Recommended Bible Software Purchases for LTSG Students – MGVHoffman 2008.09

 

I realize that buying Bible software is a significant cost, but as Church leaders, these are the tools of your profession. Bible software is a long-term investment, but I can assure you that you will need to use it regularly during seminary. My hope is that it will become a routine tool for you to use throughout your ministry. In order to speak the Word with integrity, you will need to be able to study that Word and engage in conversation with the grammarians, theologians, and other scholars that these resources reflect.

 

Having investigated everything carefully, I have decided to recommend to LTSG students products from Logos and BibleWorks, the two leading programs for Windows-based systems for work with original Hebrew, Aramaic, Syriac, Greek, and Latin texts alongside modern English Bible versions.

 

Note: If you are a Mac user, both programs run under Windows emulators. Logos now has a native Mac version, but the longstanding Mac Bible software program is Accordance: www.accordancebible.com/.  I have specific recommendations for the purchase of Accordance8 here: www.gettysburgseminary.org/mhoffman/greekfall08/accordancesale.htm For more info on BW7 with the Mac or Linux: www.bibleworks.com/content/maclinuxinfo.htm.

 

 

Here are some things you need to keep in mind when making a decision:

 

For those of you trying to decide between Logos and BW7, the table below lists all the books in the Gold library and indicates which ones are in LG3OL or BW7. I have also included at the end an additional list of books in BW7 that are not in Logos. Do note, however, that you cannot simply compare Logos and BW7 on the basis of contents alone. As I have already noted, they look and function quite differently and offer different capabilities.

 

In addition, you should not make a decision simply on quantity of books. I hope that this list of recommended books is helpful. I am somewhat reluctant to compose such a list, because of the warning of Eccl 12.12: “Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh.” The only thing worse than the ‘making’ of many books is the ‘buying’ of many books! May I suggest that you only buy something that you will actually, definitely use within the next nine months. I have also found that the problem you will face is not finding information but being overwhelmed by too much information. This list, then, is an attempt to reduce the amount of resources to check to those that are more likely to be most helpful.

 

How did I make these determinations? If you look at the listing of books below you will see that I have ‘graded’ them according to my opinion of their value or usefulness. “My opinion” reflects a Lutheran, somewhat liberal Protestant perspective. I have, therefore, avoided most books that are self-described in some way as “conservative classics.” (This usually means old and in the public domain and may reflect information that has been superseded by more recent discoveries. Some of the “classics” are indeed “classic,” however, so use your discernment.). I have also avoided most of those from Victor Books or Moody Press or by scholars from Dallas Theological Seminary, not only because they tend to reflect a “conservative” theology, but also because they identify themselves as pre-tribulation, premillennial, Dispensationalists. (The theology behind the Left Behind stuff. Few Lutherans would hold such a view. See the Doctrinal Statement which all Dallas Theological Seminary faculty must affirm at: www.dts.edu/about/doctrinalstatement/ ) These scholars do pay close attention to the Greek and Hebrew, however, so they can still have reliable information and insights.

 

For a summary of the backgrounds of the various multivolume commentaries, see: www.logos.com/commentaries/multivolume. You can also guess something about a book or commentary by noting upon which English translation it is based and when it was published.

 

Do also note that I have focused on books useful for biblical research. I just don’t know how much value there is for Lutherans with the books in the Theology and Apologetics collections. I have also not made any recommendations on the Leadership, Ministry, and Small Group books included in the Gold collection. If someone works through that stuff and wants to share their assessment with me, I would appreciate it.

 


Understanding my recommendations

 

I use the following color coding system:

RED = Very useful books you will probably use regularly or want to have available when needed

GREEN = Perhaps useful or use with discernment

BLACK = not really useful or ones I do not know about or have found occasion to use

 

Also be sure to look at additional books I recommend following this listing

 

Note that the GOLD Library includes every book listed in this table!

