Strong's Greek: 3248 -- (Not Used)zzz

Lexical Summary

(Not Used): (Not Used)

(Not Used)
Part of Speech:
Transliteration: (Not Used)
(Not Used)

Topical Lexicon

Overview

Strong’s Greek 3248 is a vacant slot in the traditional numbering system—no inspired New-Testament writer employs a word that has been assigned this number. Even so, the empty place is not without value for study; it supplies a reminder that the received Greek text is fixed and complete, that every attested form has already been catalogued, and that nothing has been lost from the God-breathed record (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Why a Number without a Word?

1. Editorial Reserve: James Strong occasionally left room for hypothetical cognates that never materialised in the critical editions he followed.
2. Textual Clarification: A few marginal or late-manuscript readings once seemed to contain an otherwise unknown term; further collation proved those readings to be scribal alterations, so the lexeme was removed while the number remained.
3. Continuity of Reference: Because thousands of study tools, commentaries, and concordances rely upon Strong’s sequence, editors retain the empty identifier to avoid re-numbering the entire lexicon.

Connection to Neighboring Terms

Numbers 3247 and 3249 are genuine verbs relating to disdain and defilement; the vacant 3248 therefore lies in a semantic neighborhood dealing with moral contempt. That proximity has prompted some scholars to suggest that an unattested cognate once denoted an intensified form of scorn. Whether or not that conjecture proves correct, Scripture already speaks forcefully against contemptuous attitudes (Luke 18:9; Galatians 6:7), so any lost synonym would add nothing essential to doctrine.

Theological Reflection on Lexical Gaps

1. Sufficiency: Every revealed word necessary for life and godliness is intact (2 Peter 1:3).
2. Providence: The Lord who “watches over His word to accomplish it” (Jeremiah 1:12) governs even the preservation of vocabulary.
3. Humility: An unused entry cautions interpreters against building theology on speculation; truth must rest on what the text actually says, not on what we imagine it might have said.

Historical and Ministry Significance

• Text-Critical Value: Empty Strong numbers mark former conjectures and thereby trace the history of scholarship. Past mis-readings are documented rather than erased, enabling present students to evaluate earlier methodological missteps.
• Preaching Application: The existence of 3248 can illustrate to a congregation how thoroughly the Scriptures have been sifted and how securely the canon stands. A pastor might point to Psalm 12:6—“The words of the LORD are pure words”—and show that nothing pure has been lost.
• Discipleship Emphasis: Believers sometimes fear that hidden truths lie buried in untranslated terms; the vacancy at 3248 reassures them that no secret, salvation-altering vocabulary is missing from the pages of the New Testament.

Biblical Passages Undergirding the Point

• Proverbs 30:5 “Every word of God is flawless; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him.”
• Isaiah 40:8 “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.”
• John 10:35 “Scripture cannot be broken.”
• Revelation 22:18-19 warns against adding to or taking away from the book—an implicit affirmation that divine oversight guards the text, not merely most of it but all of it.

Practical Takeaways for the Church

1. Confidence: Christians may study, teach, and obey with assurance that no inspired clause is missing.
2. Diligence: Careful exegesis must be rooted in extant language, not in hypothetical reconstructions.
3. Gratitude: The Lord has preserved His word so meticulously that even the numbering conventions expose where nothing needs to be added.

Conclusion

Strong’s 3248, though empty, directs the student to the fullness, preservation, and reliability of Holy Scripture. Its silence testifies that God’s written revelation lacks nothing—and therefore calls His people to hear and keep what is already given.

Links

Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts