Cruden’s Complete Concordance to the Holy Scriptures

Cruden’s Complete Concordance — historical edition — Section 7

A CONCORDANCE is a Dictionary* or an Index to the BIBLE, wherein all the words ufed through the infpired writings are ranged alphabetically, and the various places where they occur are referred to, to ailift us in finding out paffages, and comparing the fevcral fignifications of the fame word. A work of this kind, which tends fo much to render the ftudy of the holy Scriptures more ea fy to all Chriftians, muft be acknowledged to be veryufeful; for if a good Index to any other book is to be valued, much more ought one to the Bible, which is a revelation from God, given as the only rule of our faith and practice, and to difcover to us the way to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ. I do not here propofe to treat of the incomparable excellencies of that divine book, which is above all commendation, and will be in the higheft efteem by all the true members of the Church of God, whofe faith, hope, and comfort are built upon thefe divine Oracles. What I fhall farther do in this Preface, mail be to prefent the Reader with a fhort hiftorical account of Concordances, which will tend to difplay their great ufefulnefs; and then acquaint him with the method I have followed in this. Hugo de S. Charo, a preaching Frier of the Dominican order, who was afterwards a Cardinal, was the firft who compiled a Concordance to the holy Scriptures : he died ki the year 1262. He had ftudied the Bible very clofely, and for carrying on this great and laborious work the more fuccefsfully, we are told he employed five hundred Monks of his order to aflift him. He framed an Index of all the declinable words, and referred to the places where they were to be found.