How to Use Inline Search to Discover Figures of Speech

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.

Maybe you’ve noticed that searching in Logos is quite different from searching a print book! We search print volumes one at a time, whereas Logos editions can be searched in bulk. We instruct Logos to search our commentaries or theology books or journals. But with so many books in our Logos libraries, we may overlook the value of a specific resource. One such book you perhaps own is Figures of Speech Used in the Bible by E.M. Bullinger. In this book, the author identifies over 200 types of figures of speech and then provides biblical examples of each. It’s a helpful guide when trying to discover Hebrew or Greek figures of speech we may miss because we’re not as familiar with these languages as we are our native tongue. When I’m studying a biblical passage, I always run it through Figures just to make sure I’m not missing an idiomatic or emphatic expression. One way to do so is with an Inline search:

• Open a Bible to a passage like Mark 7:20 (A)

• Open Figures of Speech Used in the Bible. If you don’t own this resource I encourage you to add it to your library (B)
• Click the Inline Search icon on Figures toolbar (C)
• Type your passage like Mark 7:20 in the search box (D)
• Select the reference from the drop down list (E)

• Press the Enter key to generate the search
• Notice the author lists this verse as an example of Epimone or Lingering (F)

• Select Article from the drop down context list to display the hit in its broader context (G)
• Notice Bullinger provides several examples of lingering (H) which he defines as dwelling upon the principle point of a subject, so that it may be well understood, and remain with due weight upon the mind of the hearer or reader. (I)

The more you use this resource, the more you’ll appreciate Bullinger’s helpful insights into the use of words and grammar in the Bible.

For more detailed instruction on getting the most out of your software, please check out Camp Logos 2 Video Training now on pre-pub.