Bibleworks Classroom Tips

Bibleworks has resumed offering tips for classroom use of the powerful and amazing software. Check out the following two tips:

Listing Hebrew Verbs in a Passage
KWIC Module and Prepositional Phrases

Readings in Greek Using Bibleworks

This semester, I offered an elective course on Readings in Greek using Bibleworks. Two M Div students signed up for the course. Throughout this semester, we read portions of Greek text from Acts, John, James, Psalm 2 (LXX), 1 Clement and the Nicene Creed. The primary focus of this reading course is to increase the reading proficiency of Greek, have a better grasp of the command of Greek syntactical analysis, and to explore extra-biblical literature in Greek. At the same, much of our grammatical analysis was carried out using Bibleworks, and this also helped the students to familiarise themselves with the use of the software.


Since this was a small group discussion, we all decided that classes should be held in our favourite coffee place off campus, Starbucks. This provided a very relaxed and condusive environment for discussions, debates, and discovery of Greek grammar and syntax, lexical analysis, and sentence flow and diagramming. In adiditon, extended conversation on theology became part of the menu as well.


One of the requirements of the course was to do a project on some form of analysis of Greek syntax by using Bibleworks. And my two students produced a rather impressive joint project on "A Computer Aided Investigative Study on the Grammatical and Syntactical Usage of the Aorist and Present Imperatives, their Similarities and Distinctiveness in the Epistle According to St James." I look forward to interacting with their paper later this week.

If there is demand, I might consider offering this elective reading course in the future for those who have done Intermediate Greek. But be warned, there is a lot of hard work involved. But to those who are willing to work hard and dig deep into the Scripture, great discovery of treasure awaits them.

Getting the Best out of BibleWorks 8

Dr David Instone-Brewer of Tyndale House has written an extensive review and offered some excellent tips for using BibleWorks 8 in the lastest issue of Tyndale Tech.

Please click here for David's post.

Formation of BibleWorks Interest Group

The BibleWorks interest group will be established in Seminari Theoloji Malaysia soon. Read the announcement that I circulated recently below.

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I understand that a number of you already have BibleWorks installed in your computer. BibleWorks is a very powerful software for exegesis and research, but many of us still do not really know how to make full use of this software.

As such, a number of us are interested in maximising our investment in this software by forming the BibleWorks Interest Group. The primary purpose of this interest group is for us to learn how to make full use of this software, and discover how this software could aid us in our bible study, preaching, teaching, and exegesis. In addition, we also hope that this software could help us appreciate all the hard work we have put into learning the Greek language, and we attempt to demonstrate that with a little knowledge of Greek, it can go a long way to help us appreciate the scripture better. Finally, we anticipate that BibleWorks would help us dig deeper into the scripture and, in turn, love the scripture more.

So if you are interested to find out more, please get in touch with us.

Details of our first meeting for the BibleWorks Interest Group are as follows:

Date: Tuesday, 24 February, 2009
Time: 4.30-5.30pm
Venue: L4
What to bring: your computer loaded with BibleWorks (preferably version 7, although version 8 has just been recently released), and if you have one, your copy of Wallace's grammar.
No need RSVP - just turn up.

Please note that this is not a workshop - it is not a lecture either. It is an interest group - which means we will be learning together. There will be areas we don't even know. So let's discover BibleWorks and the scripture together!

Hope to see you on Tuesday, 24 February!

Dr Lim Kar Yong

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.

Bibleworks Classroom Tip #16

The folks at Bibleworks has just released another Classroom Tip:

Tip 1.16 Using the Graphical Search Engine: Part 2

The Graphical Search Engine is a powerful, though sometimes overlooked, search tool. This Classroom Tip builds upon Tip 1.12 and explores more of the useful search features you can use to enhance your classroom teaching and preparation. In this Classroom Tip we will use the Graphical Search Engine to find different ways that an adjective can relate to a noun when an article is present in the relationship.

