How a Bible word study works
A plain walkthrough of studying one verse: English sense, the Greek or Hebrew word behind it, and why context decides the meaning.
Updated 2026-10-15
Start with the sentence, not the lexicon
A word study is not a treasure hunt for a secret definition. You begin with a whole sentence in a real book, written to real people. The English you already know tells you the shape of the thought. The original language tells you which word the author chose, and which nearby words they did not choose.
LogosRealm is built for that order. You type a verse, a word, or a short topic. The page gives you plain English first, then the Greek or Hebrew term, a transliteration you can say out loud, and a Strong’s number you can look up in any lexicon.
One verse, walked through
Take John 3:16 in the King James Version, which is in the public domain: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
The verb behind “loved” is ἠγάπησεν (ēgapēsen), an aorist form of ἀγαπάω (agapaō), Strong’s G25. In this sentence it is a completed act: God loved, and the giving of the Son is how that love is shown. “World” is κόσμος (kosmos, G2889), the human world in view here, not a lesson about planets. “Only begotten” renders μονογενῆ (monogenē, G3439), “one of a kind.” “Believeth” is a participle, πιστεύων (pisteuōn, G4100): the person who is trusting, not a one-time feeling with no continuance.
What to write down
A useful note has four lines. The English word as it stands in the verse. The original word in that exact place, not a dictionary headword you wish were there. A short gloss in today’s English. One sentence on how the clause uses it.
If a tool, including this one, offers a Greek or Hebrew form you cannot find in a standard lexicon, do not preach it. Check a printed or digital lexicon. Generated studies are a starting desk, not a final authority.
What a word study will not do
It will not settle a church fight by itself. Authors use the same Greek word in more than one way, and a Strong’s gloss is a label, not the whole range. It also will not replace reading the paragraph before and after the verse.
Use the study to slow down. Then read the chapter again in a public-domain text such as the King James Version, or in a translation you are licensed to read, and see whether your note still fits the paragraph.