THE STRONG’S NUMBERING SYSTEM

Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary uses the Strong’s word-study numbering system to give both newer and more advanced Bible students alike quicker, more convenient access to helpful original-language tools (e.g., concordances, lexicons, and theological dictionaries). The Strong’s numbering system, made popular by the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, is used with the majority of biblical Greek and Hebrew reference works. Those who are unfamiliar with the ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek alphabets can quickly find information on a given word by looking up the appropriate index number. Advanced students will find the system helpful because it allows them to quickly find the lexical form of obscure conjugations and inflections.

When a Greek word is mentioned in the text, the Strong’s number is included in square brackets after the Greek word. So in the example of the Greek word agapē [26], “love,” the number is used with Greek tools keyed to the Strong’s system.

On occasion, a Hebrew word is mentioned in the text. The Strong’s Hebrew numbers are completely separate from the Greek numbers, so Hebrew numbers are prefixed with a letter “H.” So, for example, the Hebrew word kapporet [H3727], “mercy seat,” comes from kopher [H3722], “to ransom,” “to secure favor through a gift.”