Alexander Cruden (May 31, 1699-November 1, 1770)

Alexander Cruden was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, on March 31, 1699. He was, as his biographer says, "a puny baby" and remained small in stature even as an adult. He was a studies young man and loved the study of Latin. Although he could not outshine his older brother, George, he continued on his studies with great carefulness until he received his MA and was accepted to study for the Presbyterian ministry. All went well until he became distracted by a pretty young lady. The details are blurred, but one way or another he ended up being locked away in the Tolbooth (jail). The rumor was that he had suffered a disappointment in love which sent him into a fit of madness. His hopes for pursuing the ministry were dashed. At the recommendation of another he became a tutor in a village near London. He soon moved to London and took up work as a corrector of the press. This meticulous job suited him well and lead him to embark upon his "great idea." After each laborious day at the press he would return to his small room and work late into the night working on his project.

He had not even begun to calculate how long it would take him to carry out his project though; indeed he was by no means certain that he could carry it through, and he knew he could hope for no income from it until it was completed. He just knew he had to try, because this would be his great Work for the Lord. (Keay, Julia. Alexander the Corrector. New York: Woodstock, 2005. p. 28)

Today we enjoy the fruit of his labor along with other works that have built upon his work. My favorite concordance has been Cruden's Concordance. The layout is far more pleasing and easy to use. Here are some stats about the making of this treasure.

The Authorised King James Version of the Bible is (apparently) 774,746 words long. Cruden's Concordance, at roughly 2,370,000 words, is much much longer (and by the time he had finished it he was probably one of the few people - if not the only person - in the world to have worked out how many different words the Bible contains). (ibid. p. 29)

His concordance is divided into three main sections (or "alphabets"): Holy Scriptures, Proper Names in the Old and New Testaments, and The Books of the Apocrypha. "Cruden was reluctant to include [the Apocrypha]," notes Keay, "and only did so in order that no one could accuse his Concordance of being 'deficient in any thing'." (ibid, p. 31)

Of this monumental work C. H. Spurgeon wrote...

"Every day I live I thank God more and more for the poor half-crazy Alexander Cruden. Of course you have read his life, which is prefixed to the concordance; it exhibits him as a man of diseased mind, one or twice the inmate of a lunatic asylum, but yet for all the successfully devoting his energies to producing a work of absolutely priceless value, which never has been improved upon, and probably never will be; a volume which must ever yield the greatest possible assistance to a Christian minister, being as necessary to him as a plane to a carpenter, or a plough to the husbandman. Be sure you buy a genuine unabridged Cruden, and none of the modern substitutes; good as they may be at the price, they are a delusion and a snare to ministers, and should never be tolerated in the manse library. To consider cheapness in purchasing a concordance is folly. You need only one: have none but the best. At the head of each notable word, Cruden gives you its meaning, and very often all its particular shades of meaning, so that he even helps you in sermonising. When you have read his headings, by following out the concordance, you will observe connections in which the word occurs, which most advantageously and correctly fix its meaning. Thus will the word of God be its own key. A good textuary is a good theologian; be then well skilled in using Cruden. (Spurgeon, C. H. Commenting and Commentaries. pp 25-26)

Frederick W. Danker in his Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study (1970) said,

"But Alexander Cruden made 'concordance' a household word. Since the first edition, dedicated to the Queen of England in 1737, Cruden's A Complete Concordance to the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament has gone through many improvements and revisions and probably will remain the average Bible student's stand-by for a long time. The 3rd ed. (London, 1769) is valued especially for its incorporation of the last corrections made by Cruden." (p. 9)

If you don't have your own copy, I encourage you to fulfill Alexander Cruden's joy and purchase one. He labored for his Lord and the help of every minister to follow him. Purchase: 

Alexander Cruden (May 31, 1699-November 1, 1770)