When I searched on "Bible software" just now, Google came back with well over a million "hits." Glancing through the first 10 or so pages of results, it appeared that most of the sites were either selling or giving away computer resources to help a person study the Bible. Is that amazing or what?

So, how does one choose?

This review offers one Bible student's view on the criteria you should consider in selecting a program or tool; a short review of several representative CD-based programs; and a bit of advice on the use of computer resources in your Bible study and your devotional life.

I. Criteria

Bible study resources can be categorized in a number of ways.

(1) What Bible translations does the package provide? Don't be misled by a long list of translations – there are 10 or 20 English translations in the public domain that many packages include just because they're there; the more recent popular translations such as the NIV and NRSV are harder to come by, and add to the price because they're copyrighted and require royalties to be paid. If you're committed to "King James only" this isn't an issue (it's freely available), but everybody else needs to read the fine print in the Translations list! Many of the packages also provide the biblical text in the major European languages and some other modern languages.

(2) How much and what kind of support is included for accessing the original Greek and Hebrew text underlying English translations? Strong's numbers are commonly available; interlinear and full-text less commonly. As with translations, older public-domain Greek and Hebrew texts are easy to find and cheap; the recent scholarly "critical" texts cost more and many packages don't include them. Coding with Strong's numbers is a clue that it's an older public domain resource. Hebrew and Greek "parsing" (grammatical analysis) is a definite plus, and only available with top of the line products.

(3) How does the resource help you find things in the biblical text itself? The most basic task Bible software does is look things up in the Bible: search for a word or a phrase or a passage or a verse in a particular English translation, or more than one. Some programs allow quite complex searches, but for most of us most of the time word, phrase, passage and verse is all we need.

(4) What kind of information does the resource provide in terms of historical context, explanation of terms found in the Bible, theological concepts, etc.? Some packages include a lot of commentaries and reference works, others very few. The older, public-domain reference works are abundantly available, the newer, more academically oriented (such as The Anchor Bible Dictionary) are usually only available at a high price as a separate package. Most of the public domain resources are available free online, so you may not need to pay for a CD-based package to get them.

(6) What's the theological orientation of the package? This is more important the farther you get from the actual biblical text. If all you're looking for is an electronic concordance, what matters is that the package have the English translation(s) you use and that it accurately look up the words and phrases you type in. Theology is of little consequence. However, if you want to read commentaries and interpretations, or you're looking for sermons and devotional literature, it becomes more important that you find a good fit for your beliefs about what the Bible means and how it ought to be interpreted. Most programs have a web site with some sort of "About Us" page that will tell you about the program designers and the company providing it to you.

(7) How much does it cost? This is the least important of all the questions, because no matter what resource you buy or use you will be investing many many hours of your own valuable time in using it. If you can afford a fully equipped computer, you can afford Bible software; the question is what kind will best meet your needs.

So ask yourself these two basic questions:

A. Which translations and commentaries do you use?

If you use the New International Version (NIV), New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) or any of the other newer English language translations that have come out in the past 20 or 30 years, expect to pay for having computer access to them. These newer versions are under copyright, and software providers have to pay to bring them to you, so you have to pay to get them. Similarly, the major works of present academic scholarship, such as the Anchor Bible Dictionary, can be bought on CD but at considerable cost. There are all sorts of scholarly, theological and ideological reasons for wanting access to the fruits of current scholarship; and plenty of reasons why they cost more than the older, KJV-oriented resources.

B. What do you want to do?

This isn't as silly a question as you might think. Different Bible students have different kinds of questions, and need different kind of answers. Think back to a number of recent instances when you had something you wanted to look up. Where did you look? Did you find your answer? Software provides much of the same information as books, but a lot faster. If you decide to try out a couple of tools before settling on one, I strongly recommend that you make a short list of your typical sorts of questions, and see how it goes when you try to answer them with your new program. For example, if you often come across words you don't know as you read the Bible, you need a Bible Dictionary. If you're reading the King James you need a Bible Dictionary that covers the terminology in that translation. But what kinds of information are you willing to accept? The older, out-of-copyright references tend to base their Dictionary articles on information from within the Bible itself; newer scholarly works tend to discount such "within the text" material (except when doing "literary" analysis) and look to archaeology or extrabiblical sources. If you're looking for commentary that will help you write sermons, or short devotional readings to help you in your prayer life, these are specialized features of some of the packages and web pages.

Even if you're really clear on what you want to do, and which packages will help you do it, you still need to be aware of the additional features that come with each program. Very often a package will include a capability that you wouldn't have thought to look for; such new capabilities can really expand your Bible study breadth and depth. But more about that in the Advice section. Let's take a look at some actual packages.