OL = Original Languages Library

BW = Books that are included in BibleWorks7 [ (X) = available for extra cost ] – Note: This is not  a complete listing of works in BW7 but only shows overlap with Logos (cf. www.bibleworks.com/content/full.html for complete list and see very end of this file for some notable resources included in BW7 that are not in Logos)

 

Comments

OL

BW

English Bibles

 

 

 

New International Version

 

 

X

New Living Translation

 

 

X

New American Standard Bible - 1995 Update

 

X

X

English Standard Version

 

X

X

The NET Bible **

A hardcopy text also required at LTSG

X

X

Holman Christian Standard Bible

 

 

X

The Message*

useful for translation comparison, available online

 

 

American Standard Version

 

 

X

New Revised Standard Version **

 

X

X

Revised Standard Version

 

X

X

Darby Bible 1890

 

 

X

New Century Version

 

 

 

International Standard Version - New Testament

 

X

 

New King James Version

 

 

X

King James Version

 

X

X

King James Version Apocrypha

 

X

X

King James Version: Cambridge Paragraph Bible

 

X

 

Word Study Bible: KJV (Zodhiates)

 

 

 

Young's Literal Translation

 

 

X

Good News Bible

useful for translation comparison, available online 

 

 

Wuest's Expanded NT

 

 

 

Interlinear Bibles

 

 

 

The Greek New Testament, Fourth Revised Edition w/ McReynolds English Interlinear & Logos Morphology

 

X

 

Nestle-Aland 27th Edition Greek NT w/ McReynolds English Interlinear & Logos Morphology

if you like interlinear, these are helpful

X

 

Lexham Hebrew-English Interlinear Bible

 

X

 

Interlinear Literal Translation of the Greek New Testament (Newberry)

 

X

 

ESV English-Greek Reverse Interlinear of the NT

 

X

 

ESV English-Hebrew Reverse Interlinear of the OT

 

X

 

NRSV English-Greek Reverse Interlinear of the NT

 

X

 

Greek Texts & Morphologies

 

 

 

The Lexham Syntactic Greek New Testament *

 

X

 

OpenText.org Syntactically Analyzed Greek New Testament *

 

X

 

Byzantine/Majority Textform w/ Robinson Morphology

 

X

X

Elzevir Textus Receptus (1624) w/ Robinson Morphology

 

X

 

Scrivener's Textus Receptus (1894) w/ Robinson Morphology

 

X

X

Stephen’s Textus Receptus (1550) w/ Robinson Morphology

 

X

X

Westcott-Hort Greek NT (1881) w/ Robinson Morphology

 

X

X

Tischendorf's Greek New Testament

 

X

X

Septuagint (Rahlfs) w/CCAT Morphological Tagging **

 

X

X

Nestle-Aland 27th Edition Greek NT w/ GRAMCORD™ Greek New Testament Alpha Morphological Database **

my first choice, but any of the next three entries are acceptable options

 

X

Nestle-Aland 27th Edition Greek NT w/ Logos Morphology

 

 

 

The Greek New Testament, Fourth Revised Edition w/ Logos Morphology

 

X

 

The Greek New Testament, Fourth Revised Edition w/ Swanson Morphology

 

X

 

The Text of the Earliest New Testament Greek Manuscripts

use w/ Metzger Textual Commentary

X

(X)

Analytical Greek New Testament w/ Friberg Morphology

 

 

X

The Works of Philo: Greek Text with Morphology

very helpful if you want to do anything w/ Philo

 

X

Hebrew Texts & Morphologies

 

 

 

The Andersen-Forbes Analyzed Text of the Hebrew Bible

 

X

 

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia w/ WIVU Hebrew Morphology

 

X

 

The Parallel Aligned Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Texts of Jewish Scripture (Tov)

 

X

X

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia w/ Westminster 4.2 Morphology **

 

X

X

Aramaic Text & Morphology

 

 

 

The Targums from the files of the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project

 

X

X

Syriac Texts & Morphologies

 

 

 

Syriac Peshitta NT w/ Morphology

 

X

X

Old Syrian Gospels : Codex Curetonianus

 

X

 

Old Syrian Gospels : Codex Sinaiticus

 

X

 

Latin Texts

 

 

