Concordances

In the precomputer era, concordances were created manually by scholars of the Bible, the Qur’an, and other important historical and religious documents. For example, versions of the Bible for teaching or studying may contain concordances as featured appendices or footnotes. Editions with concordances of early literary works, such as those by Socrates, Homer, and Shakespeare, enable easier cross-indexing of relevant terms, unique words, and repetition of word usage. These concordances help identify key words and, very important, define the specific nuances and semantic meanings intended by the authors in the various, specific contexts. Additional author commentaries, biographer footnotes, and editor narratives are also often provided in these concordances.

The traditional concordance with which most scholars are familiar is a reference book composed of an alphabetical listing ...