by Harry Hahne

If the KJV is set to display Englishman's-Strong's numbers, one can click on the number and see the dictionary entry for a word. Many words do not display a Englishman's-Strong's number and hence cannot be looked up. The Greek dictionary is based on Thayer's lexicon, an outdated (but readily available) 19th century work, with supplements from Smith's Bible Dictionary. The Hebrew dictionary is based on BDB and Smith's Bible dictionary, and is more useful.

Windows are linked by selecting a "Link" menu option or by holding down the mouse button, and moving the mouse pointer between two windows. Since links are bi-directional, changing the passage displayed in any linked window changes all linked windows. It is easy to unlink a window by selecting an option in the "Window" menu. Searching a linked window affects all linked windows.

Search Capabilities

The simplest way to conduct a search is to click on a word, then select "Speed Search." A "Search Results" window displays the matching references. The "Search Results" window is the control centre for browsing matching verses. Click on a reference to display the verse. The search results are displayed in the currently active window and all search terms are highlighted. One can print or transfer verses to the clipboard. Unfortunately, the "Search Results" window is not resizable and it sometimes gets in the way of text windows.

More sophisticated searches are conducted in the search dialog box. Supported search-types include: concordance searches (word searches), phrase searches, approximate searches and note searches. The approximate search allows one to type, for example, "Zorrobubble" and find verses with the word "Zerubbabel." One can guess at the wording of a verse: "I press on towards the prizes" will find Phil 3:14 "I press on towards the mark for the prize..." Unfortunately, this type of search is slow, sometimes requiring fifteen minutes. Fortunately, searches work in the background while the program is used in other ways. Searches can be restricted to standard ranges (e.g., Minor Prophets) or custom ranges. One can search a particular Bible version and display the results in another version. If one enters a word that is not recognized, Logos suggests alternatives. Words can also be selected from an optional list. As one types letters, words beginning with these letters are listed. Only matching words are listed, in contrast to BWorks which lists all words, starting with the closest match. One cannot search for many small words (e.g. "in," "and," "for").

Searches can include wild cards. However, only thirty-two matching words are allowed. One can set search proximity by verses, but not by words or sentences. Phrase searches cannot cross a verse boundary. This is a serious limitation since many sentences encompass several verses. Searches can use AND, OR, NOT and XOR ("exclusive or") Boolean operators, with multiple level nesting using parentheses. "Exclusive or" finds verses where one or the other but not both search terms are found. Searches can be case sensitive or insensitive. One can recall up to sixteen previous search expressions, though they are lost upon exiting the program.

The biggest limitation in this version of Logos is the lack of grammatically-tagged Greek and Hebrew Bible texts and grammatical- search options. If tagged texts are added to complement the flexible search engine, Logos will be a powerful tool for research in the original languages.

The optional TVM module allows a limited grammatical search for tense, voice and mood in Greek or stem and mood in Hebrew. In Greek this is based on the Textus Receptus, so results will not match searches on the UBS3/NA26. As a result, the matching word may not even be found in the Greek text displayed. Matching words are not highlighted in any case. Most users who know some Greek or Hebrew will find this module too limiting to be useful.

The Greek and Hebrew searches cannot find a lemma (dictionary form). A work-around is to find an example of the word in the Greek text, highlight it in the KJV and search on the Englishman's-Strong's number. However, this is awkward and the search is limited to the Textus Receptus Greek text. Entering Hebrew search expressions with Boolean operators is also awkward, since one must type AND backward as DNA because Hebrew words are entered from right to left! Using a symbol (e.g., &) would be less confusing.

Concluding Observations

Word processor integration is exceptional in Logos. Verses can be copied to the Windows clipboard and pasted into any Windows word processor file. One can also export to an ASCII text file or a Rich Text Format file which DOS word processors can read. One can use DDE to paste a verse while editing a document with a word processor. Moreover, Logos includes its own "Dynamic Verse Insertion" (DVI) capability allowing one to access/paste a verse from inside any Windows program!

A variety of print options are available. A clever diagram of the page layout, showing margins and text location, helps to visualize the page layout. Reports can have up to three columns, and can include notes, cross-references and Treasury of Scripture Knowledge cross-references along with the Bible text. The Bible version can be specified, but only one version can be included at a time. It would be handy if Greek, Hebrew and one or more English versions could be arranged side by side. Logos was the most bug-free of any of the programs tested. Operation was consistent and reliable, with none of the dreaded "Unrecoverable Application Errors" that plague so many Windows programs. Because of its well designed user-interface, Logos is very easy to learn. The manual is well written, neatly typeset, well bound and includes a good index. An optional 1 hour video is available, but it is hardly necessary.