 

Clementine Vulgate

 

X

X

Ancient Texts in Translation

 

 

 

The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the OT in English (Charles)

useful, but look for the forthcoming Greek Pseudepigrapha by Charlesworth

X

 

The Nag Hammadi Library in English: Fourth Revised Edition

 

X

 

The Context of Scripture (3 Volumes)

  very nice background texts for OT study

X

 

Amarna Letters

 

X

 

Complete Works of Josephus

 

X

X

Works of Philo

 

 

X

Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume 1

 

X

 

Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume 2

 

X

 

Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume 3

 

X

 

Greek Lexicons

 

 

 

Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the New Testament

 

X

X

Dictionary of Biblical Languages (Greek NT)

not great, but an acceptable entry level  lexicon

X

 

Enhanced Strong's Lexicon

 

 

 

Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (Liddell & Scott)*

links to full L&S online

X

X

Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged ("Little Kittel")

 

 

 

Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (10 Volumes) *

important resource but use w/ discernment

X

 

A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint (Lust) *

 

X

X

Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament (3 Volumes) *

=EDNT: excellent resource; if not BDAG (described at end), then use this

 

 

Greek-English Lexicon Based on Semantic Domains (Louw-Nida)**

 

X

X

Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament **

 

 

X

NAS Greek Dictionary

 

X

 

Hebrew & Aramaic Lexicons

 

 

 

NAS Hebrew Dictionary

 

X

 

A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament

=Holladay

X

X

Enhanced Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon of the OT *

=BDB – The best Hebrew lexicon is HALOT (described at end), but this or Holladay is next best

X

X

Dictionary of Biblical Languages (Aramaic OT)

 

X

 

Dictionary of Biblical Languages (Hebrew OT)

 

X

 

Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament

 

 

X

Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the OT Scriptures (Gesenius)

 

X

 

Syriac Lexicon

 

 

 

Analytical Lexicon of the Syriac NT

 

 

 

Latin Lexicon

 

 

 

Dictionary of the Vulgate New Testament

 

X

 

Original Language Grammars

 

 

 

Elements of NT Greek (Nunn)

 

X

 

Key to the Elements of NT Greek (Nunn)

 

X

 

Syntax of NT Greek (Nunn)

 

X

 

Syntax of the Moods and Tenses in NT Greek

 

X

X

Greek New Testament Insert (Chapman-Shogren)

 

X

 

An Introduction to Aramaic

 

X

 

Beginning Biblical Hebrew (Futato)

 

X

(X)

Hebrew Bible Insert

 

X

 

Biblical Hebrew Reference Grammar

 

X

 

Hebrew Grammar (Gesenius)

 

X

X

Hebrew Syntax, 3rd Edition (Davidson)

 

X

 

Latin Grammar

 

 

 

An Introduction to Ecclesiastical Latin

 

X

 

Original Language Tools

 

 

 

Tense Voice Mood

 

 

 

Glossary of Morpho-Syntactic Database Terminology

 

X

 

Lexham Clausal Outlines of the Greek New Testament (Deppe)

 

X

 

Diagrammatical Analysis

 

X

 

The Andersen-Forbes Analyzed Text of the Hebrew Bible: A Systematic Glossary

 

X

 

The Andersen-Forbes Phrase Marker Analysis of the Hebrew Bible

 

X

 

The Lexham Syntactic Greek New Testament Glossary

 

X

 

The Lexham Syntactic Greek New Testament: Sentence Analysis

 

X

 

The OpenText.org Syntactically Analyzed Greek New Testament Glossary

 

X

 

The OpenText.org Syntactically Analyzed Greek New Testament: Clause Analysis

 

X

 

NT Genre Coding

 

X

 

OT Genre Coding

 

X

 

Building Your Biblical Hebrew Vocabulary

 

X

 

Building Your New Testament Greek Vocabulary

 

X

 

Novum Testamentum Graece Apparatum Criticum (Tischendorf)

 

X

X

Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament (Metzger)**

your best resource for comments on text critical issues in addition to the NET Bible notes

