Logos 5: Use Timeline for Biblical Events

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).

1-filter-box

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

3-panel-menu

  • 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).

3-find-box

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

4-click-an-event

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).

5-remove-text-in-Filter-box

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Morris Proctor

Morris Proctor (1961–2023) was a certified trainer for Logos Bible Software and founder of MP Seminars. Morris trained thousands of Logos users at his two-day Camp Logos seminars, and his team continues to provide many training materials.

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