Archive - March, 2010

Need Help with New Testament Exegesis?

  |  Fri, March 19, 2010   |  Products   2

A few years back, we published a series of seven books called Guides to New Testament Exegesis. The seven titles are also available individually (links below go to individual volumes), but of course you save by purchasing the collection:

These books provide a general introduction (by Scot McKnight, no less!) to the interpretation of the New Testament, as well as genre-specific methods and materials for doing exegesis. One thing I didn’t know (but learned from reading the product page on Logos.com — good stuff there!) was that:

The vision for this collection comes from Gordon Fee’s New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors. By developing handbooks for each genre and book collection, this collection operates as an extended treatment of Fee’s narrower scope.

Fee’s work is detailed and valuable; to have his methodology distilled and applied to these particular genres is a helpful thing. It’s like getting a jump start in New Testament exegesis. And to have it done by folks of the caliber of Scot McKnight, Thomas Schreiner, and Gary Burge? Even better. Check it out.

Speaking of New Testament exegesis, another title that you might find helpful is Donald Hagner’s introduction, New Testament Exegesis and Research: A Guide for Seminarians. This is geared toward seminarians, but helpful for everyone. If I understand correctly how the book came about, it is basically the information that Hagner gives incoming seminarians, to get them properly grounded at the start of their seminary career.

Need some more suggestions? I’m out of room here, but you might try I. Howard Marshall’s New Testament Interpretation, David Alan Black’s Interpreting the New Testament, or perhaps even Katharine Barnwell’s Linguistics and New Testament Interpretation. Check ‘em out!

What’s up on the Mac?

  |  Thu, March 18, 2010   |  Misc   18
Update

Getting Logos 4 for the Mac finished is one of our top priorities. Recent Alpha releases are in good shape, and offer many of the core features. We’re working at top speed to get everything else done, too.

The number one questions, of course, is “When?” And we can’t say, because we don’t know. We’re putting our energy into coding, not estimating. And, because of the unique challenges involved in sharing code between platforms, there are many things we can’t predict the time-frame for, even if we tried.

The good news is that the Logos 4 Mac team is seeing success after success. Our shared-code strategy is working, and ensuring compatibility of both content and documents. And as the platform becomes more stable we’re seeing increased speed implementing features at the interface layer.

We’ve been hiring Mac developers for quite a while, and we have even brought some of the Windows development team over to the Mac side. But we couldn’t hire enough great Mac developers fast enough here in Bellingham, so we decided to do something even more dramatic: We opened a temporary office in Bellevue, Washington where we could get access to a bigger pool of Mac developers.

We rented an apartment and moved our Mac team lead there for four days a week. He’s helping keep the half-dozen programmers there coordinated with the larger team in Bellingham.

The bottom line? Logos 4 Mac is full-speed ahead, and making lots of progress. We can’t predict the final ship date, but we’re confident we’re doing everything possible to make it as soon as possible. And, of course, there’s a new Alpha release every two weeks, which many users report is stable and meets their needs on a daily basis.

Want even more updates? Keep an eye on our forums, where you can hear about the latest progress and even interact with the development team.

Save up to 75% on 64 Logos Titles

  |  Thu, March 18, 2010   |  Misc   9

We’ve hand-picked 64 titles to compete in the 2010 Logos March Madness tournament and it is up to you to decide which one we should sell at 75% off!
The premise is simple—at www.logosmarchmadness.com we’ve taken 64 titles available in Logos Bible Software and split them into four divisions. You vote for your favorite titles in each division and the ones with the most votes at the end of each of the six rounds advance. Titles that don’t advance are then offered at a discounted rate between 25% and 50% off the retail price. The title that gets crowned the champion will be discounted at 75% off!
Voting is now open for the first round, and will remain open thru March 20th. The complete schedule is as follows:
Round 1: March 18-20
Round 2: March 21-23
Sweet 16: March 24-26
Elite 8: March 27-29
Final 4: March 30 – April 1
Championship: April 2-5
See the full brackets
As I said, the titles that don’t get enough votes to advance out of a round will be offered at a discount. Here is how the discounts will break down:
Titles not advancing out of round 1 will be 25% off.
Titles not advancing out of round 2 will be 30% off.
Titles not advancing out of the sweet sixteen will be 35% off.
Titles not advancing out of the elite eight will be 40% off.
Titles not advancing out of the final four will be 45% off.
The second place book in the tournament will be 50% off.
The tournament champion will be 75% off.
So, go check out the full list of titles being offered and vote for your favorites. Of course, if you really want a title to win (so you can get it for 75% off) be sure to spread the word to all your friends and family and tell them to go to www.logosmarchmadness.com and vote for your favorites!
So, what are you waiting for?