X

X

Bible Commentaries

 

 

 

Teacher's Commentary

 

 

 

New Bible Commentary

 

 

 

Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary

 

 

 

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

 

 

 

Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the OT (10 Volumes)

 

 

 

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Bible

 

 

 

Life of Christ (3 Volumes)

 

 

 

St. Paul the Traveller and Roman Citizen

 

 

 

Saint Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon (Lightfoot)

 

 

 

St. Paul's Epistle to the Galatians (Lightfoot)

 

 

 

St. Paul's Epistle to the Philippians (Lightfoot)

 

 

 

Bible Exposition Commentary (23 Volumes)

 

 

 

Be Available (Judges)

 

 

 

Be Comforted (Isaiah)

 

 

 

Be Committed (Ruth & Esther)

 

 

 

Be Decisive (Jeremiah)

 

 

 

Be Determined (Nehemiah)

 

 

 

Be Holy (Leviticus)

 

 

 

Be Obedient (Abraham)

 

 

 

Be Patient (Job)

 

 

 

Be Satisfied (Ecclesiastes)

 

 

 

Be Skillful (Proverbs)

 

 

 

Be Strong (Joshua)

 

 

 

The United Bible Societies' New Testament Handbook Series (20 Volumes) *

These UBS Handbooks have very useful notes on translation

 

 

The United Bible Societies' Old Testament Handbook Series (21 Volumes) *

(>> UBS Handbooks + NIGTC alone are worth quite a few hundred dollars)

 

 

The New International Greek Testament Commentary (12 Volumes) *

=NIGTC: use with discernment, but excellent attention to the Greek text

 

 

The Pulpit Commentary (77 Volumes)

 

 

 

New American Commentary (31 Volumes)

 

 

 

Bible Knowledge Commentary

 

 

 

Journals

 

 

 

Semeia: An Experimental Journal for Biblical Criticism (91 Volumes)

 

 

 

Bible Introductions & Outlines

 

 

 

Introducing the New Testament

 

 

 

Introducing the Old Testament

 

 

 

Survey of Old Testament Introduction

 

 

 

Why Four Gospels?

 

 

 

Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the New Testament

 

 

 

Wiersbe's Expository Outlines on the Old Testament

 

 

 

Willmington's Bible Handbook

 

 

 

General Introduction to the Bible

 

 

 

New Testament Introduction

 

 

 

Old Testament Survey Series: The Pentateuch

 

 

 

Old Testament Survey Series: The Books of History

 

 

 

Old Testament Survey Series: The Wisdom Literature and Psalms

 

 

 

Old Testament Survey Series: The Major Prophets

 

 

 

Old Testament Survey Series: The Minor Prophets

 

 

 

Outline Bible (Tyndale)

 

 

 

Bible Reader's Companion

 

 

 

Topical Bibles

 

 

 

New Nave's Topical Bible

 

 

X

New Topical Textbook

 

 

 

Bible Dictionaries

 

 

 

Complete Word Study Dictionary NT

 

 

 

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 

 

X

Tyndale Bible Dictionary

 

 

 

Exhaustive Dictionary of Bible Names

 

X

 

Harper's Bible Dictionary **

concise and very helpful resource

 

 

New Bible Dictionary

 

 

 

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (4 Volumes)

 

 

 

Biblical Studies Tools

 

 

 

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

 

 

 

Willmington's Book of Bible Lists

 

 

 

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

 

X

 

Word Studies

 

 

 

Vincent's Word Studies in the New Testament (4 Volumes)

 

 

 

Word Pictures in the New Testament

 

 

X

Synonyms of the Old Testament (Girdlestone)

 

X

 

New Testament Synonyms (Trench)

 

X

 

Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (Bullinger)

 

 

 

Wuest's Word Studies

 

 

 

Bible Maps & Photos

 

 

 

Logos Deluxe Map Set *

(BW7 maps are superior)

 

X

Images of the Holy Lands

 

 

 

Biblical History & Culture

 

 

 

Time Travel to the World of Jesus

 

 

 

Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah (Edersheim)

 

