A day or two ago I had a letter from a friend, acknowledging a book which contained a few brief comments on some Greek words. He says in part: "Reading your book has well established my long conviction that the most profitable form of study of Holy Writ, is that of the words which 'the Holy Ghost teacheth', viz, the actual study of Greek words and their meaning. For this reason your frequent, and illuminating references to such words have been wells of refreshment to my spirit.”
In these few words my friend has expressed more plainly and more concisely than I could do, the object of the little book before you. And as a second witness to the same truth, may I quote a few words written over a hundred years ago by Mr. G. V. Wigram, in the Introduction to his priceless Concordances to the Hebrew & Chaldee Scriptures, and his Greek Concordance to the New Testament. Mr. Wigram says of 'The Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance' —"The chief object proposed by this work is a very simple one.... it seemed in a peculiar way, desirable to lead each student to deduce his 'meaning and definition of words' (so far as possible), from the use made of them by the Holy Ghost.”
In Mr. Wigram's own account of the making and perfecting of the Englishman's Greek Concordance, he speaks of it as 'a dry Concordance'. His book has been to me anything but a 'dry Concordance'; and my hope has been to help make a few of the words in the Greek New Testament cease to be 'dry', but rather to become (as they have become to my friend and to myself) `wells of refreshment'. For instance, what depths of meaning open before us as we notice that in John 13:3333Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. (John 13:33), our beloved Lord said not `teknon', but `teknion' Only the difference of an T added, (and in the Greek Testament an T is without even a dot!) but it makes the whole passage glow with love and life. (See Chapter 12).
The present little book is only a feeble attempt to point to a few of these priceless treasures, that otherwise might be unknown, or overlooked, by some of the Great Shepherd's sheep and lambs. It is presented with the hope that to some these may prove food convenient for them.
The studies have been prepared for the most part at odd moments, amidst constant interruptions; and I fear there may be mistakes. Few of the words considered include every occurrence in the New Testament, but those interested may find all these in Mr. Wigram's `Englishman's Greek Concordance', which is still available from the publishers, Messrs Samuel Bagster & Sons Limited, London.
My sister, Miss Helen A. E. Willis, has prepared some of these studies, and provided me with thoughts and suggestions that have helped me with others; not to speak of my hope that she will take care of seeing it through the press also. For all this I owe her a great debt of thanks.
G. C. W.