Review in Ashland Theological Review

Software for Bible study abounds (see reviews by Dr. David Baker in ATJ29 [1997] 99-103; 28 [1996] 112-125), but this reviewer has found none to surpass the updated release of Bible Windows for relevance of contents and overall value. The program is available only on CD-ROM, and requires and operating environment of Microsoft Windows 3.1, Microsoft Windows 95, or higher to run, and a system with at least 4 MB RAM.

The designers of the program have assembled an impressive collection of texts. There are eight English translations of the Bible--the KJV, ASV (1901), RSV, NRSV, God's Word Translation, Darby, Webster, and the Bible in Basic English. The RSV includes the Old Testament Apocrapha. Luther's German translation is also included. The bundle of original language texts is complete: Greek New Testament (United Bible Societies test, 4th edition), Hebrew Bible (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia), and Septuagint. These texts are grammatically tagged for full parsing, and equipped for full interlinear display. Also included is the Vulgate and three additional Greek New Testament texts (Textus Receptus, Westcott-Hort, and Tischendorf). As many of the above texts as the user desires can be installed directly onto the hard drive for faster searches and the like; the rest will still be available through the CD. The program comes with three Greek-English lexica: a concise dictionary (Barclay Newman), the Intermediate Liddell-Scott Lexicon (an excellent resource for both biblical and classical Greek), and the Louw-Nida Lexicon (which groups words by semantic domain, the premier United Bible Societies lexicon). The Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon and a more concise Hebrew glossary provide support for Hebrew Bible study.

In addition to strictly Biblical texts, the CD-ROM contains and extensive library of Greco-Roman and early Christian literature. The thirty-eight volume collection of the Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Fathers (Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, Justin, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Tertullian, Eusebius, Jerome, Augustine, John Chrysostom, and many others) is included, as well as the complete works of Josephus. A truly impressive addition is the Silver Classical Library--the texts which provide the reader with a comprehensive introduction to the Greco-Roman environment of the New Testament, but which are all too frequently overlooked. Here one will find, in English translation, the major plays of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripedes, and Aristophanes, the works of Aristotle, Homer, Marcus Aurelius, Plato, Plotinus, and Virgil, the histories of Herodotus, Tacitus, and Thucydides, and the Lives of Plutarch. As an added bonus, the designers of Bible Windows 5.1 have included a collection of liturgical texts taken from the internet. The format of these is rather rough, but the texts of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, the Greek Orthodox Divine Liturgy, the Catholic Mass, and many other liturgical resources are available.

The program is well designed for working with the original language texts (as well as the English, of

course). A scroll lock function enables the user to open the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, and an English version and read through a Bible passage simultaneously. The main biblical texts (Greek NT, BHS, and LXX) are grammatically tagged so that parsing help is instantly available; links to the lexica make word study always just a click away. There are even links for investigating OT allusions and quotations in the NT (although here the program lacks an important feature---it takes the user automatically to the Hebrew OT and not also the Septuagint). At any point in the Greek New Testament, one can open all nine translations for the purpose of comparison. The program has complete concordancing and search capabilities. The user can search for single words (whichever language), phrases, combinations of words, or run grammatical searches (e.g., every masculine singular present participle of e)rxomai). One can very easily copy verses, whole passages, or search results from Bible Windows into a major word processor (I used WordPerfect for Windows 7, but also tested it a bit on WordPerfect 5.1 for DOS), as well as block and paste selections from the early church fathers, the Greco-Roman texts, or collection of liturgical resources. "Power mousing" enables the user to employ the right-hand mouse button for common search, copy, and reference functions, making the use of the program even quicker and easier.

The program is also structured to connect with Internet resources, most notably the Perseus Project (www.perseus.tufts.edu--well worth the visit from an internet browser whether or not you acquire Bible Windows 5.1). This function, which requires Netscape, allows the user to access Perseus' advanced lexical resources, and, while visiting Perseus, explore their vast classical library (in Greek and Latin, as well as English). If you have already bought into Logos Bible Resource Systems, Bible Windows 5.1 can also link up to the lexica and commentaries used by Logos (boasting of faster and easier access to the variety of lexica than Logos itself).

In sum, Bible Windows 5.1 offers an astounding range of primary texts, tools, and resources for Bible study (including study of the Jewish and Greco-Roman backgrounds of the NT, as well as the history, theology, and practice of the early church) for a surprisingly low price (group discounts are available for purchases of 6 or more units). The program certainly merits serious investigation and consideration by those looking for Bible software.

David A. deSilva