 

 

Sketches of Jewish Social Life (Edersheim)

 

 

 

The Temple (Edersheim)

 

 

 

New Testament Milieu

 

 

 

New Manners and Customs of the Bible

 

 

 

Bible History: Old Testament (Edersheim)

 

 

 

Bible Archaeology

 

 

 

Dead Sea Scrolls & Modern Translations of the OT

 

X

 

Archaeological Encyclopedia of the Holy Land

 

X

 

History of the Church

 

 

 

Early Church Fathers (37 Volumes)

 

 

 

Studies in Early Church History

 

 

 

History of the Christian Church

 

 

 

Theology

 

 

 

Biblical Theology of the New Testament

 

 

 

Biblical Theology of the Old Testament

 

 

 

Concise Theology (Packer)

 

 

 

Dogmatic Theology (Shedd)

 

 

 

Systematic Theology (Hodge)

 

 

 

Systematic Theology, 3 Volumes (Strong)

 

 

 

God, Revelation and Authority (6 Volumes)

 

 

 

Institutes of the Christian Religion

 

 

 

Ryrie's Survey of Bible Doctrine

 

 

 

Great Doctrines of the Bible

 

 

 

Moody Handbook of Theology

 

 

 

Biblical Ethics

 

 

 

Biblical Ethics

 

 

 

Following Christ

 

 

 

Ethics for a Brave New World

 

 

 

Moral Foundations of Life

 

 

 

Apologetics

 

 

 

Christianity on the Offense

 

 

 

Defending Your Faith

 

 

 

Difficulties in the Bible: Alleged Errors and Contradictions

 

 

 

Engaging the Closed Mind

 

 

 

Basic Questions on Alternative Medicine: What is Good and What is Not?

 

 

 

Basic Questions on End of Life Decisions: How Do We Know What's Right?

 

 

 

Basic Questions on Sexuality and Reproductive Technology: When is it Right to Intervene?

 

 

 

Basic Questions on Suicide and Euthanasia

 

 

 

Pastoral Resources

 

 

 

Star Book for Ministers

 

 

 

Fresh Ideas Series

 

 

 

Fresh Ideas for Administration & Finance

 

 

 

Fresh Ideas for Discipleship & Nurture

 

 

 

Fresh Ideas for Families, Youth & Children

 

 

 

Fresh Ideas for Preaching, Worship & Evangelism

 

 

 

Leadership Library Series

 

 

 

Called into Crisis

 

 

 

Clergy Couples in Crisis

 

 

 

Leaders

 

 

 

Learning to Lead

 

 

 

Liberating the Leader's Prayer Life

 

 

 

Making the Most of Mistakes

 

 

 

Sins of the Body

 

 

 

The Contemplative Pastor

 

 

 

The Healthy Hectic Home

 

 

 

The Magnetic Fellowship

 

 

 

The Secrets of Staying Power

 

 

 

The Unity Factor

 

 

 

Weddings, Funerals & Special Events

 

 

 

Well-Intentioned Dragons

 

 

 

When It's Time to Move On

 

 

 

When to Take a Risk

 

 

 

Music, Youth & Education

 

 

 

Preaching to Convince

 

 

 

Helping Those Who Don't Want Help

 

 

 

Being Holy, Being Human

 

 

 

Library of Leadership Development

 

 

 

Leading Your Church Through Conflict & Resolution

 

 

 

Renewing Your Church Through Vision & Planning

 

 

 

Growing Your Church Through Training & Motivation

 

 

 

Building Your Church Through Counsel & Care

 

 

 

Library of Christian Leadership

 

 

 

Changing Lives Through Preaching and Worship

 

 

 

Deepening Your Ministry Through Prayer & Personal Growth

 

 

 

Empowering Your Church Through Creativity & Change

 

 

 

Growing Your Church Through Evangelism & Outreach

 

 

 

Mastering Ministry Series

 

 

 

Mastering Church Finances

 

 

 

Mastering Church Management

 

 

 

Mastering Conflict & Controversy

 

 

 

Mastering Contemporary Preaching

 

