After a L O N G wait (insert various unexpected medical/home repair/automotive expenses here), I've finally been able to order BibleWorks 7!!!
For those of you unfamiliar with BibleWorks, visit the link and check it out. Quite simply, it is the best Bible study software available. Period. The only thing even close is Logos, but by the time you buy all the modules that Logos needs to make it more-or-less like BibleWorks, it costs more and still isn't quite BibleWorks. I have an old version (thanks Dan!) that I've been using since 1998. The new version represents (as you can imagine) HUGE strides in technology. Frankly, the old version I was using (4.0) is really impressive. Version 7 is outstanding. I can't wait to get it in the mail and installed!
Praise God for another undeserved gift. I was really beginning to wonder if I'd see the day when I would be able to get this software, but (as He so often does) the LORD surprised me!
Incidentally, I've got a guy (my pastor) probably interested in buying my version 4. If for some reason he decides against it, I'll let you know. Maybe one of you might benefit from it (except for Dan).
Hatushili
Friday, March 23, 2007
BibleWorks is on the way...
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4 comments:
I don't have it yet, so could you tell me if the new BibleWorks does Syntax searches like Logos Bible Software?
Not that I'm aware of, nor do I find that problematic.
I've been sitting here trying to think of a time I'd want a syntactically taggged text to search through... and I can't think of a reason off the top of my head. In the past, I've been able to used my older version of BW to search for syntactically specific instances via Greek or Hebrew morphological searches. So (for those reading this that have no idea what I just said), for example, I could search for all the times a given Greek word is used in the case marking subjects (nominative, in case your curious)... or whatever else I need. I suspose complex syntactical constructions can get a bit complicated and ugly to construct a search for, but I've never been unable to get the information I was hunting for in the older versions of BW - I'm sure the new one will be no exception (though I still don't have it yet).
Having said all that, I've heard rumors that BW8 (likely released next year?) is likely to have a syntactically tagged database. I wonder about the process of tagging a text though - in many cases your syntactical tags can be only very rudimentary at best, unless you're willing to tag things on the basis of intrepretation. I'm thinking, of course, of participles... So either you tag participles with your interpretation (probably not a good plan) or you leave participles alone (in which case I'm not sure just how valuable such tagged databases can be)...
Maybe I need an education on the process and value of syntactically tagged databases, eh?
[For those that found this discussion tedious at best, we now return to our regularly scheduled discussions... in English.]
Hatushili
One more thought:
I guess there could be value in tagging a text for syntax if the user is not very familiar with the specifics on the language. I'm thinking first or second year Greek students, for example. But then this brings us to the oft-discussed "who is the right user of this kind of software" discussion... Should we really entrust detailed information to those that don't have a thorough grasp of the language? Is BW or Logos to be used primarily as a tool for those who've already learned a language well? Is such software a crutch for those learning, or a valuable tool? When does a person have just enough information to be dangerous, but not exegetically sound?
I tend to come down on the "it's primarily a tool for those that already know the language well" side (I guess that's why I've taken 9 semesters of Greek). But a philosophical difference on this point will have far-reaching effects on your consideration of syntactical tags...
Hatushili
Okay, I've been listening to my inner Greek nerd all day. The more I think about it, the less I like the idea of a syntactically tagged Greek text. Participles - perhaps the key to understanding many of the Epistles - are way too interpretative to let someone else tag. Genitives, too: who gets to decide if the "faithfulness of Christ " (throughout Galatians, for example) is objective, subjective, or otherwise? Hopefully not the guy that got paid to tag the text I'm searching! Even some datives. If we get really picky, even some nominatives - who decides which is the subject in a predicate-nominative construction? Wallace offers us three guidelines, but are we convinced that these are absolutes? Do I need somebody to tag a text for PN constructions?
I'm ranting now... Deep breath...
Anyway, I really don't think I like the notion of a syntactically tagged text (in case that wasn't clear by now).
If "anonymous" comes back, maybe he can educate me as to the value of such a text. But for now I can't imagine why I'd want one.
[I know I promised to stop this train of thought, but it's been bugging me all day. Sorry. I think I'm done now.]
Hatushili
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