As with any language's multiple meanings for any one word, "The Greek" can easily lend itself to the possible error of picking and choosing which definition might better suit one's assertions.
As a result, that is not how a Word Study Tool like Strong's Concordance is to be applied.
The correct approach is to use it as what its name implies - as a Concordance, and that, in a secondary nature, just behind "the Greek" definitions.
First, you identify the overall context the narrative of any Book of Scripture is about - you identify it first.
And, normally, some passages will identify what that context is.
For example, in Matthew 15:24, after He has ignored a gentile woman's several attempts to have Him heal her daughter, He finally the Lord reminds her that "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
Only after she acknowledges that any blessings the Gentiles might receive from God are those which overflow to them from God's direct blessing of Israel, does He grant her, her desired blessing.
Passages like those serve as a marker as to what the overall scope and context of a book are. And this impacts what said book's words actually mean.
Said overall scope and context will often expand over several books. As with Romans thru Philemon, for example, where the overall context is "the Mystery" and the sense of all is impacted by that.
And what I mean by overall context is actually a reference to overall scope, or overall setting; but context has long since been taken to refer to scope so I'll alternate between the two, for my purposes here.
Returning to what I noted about Matthew, as an example - the issue here is that of seeking to identify what is the overall scope/context of Matthew - identify that through passages that do exactly that, and then striving to keep it ever in mind as you study.
This may result in further refining of your overall sense of a book's scope and context, as other passages shed their contributing light as to what said actual overall scope/context is.
While other passages will tend to reinforce a same sense. As, for example - Matthew 10: 5. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
You then apply the resulting sense of all that to the sense of any word or words, using Strong's Concordance as to where the same word is used elsewhere in the narrative - words that "concord," thus Strong's title.
You look up a word in Strong's. Note its number, and then look for other words that "concord" or agree with your subject word as to the same Strong's number.
You then go to the Word and actually read all those passages, just looking at how they each use your subject word.
Once you have that out of the way, then you go to the Greek definitions.
And nine times out of ten, you find that of the multiple senses of a given word that Strong found through this very means towards his Concordance's Dictionary at the back of his Concordance, the above process has already given you the proper one.
You find you are no longer at the mercy of picking and choosing, and or guessing at which is the proper "Greek" sense.
You also find that are you forced to reckon with the sense all the above gave you - you find that you just can't pick and choose what ever meaning your tradition and or your own notions tempts you to want to pick and choose one definition over another towards.
1] overall scope of a Book through key passages that declare it,
2] words [the same Greek word via Strong's same number] that concord with the word or phrase you are attempting to arrive at the intended sense of,
3] reading of each word's passages for how your subject word is used in them,
4] intended sense of your word through that, as well as,
5] in light of the overall scope and context in which your subject passage is found, and then,
6] dictionary look up.
Along the way, you find you much more as a result, because this process keeps you searching things out in the Word Itself.
As a result, you run across all kinds of nuggets that later studies bring to mind as you need them.
And what this is - is "...the word of God that effectually worketh in you that believe" as you go about "comparing [pairing together] spiritual things with spiritual," 1 Thess. 2:13; 1 Cor. 2:13.
As a result, that is not how a Word Study Tool like Strong's Concordance is to be applied.
The correct approach is to use it as what its name implies - as a Concordance, and that, in a secondary nature, just behind "the Greek" definitions.
First, you identify the overall context the narrative of any Book of Scripture is about - you identify it first.
And, normally, some passages will identify what that context is.
For example, in Matthew 15:24, after He has ignored a gentile woman's several attempts to have Him heal her daughter, He finally the Lord reminds her that "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
Only after she acknowledges that any blessings the Gentiles might receive from God are those which overflow to them from God's direct blessing of Israel, does He grant her, her desired blessing.
Passages like those serve as a marker as to what the overall scope and context of a book are. And this impacts what said book's words actually mean.
Said overall scope and context will often expand over several books. As with Romans thru Philemon, for example, where the overall context is "the Mystery" and the sense of all is impacted by that.
And what I mean by overall context is actually a reference to overall scope, or overall setting; but context has long since been taken to refer to scope so I'll alternate between the two, for my purposes here.
Returning to what I noted about Matthew, as an example - the issue here is that of seeking to identify what is the overall scope/context of Matthew - identify that through passages that do exactly that, and then striving to keep it ever in mind as you study.
This may result in further refining of your overall sense of a book's scope and context, as other passages shed their contributing light as to what said actual overall scope/context is.
While other passages will tend to reinforce a same sense. As, for example - Matthew 10: 5. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
You then apply the resulting sense of all that to the sense of any word or words, using Strong's Concordance as to where the same word is used elsewhere in the narrative - words that "concord," thus Strong's title.
You look up a word in Strong's. Note its number, and then look for other words that "concord" or agree with your subject word as to the same Strong's number.
You then go to the Word and actually read all those passages, just looking at how they each use your subject word.
Once you have that out of the way, then you go to the Greek definitions.
And nine times out of ten, you find that of the multiple senses of a given word that Strong found through this very means towards his Concordance's Dictionary at the back of his Concordance, the above process has already given you the proper one.
You find you are no longer at the mercy of picking and choosing, and or guessing at which is the proper "Greek" sense.
You also find that are you forced to reckon with the sense all the above gave you - you find that you just can't pick and choose what ever meaning your tradition and or your own notions tempts you to want to pick and choose one definition over another towards.
1] overall scope of a Book through key passages that declare it,
2] words [the same Greek word via Strong's same number] that concord with the word or phrase you are attempting to arrive at the intended sense of,
3] reading of each word's passages for how your subject word is used in them,
4] intended sense of your word through that, as well as,
5] in light of the overall scope and context in which your subject passage is found, and then,
6] dictionary look up.
Along the way, you find you much more as a result, because this process keeps you searching things out in the Word Itself.
As a result, you run across all kinds of nuggets that later studies bring to mind as you need them.
And what this is - is "...the word of God that effectually worketh in you that believe" as you go about "comparing [pairing together] spiritual things with spiritual," 1 Thess. 2:13; 1 Cor. 2:13.
