One valuable technique used in Bible study is studying words in their original languages in the Old and New Testaments. The Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Greek and some Aramaic and then translated into Greek and other languages such as English. The Old Testament was written primarily in Hebrew with some Aramaic and then translated into common Greek about 100 BC, which is referred to as the Septuagint. The New Testament was originally written in common Greek because it was the legal language at the time the New Testament was written. Greek fell into disuse after about 300 AD.
It’s often impossible to match the exact meaning of a word from one language to another. Sometimes the translator misunderstands the text he or she is translating. With verbs it’s sometimes hard to convey tense, voice, and mood when translated into another language. The purpose of word studies is to understand the meaning of a word or words in the context you are studying. Once you know the original meaning or use of a word, you can go back into the text and see how the original meaning enhances your understanding of the passage.
If you don’t know the original languages of the Bible you’ll need a concordance which shows where each word in a particular translation is used throughout the Bible. In addition, a concordance contains Hebrew and Greek dictionaries so you can look up the original meaning of words. The Bible I favor is the New King James Version (NKJV) so I use a Strong’s Concordance which is keyed to my old King James Bible (KJV). Every serious student of Bible study needs their own concordance. Another essential tool used for word study is an expository dictionary which gives more expansive definitions. There are several to choose from but I use Vine’s since it’s also keyed to the KJV Bible.
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