A Few Minutes Could Save You…

  |  Wed, March 17, 2010   |  Misc   Comments Off

Refer-A-Friend Program

It is quite surprising when we hear of people who have never heard of things we have been doing for a while. One of those things is our Refer-A-Friend program.

In just a few easy steps, we can send your pastor, friends, co-workers, ministry leaders, and/or family members a coupon code to receive 15% off a Logos 4 base package. And to make it worth a few moments of your time, if your recommendation turns into a sale, we give you a $25 gift certificate good toward a web purchase on Logos.com.

To get started, make sure you Sign In to your Logos.com account, and then head on over to www.logos.com/referafriend.

The first step asks you to enter a person’s email address and their name. We will use it to send your friend two emails which you will be able to view and customize. And the email will not be added to any lists, so we won’t make you look bad.

Next, you see a preview of a plain text email we will send on your behalf. You can easily edit the email to include a personal message if you want, or you can click Next to proceed.

The final step is to select one of seven base packages we include in the program. The default recommendation is set for Scholar’s Library as this is our best selling collection, but you have the option to recommend up to Scholar’s Library: Platinum.

At this point, you may click Send!, or you can see a preview of the fancy html message we’ll send featuring your recommended product.

Chances are, your small group leader would benefit greatly using Leader’s Library, and suggesting Scholar’s Library or above to your relative heading to seminary would make his or her studies and term papers a whole lot easier. Since the Refer-A-Friend program works for the majority of our collections, you can suggest the collection you think would be most valuable to your friend. And don’t worry if you are not sure which collection would be best. If you suggest Scholar’s Library and they end up purchasing Scholar’s Library: Gold, you’ll still get a $25 gift certificate—as long as it is included in the program and they use the coupon code you send them!

You can suggest one of the following collections:

With this ability to offer your friends a discount on a product that hopefully has transformed your devotional times, your sermon or Bible study preparation, or has helped you through seminary, why would you not take a few minutes to run down your list of contacts and send them a quick, pre-formatted email? Not only will you be helping transform their Bible study, you could also "pocket" a cool $25 credit for each person who acts on your recommendation.

So what are you waiting for? Refer-A-Friend Now!

Visit our custom upgrade discount calculator to see what discounts you qualify for on an upgrade to a brand new Logos 4 base package.

New customers should visit http://www.logos.com/4 to learn more and see what discounts are currently available.

Logos 4: Importing Notes and User-Created Content from LDLS3

  |  Tue, March 16, 2010   |  Misc   32

Yes, the wait is finally over. Yesterday’s announcement of Logos Bible Software 4.0b mentioned what many have been waiting for: Support for importing LDLS3 user-created content.

Specifically, Logos 4.0b now supports importing notes, highlighting, favorites, and prayer lists. Along with this release, regardless if you are importing from LDLS3 or not, Notes now allow for user-editable titles, as well as creating Notes for a reference range, not just a single verse.

So without further ado, let’s get your notes from Logos 3 to Logos 4.

Since resources have changed over the years because we’ve corrected typos, added new hyperlinks, and made other edits, in certain cases, these changes can prevent Logos 4 from importing notes from Libronix DLS 3 correctly. In order to minimize the likelihood of notes not being transferred, we highly recommend you download the Custom Toolbar for LDLS3 that prepares your notes for importing into Logos 4.

Getting the toolbar:

  • Run LDLS3, and click the newly added Update Notes Now button.
  • When Update Notes Now finishes, return to Logos 4.

Now are you ready for this? In Logos 4 type Import All into the Command bar, hit enter, and sit back. You’ll then see the “Importing…” status message in the upper-right corner of the main window. That’s it.

Content imported into Logos 4 “remembers” that it was imported such that consecutive imports can be run in Logos 4, without adverse effects. Changes to imported content in Logos 4 will clear the link between Logos 4 and LDLS3, so if you edit an imported item in Logos 4, and then re-import, you will see the original item from LDLS3 along with the edited item in Logos 4.This is intentional in order to recover an original note without over writing the new content.

If you no longer want to use some of your user-created content from LDLS3, but want other parts, like your extensive Prayer Lists, there are commands for a more targeted import.

Additional Commands:

Import Notes
Imports only notes from LDLS3

Import Highlighting
Imports only highlighting from LDLS3

Import Favorites
Imports only favorites from LDLS3

Import Prayer Lists
Imports only prayers lists from LDLS3

Import delete (All|Notes|Highlighting|Favorites|Prayer Lists)

Deletes all imported content of the specified type

If you were on the fence about upgrading to Logos 4 because you couldn’t transfer your Notes, Highlighting, Favorites, or Prayer Lists, now is a great time to upgrade to Logos 4. Logos 4 is now better than ever, and you can be sure we’re already working to add additional features.

Logos 4.0b Is Now Available

  |  Mon, March 15, 2010   |  Apps, Training   25

A new version of Logos 4 will be available later today as a free download to all Logos 4 users. Version 4.0b adds a plethora of new features and improvements and squashes lots of little bugs. If you have automatic updating enabled (screenshot), which is the default setting, Logos 4 will notify you that updates are ready to be installed.

When you see the balloon tooltip window, right-click on the Logos icon in your system tray and choose to “Install update” (screenshot). If Logos 4 hasn’t downloaded the update by the end of the day and you just can’t wait any longer to get your hands on the latest release, just type Update Now into the command bar (screenshot). This will force Logos 4 to check for any available updates (screenshot) and begin downloading them.

Continue Reading…

Logos 4: Make Logos Easy on the Eyes

  |  Mon, March 15, 2010   |  Training   Comments Off
mp|seminars Tips

Today’s post is from Morris Proctor, certified and authorized trainer for Logos Bible Software. Morris has trained thousands of Logos users at his two-day Camp Logos training seminars.

The older I get, the more I appreciate the features in Logos 4 that allow me to adjust the display of the program and resources. Here are few reminders so that you can make Logos easy on the eyes:

To adjust the text size of an open panel:

  • Choose the panel menu on an open panel
  • Move the slide bar at the top of the menu to adjust the text size in that panel

To change the default text size of resources:

  • Choose Tools | Program Settings
  • In the Fonts section select a different Default Text Size from the drop down list

To change the default font in resources:

  • Choose Tools | Program Settings
  • In the Fonts section select a different Default Font from the drop down list

To change the background color in resource panels:

  • Choose Tools | Program Settings
  • In the Accessibility section select a different color from the Resource Panel Background drop down list

To change the default size of the entire program:

  • Choose Tools | Program Settings
  • In the Accessibility section select a different Program Scaling percentage from the drop down list

Last Chance to Pre-Order The Expositor’s Bible Commentary

  |  Fri, March 12, 2010   |  Products   9

For years, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary has been one of our most requested commentary sets. Now, we’re pleased to announce that it will be available in Logos Bible Software in just a few days.

The Gold Medallion Award-winning Expositor’s Bible Commentary, published by Zondervan, is a major contribution to the study and understanding of the Scriptures. Providing pastors and Bible students with a comprehensive and scholarly tool for the exposition of the Scriptures and the teaching and proclamation of their message, this 12-volume reference work has become a staple of seminary and college libraries and pastors’ studies worldwide.

Some of the leading evangelical biblical scholars of the past half-century have contributed to The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, including:

The Expositor's Bible Commentary (12 Vols.)

  • F. F. Bruce
  • Bruce M. Metzger
  • Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.
  • Gordon D. Fee
  • I. Howard Marshall
  • D. A. Carson
  • James Montgomery Boice
  • Richard N. Longenecker
  • Lots of others. Head on over to the product page to see the complete list.

Each volume in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary contains an introduction to authorship and historical issues, outlines of each book of the Bible, exposition and notes on the entire Bible, detailed bibliographies on every book of the Bible, and more. It also covers textual issues, and transliteration and translation of Semitic and Greek words make the more technical notes accessible to readers unacquainted with the biblical languages. In short, this is the premiere evangelical commentary on the Bible, and it will be available in Logos Bible Software in just a few days. Head on over to the product page to place your pre-order before it ships on Monday.

Are You a Pradis User?

If you’re a Pradis user, we want to make your transition to Logos Bible Software as smooth as possible. We realize that you might have spent years building up the titles in your Pradis library, and you’ve made a significant financial investment in buying those titles.

For registered Pradis users only, Zondervan has authorized a special discount on The Expositor’s Bible Commentary in addition to the Pre-Pub discount. The discount is designed to help you transition to Logos Bible Software. If you’re a registered Pradis user, this is your chance to get your books in Logos Bible Software at rock-bottom prices. Remember, the discount applies only for Pradis users. To learn how to get your discount, read the previous blog post for all the details.

You should follow us on Twitter here.

Free Finnish Bible

  |  Wed, March 10, 2010   |  Products   7

Raamattu 1933, 1938 (Finnish Bible)

Do you read Finnish? Or do you know someone who does? Or do you just like free books, even if you can’t read them? :)

We’ve recently released the Logos edition of Raamattu—a Bible from the Finnish Bible Society. Best of all, we’re able to offer it for free.

The first Finnish translation of the Bible appeared in 1548 by Mikael Agricola. He used Luther’s German Bible as the translation base. In 1632, the Bible was again translated into Finnish, but this time using the original language texts. The complete version appeared in 1642, and new editions were issued in 1685, 1758, and 1776. In the early twentieth century, the need for an updated translation of the Bible into Finnish had become apparent. Work on the new translation was begun in 1911 at the initiative of the Finnish Bible Society and the Finnish Lutheran Church. The first translation work was finished in 1933, and the completed version was published in 1938.

Here’s how to add this translation to your library for free:

Logos 4 Users:

If you have Logos Bible Software 4, adding resources to your library is easy.

Go the product page. Click Add to Cart (or just add it straight to your cart from here). Proceed through the checkout process and click “Submit Order.” If you don’t have a credit card on file, you’ll still need to enter your credit card information. Don’t worry, you won’t be charged anything. It’s the only way to finish the checkout process in our current system.

In Logos 4, type “Update Now” into the Command Bar. Logos 4 will find and begin downloading new resources, and the Logos icon will appear in your system tray while this is happening. When it’s finished, you’ll be asked to restart Logos 4.

After you restart Logos 4, you’ll be able to access your new Finnish Bible. If you have a Logos 4 base package, you can also access it on your iPhone or iPod Touch using the Logos iPhone app!

If you’re not a Logos 4 user yet, be sure to visit the custom upgrade discount calculator to see what discounts you qualify for on an upgrade to a brand new Logos 4 base package.

Logos 3 / Libronix Users:

If you’re still using Libronix, here are the steps to follow to get your free book:

Step 1: Log in to your logos.com account. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to create one.

Step 2: Make sure that your Libronix Customer ID is associated with your Logos.com account. Go to My Account, enter your Libronix Customer ID, and click “Confirm.” If it’s already there, no need to do anything. (If you don’t know your Libronix Customer ID, you can find it in Libronix by going to Help | About Libronix DLS.)

Step 3: Go the product page. Click Add to Cart (or just add it straight to your cart from here). Proceed through the checkout process and click “Submit Order.” If you don’t have a credit card on file, you’ll still need to enter your credit card information. Don’t worry, you won’t be charged anything. It’s the only way to finish the checkout process in our current system.

Step 4: Unlock and download your new book. If you’re on a Windows machine, just click the orange “Unlock & Download” button. If you’re on a Mac, just synchronize your licenses (Tools | Library Management | Synchronize Licenses) and manually put the book file in your resources folder (Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Libronix DLS/Resources on the startup volume).

Step 5: Start using your new book! Open Libronix, open My Library, then type Raamattu to find it.

Spread the word! If you have Finnish-speaking friends, let them know that they can get a Finnish Bible for free.

An Alternate Book of Esther

  |  Tue, March 9, 2010   |  Products   4

I was flipping through the Esther volume of the Göttingen Septuagint and saw something unusual:

Göttingen Septuagint

If you examine this page carefully, you’ll see that the top section contains Greek text of a portion of Esther. Under that is a critical apparatus – a shorthand method of documenting manuscript evidence, showing which manuscripts agree with the text above and which manuscripts disagree, and how they disagree.
Then under the apparatus there is second section of Greek text (market by an L in the margin) followed by a second apparatus. We’ve seen something like this before. The ancient Greek book of Daniel, for example, exists in both the Old Greek and the Theodotion versions, and other editions of the LXX, such as Rahlfs and Swete, have presented both versions of that text either on facing pages or with one version on top of the other. Similar parallel texts are presented for the shorter and longer versions of Tobit and those parts of Joshua and Judges where codices Alexandrinus and Vaticanus disagree. But I’ve never seen this phenomenon in a printed edition of Esther before.
The marginal ‘L’ indicates that the text is thought by some scholars to be a Lucianic recension, or revision, of the Septuagint. Lucian was a Christian martyr who died in 312 AD and was famous for comparing the various Greek translations with the Hebrew Scriptures and preparing new Greek texts that were in greater agreement with the Hebrew originals.
However, the L-Text of Esther is different from the Septuagint text in some surprising ways that seem, to some scholars, inconsistent with the Lucianic reforms. The LXX and the L-Text both contain the so-called ‘Additions to Esther’ not found in the Hebrew Massoretic Text (MT), and the L-Text and LXX are significantly similar for those Additions. But in places where the L-Text and the LXX are clearly translating the same Hebrew, there is very little word for word correspondence. And at several junctures, it seems that the L-Text must be translating a different Hebrew source all-together. Carey Moore in his Anchor Bible volume on Esther, and elsewhere, has argued that the L-Text of Esther is really a fresh translation from a Hebrew original that is, at points, very different from the Hebrew (MT) that we have today. Followers of this line of reasoning usually refer to this as the Alpha-Text or A-Text of Esther, rather than the L-Text. If Moore is right, then the A-Text of Esther isn’t so much useful for determining the original text of the Massoretic version of Esther, but is rather more valuable for illuminating a version of Esther that no longer exists in any Hebrew manuscript known today.
Right now the Göttingen Septuagint is gathering interest on our prepublication program, listed at less than 1/10th of the retail price of the print volumes! The prepub has been well received, but we still need a few more orders to confirm that there is enough interest in getting the best Septuagint available into Logos Bible Software. So if you were sitting on the fence with this one wondering what you’d get that isn’t already in Rahlfs’ or Swete’s LXX, the A-Text of Esther is one example of the cool, useful things you’ll only see in Göttingen.
P.S. If you’re interested in the Septuagint, you might take a peek at Biblical Languages: Reference Grammars and Introductions (19 Vols.), which contains three volumes on the Septuagint: Swete’s classic Introduction (which examines the Lucianic recension on pages 80-86), the introductory grammar and chrestomathy by Conybeare and Stock and the reference grammar by Thackeray. If you want to lock in the early bird price, now is the time.

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