The following searches only find the most common classroom definitions of the adjective positions based upon word order. Because there are exceptions to the constructions, not every hit is valid, and not every valid hit will be found by these searches. But these search hits will be a good start for showing samples to your students, and these searches will show some of the searches possible using the Graphical Search Engine (GSE). Included under each search is a link to a GSE search query file that you can use in the GSE for your own searches....

Click here to read the entire tip.

BibleWorks Tip #15: Command Line Search Tips

Another tip on using BibleWorks has been recently released - The Command Line Search Tip

The Command Line is the primary BibleWorks search tool. It provides powerful search capabilities, is easy to use for most searches, and is easy to access for a quick search. While other tools such as the Graphical Search Engine provide some search capabilities that the Command Line cannot perform, the Command Line is capable of handling most search needs.

In this Classroom Tip we will investigate some of the lesser-known search capabilities of the Command Line for searching on Greek and Hebrew, especially in the morphologically-tagged texts. Two powerful tools for searching on the Command Line are wildcards and range operators.

Continue reading the tip here.

BibleWorks Classroom Tip #14: Verse List Manager

Another classroom tip from the folks at BibleWorks.

Tip 1.14: Working with the Verse List Manager

The Verse List Manager is a useful tool for working with search results and creating verse lists for later study and usage in other tasks in BibleWorks. This classroom tip will highlight several ways of creating saved verse lists and also guide you in using the Verse List Manager to extract verse references from electronic documents for viewing and for searching within BibleWorks.

Click here for the tip.

BibleWorks Classroom Tip #13

I am a bit slow in posting tip from the folks at BibleWorks.

BibleWorks Classroom Tip #13

Changing the Verse List Sort Order

After you perform a search, the verse list in the Search Window shows your search hits sorted according to a generally-accepted book order, Genesis through Revelation. But perhaps you are teaching a class on Philippians, and consistently want to view the search results in Philippians before viewing the rest of the search results? In this Classroom Tip we will look at how to change the verse list sort order and describe some sort order strategies that you may find useful in your classroom and for personal study.

Click here for the tip.

BibleWorks Classroom Tips # 11 & 12

The folks at BibleWorks continue to amaze with additional classroom tips.

Tip 1.11: Typing and Display of Hebrew
Searching, taking notes or developing assignments may call for typing in Hebrew. This Classroom Tip offers some tips for working with the Hebrew font and text display in BibleWorks.

Click here to read the entire tip.

Tip 1.12: Using the Graphical Search Engine
The Graphical Search Engine (GSE) is a powerful search engine that can perform many searches that cannot be done on the Command Line. In this Classroom Tip we will use the GSE to search for occurrences of the specific location in a clause of a postpositive word (GAR) in the Greek New Testament. How many times does GAR appear in the second and third position in the clause? Does it ever appear in the fourth position?

Click here to read the entire tip:

BibleWorks Classroom Tip #10

Folks at BibleWorks are busy trying to help users of this powerful software to make full use of the features available. The most recent Classroom Tip #10 shows one how to use the parallel passage feature in BibleWorks. I've tried using this in one of my lecture presentations, and I find it extremely helpful to bring the Synoptic parallels display up on the projector to enhance my teaching.

Click here to learn more about how to use this feature.

BibleWorks Classroom Tip #9

Tip 1.9: Using the BibleWorks Maps Module

The BibleWorks Map Module offers a quick way to display geographical information in the classroom. This classroom tip will address how to access maps for classroom display and for export to presentation software or a word processor.

To check out how to use the Map Module, click here.

BibleWorks Classroom Tip #8

The folks at Bibleworks have been working very hard to ensure users of BibleWorks maximise their investment in the software. The latest Classroom Tip #8 on Creating User Notes for Classroom Teaching has just been released a couple of days ago.

According to BibleWorks, "The BibleWorks User Notes, Editor, and Report Generator tools are great ways to create teaching notes and class handouts rapidly. Unique linking features in the BibleWorks Editor enable you to open quickly BibleWorks lexicons and grammars to the precise section you want to show to your students."