 

 

Mastering Outreach & Evangelism

 

 

 

Mastering Pastoral Care

 

 

 

Mastering Pastoral Counseling

 

 

 

Mastering Pastoral Role

 

 

 

Mastering Personal Growth

 

 

 

Mastering Teaching

 

 

 

Mastering Transitions

 

 

 

Mastering Worship

 

 

 

Pastor's Soul Series

 

 

 

Character Forged From Conflict

 

 

 

Deepening Your Conversation With God

 

 

 

Leading With Integrity

 

 

 

Listening to the Voice of God

 

 

 

Your Ministry's Next Chapter

 

 

 

Pastoral Grit

 

 

 

Power of Loving Your Church

 

 

 

Preaching With Spiritual Passion

 

 

 

Pressure Points Series

 

 

 

Pressure Points: Dangers, Toils & Snares

 

 

 

Pressure Points: Measuring Up

 

 

 

Pressure Points: Standing Fast

 

 

 

Pressure Points: Time Crunch

 

 

 

Pressure Points: Voice in the Wilderness

 

 

 

Pressure Points: Who's In Charge?

 

 

 

Sermons

 

 

 

Elements of Preaching

 

 

 

Rediscovering Expository Preaching

 

 

 

Selected Sermons of George Whitefield

 

 

 

Sermons on Several Occasions

 

 

 

Sermon Starters, Vols 1-4 (Zodhiates)

 

 

 

Illustrations

 

 

 

Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations

 

 

 

Quotations

 

 

 

All the Questions in the Bible

 

 

 

Great Quotations

 

 

 

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary of Quotations

 

 

 

Small Group Resources

 

 

 

Big Book of Small Groups

 

 

 

Seven Myths About Small Groups

 

 

 

Small Group Idea Book

 

 

 

Small Group Leaders' Handbook: The Next Generation

 

 

 

Starting (and Ending) a Small Group

 

 

 

Getting Together

 

 

 

Good Things Come in Small Groups

 

 

 

Biblical Foundations for Small Group Ministry

 

 

 

Bible Study Training

 

 

 

How To Study the Bible

 

 

 

Handbook to Bible Study

 

 

 

Diving For Pearls in God's Treasure Chest

 

 

 

Keys to the Bible's Treasures

  

 

 

Witnessing

 

 

 

True Evangelism

 

 

 

Discipleship

 

 

 

Training of the Twelve

 

 

 

Prayer

 

 

 

Necessity of Prayer

 

 

 

Power Through Prayer

 

 

 

Prayer: Basic Training

 

 

 

Handbook To Prayer

 

 

 

Family Dynamics

 

 

 

Different By Design

 

 

 

Fulfilled Family

 

 

 

Home School & Christian Education

 

 

 

Keyword Learning System

 

 

 

Soul of Science

 

 

 

English Language Reference

 

 

 

Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition

 

 

 

Merriam-Webster Collegiate Thesaurus

 

 

 

Christian Reference

 

 

 

Who's Who in Christian History

 

 

 

The Encyclopedia of Christianity: Volumes 1-3

 

 

 

Christian Living

 

 

 

Be What You Are

 

 

 

Christian's Secret of a Holy Life

 

 

 

Growing In Christ

 

 

 

Fourfold Gospel

 

 

 

Living a Full Life

 

 

 

Worship

 

 

 

Logos Hymnal, 100 MIDI Hymns

 

 

 

Devotionals

 

 

 

Alone with God

 

 

 

Amazing Grace: 366 Inspiring Hymn Stories

 

 

 

Drawing Close to God

 

 

 

Imitation of Christ

 

 

 

Morning and Evening

 

 

 

My Utmost for His Highest

 

 

 

Thoughts for the Quiet Hour

 

 

 

Fiction/Allegory

 

 

 

Pilgrim's Progress

 

 

 

In His Steps

 

 

 

Addins

 

 

 

Bible Tools Addin

 

X

 

LLS Addin

 

X

 

Logos Bible Software Addin

 

X

 

Personal Bible Study Tools Addin

 

