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REVIEW OF BIBLEWORKS 7
Software for Biblical Exegesis and Research
BibleWorks 7, BibleWorks, LLC, P.O. Box 6158 , Norfolk , VA 23508 , USA. http://www.bibleworks.com/
Prices: BibleWorks 7 $349, upgrade from BibleWorks 6 $150, upgrade from BibleWorks 5 $175, add-on modules: $15-$197.
Para leer esta crítica en español clic aquí.
Images of BibleWorks 7:
1. What does Bibleworks 7 aim to do?
2. What improvements are made with Bibleworks 7?
2.1 User friendly interface
2.2 Increased resources
2.3 New search and editing features
3. What are the weaknesses of Bibleworks?
4. Bibleworks compared with Logos
5. Is it worth the money?
5.1 First time users
5.2 BibleWorks owners
5.3 Logos owners
1. What does Bibleworks 7 aim to do?
BibleWorks7 (BW7) is a software program for Biblical exegesis and research. It is centred around a powerful search engine, and in less than a minute can analyse and compare all the major texts of the Bible: Hebrew, Greek and Spanish.For example, it is possible to quickly see the occasions where the salvation of God is mentioned in the context of the justice of God or look at the most commonly used words to describe the activity of the Holy Spirit (“with” and “by”). The program emphasises the original Biblical languages and this provides important exegetical information. For instance, a study can be made of the different Greek and Hebrew synonyms for love which are simply translated in the Reina Valera version as “amor”.
Searches which would have been difficult to do manually are now feasible, and it is easily possible to compare directly the Old Testament Hebrew and Greek Septuagint along with the Reina Valera, LBLA and Nueva Versión Internacional for a verse which is difficult to translate, such as Gen. 49:10. Or to see which words a Bible author uses frequently or only once in his writings. For example, in John’s gospel the author´s most frequently used noun is “Jesus” followed by “Father” and then someway after this is “God”, and only in John do we find the words “aenon”, “rabboni” and “Latin”.
The program is flexible enough to allow users to modify it according to the purpose of their studies. When doing sermon preparation windows for the Bible passage, sermon notes and investigations can be set up and the search conditions and versions consulted adjusted according to the passage being studied.
BW7 is an upgraded version of BibleWorks 6 and an extensive review of that product is available here.
2. What improvements are made with Bibleworks 7?
BibleWorks has been releasing new versions of its software for 15 years. The latest one is a significant upgrading from BibleWorks 6 and more than a simple general improvement. The most significant changes are:
2.1 User friendly interface
Earlier versions of BibleWorks were criticized for their interfaces. BW7 gives a simpler interface centred on three windows which are seen below the main menu bar:
the search window,
the display of verses,
note-taking facility and relevant background information.
Menus have also been simplified in size e.g. under Tools there are now 18 options as against 28 previously. The Resources' lists are better divided than in BibleWorks 6. And when working with a passage, by one click or with the use of pop-up windows, more detailed information is given for each verse. There is no longer the use of Beginners, Standard and Power modes.
Unfortunately for Spanish speakers the interface is still only in English. Also, despite quite a lot of adverse comment the search function still uses an abbreviated form of Boolean algebra unique to BibleWorks. Tutorial sheets available in Spanish for BW7 as well as a module of Bible book names in Spanish are on the Spanish Forums section of the BibleWorks web site.
2.2 Increased resources
Requiring five installation CDs the standard resources consist of 112 Bible translations in 30 languages, 14 original language texts with 18 morphology databases, 12 Greek lexicons and dictionaries, 5 Hebrew lexicons and dictionaries, plus 30 reference works including Josephus, Philo and the Apostolic Fathers. The full content of BW7, with the recent upgrades highlighted can be seen on the BibleWorks site. Of the new resources, those of particular importance are:Map Modules is a series of 156 interactive maps that include a map for each book of the Bible, one for each main Biblical person and ones for the different archaeological periods. Distances can to be measured and the maps may be edited, copied and printed.
NT Greek Sentence Diagram. This consists of a diagrammatic picture of the grammatical structure of each NT Greek verse. So the relation of clauses, verbs, prepositions and the different components of the sentence can be easily seen. This gives an increased understanding of syntax and, for example, shows the significant role of prepositions in Paul’s thought.
Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament provides an analysis of the different texts used by the OT or NT writers when they were citing the OT. This enables an understanding of how the OT was used in the NT and which original text was used, whether the LXX or the Massoretic text or an unknown text.
