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

Have you noticed that much of our learning takes places through a question and answer model? When I became a Christian disciple in college, my pastor began mentoring me with the Design for Discipleship series from The Navigators. Using study guides filled with questions, I would read the Scripture and then record my answers in the space provided in the guides.

Logos tries to replicate this question and answer experience with text entry boxes scattered throughout numerous Logos resources.

Allow me to give you a specific example:

• Type Holman Bible Handbook in the Command box (A)

• Click the title of the book in the list underneath the Command box to open it (B)

• Type 150 in the resource’s reference box (C)

• Press the Enter key to jump to page 150 (D)

• Scroll until you see the section called Questions for Reflection (E)

• Notice the text entry boxes underneath the questions (F)

• Type your desired text in the boxes just like you would record answers on lines in study guides (G)

Currently this text is not searchable, but it does synchronize between your devices.

Be on the lookout for these text entry boxes all throughout your Logos resources, especially the ones containing questions!

If you enjoy these weekly tips, check out the Logos Bible Software Training Manual Bundle (print edition), which contains hundreds of pages on getting the most out of your software.

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

A Logos user recently presented me with this scenario:

As I was reading Luke 4:5 where Satan showed Jesus the kingdoms of the world, I was a little surprised to notice the Greek word for “world” was not “kosmos”, the word normally used for “world” in the New Testament. Is there a quick way to see all of the Greek words translated with the same English word?

This is an excellent question, and the answer is a resounding yes!

Using the above example, I’ll show you how to access a quick list of synonyms for world:

• Open an English Bible with the reverse-interlinear option, such as the ESV (A)

• Navigate to Luke 4:5 (B)

• Right click the word world (C)

• Select Selection world | Bible Word Study (D)

• Scroll in the newly generated report to the section called Greek Words (E)

• Notice the English word world in the center of the translation ring (F) and the Greek words around the ring, which are the words translated world in the ESV New Testament (G)

• Click a Greek word to see a list of verses in which that specific Greek word is translated world (H)

• Click the Greek lemma right above the list of verses (I) to generate a separate Bible Word Study report for that word (J)

In essence, the Hebrew Words and Greek Words sections are displaying synonyms in the Old and New Testaments respectively for the word world. By studying all of these original words, you’ll gain a thorough understanding of the concept of world in the Bible.

If you enjoyed this tip, check out the Camp Logos 1 and 2 training videos for more original-language tips for English students.

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

The Exegetical Guide houses one of my favorite Logos features, the Word by Word section, which analyzes each Hebrew or Greek word in a passage. Among the wealth of information found here are the manuscript and lemma forms of words, morphological and syntactical data, links to lexicons, and the meaning of the original words as suggested in the Bible Sense Lexicon dataset (not contained in all Logos base packages). Much of my personal Bible study and sermon preparation is spent in this invaluable section.

Word by Word will automatically investigate every word in every verse we’re studying if we like, but this comprehensive coverage can make for a lengthy report. For example, if we’re examining Joshua 1:1–9, the Word by Word section displays data for all nine verses at once! Thus, you may find yourself scrolling through a long list of words.

Here’s a little trick I employ with the Exegetical Guide so that I only research one verse at a time, yet I never have to type anything to move to another verse:

• Open a Bible containing the reverse interlinear option such as The Lexham English Bible (A)

• Choose the panel menu on the Bible (B)

• Select a Link set letter, such as A (C)

• Choose Guides | Exegetical Guide

• Choose the panel menu on the Exegetical Guide (D)

• Select the same Link set letter you just selected for the Bible (E)

• Type in the Bible’s reference box the first verse in the passage you’re about to study, such as Joshua 1:1 (F)

• Notice that the Exegetical Guide follows the Bible to the same verse because both panels are linked to the same set (G)

• Observe that the Word by Word section is only examining the words in that one verse (H)

• Choose the panel menu of the Bible (I)

