Logos 4: Word Count in Books of the Bible

Today’s post is from Morris Proctor, certified and authorized trainer for Logos Bible Software. Morris, who has trained thousands of Logos users at his two-day Camp Logos seminars, provides many training materials.

Sometimes, when studying a book or section of the Bible, we can pick up on an author’s theme by examining word usage. For example, John’s use of love in 1 John and Mark’s repeated reference to immediately in his gospel are enlightening.

With a Word List, we can easily discover the number of times a biblical writer used a given word. Try this:

  • Choose File | Word List.
  • Give the Word List a name that identifies it with the passage of Scripture being examined, such as 1 John Words.
  • Click Add (A) on the Word List.
  • Select a Bible from the dropdown list. (B)
  • Type a reference in the box, such as 1 John. (C)
  • Press the Enter key to generate the list.
  • Click Grid (D) to see the words in a spreadsheet.

Word List Example 1

  • Click the column header Count (A) to arrange the words according to the number of times they are used in the passage. (If Count isn’t visible, right-click a column header and select Count.)

Word List Example 2

In this 1 John example, please note the numerous occurrences of Greek lemmas translated love, know, and abide.

You can save these Word Lists and reopen them from the File menu.

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Written by
Morris Proctor

Morris Proctor (1961–2023) was a certified trainer for Logos Bible Software and founder of MP Seminars. Morris trained thousands of Logos users at his two-day Camp Logos seminars, and his team continues to provide many training materials.

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Written by Morris Proctor
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