Robert Young (1)

It's all a matter of style.

There are at least three major concordances to the King James Bible still floating around -- Cruden's, Strong's, and Young's. Of these, Strong's is probably the one that has had the most influence. It attempts to analyze the Greek and Hebrew by keying each usage to a number (called, naturally enough, a Strong's Number). This has been popular enough that many other books also use Strong's Numbers.

The effect of this is that, although Strong's Concordance gives you access to the Hebrew and Greek, it is first and foremost a concordance of the King James Bible. Which, since it is an outdated translation of an inadequate Hebrew and Greek text, isn't really all that much use.

Young's is different. Like Strong's, it is analytic, but it doesn't use numbers. Rather, it actually groups words under their respective Greek and Hebrew originals. What this means is that, if you actually want to find all uses of (say) the noun αγαπη where it is translated "love" rather than the less usual "usual," you look up the word "love," then the unit for "αγαπη" under "love." It gives you much more context on similar uses of the word.

Of course, if all you want to do is look up "love," you have to look under a couple of dozen different headings. And any of those renderings might be different when you go to a more modern translation anyway....

Still, it's a useful way to get a different look at the King James text. It's not the optimal way -- ideally, of course, you want a Hebrew and a Greek concordance, not one in English. Or, at least, a concordance to the more modern translation that you really ought to be using.... But for quick and dirty purposes, or for a little bit of historical sleuthing, this just might be (one of) the concordance(s) for you.… (més)

Even though Young's book is based on the 1611 version of the King James Bible it can still come in handy when when searching for the Hebrew or Greek word/s that are related to a particular verse. The Young's is comprehensive and extremely easy to use. With the this book all you need do is look up the English word you are seeking and then you can see the Hebrew or Greek, all of their inflections, and all of the verses in which they are used in the King James Version. The main strength of this concordance is that it allows those who have no training in the Hebrew and Greek access to these ancient languages.… (més)