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The recently released Nelson's Electronic Bible Reference Library (NEBRL) is undoubtedly one of the most versatile biblical software packages in existence today. Thomas Nelson Publishers has teamed with Logos Research Systems, respected Bible software producers, to make available in CD-ROM format a vast library of Bible study materials.
Using this program, you can search quickly and easily or cross-reference the entire CD-ROM library for a particular Bible verse, word, phrase, or topic. Word studies in the original Greek and Hebrew can be performed in the KJV, which is linked to a special enhanced edition of the Strong's Concordance. Other word study tools are also provided. If you have the expertise, more complex biblical language research can be done with the purchase of additional materials.
The NEBRL is based on Microsoft Windows and works very much like other applications that run under that program. To those accustomed to working in a Windows environment, many of the functions of the program will be accessed intuitively. For more advanced operations, there is ample assistance available from the Help menu and in a printed 192-page NEBRL User's Guide included in the package.
NEBRL Deluxe edition comes with two CD-ROMs which contain 39 unlocked books, including eight Bible versions, five study Bibles and commentaries, Bible dictionaries, maps, and biblical language studies. Nelson holds the copyright to many of these works which are here released for the first time in electronic form. There are around 40 locked titles on the CD-ROM package which can be opened readily by paying an additional fee.
One of the most exciting features of the NEBRL is its virtually unlimited capacity for expansion. The NEBRL uses the Logos Library System format which many manufacturers of electronic software have adopted as their standard. This means that the NEBRL is fully compatible with any publisher's product that uses this standard, including, of course, the many resources available from Logos Research Systems, such as their edition of Church Fathers, Anchor Bible Dictionary, standard Greek and Hebrew biblical texts, etc. Neither edition comes with the NIV unlocked, but a 50 percent discount offer on the unlocking fee is enclosed. Although the Deluxe edition is reviewed here, NEBRL also comes in Basic and Professional editions.
The combination of Nelson's access to Bible versions, Logos software, and a judicious selection of biblical reference books has made an outstanding product for those seeking a deeper understanding of Scripture.
Ralph White is a reviewer in Nashville, TN.
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