BibleWorks 8 Has Launched

The folks at BibleWorks must have been hard at work to get the latest version of the powerful biblical exegesis and research software, BibleWorks 8, ready for shipping before the Christmas season.

The new version that has just been launched promises to be even better with the following new features:

• new analysis tab
• phrase matching tool
• related verses tool
• new formatting for text export
• cross-reference window
• another new NT Greek diagram set supplementing the current NT Greek diagram available in BibleWorks 7

In addition, some of the following new resources now come standard with BibleWorks 8:

• the grammars by Wallace, Waltke & O'Connor, and Joüon & Muraoka (and to think that I actually had to pay to unlock those grammars in the past!!)
• Early Church Fathers
• Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Thai and Arabic Bibles
• OT Pseudepigrapha

For a full list of the new feature and databases of BibleWorks, please click here.

For the full contents of BibleWorks 8, pleases click here.

By reviewing the new features, I must say I am impressed. The new version appears to be much more user-friendly, and I know that it would certainly enhance my research and make the already powerful software even more powerful. For example, with the expanded information now available in the new analysis tabs feature, the Context Tab shows the most common words in the current pericope, the most common words in the current chapter, and the most common words in the current book when a search is being done. With a click, the Browse Tab shows the full context for the active verse. A plot of the current search results is shown in the Stats Tab. All of this is right at one's fingertips! Impressive indeed!! How much more can one ask for in doing exegesis and searches in Greek and Hebrew?

So how much does BibleWorks 8 cost? Surprisingly, it is not priced any higher than the previous BibleWorks 7 at US$349.99 (approximately RM1260). If you have been thinking of getting BibleWorks but have yet to do so, now is the time since you will be getting a better product with additional new features and databases that are not available in the previous versions.

What about those with older version? Currently, I am using BibleWorks 7. It has served me well thus far. Will I get an upgrade? At a price of US$149.99 (approximately RM550!) for an upgrade to BibleWorks 8 in the current difficult economic situation, I find it rather difficult to justify parting with such a large sum of money. Looks like I am contented with what I already have in possession.