 

 

Lectionary Addin

 

 

 

Bible Puzzles Addin

 

 

 

Biblical People Addin

 

 

 

Timelines Addin (8 Timelines)

 

 

X

Sentence Diagramming Addin

 

X

X

Graphical Query Editor Addin

 

X

X

Syntax Tools Addin

 

X

 

Compare Parallel Bible Versions Addin

 

X

X

Biblical Languages Addin

 

X

 

Original Languages Addin

 

X

 

Bible Analysis Addin

 

X

 

Greek Pronunciation Addin with Erasmian & Modern Data Sets

 

 

X

Remote Library Search Addin

 

 

 

Parallel Passages

 

 

 

Analytical Outline of the Books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles (Crockett)

 

X

 

Synopsis of the Old Testament (Jackson)

 

X

X

OT Quotations and Allusions in the NT (Jones)

 

X

X

Old Testament Quotes in the New Testament (HCSB)

 

X

 

A Harmony of the Gospels (Robertson)

 

X

 

A Harmony of the Synoptic Gospels (Burton, Goodspeed)

 

X

 

Synopsis of Matthew, Mark, and Luke

 

X

 

Eusebian Canons (Eusebius)

 

 

 

Synopsis of the Four Gospels (Aland) **

The one you want, but it is unavailable in OL

 

X

Records of the Life of Jesus (Sharman)

 

X

 

Pastoral Epistles (Brannan)

 

X

 

Jude - 2 Peter (Jackson)

 

X

X

Data Sets

 

 

 

Biblical People

 

 

 

Revised Common Lectionary

apparently unavailable in OL

 

 

 


Logos: The following books are not included in Original Language or Gold Libraries but available for purchase separately:

 

 

Notable resources in BibleWorks7 not included in Logos

(note that Logos has comparable resources for some of these)

BibleWorks also has numerous addin modules for extra cost store.bibleworks.com/modules.html

 

 

BibleWorks: Additional Modules available for BibleWorks that can be purchased separately

 

BibleWorks is more ‘open-source’ than Logos, so users have posted public domain databases that can be installed in BW7 at: http://www.bibleworks.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53

Note that you can get such works as:

 

 


The Bottom Line

 

PROS

CONS

Accordance8

·      Mac integration

·      attractive interface

·      variety of resources

·      speed

·         lack of intermediate Greek lexicon

·         some limited functionality if run under emulation on a PC

·         more expensive

BibleWorks7

·      best value for biblical texts

·      speed

·      user expandable

·      best choice for modern, non-English Bibles

·         inconsistent interface

·         learning curve for advanced usage

·         limited list of secondary resources

Logos3

·      function as a library management system

·      consistency with Windows interface

·      manipu-ability of workspace

·      long list of available resources, including textbooks

·      reproduces book-reading experience

·      specialized tools: syntax search, discourse NT, reverse interlinears

·         somewhat more expensive than BW7

·         slower

·         (unreliable LXX tagged text)

 

So which program should I buy? I gave some initial guidelines in the second paragraph. As for myself, I had the opportunity to get review copies of all three programs. For Mac users, Accordance is more expensive for getting similar resources, but its Mac integration really makes it an excellent choice. What I find I have ended up doing is… having both BW7 and Logos running (and using the Atlas module in Accordance). When I want to look up something quickly in the text and do any textual research, I use BW7. If I want to do broader biblical research, I use Logos. (I also use Logos when I need to use tools found only there, such as the SESB critical editions or the syntactical texts.)

 

BW7 is a great value for the texts and tools you get. Logos3 Original Languages is a very good value and has more room for future expansion. Logos3 Gold is a great value if you plan to actually use the key books in the collection.

 

Whether you buy Accordance, BW7 or either the Logos 3 Original Library or Logos 3 Gold, consider adding:

 

If you go with Accordance, check out my recommendations.

If you go with BW7, you are pretty well set (except to think about adding the books just mentioned).

If you go with Logos 3 Original Language, consider adding:

If you go with Logos 3 Gold, also consider adding: