Better Than Wine: Logos 7 Now Available

A few months ago, I made the acquaintance of Logos Bible Software (version 6). And like a mare among Pharoah’s chariots, this software captivated my heart with a single glance of the eyes (Song 1:9, 4:9). Logos 6 had hair like a flock of goats leaping down the slopes of Gilead (Song 4:1) – and, thanks to the software, I finally understand both how mountainous Gilead truly is and why said goats would want to leap down its slopes. So a new love was born. Because Logos has been so helpful to my Bible reading and Bible study, I’ve barely touched a physical Bible since I began using the software.

If you want to learn the basics of what Logos does and how, I refer you to my previous two-part review:

1. Unlimited Power.
2. Does It Help With Bible Study?

And this short video explains the essence of Logos: a theological library and a feature set.

But in this review, I want to focus on the new features available in Logos 7 that you couldn’t get in Logos 6. As you can imagine, Logos 7 has many more new features than those on my list. But these are the features I believe ordinary people would most appreciate as they learn to study the Bible.

1. Repeated Words

Logos 7 has a “Concordance Tool” that will supercharge your observation of repeated words like never before. With Logos 7, you can:

• Generate a list of the most repeated words within any defined chunk of text.
  • Whole Bible? (Top 5: Lord, not, all, God, said.)
  • Books of Moses? (Lord, not, all, people, said.)
  • Exodus? (Lord, Moses, people, all, said.)
  • Exodus 1-19? (Lord, people, Moses, said, all.)
  • Exodus 1? (people, all, Egypt, midwives, Israel.)
• See exactly how many times each keyword occurs, and in exactly which verses. (“People” = Ex 1:7, 9, 9, 12, 13, 20, 22)
• Export this list to a spreadsheet to save or print.

Logos 7 also has a helpful feature when a Bible translation is open, called Corresponding Words. Once I’ve discovered that “people” is the most repeated word, I can hover my mouse over the word “people” in Exodus 1:7. Logos then automatically highlights every instance of the word “people” in the entire chapter. This sort of analysis used to take me 30 minutes or more, and now I can do it with Logos in about 10 seconds.

The Concordance Tool is incredibly robust. It can show me every instance of not only the word “Pharaoh” but also the person Pharaoh. The former occurs only 4 times in Exodus 1, but the latter occurs 17 times (including “a new king” in Ex 1:8 and “he” in Ex 1:9). No physical concordance can provide such information so quickly. Take a peek yourself, through this short video.

2. Logical Outlines

Logos 6 had logical outlines for every New Testament book, and Logos 7 now adds this feature to every Old Testament book. These outlines break out every sentence and phrase into its parts, showing how the parts are related to one another and flow from one to the next. These outlines give quick access to observation of the passage’s basic grammar and train of thought. And this careful observation paves the way for more vigorous interpretation and application.

3. Text Comparison

Logos 7 lets you quickly examine different translations of the same passage side by side. The software automatically highlights the differences so you can explore how the translators’ choices may affect the way you’d read the verse. You can do this yourself with 5 or 6 open Bibles and excessive jumping from tome to tome. Or you can do it in seconds with this lovely software.

Conclusion

I was delighted to receive a pre-release copy of Logos 7 in exchange for an honest review. And I’m happy to say I heartily recommend it. If you take my warnings to heart, and don’t allow Logos to distract you too much from the text, this software will help you get more out of your Bible study, faster. And for a limited time, readers of this blog can get 10% off a base package (new Logos users only), along with a free commentary on James. Once you try Logos, I bet you, too, will end up among the choirs of Jerusalem, crooning “rightly do they love you” (Song 1:4).

Use this link or the coupon code KNOWABLE7 to get 10% off a Logos base package (new users only). Disclaimer: If you buy Logos with the code or links above, this blog will receive a commission. Thanks for supporting this work so we don’t have to neglect our own vineyards (Song 1:6).