This Classroom tip teaches one to do the following to enhance classroom learning experience:

• User Notes Note-Taking Strategies


• Using the User Notes in the Classroom


• Creating Student Handouts.

To find out how to do the above, click here. Enjoy BibleWorks. You will not regret your investment in this powerful software for doing biblical exegesis and research.

BibleWorks Classroom Tip #7

BibleWorks has just realeased another classroom tip. This latest tip demonstrates how words that appear more than 50 times or more in the Greek New Testament can be generated.

"You can use the search and text marking tools in BibleWorks to produce graded reading assignments or translation exercises. This tip will allow you to easily display the words of a higher frequency range in contrast to lower frequency words in the Greek New Testament."

"In this Classroom Tip you will use the Word List Manager to produce a list of all the words from the Greek New Testament that appear 50 times or more. You will then use this list to conduct a search of the Greek New Testament for each of these words in the Graphical Search Engine. You can then use the Color Selection Window to highlight each high frequency word in bold in the BNT version by using the results of your previous search."

Sounds interesting? Read how you can generate a list of words from the GNT that appear 50 times or less by reading the rest of the article here.

Two More BibleWorks Tips

BibleWorks has just released two more classrooms tips which are reproduced below (for earlier post on more tips previously released, click here). Check these out.

Tip 1.5: Using Tabs Effectively

The BibleWorks Search Window contains 12 tabbed Search Windows. The tabs provide a way to switch rapidly between study contexts without losing the previous context. The tabs can also function as an instruction tool for proper word study method.

In this Classroom Tip we will provide strategies for setting up and using the tabs in the classroom and in your study. We will also show how to save your tabs configurations for future use and distribution to other BibleWorks users. Included are links to saved context files that you can download and use in your classroom.

Click here for the full tip.

Tip 1.6: Working Quickly on the Command Line

One of the benefits of BibleWorks is its great speed, not only in its rapid searches, but in how fast and easy it is to perform your most common tasks. One of the keys to working quickly in BibleWorks is using shortcuts on the Command Line.

Click here for the tip.

More Tips for BibleWorks

A couple of weeks ago, BibleWorks released its Fall 2007 Newsletter. In this issue, there are some useful tips on how to use BibleWorks for classroom. While they may be classified as "classroom tips," let me assure all BibleWorks users that these tips are also useful for you, whether you are a student or instructor.

Check out some of these tips:

1) Name that noun

2) Using Lexicons in BibleWorks 7

3) Displaying Larger Fonts for On-Screen Display

On the use of Bibleworks, see also my previous post on the Unofficial Bibleworks Blog and Lost in Translation: Inconsistencies of the NIV?

Have fun with BibleWorks.

The Unofficial Bibleworks Blog

I know that some of my students are requesting (or pestering...to put it mildly) that I do a training on how to use Bibleworks 7. I must admit that I am a bit tight for time and may only offer a training session in the next semester.

In the meantime, please visit the unofficial Bibleworks blog for ideas of how to fully maximise the use of Bibleworks. There are some very cool and interesting ideas there!

Be sure also to visit the Bibleworks Forum too if you have any issues or problems with the use of Bibleworks. Check out how other users of Bibleworks resolve the problems they face and learn some new tips or tricks in using the software.

Have fun with Bibleworks.

BibleWorks 7

On behalf of the seminary students and faculty, we made an Institutional Promotional Programme purchase for BibleWorks 7 at heavily discounted prices. The people at BibleWorks are really efficient and the package arrived in less than 2 weeks after our order! I can now upgrade my BibleWorks from version 6 to 7 - finally! There are many new exciting features in version 7 - I will be playing with it and hope to post some of my new "discoveries" soon.

With BibleWorks, hopefully, we will be making it mandatory for our students in my seminary to use this software for their exegesis courses soon....