Nueva Versión Internacional has been included in the Spanish Bibles available. There are now seven Spanish versions including the LBLA and the various forms of Reina Valera.
A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament. This useful commentary provides an explanation of the importance of the various textual variants. For instance, it is now possible to understand why there is debate over where Mark’s gospel ends.
Greek Lexicon of the LXX. This is a lexical analysis of words in the Septuagint. What is important is that this bridges the world of Old Testament thought, such as the concept of atonement, with that of New Testament language.
Parallel BHS-LXX provides a word by word comparison of the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint with full grammatical details.
A Grammar of the Greek NT in the Light of Historical Research by A.T. Robertson has long been regarded as one of the most helpful of grammars because of its extensive background information.
2.3 New search and editing features
The program comes with several new features for searching and editing. The most notable are:Key Word in Context This is a search function which lists the words and their frequency that occur near a chosen word. For instance looking at the word “santo”; 95 times “Espíritu” is used near it, 59 times “Jehová”, and 40 times “ Israel ”. This is a useful tool for lexical and contextual studies
External Links. These are made easier, so that it is possible to connect the program directly to resources on the internet or other computer software. So within the program an English-Spanish translation can be made by using an online dictionary or the BibleWorks software can be used in conjunction with Logos Bible software.
Keyboard. The keyboard alters automatically to Greek or Hebrew when doing a search in those languages.
Editor. This note-taking facility has now improved and feels more like Word.
3. What are the weaknesses of Bibleworks?
Although BW7 makes exegetical work easier, it does have its disadvantages:
- The program offers little by way of help for Spanish speakers apart from the Spanish Bibles available. The interface and user help files are all in English.
- There is no modern Biblical dictionary providing background information. This means that historical and cultural data which are often required for exegesis are absent.
- The program centres more upon the analysis of verses rather than an approach which analyses larger sections of the text, as in narrative criticism or rhetorical analysis.
- There remains a problem with the quality of hyperlinking. Although 50,000 corrections have recently been made to BibleWorks ’ lexicons some resources have limited hyperlinking and in others mistakes can be easily spotted.
- For those studying particular verses the details of textual variants, found as standard at the foot of the pages of Greek and Hebrew Bibles, are not available.
- The program is prone to crash under a variety of conditions. It is necessary to update the software from the web site to make it more stable.
4. Bibleworks compared with Logos
Despite it’s interface being in English, BibleWorks is one of the more popular Bible software programs amongst seminary students in Latin America. Sometimes the question is asked whether it is better to buy BW7 or Logos Bible Software.Both software packages are based on powerful search engines. In the case of Logos a library of books is searched, whereas BW7 concentrates its search upon the text of the Bible. Admittedly there is a measure of overlap, with Logos providing advanced Biblical language searches and BW7 including some non-Biblical reference materials in its package.
Since BW7 concentrates on Bibles, grammars and lexicons, for those wanting to start from the text of Scripture and exegete it, this is the better program. It will serve not only preachers preparing a detailed exposition of the Bible, but postgraduate students writing dissertations. It is also the recommended software for Bible translators. If however the most important thing is to work with a library on the computer then Logos offers the fullest range of electronic books in Spanish of all Bible software.
5. Is it worth the money?
BibleWorks have a wise warning that users should be discouraged from buying extra add-on resources unless they use them regularly. That precaution also applies to the purchase of the base package.5.1 First time users
For regular users of a computer for Biblical studies and sermon or essay preparation, it is probably worthwhile buying BW7. It will provide a quick analysis of texts with detailed lexical and syntactical information. However for those who do not want to be frequently at a computer, then it’s probably not worth purchasing as too much effort will be required in remembering how to work the program each time it is used.New users also need to know some English to be able to use the program.
5.2 BibleWorks owners
Should owners of earlier versions of BibleWorks, upgrade to BW7? This will depend on how much the program is used. If it is used several times a week, then an upgrade would be worth it, even from BibleWorks 6. The extra resources and functions are significant. But for those who don’t use the program that much then the old version would probably be adequate.5.3 Logos owners
Should owners of Logos, buy BW7 as well? It is likely that those having both programs on their computer would tend to use one or other of them. In this case the purchase of BW7 would only be justifiable if Logos did not provide sufficient exegetical information.We are grateful to BibleWorks for their program which will help many in their exposition of the Bible. We look forward to there being a Spanish version and hopefully a reduced price for Seminary students and pastors.
David E. C. Ford,
Professor of Hermeneutics and Biblical Theology, Fundación Universitaria Seminario Bíblico de Colombia, Medellín, Colombia
