Bible Software Series X: Original Languages Library - software for religious research - Software Review

Biblical Theology Bulletin, Summer, 2003 by Douglas E. Oakman

For Microsoft Windows 98/98SE/Me/NT 4.0/2000-/XP; Pentium 133MHz (300MHz recommended); 64 MB RAM (128 MB recommended for 2000/XP); 60 MB hard drive space; CD-ROM drive; screen resolution: 800x600 or larger. Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 2002. $399.95.

Logos Research Systems has issued a major software upgrade with its LOGOS BIBLE SOFTWARE SERIES X. The program comes in several different configurations; all versions are built in modular fashion through the LIBRONIX DIGITAL LIBRARY SYSTEM (LIBRONIX DLS). Of these, the Original Languages Library (OLL) is directed to the biblical scholar. (The Scholar's Library [$599.95] seems more suitable for evangelical ministers, Christian educators, or the home-schooling market, including many older or evangelical publications and even a section devoted to "Home School and Christian Education" [with, e.g., several items defending creationism].)

Contents: The Logos OLL package comes with quick start guide, 5 CDs, and an instruction CD. There is no printed reference manual, but in addition to instruction CD there is substantial on-line help (local and at the Logos website). After an automatic installation, clicking on "My Library" shows what has been unlocked and is available for use (preview list at http://www.logos.com/products/), what is on the 5 CDs that has not been unlocked but is available if a license fee is paid, and what is currently available generally for Libronix System.

When the package is initially installed, biblical translations, Greek and Hebrew texts, dictionaries, and other research tools are unlocked. Out of the box, Logos OLL has a decidedly conservative cast, especially in respect to default Bible translations (New American Standard Version, New Revised Standard Version, King James and New King James Versions, International Standard Version New Testament, Wuest's Expanded New Testament) and the publishing houses of its standard reference works.

Biblical language texts include Nestle-Aland 27th edition, Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia, and Rahlfs Septuagint, (without scholarly apparatuses, but these will soon be available because Logos Research Systems/Libronix has been chosen by the German Bible Society as basis for the Stuttgart Electronic Study Bible CD-ROM.) Logos OLL also gives student or scholar access to older editions of the Greek New Testament, including Stephanus (1550), Westcott-Hort (1881), and Tischendorf (all without apparatuses).

Default dictionaries include the older BDB, Louw-Nida, Kittel-Friedrich-Bromiley TDNT, and the Liddell-Scott Intermediate Dictionary. Grammatical study aids for both Hebrew/Aramaic and Greek are available (Gramcord morphology included).

Some useful scholarly resources come standard or can be unlocked from the original CDs. For instance, John Bright's A History of Israel or Avraham Negev's THE ARCHAEOLOGICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE HOLY LAND will interest the critical historical student of the Bible. However, sometimes these resources are not current editions (Harper's Bible Dictionary first edition [1985]; The JEROME BIBLICAL COMMENTARY first edition [1968]). Commentaries in the package tend to come from conservative or evangelical presses (IVP, Multnomah Press) or conservative authors (William Barclay, I. H. Marshall, F. F. Bruce). The user has the option of adding the Logos Bible Atlas ($45), which is then seamlessly integrated and demonstrates the graphical power of the software. Works of theological or cultural interest are also accessible: All the volumes of the Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Fathers; Milton's PARADISE LOST; Luther's 95 Theses; Calvin's Institutes; THE PILGRIM'S PROGRESS; even the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution.

Increasingly, publishers are offering new works in both print and Libronix editions. For instance, the Logos OLL includes (for an unlock fee) B. Malina and S. Joubert's A TIME TRAVEL TO THE WORLD OF JESUS (Halfway House: Orion, 1997, c1996). Other biblical and scholarly works available at the present time: THE ANCHOR BIBLE DICTIONARY ($230), Revised Standard Version, Tanakh, Harper's Bible Dictionary ($30), Bauer-Danker ($125), and Koehler-Baumgartner-Stamm HALOT ($160). Recently, Fortress Press has issued in Libronix format K. C. Hanson and D. E. Oakman, Palestine in the Time of Jesus (1998) and N. Gottwald, Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (1985). The Biblical Archaeology Society has put BAR articles and photos in Libronix format. The interested reader can ascertain what is available at the moment through the Logos System's website: http://www.logos.com/ebooks/. The Logos Bible Software also permits easy purchase of available library items through the internet, and checks for updates to the software system as well.

Operation: The Libronix Digital Library System, the basic software engine and organizing metaphor for Logos Bible Software, is intuitive and easy to use. The standard tool menu easily allows straightforward access to the library contents, search facilities, and notating services. All library items are listed through a main author, title, and subject index. The Library System operates much like web pages. Opening a library item takes the user to a separate window; many such windows can be open at once, and are linkable and navigable through several methods. The power of hypertext linking and text markup is everywhere apparent.