Instructions for the Bibloi Program

A Basic Guide to the "Bibloi" Program
(formerly called "Bible Windows")

instructions by Felix Just, S.J., Ph.D.
computer program by Silver Mountain Software

The Main Window:

Top line: various pull-down menus you can use: "File, Search, Tools, Window, Setup, Help."

Second line: buttons for all the ancient versions and modern translations of the Bible you can open to read.

Third line: buttons for the same Bible versions and translations that you can search for a particular word or phrase.

Fourth line: drop-down menus for some non-biblical ancient literature: Apostolic Fathers, Didache, OT Pseudepigrapha.

AGNT: Analytical Greek New Testament

LXX: Septuagint (ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament)

BHS: Hebrew Bible (original Hebrew version of the Old Testament)

RSV: Revised Standard Version (OT, NT, and Apocrypha in English - 1946)

NRSV: New Revised Standard Version (OT and NT in English - 1989)

Latin: St. Jerome's Vulgate (ancient Latin translation of the OT and NT)

KJV: King James Version (or "Authorized Version" - 1611)

Luther: Luther's German translation (1522)

other: you may also see buttons for other English translations: GWT, Darby, BBE, ASV, Webster

Opening a Biblical Text:

Click once on the top button of the version you want to read (students should normally use the NRSV) and you will get a dialogue box entitled "Select Work." Use the mouse to scroll down through the list of biblical books and to highlight the particular book you want to open. Click "OK" to open the book at the very beginning (Chapter 1, Verse 1), or click "Open At" to go directly to a particular chapter and verse.

Reading one or more Biblical Texts:

Once you have opened a book, scroll down or up by using the mouse or the arrows on the keypad, or jump to a particular chapter and verse by using the small button labeled "Ref" just above the text. You can open more than one biblical book at a time (e.g. to compare Mark and Matthew), or more than one version of the same book (e.g. to compare the English translation with the original Hebrew or Greek texts). If you already have one book open, you can quickly open another version of the same book by using the options on the "Link" menu at the top of the text box. To see two or more texts next to each other on the screen at the same time, go back up to the main "Bibloi" box, click the "Window" menu, and choose the "Horizontal Tile" or "Vertical Tile" options.

Searching one or more Biblical Texts:

There are two different types of searches available:

Grammatical Searches (available only for the Greek and Hebrew versions):
Click on the bottom AGNT, LXX, or BHS button of the main "Bibloi" box, and you get a dialogue box that asks you to choose one or more biblical books. Use the mouse to select the book(s) you want, click "OK" (or "Select All") and you get a "Gram Search" box. Click the "Word" button and choose the Greek or Hebrew word you wish from the list provided; you can also choose any grammatical options to make your search more specific. Click "OK" and your search results come up in a new window. Double-click on any line in the search results box to open the full text of that book.

Word Searches (for all the other versions):
Click on the bottom RSV, NRSV, or Latin button of the main "Bibloi" box, and you get a "Search Works Dialogue" box that asks you to choose one or more biblical books [the AV and AV_Luth versions skip this step and always search the whole Bible]. Use the mouse to select the book(s) you want, click "OK" (or "Search All") and you get another dialogue box where you can type in the word or phrase you wish.

Caution: All word searches are "double-wild card" searches, unless you limit your search with > and/or <

Searching for light will also get matches for "lights," "lightning," "slight," "flight," etc.
Searching for >light also finds matches for "lights," "lightning," etc., but not "slight," flight," etc.
Searching for light< also finds matches for "slight," flight," etc., but not for "lights," "lightning," etc.
Searching for >light< finds matches for the word "light" only!

Printing or Copying Search Results:

There are various options for printing out all the verse references or the full text of the verses you found, or to copying them into another word processing program on your computer. Go to the "Edit" menu on the top of the "Matches" box, click "Copy" or "Copy Extended Selection" or "Copy References Only" or "Print Section," then press "OK."

Questions/Problems:

There are many other things the "Bibloi" program can do, so try exploring the options on the various pull-down menus. If you have any questions or problems, ask the reference librarians or your professor.

AGNT:	Analytical Greek New Testament
LXX:	Septuagint (ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament)
BHS:	Hebrew Bible (original Hebrew version of the Old Testament)
RSV:	Revised Standard Version (OT, NT, and Apocrypha in English - 1946)
NRSV:	New Revised Standard Version (OT and NT in English - 1989)
Latin:	St. Jerome's Vulgate (ancient Latin translation of the OT and NT)
KJV:	King James Version (or "Authorized Version" - 1611)
Luther:	Luther's German translation (1522)
other:	you may also see buttons for other English translations: GWT, Darby, BBE, ASV, Webster