Another Review of Logos Bible 4

Another Look at Logos Bible Version 4

My major complaint with Logos 4 is that it is not “intuitive” or easy to find the features. Older versions at least had a menu. You simply learned the menu and you were on your way. However, with the new version of Logos 4 the menus are often hidden and you have to figure out where it is. For example, in using the Exegetical Guide in Logos Scholar's Version you are given the exegesis from the Septuagint by default when most folks use the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. I will try to give a screen shot to show you what I mean.

Notice the right panel is blank. I'm trying to get an exegetical guide for Genesis 24:51. But how do I get it to work? After serious searching and no help from the Help File, I found that you have to left click in the status window where the Scripture reference is:

Now it is still not obvious what to do. Notice the little blue arrow to the right of the reference? I left clicked on that and got this:

Now I'm frustrated because there is no indication anywhere of how I'm supposed to toggle the exegesis to the BHS instead of the LXX. Someone from Logos 4 finally saw my complaint on the blog and left a comment telling me to click under Word by Word. But even that instruction is not immediately obvious. I finally figured out that you left click where it says, Septuaginta: Morphologically Tagged Edition and then you get this:

Again, this was not intuitive at all. I learn fast and once I know how it works it's not hard. But my complaint is that the software nowhere tells you this and unless someone tells you or shows you there is no way of knowing how to do this!

Since I'm on this topic, I am planning to do future posts with more examples of what I consider difficulties with Logos 4. Overall I suppose I'm happy with the program because of all the resources offered. But the expensive new packages are out of reach for the average pastor. You'd have to have a mega church to afford some of this stuff and most mega churches could care less about rightly dividing God's Word. To see what I'm talking about check package deals at this link: Logos Bible 4 Packages.

The Scholar's Package is reasonable at $629.95. However, the commentaries included do not rise to the level of even a pulpit commentary. You would almost be better off to purchase commentaries on an individual and as needed basis. The Enhanced Brown Driver and Briggs Hebrew is good and so is the Bauer Gingrich and Arndt Lexicon for New Testament Greek. But there are newer versions of both of these books with greater functionality and critical apparatus for more money.

At any rate, Logos is not a total bust but it is bit slow to pull up some of the popups for information windows and other things. Also, the Power Lookup only works if you know how to use it. But that's another issue for another post.

Given that I have not become totally familiar with the package at this time I'm going to raise my grade of Logos 4 from a C to a B minus.

The peace of God be with you,

Charlie