• Select Show locator bar (J)

• Notice the locator bar, appearing under the Bible’s toolbar, contains previous and next arrows (K)

• Click the drop-down list to the left of the previous and next arrows (L)

• Select Verse (M)

• Note that you have just set the previous and next arrows to take you to the previous or next verse in the Bible

• Click the next (down) arrow (N)

• Watch the Bible AND the Exegetical Guide move to the next verse, such as Joshua 1:2 (O)

• Look in the Word by Word section to see analysis of the words just in verse 2 (P)

You can see that by utilizing linking, the locator bar, and previous and next arrows, we can easily move through a passage a verse at a time without extra typing and scrolling through long lists of words!

If you like this arrangement, don’t forget to save it as a layout so you don’t have to reset the configuration the next time you want to use it.

If you found this trick helpful, you’ll thoroughly enjoy Logos Timesaving Tips, a downloadable Logos video resource with complete video instructions for over 100 helpful Logos features! Get it today.

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

A Logos user recently emailed me stating he was studying Ephesians 2:4 and came across the phrase “but God.” He inquired about finding similarities to that phrase even though it may not be that exact English phrase, “but God.”

There are several ways to go about this, but here is fairly simple method that yields some good results:

• Open a Bible containing the reverse interlinear option such as The Lexham English Bible (LEB) (A)

• Navigate to a verse containing the desired phrase such as Ephesians 2:4 with the phrase but God (B)

• Right click on the word but (C)

• Select Lemma δέ (D)

• Select Search this resource (E)

• Notice the Search panel opens with the results (F)

• Type this text after the search query that is the Find box: BEFORE 2 words (G)

• Notice the search query now reads < Lemma = lbs/el/δέ > BEFORE 2 words (H)

• Right click on the word God (I)

• Select the second entry for the lemma which is Lemma θεÏŒς (J)

• Select Search this resource (K)

• Notice a second search panel opens with this text in the Find box: < Lemma = lbs/el/θεÏŒς > (L)

• Copy / Paste the above query into the first search panel following the words BEFORE 2 words (M)

• Notice the complete query now reads: < Lemma = lbs/el/δέ > BEFORE 2 words < Lemma = lbs/el/θεÏŒς > (N)

• Press the Enter key to generate the results

You just located all the places in the LEB that the Greek conjunction de appears 1 or 2 words before the Greek noun theos!

Look carefully and you’ll see all of the results are not the English phrase but God. (O)

You’ll find many more searching instructions in the 2-volume set of Logos 5 Training Manuals.

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

A Logos user recently emailed me this question:

Is there any way to use Logos 5 to locate every place where Jesus talks about sin? I know I can simply search Jesus AND sin and that will get me some (21) hits, but I am sure there are allusions and alternate words (for sin) that would not be included in that search.

I informed him that by combining several Logos tools, we can get very close to what he wants. One of the current solutions to the question involves several steps—please note: depending on your base package, you may not be able to complete this exercise.

But let’s have a go at answering this excellent question:

• Click the Search icon
• Select Clause as the search type (A)
• Select The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition from the resource drop-down list (B)
• Type this text in the Find box: person:Jesus (C)
• Press the Enter key to generate the search, which locates all the places in the New Testament where Jesus is mentioned regardless of the words used to reference him (D)

• Choose the Search panel menu (E)
• Select Save as Passage List (F)

• Notice that Logos creates a new Passage List document containing all of the verses from the search results (G)
• Click the Search tab to return to the Search panel (H)

• Change the search type to Bible (I)
• Select from the resource drop-down list a Bible, such as the ESV (J)
• Select from the range drop-down list the Passage List that was just created (K)

• Type this in the Find box: < LN 88.105 – LN 88.318 >, which represents all of the Greek words in the New Testament that according to the Louw-Nida Lexicon have “negative” or unethical meanings (L)

• Press the Enter key to generate the search, which locates the verses in which both the person Jesus and an “unethical” word appear in the same verse (M)

 

As you look at the results, some of the verses will not apply directly to the user’s specific question, but many will be exactly what he was looking for!

