Peter twice, "Do you agapaō me?" and once, "Do you phileō me?" The shift is deliberate.
- Philia (G5368, phileō) means friendship, warmth, preference. It's not a "worse" love—it's a different love.
- Understanding both words explains the whole passage's weight.
Practical Example: John 3:16 "Love" — G26 Agapē vs. G5368 Phileō
Let's walk through this together.
John 3:16: "For God so agapaō the world that he gave his only Son." (G25, verb form of agape)
John 11:3: Mary and Martha send word: "Lord, he whom you phileō is ill." They're talking about Lazarus. (G5368 phileō)
John 21:15: Jesus asks Peter: "Do you agapaō me more than these?" Peter answers: "Yes Lord; you know that I phileō you." (G25 vs. G5368)
What's the difference?
- Agapaō = unconditional love, volitional, rooted in decision and commitment
- Phileō = affectionate love, warmth, preference based on relationship
In John 3:16, God chooses to lay down his life for a world that doesn't deserve it. That's agapē.
In John 11:3, Mary and Martha have genuine affection and friendship with Jesus. That's phileō.
In John 21:15, Peter can't yet claim the sacrificial commitment Jesus is asking for ("do you agapaō?"), so he falls back on what he can claim—friendship ("I phileō you"). Jesus meets him there, but the trajectory matters: the church leader needs agapē.
This distinction is only visible if you trace the words using Strong's numbers.
Step 7: Read a Lexicon for Nuance (Optional, but Powerful)
After you've used Strong's, if you want to go deeper, read the entry in a Greek lexicon:
- BDAG (Bauer, Danker, Arndt, Gingrich) for Greek
- BDB (Brown, Driver, Briggs) for Hebrew
These lexicons discuss semantic range, usage in non-biblical Greek, cognate languages, and the debates among scholars. It's deeper than Strong's, but you need Strong's first to know what word to look up.
Gospel Daily's Word Explorer surfaces the key lexical information without requiring you to purchase a lexicon.
How Gospel Daily's Word Explorer Automates This Process
You don't have to do these six steps manually. Gospel Daily's Word Explorer tool does most of the work:
- Enter a Strong's number (e.g., G26) or a Bible word you want to study
- Instantly see the Greek/Hebrew spelling, pronunciation, lexical definition, and related forms
- View every occurrence across the entire Bible, organized by Testament and book
- Compare cognates and see related words
- Read the theological significance in the context of Gospel Daily's commentary
The tool is free and designed for people who want to study the original languages without reading Greek or Hebrew.
What You've Learned
A single Strong's number—and the discipline of tracing it through Scripture—unlocks the author's theological vocabulary. You've moved from reading in translation to asking why this word? and discovering the answer in how the word is used elsewhere.
This is the difference between passive reading and active study. This is how you study the Bible like a scholar without going to seminary.
"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." — 2 Timothy 2:15
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