BibleWorks New Version Offers Unequalled Capabilities: Blending High-Tech with Ancient Manuscripts Will Benefit Pastors and Academics Worldwide

    NORFOLK, VA, June 29, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Those who study the Bible in its original languages know that BibleWorks software is one of the most powerful research tools for the job. With the release of BibleWorks 9, pastors, seminary students, scholars and missionaries will find its new array of tools and resources to be unmatched.

"It has something for everyone, from novice to advanced," said BibleWorks owner and lead programmer Michael Bushell. "We've added some new resources that no other program has, giving our users capabilities that are unequaled in the area of Greek exegesis and textual analysis."

BibleWorks 9 users will have the exhaustive New Testament Critical Apparatus from the Center for New Testament Textual Studies (CNTTS) at their fingertips. It covers the entire New Testament and updates instantly when the mouse moves over the Greek text in the main window. Plus the BibleWorks version categorizes every manuscript for each reading in an easy-to-read matrix, clearly showing the Aland categories and time periods.

Author and scholar Moises Silva, who helped translate both the NASB and ESV, is impressed. "The addition of the textual apparatus from the Center for New Testament Textual Studies is alone worth the upgrade, not only because of the astonishingly detailed information it provides, but also because of the masterful way in which that information has been integrated into the program," he said.

Several important Greek texts and revisions have also been added to BibleWorks 9. They include the Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine text (with Robinson 2010 morphology); Westcott-Hort with diacritics, variant readings and morphology; Scrivener's with diacritics, variant readings and morphology; Trinitarian Bible Society Greek New Testament and Tregelles New Testament. And with a click of the mouse button BibleWorks users can immediately highlight differences between all the Greek texts in the main window.

"Prepare to be impressed!" stated Dr. Joel Green, professor of New Testament Interpretation at Fuller Theological Seminary. "I noticed immediately that I had more choices at my fingertips, so that options available in earlier releases were more accessible. The introduction of new text-critical resources means I won't be moving back and forth between my computer screen and my hard copy of the Greek New Testament as before."

Along with these Greek texts, BibleWorks 9 includes the first installment of the BibleWorks Manuscript Project. The initial offering contains new transcriptions and complete image sets of seven Greek New Testament manuscripts! The manuscripts -- Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus, Bezae, Washingtonianus, Boernerianus and GA1141 -- are fully searchable using the full array of BibleWorks analysis tools. The morphological tagging of manuscripts is an ongoing project and updates will be provided as they become available.

"BibleWorks 9 takes a giant leap forward in terms of opening up the world of textual variants and text criticism," said Dr. David deSilva, the Trustees' Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary. "Even more exciting, the transcribed texts of the major uncial witnesses can be selected as display versions. I can read the critical text, Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, and others side-by-side, such that the historic witnesses come alive as real texts, and not just as symbols at the bottom of the page of the print edition of the critical text."

Dr. Thomas Schreiner, professor of New Testament Interpretation at The Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, noted that this will be a great help in academic settings. "One of the most notable improvements is in text criticism so that students are now able to weigh text critical options and examine some of the most important manuscripts for text critical work," he said. "BibleWorks 9 is an invaluable tool for studying the scriptures."

The addition of a fourth column on the main window is the first major improvement, allowing users to see two resources side by side. "I love this new feature where two analysis windows display at the same time. Now it is much easier to search on a word when in a particular book as well," Schreiner stated. "I use BibleWorks every day, and BibleWorks 9 makes a great product even better!"

"The introduction of the fourth window dramatically enhances ease of use," noted Dr. deSilva. "Now I can have the window displaying multiple versions, the analysis window displaying lexical resources, and a browse window showing the verse in its full literary context all displayed across the screen."

Pastors and students will appreciate the addition of The New Moody Atlas of the Bible by Barry J. Beitzel. Its additional improved maps, updated information and new material add clarity and detail to events in Scripture, giving users added depth and dimension for comprehending the geographical and historical context so essential to biblical interpretation. "The inclusion of the Moody Bible Atlas, with high-resolution images of its beautiful maps and photos, and the addition of various other enhancements and tools make this extraordinary program even more useful than before," said Silva.

Although BibleWorks has had the text of the ESV Bible for years, users can now add the massively popular ESV Study Bible notes. For only $20 (unlock fee), all text, articles, plus high-resolution images and maps can be quickly accessed no matter what Bible version you are studying.

To make these new resources accessible to our users, a new "Verse Tab" was implemented in the main window. No matter which Bible version users select, the Verse Tab can instantly displays the relevant sections of the CNTTS apparatus, the ESV Study Bible, the NET Bible textual notes, the Tischendorf apparatus, and more!

A new "Use Tab" feature capitalizes on BibleWorks' lightning speed. Move your mouse over words in any Bible version, and instantly see all occurrences of that word in either the current book or the entire version - all without clicking! Dr. deSilva was impressed by this. "This new feature gives me an instant book- or canon-wide concordance of any word under the cursor," he said. "That feature is an amazing time-saver."

Although all these new tools and enhancements may seem overwhelming, more than 120 tutorial videos (totaling six hours) are included, providing users with "how-to" examples of nearly every aspect of the program.

For more details about BibleWorks 9, please visit: http://www.bibleworks.com/.

Also, see an overview video of BibleWorks 9 here: http://www.bibleworks.com/content/videos/.

BibleWorks 9 is the premier original languages Bible software program for Biblical exegesis and research. It comes with Greek, Hebrew, and Septuagint Bibles for your computer, as well as translations in English, German, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, and dozens of other languages! The purpose of BibleWorks, LLC is to provide pastors, teachers, students, and missionaries with the tools they need to "rightly divide the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15). BibleWorks began in 1992 and has its offices in Norfolk, VA.

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