I've mentioned above some of the many wonderful free online Bible study websites; you should definitely explore them and use them where they work for you. But if you still feel the need for your very own software that you can load up and have available on your own computer, read on.

II. Reviews of Specific Programs and Tools

First, just to get them out of the way, let me mention a few of the "high end" packages that include vast amounts of copyrighted material and so cost a lot of money. If you're wanting to do detailed scholarly research, and especially if you know Greek and Hebrew, these may well be worth the investment. If your interests are more devotional and less academic, I wouldn't bother.

Now, on to some specifics at the lower end. The following short list is intended to be representative, not comprehensive, and it's in alphabetical order. If you come across a program you think you'll like, by all means try it out. Almost all software allows returns within 30 or 90 days if it doesn't meet your needs, so take it out for a spin!

The remainder of this review concerns some CD Bible study packages that are far less expensive and probably perfectly adequate for most readers. They make the most commonly used public domain Bible versions and standard references available on your computer with all the convenience and searchability that implies. Most of the reference works are available free on the web as well, but not nearly as conveniently. If you use the King James Version of the Bible and Strong's Concordance, these are the resources for you. Choose one and learn to use it; if you have problems, follow up with the seller. One package that you know inside and out will be of more use to you than several that you never really master.

includes the main public domain (older) English translations including the KJV

several excellent public domain word study resources, and excellent instruction in how to use them.

good assortment of pre-twentieth century resources, commentaries, and related literature; details at http://www.epiphanysoftware.com/editions.asp.

includes daily devotionals, discussion groups, and daily Bible readings

no NIV, RSV, NRSV in the less expensive edition

internet enhancement: The main 3 features are (1) being alerted to available updates  (2) online discussion groups (which were dismal, both in content and tone) and (3) free downloads of more public domain stuff.   I don't feel like the Internet enhancement adds much.

distinctive user interface (window arranging, docking) I didn't find it all that helpful.  I was more concerned about content! However, the user interface is easy to use.

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Bible Scholar

www.jewishsoftware.com

only program with a linear English translation of the Hebrew Bible

Old Testament/Hebrew Bible only; no New Testament

many Jewish resources not found in other packages, including Rashi, whose medieval commentaries are fascinating

the user interface isn't very intuitive, but the instructional videos help a lot

the company also sells Encyclopedia Judaica, a very fine CD-based reference long popular in its print edition.

Price: List $139.95, Online $89.95

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  includes the NIV, NAS, NRSV and NLT for minimum additional royalty, in addition to the KJV and other public domain (older) English translations

  includes the Koran, fully searchable along with the Bible versions

  easy-to-use interface

instructional tutorials aren't as helpful as some: no animation or audio

includes a Greek New Testament

Price: $34.95 without NIV, NAS, NRSV and NLT, $64.95 with NIV, NAS, NRSV and NLT.

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  includes the main public domain (older) English translations, French, German, Spanish, Dutch

no NIV, RSV, NRSV

  "written by a Bible Believer for Bible Believers."

  very useful for devotional study based primarily in the King James with Strong's Concordance.

not appropriate for academic biblical studies, modern translations or Hebrew and Greek beyond Strong's.

Price: free 25 day shareware; $35 for single-user Deluxe Version 4.3

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  includes the main public domain (older) English translations including the KJV

no NIV, RSV, NRSV

  very strong foreign language support, including several Eastern European languages, Afrikaans, Thai;

  three of the older public domain Greek New Testaments, without accents or parsing.

  good assortment of public domain commentaries and writings by Calvin, Luther, Jonathan Edwards, Augustine, Josephus and many others.

   nice maps and other miscellaneous resources

   easy to use multi-window user interface

Price: much of the software is available free at the website; CD editions range from Student ($19.95) to Scholar ($69.95)

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III. Advice

Remember that your purpose is to study the Bible. It's easy to get caught up in the dictionaries, commentaries, study aids, and devotionals that you lose all track of the Bible itself!

Once you choose a tool (or more than one) apply yourself to learning it inside and out. Read the manual, if there is one. Use the tutorials and the help section and learn about every single feature you can find.

Get in communication with other users of Bible software; ideally, folks using the same tools you are. Share your questions and concerns, give and receive help, hold one another in prayer.

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Susan Jeffers is an independent Bible student and teacher, and adjunct faculty at Bethany Theological Seminary and the Earlham School of Religion, both in Richmond Indiana.