NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible

Concordance

The NIV Concordance, created by John R. Kohlenberger III, has been developed specifically for use with the New International Version (NIV). Like all concordances, it is a special index that contains an alphabetical listing of words used in the Bible text.

This concordance contains 4,795 word entries, with nearly 36,000 Scripture references. Each word entry is followed by significant Scripture references in which that particular word is found, as well as by a brief excerpt from the surrounding context. In the context, the entry word is abbreviated by its first letter in bold print. Other forms of the entry word and related words indexed in this concordance are in parentheses.

This concordance also contains 339 biographical entries for significant people in the Bible. The descriptive phrases replace the brief context surrounding each occurrence of the name. In those instances where more than one Bible character has the same name, that name is placed under one block entry, and each person is given a number (1), (2), etc.

Two entry words are marked with a dagger (†). LORD† and LORD’S† list occurrences of the proper name of God, Yahweh, spelled “LORD” and “LORD’s” in the NIV. These entries are distinguished from LORD and LORD’S, which list occurrences of the title “Lord” and “Lord’s.”

There are 1,312 entries that list every appearance of that word in the NIV. When this occurs, the entry is marked with an asterisk (*).

This concordance is a valuable tool for Bible study. While one of its key purposes is to help the reader find forgotten references to familiar verses, it can also be used to do word studies and to locate and trace biblical themes. Whenever you find a significant context, be sure to read at least the whole verse in the NIV to discover its fuller meaning in its larger context.