With PocketBible and the right set of Bibles and books, you can easily study the meaning of words used in the Bible. This can add some great insight into your Bible study especially when you are focusing on a specific verse.

It is also the case that we occasionally receive emails from PocketBible users who are having trouble figuring out how to use this feature or who have purchased more or less than they need to do word studies. If you think this type of research might be something you are interested in, consider this to be some “inside” information for you in that regard.

What to purchase?

First you need a Bible with Strong’s numbers. We offer three choices:

1. KJV with Strong’s Numbers and Greek/Hebrew Dictionaries (KJVEC) – this gives you the King James Version Bible text with embedded Strong’s numbers (which you can turn on or off) and a basic Greek and Hebrew Dictionary.
2. NASB with Strong’s Numbers and Greek/Hebrew Dictionaries (NASEC) – this gives you the New American Standard Bible text with embedded Strong’s numbers (which you can turn on or off) and a basic Greek and Hebrew Dictionary.
3. HCSB with Strong’s Numbers (HCSBEC) – this gives you the Holman Christian Standard Bible text with embedded Strong’s numbers (which you can turn on or off). It does NOT include definitions.

The Strong’s numbers in these Bibles allow you to link to definitions in the included dictionaries as well as other Strong’s number-based dictionaries. In considering which one to buy, you first want to think about the translations offered. Is there one you prefer over the others? If not, keep in mind that the KJVEC and NASEC include a dictionary. The HCSBEC doesn’t. Also, the dictionaries do differ. I find that the KJVEC definitions focus more on the meaning of the word while the NASEC definitions focus more on how (and how many times) the word is translated in the Bible.

Each of the exhaustive concordances previously mentioned can be used with our dictionaries that are keyed to Strong’s numbers. All of which offer more detailed descriptions of words than the dictionaries included with the KJVEC and NASEC. In the interest of brevity, I won’t go into detail about each one but you can click the book name below for more information from our store.

1. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words
2. New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words
3. Complete Word Study Dictionaries

I’m no biblical scholar, so I offer the following purchase recommendations as a fellow PocketBible user. After purchasing the NASEC or KJVEC, if you find you’d like more in-depth information about words, Vine’s is a great deal. It covers Old and New Testament words with great detail and has been a trusted resource for many over the years. If you have the budget for it, the Complete Word Study Dictionaries are excellent and the bundle of the OT/NT gives you in-depth coverage for the entire Bible.

Finally, if you purchase the KJVEC, you may want to skip the New Strong’s Dictionary of Hebrew and Greek Words because the dictionaries in each are similar.

How to use

We’ve written in the past about how to use Strong’s numbers and of course it is covered in the PocketBible Help but it is a subject worth revisiting. If you are using PocketBible for Windows, PocketBible for Windows Mobile, or MyBible for Palm OS, you’ll find step by step instructions for usings Strong’s here. I’m going to use the iPhone in my examples in this article but the principles for other versions of PocketBible are similar.

1. Open the PocketBible program.
2. Open the NASEC or KJVEC Bible.
3. Make sure the Strong’s Numbers are turned on. If they are not, tap and hold anywhere on the Bible and a menu will pop up with an option to turn Strong’s numbers on.
4. Tap on any Strong’s Number and a dictionary will open with a definition for this number. If you own only the NASEC or KJVEC, the accompanying dictionary will open. If you own other dictionaries, you can go into settings to set up a preferred dictionary for Hebrew and Greek so that your favorite will always open up first. You can also open up two panes and put the Bible in one pane and your dictionary in the other.

Do you already use these tools in PocketBible? Please feel free to share your comments and tips with other users in the comments.