Check it out or Read the blog post

The search will list all clauses in which the first constitute is a direct object.  

1887 occurrences from the MT with a clause initial direct object are listed in canonical order.  The first example of this arrangement is open on the right part of the screen in the MT text (top) and in the syntax diagram (bottom).

Similarly, the next search will find subject initial clauses.

The search returned 7078 hits more than three times the number of object initial clauses.  Notice that the results include verbal and verbless clauses (cf. Exodus 18:3 on the right).

The Logos website is now advertising Logos Bible Software 3 [LBS3].  Ricoblog has given us several insights into the new version including a list of 100 new features.

Anderson-Forbes Syntactical Database and Search

The previous posts on LBS3 covered concept/basic search and more searches; however, my primary interest in LBS3 is the Anderson-Forbes Syntactical Database and Search Functions.  The database is a syntactic mapping of the entire MT based on the analysis of ::amazon(0385007736,Francis I. Anderson):: (Logos Blog Article).  With some gracious direction from Eli Evans at Logos, I will present some of my early thoughts on the value of the A-F Analyzed Text.

By right-clicking on the name, אברם, and choosing the “Bible Word Study” option, the left window opens like the lemma report.

Notice that under “Grammatical Relationships” information is given about how this word functions on the clause level (used in the subject, as the subject, as the object and verbs used with this word).   The section with “Verbs used when אברהם is in the subject” includes the five most frequent verbs.  Expanding the information under ישׁמע one finds the three verses with this situation.  The window on the right is the chart of the A-F Phrase Marker Analysis.

The End of Print

The answer to the question of whether this software (or some other similar offering) could replace a traditional print scholarly library is yes. When? Soon. A few months ago, I posted several lists of books a young scholar needs to have (How to Spend Your First $200). Each of these volumes (or comparable resources) can be found along with many other titles on the Logos Original Languages Library for about $200 (w/ the academic discount). Several of the recommended volumes not included in the initial library can be purchased as add-in modules (e.g. Joüon-Muraoka Grammar and Waltke-O’Connor Grammar; included with the Scholar’s Silver is van der Merwe, et al and GKC Grammar).

Advance Search

I will explore the more advanced searches by right clicking on a word in the Hebrew text (upper right) and choosing to do a search on the lemma of ?????? in the Hebrew resource library.

When the Bible Word Study window finishes generating, information from my pre-selected lexica and the Logos concordance is provided. After clicking on the BDB reference, the appropriate unabridged article opens in the lower right. Notice that the concordance search can be listed by grammatical category and word form (similar to the Even-Shoshan Concordance). Also, the graphic at the top next to the definition gloss is shows the lemma usage in canonical order of the entire MT. If the curser hovers over each bar, a book name and number of usages therein is given on a small dialogue box.

In the picture above, several colors of hyperlinks are viewable. Words in Red are “hard” links that link to a particular passage in a certain book. Blue links are “soft” as in Bible references which could lead to a different book (NASB, ESV, NRSV) depending on the user’s preference. Thirdly, hovering over the Green words provides a popup with an explanation of the terms or abbreviations. The hyperlinking functionality even extends to standard black text. Any word, regardless of color, can be doubled clicked resulting in a quick search of preferred tools (Merriam-Webster’s dictionary by default). If no entry can be found a deeper search of the entire library or an automatic Google query is suggested by a dialogue box.

The final picture demonstrates the aforementioned hover-over feature. The only requirement to see this display is to briefly pause over a colored scripture or book passage. In the picture below, I have circled the word over which I paused.

Other searching features included are a quick search, a morphology search (powered by Gramcord in Greek), an exegetical query (includes lexica and grammar searches for a range of verses) and a graphical search interface for advanced word/phrase searched not easily typed on a line (similar to the graphical query of BW).

Next Feature:

Anderson-Forbes Semantic Database & Search

Bob Pritchett, the creator of Logos Software, moderated what might have been seen by some as a marathon infomercial. More than a hundred Bible scholars and faculty from the Midwest assembled for a day long session to introduce the new Logos Bible Software 3 [LBS3] that is scheduled to launch on Monday, May 1. In the next few posts, I will present some of the updated features of the product and provide my initial impressions about the new Scholar’s Silver package.

Although I have known about Logos for more than ten years, I have had very little experience with the past releases. So, I will not be able to present a comparison based on past releases of the software, but as a user of other Bible software, namely Bibleworks 6.0, I will provide some comparisons. As always, feel free to ask questions and comments are welcome.

The Concept of Logos 3

If the concept, or purpose, of a product is not known it may not be very usable. Think about a strange instrument about 25 inches high made of medal pipe that rocks back and forth like a rocking chair. Would one automatically assume it was marketed as an abdominal workout machine? Or that a metal stick with two sets of handles and a spring loaded end was a toy to jump like a rabbit? LBS3 is designed as a completely indexed and searchable scholarly Bible library to help people study the Bible better and more efficiently.

The software is designed to function much like a Google or Yahoo search. One may search from the main screen by passage, key word or topic.

A convenient feature of LBS3 is that one may search according to a story name instead of reference, for instance as I typed “Noah Flood” several pericopes are suggested based on the story headings found in most Bible translations.

The windows on the right display the text of the passage while the window on the left provides links into your library’s resources for this passage (all target windows and versions are customizable).

Several search functions work together to present as much information as possible at the end of your cursor. After choosing a category on the left and waiting for a few moments, a list of references to specific resources is compiled on the left. When clicking on a commentary hyperlink, the correct “page” and reference is displayed in the window on the bottom right.

The same features are available for each category on the left. All the information in your library is viewable through such searches.

Next Feature: Complex Searches

I will attempt to take notes at the presentation and give more details later in the weekend. If you have specific questions about the new software, feel free to ask them in the comments and I will find out the answers. Also, those interested in similar presentations open to the public should attend the Logos Road Trip events.

UPDATE:  The faculty at the summit will be the first in the world to see the new version 3 with the syntactically tagged databases.