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Semantic Domains

To understand biblical language, you have to understand semantic domains. A semantic domain is a range of potential meanings of a word. For example, in English the word “run” could mean “to operate” or “move at a fast speed.” Both of these potential meanings are part of the semantic domain of the word “run.” Different words can also have overlapping meanings, such as “man” and “human.”

Understanding a word’s range of potential meanings provides a starting point for discovering what a word means in a specific passage. Searching for meanings can help you explore semantic domains so you can uncover resonances in a biblical text or trace concepts and themes throughout the Bible.


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Semantic Domains

Explore the Meanings of Biblical Words

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Louw-Nida

The Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains lists every sense of every New Testament word separately, allowing you to gain a better understanding of how a word may be used in a specific context.

In Logos, biblical words are tagged with Louw-Nida numbers, allowing you to right-click any word to find what sense that word carries in your particular context. You can also use Louw-Nida numbers to search for a meaning throughout the entire New Testament.

Louw-Nida numbers are available for most Bible translations in Logos Basic and higher. The Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains is included in Logos Academic base packages or is available for individual purchase.

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Bible Sense Lexicon

Similar to Louw-Nida, the Bible Sense Lexicon is organized by word senses. However, unlike Louw-Nida, the Bible Sense Lexicon covers both the Old and New Testaments—allowing you to search for meanings across the entire Bible.

Bible Sense Lexicon entries are arranged so that broad categories of meaning are subdivided into smaller, more specific senses. The Bible Sense Lexicon is available in a dedicated tool in Logos, and allows you to click through to explore both broad and specific senses.

The Bible Sense Lexicon is available in Logos Bronze and above.

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Lexham Semantic Roles Dataset

The Lexham Semantic Roles and Case Frames dataset provides details about the semantic structure of biblical sentences, allowing you to search the Bible for every time a person or thing experiences an event.

The Lexham Semantic Roles Dataset is available in Logos Silver and above.

Biblical Word Senses Dataset

The Biblical Word Senses Dataset (accessible via the Senses guide section) lets you see alternate meanings for Greek and Hebrew words and exposes every place where these meanings occur. Launch the Senses guide section from the Guides menu to see the variety of ways original language lemmas are translated into English.

Learn more about the Senses Guide Section.

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Availability

Included in

Logos Silver and up

Works best in

Logos Gold and up

Available on

Desktop

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