Studying Words Resource Pages

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Which Words are Key Words?

When we first read through a text, we're usually interested in getting the general sense of it. Where are we? Who is talking? What is happening? Sometimes, we can answer these general questions fairly simply.

Look for instance, at Matthew 9:9-13. Can you tell what is going on?

9 As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth; and he said to him, "Follow me." And he got up and followed him. 10 And as he sat at dinner1 in the house, many tax collectors and sinners came and were sitting2 with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" 12 But when he heard this, he said, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners" (Matt 9:9-13, NRSV).

1 Gk reclined 2 Gk were reclining

The general sense of this story is fairly clear: Jesus asks a fellow in a tax booth, Matthew, to follow him, and he does. Later, as he is eating with "tax collectors and sinners," some Pharisees ask why Jesus would eat with such people. Jesus replies in a couple of ways; first, he quotes the Old Testament, and then he speaks about his own mission or motivation.

But what about key words? Key words are those that unlock the passage in some way or another. Deciding which words to study further is not an exact science, but look for words that are:

  • Central to the Passage | For instance, in Matthew 9:9-13, the word for "tax collector" qualifies as central. To understand what is going on, you need to know who these people were and how they were regarded. Also, since eating is what earns Jesus the disapproval of the Pharisees here, I would want to find out whether he gets into trouble for eating anywhere else in the gospel.
  • Repeated | If a word shows up several times in a passage, it may merit further study. Jesus says, "Follow me," to Matthew and Matthew follows. A word study of "follow" would tell you who else follows Jesus in this gospel.
  • Idioms or Figures of Speech | A text may include figures of speech that do not quite make sense when translated. NRSV says in Matthew 9:10 that Jesus "sat at dinner" and that others were "sitting with him." Yet the footnotes to the translation tell you that the word is literally "reclining."
  • Puzzling | If something just doesn't make sense to you, check it out with further study. In Matthew 9:9-13, you might see the words, "mercy" and "sacrifice" and want to follow up on them.

What's Next: Gathering Data

After you isolate particular words or concepts you want to study, you begin the work of gathering information and following up on leads. The next resource page introduces you to the process of studying words with both a print concordance and with the software tool, Bibleworks.

Next: How To Find Word Occurrences next button