Response to CCraig About Bullinger's Lexicon or Strong's Concordance

Cheryl,

I have to admit I had never heard of Bullinger's Lexicon before now. Looking into Bullinger on Amazon, I see there are a lot of works of his I might not have. Most are available as free pdfs on the internet, including the lexicon--many of which I may have downloads of, but I do not reference them very often. I use Bullinger's Companion Bible hardbound, which is also available on the internet in numerous forms. One thing I can tell you about Bullinger's lexicon is that you are not going to use it. It is a valuable resource IF YOU KNOW GREEK. Do not get me wrong, there is a lot to be gained by just reading the English comments, but trying to coordinate the comments with texts written in Roman numerals is going to kill your buzz. Click on the lexicon link above and thumb through the pages. So, yeah . . . . . no. And the lexicon is for the New Testament only. By the way, I recommend reading page 896 of 999 of the pdf. This alone is worth our communication.

I have had a number of Strong's Exhaustive Concordances. I have kept only the compact paperback with the Hebrew and Greek dictionaries, as the hardbound volumes are cumbersome (be sure you get the dictionaries!). I use it frequently to find where an English word or phrase is used and which Greek or Hebrew word is in the original text. I like being able to have my fingers in numerous pages as I flip from reference to reference. The Strong's on the internet is very convenient, too. If I know the number of the word from the concordance, it is an easy search from there. I don't think I have ever paid more than about 10 to 15 dollars--tax included--for even a new Strong's. And most Companion Bibles I have gotten used for about twenty dollars each. Not the black leather bound, though. KJV always, too (I have just never seen an NIV miracle or demon cast out; I think demons giggle at a paraphrase, like, "I am only taking this as seriously as you are, which ain't much"). And yes, I have a preference for translations from the Aramaic, as that was the language it was all lived in, whether literal or symbolic. The Greek cannot not be a translation of all that was said, written, and thought by the Bible's authors.

Thank you, Cheryl, for informing me of Fr. Richard Rohr's Immortal Diamond. God has always spoken to whomever is listening in their search for Him in and as us. Rohr says false self; I think ignorant self. It is a mistaken self we usually "see," in any case.

About the Strong's dictionaries: take the definitions more as a direction than a set definition. The Bible is looser than Bible scholars contend. Neville often said, "Every child born of woman is going to have the exact same experience." Yes, the same experience, but not like he had. Experience is God's language to us. What He said to Neville may not be what He says to us even though we are going through the same process event or development. Kind of like what you say to one neighbor will be different from what you say to another neighbor when you lend each a cup of sugar.

Check and see if this paperback has the dictionaries.

Yikes! Looks like a deal, if it can be gotten, hopefully, in good condition.