Have you ever heard of the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance?
Since its publication in 1890, God’s people have been using the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to aid them in defining the original meaning of Bible words. But do you know the man God used to complete this extraordinary exhaustive work?
God chose Dr. James Strong!
Dr. Strong was born on August 14, 1822 in New York City. Both of his parents died during his youth. Despite his early misfortune, Dr. Strong began his studies in medicine. Unfortunately, due to his poor health, his dream of becoming a doctor was short lived.
As a resilient man, Dr. Strong went back to school and graduated from Wesleyan in 1844. After graduation, he taught in Vermont. Again, his declining health caused him to retire early. So, Dr. Strong decided to live a quiet life on a farm.
In time this brilliant man’s resilience blossomed, but this time he was interested in biblical studies. While committing to studying the Bible, Dr. Strong became president of the Flushing Railroad, and held many local offices.
As time progressed, Dr. Strong accumulated a great understanding of the Hebrew and Greek languages and began to give private lessons. His first publications were manuals of Greek, Hebrew, and Chaldean grammar. Eventually, he became a professor at Troy University where he taught biblical literature from 1858 until 1861. It was at Troy where Dr. Strong delivered an inaugural on “Scholastic Education and Biblical Interpretation”. Later, he went on to teach exegetical theology at Drew University where he worked for twenty-five years.
In addition to being a passionate teacher, Dr. Strong was a prolific writer. His first major publication was titled “Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature.” At first, Dr. Strong was an assistant to Dr. John McClintock in the writing of these volumes; however, after Dr. McClintock died, Dr. Strong took the lead and completed the project. Furthermore, he went on to write Sunday-school and Bible-class manuals.
Today, Dr. James Strong’s best-known work is titled “Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible”. This reference has undergone numerous revisions over the years and has proven to be remarkably effective in studying the Bible.
Dr. Strong’s work has been a blessing to both church clergy and laypersons in pursuit of learning more about our Lord. Thank God Dr. James Strong was a resilient man who pressed his way to complete the work God gave him to do.
Imagine the passion Dr. Strong must have had for the Lord to complete such an arduous yet needed task. But to a man who loved teaching and writing, we can assume the process brought him nothing but joy. What is more, this Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance is not only available in book form, but it can be accessed online making it available for many more people to use in their Bible Study. Dr. Strong died on August 7, 1894. What a major contribution he made to the body of Christ.
To God be the glory.
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