This week, a group of Logos users enjoyed a free hour-long training on harnessing the full potential of Logos 5′s powerful search tools. We covered using search operators, using Louw-Nida numbers, narrowing searches to only the most relevant results, and making the most of the powerful Clause Search tool.

If you missed it, don’t worry! You can watch the recording right now and reap all the benefits of this important training:

In the webinar, we featured the Themelios theological journal, a publication with a long, rich history of excellence. When you get this 111-issue collection, your searches in Logos 5 will yield results from theological thought leaders where they were first published.

We’d like to do more virtual training events like this—but only if it’s something you want. Make your opinion known! Let us know via Facebook or Twitter what type of training you’d like us to put together next.

Then make sure you’re in the loop: subscribe to the webinar email list below. When we schedule the events you want, you’ll be among the first to know about it.

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

A Logos user recently asked me this question:

Let’s say I’m studying a book in the Bible, and I want to know when it was written. Other than looking at a commentary or study Bible, is there a way to see its date of writing?

With Logos’ Timeline dataset, created just for questions like this, the answer is a resounding yes. (Note that this dataset doesn’t come with the Starter base package.)

Here’s a quick way to find a specific event:

• Choose Tools | Timeline.
• Type a word in the Filter box, such as Philippians (A).
• Observe that only events containing that word appear on the Timeline. (The number in the Filter indicates the number of events currently being displayed.) (B)
• Notice that your desired event may not currently be visible in the Timeline window (C).

• Choose the panel menu on the Timeline (D).
• Select Find (in this panel) (E).

• In the Find box (which opened under the Filter box), type the same word that’s in the Filter box (such as Philippians) (F).
• Look carefully at the Timeline, which jumped to an event containing your word (G).
• Use the Previous and Next arrows to move through all the events on the filtered Timeline (H).

• Click an event on the Timeline to reveal more information, including hyperlinks back to resources (I).

As you use the Timeline, please keep in mind these distinctions between Filter and Find:

• Filter limits events on the Timeline.
• Find locates events on the Timeline.

In the above example, you’ll see that Logos displays various possible dates, which are taken from resources in the library. Again, you can click an event on the Timeline to display hyperlinks back to those resources.

If you’d like to see other events happening at the same time as the writing of Philippians:

• Remove the text in the Filter box (J).
• And notice that all events return to the Timeline (K).

Logos 5′s powerful search tools help you find the insights you need. Our next training webinar, on July 15 at 10:00 a.m. Pacific, will show you how—for free.

Save your spot: register right now!

Together, we’ll spend an hour exploring the three types of search most frequently used in Logos 5:

• Basic search scours your whole library, bringing you the results most relevant to your study.
• Bible search, paired with Louw-Nida numbers, makes the original languages accessible.
• Clause Search—a revolutionary new power tool—reveals search results that you can’t find any other way.

Your Logos library is full of wisdom and insight—Bible dictionaries, commentaries, academic journals, sermon archives—but it’s Logos’ search tools that help you connect that knowledge to what you’re studying. You’ll learn which searches work best for which scenarios, so you can quickly and confidently locate the information you need.

This webinar will dive a little deeper than the previous few. If you’re new to Logos, you can catch up with the last two webinars right here:

• Master the Basics of Logos Navigation
• Get the Most Out of Your Logos Library

These two events lay the foundation on which you’ll build a deeper understanding of Logos 5′s search tools. Come ready with any questions you have, and we’ll answer them on air!

Register for the webinar at Logos.com/Webinar to reserve your spot—we’ll send you a reminder email with all the details.

 
P.S. What’s the only thing better than a free training webinar? Learning with a friend! After you’ve claimed your spot, tell your friends so they can do the same: