System Requirements: a World Wide Web browser. The only additional software a user may need is Progressive Networks’s RealPlayer plugin, but that is only if one wants to hear the author’s two‐minute audio tutorial on how the Bible Browser works.
Computer technologies have enhanced Biblical research incredibly. Electronic tools such as the Bible Browser allow researchers to search and retrieve information from Biblical texts like no print source ever could. Electronic access to Biblical texts facilitates the study of these texts in ways that were not easily performed in the past, such as by providing quick counts as to how many times a word appears in particular Biblical texts. The author describes the Bible Browser as a “simple, fast World‐Wide Web front‐end to a full‐text biblical search/retrieval system,” and as an “ideologically neutral, education‐oriented Internet presentation” (“Fear of Offending: A Note on Educators, the Internet, and the Bible Browser,” D‐Lib Magazine, April 1997, http://www.dlib.org/dlib/april97/04goerwitz.html). The author is correct in both those claims. The Bible Browser is both fast and easy to use and appropriate for Biblical research at a number of educational levels. According to the author, the Bible Browser was released in 1996. Nowhere on the Bible Browser pages, however, does the author provide a date as to when the Browser was last updated.
The Bible Browser provides access to a number of versions of Biblical texts. Available on the Bible Browser’s Basic Search Page are the Revised Standard Version, the King James Version, and Jerome’s Vulgate (Latin). Additional translations available on the Advanced Search Page are the New Translation, the Darby Weymouth New Testament, the American Standard Version, the Bible in Basic English, The Holy Bible by Noah Webster, and Young’s Literal Translation. The author acknowledges that the Browser does not include many of the major modern translations such as the New International Version or the New American Standard Bible, but points out this is due to both technological and copyright issues. In the User’s Guide, the author lists the selection criteria as: “1) they [the versions selected] are freely available, 2) they are easy to convert into the Bible Browser’s native format, 3) they are public domain or copyrighted under a liberal policy, and 4) they utilize Latin script, and therefore can be displayed by any Web browser.” (http://goon.stg.brown.edu/bible_browser/pbdoc.shtml#versions) The author repeatedly makes the point that no ideological or theological viewpoint influenced him when he chose the versions of the Bible to which he would provide access.
The Bible Browser is intended for users at all levels, whether they be laypersons with a passing interest in the Bible, or graduate theology students performing in‐depth studies of particular texts. By providing basic and advanced search capabilities the author accommodates the skill levels of a variety of users. Basic searching is straightforward and, with brief instructions provided at the top of the Basic Search page, elaboration is not required. The basic search page allows the user to retrieve a passage, a word, or a word‐stem. The user may choose to search one of three versions of the Bible as well as limiting their search to certain sections of scripture such as the Apocrypha or the New Testament. The basic search interface is simple to understand and provides clear, concise results.
When searching for a passage using book, chapter, and verse, the Browser responds with the appropriate text and gives the user the option of viewing the previous or next passage in the text, seeing more of the text immediately surrounding the requested passage, switching to one of the other two versions available, or viewing the passage in all three versions side‐by‐side ‐ a nice feature. When searching for a word or word‐stem, the researcher sees a list of citations (book, chapter, and verse) containing the desired term. By viewing particular passages, researchers get the same options as mentioned above. They can print or download their results using their Browser’s print and save commands.
The Advanced Search page provides more options for creating focused search inquiries than the Basic Search page. It lets users enter commands or search either a passage, an exact string, a substring, or a regular expression. Regular expressions are used when a string or substring search is too limiting. Regular expressions allow the user to search for letter sequences more precisely, for example, ∧king will search for every word beginning with king; king$ will search for every word ending with king. If the user had performed a substring search on king, the search would retrieve words both beginning and ending with king.
The regular expression feature is not for the faint at heart. The syntax and symbols are
complicated and involved and may intimidate users new to electronic searching. Commands are used when the user wants to communicate with the system behind the front‐end Bible Browser. The author recommends not attempting this until one has exhausted all other options at the site. Advanced searching also provides for the use of Boolean operators, proximity searching, limiting the number of results retrieved, and ranges to be searched.
To use the Advanced Search page to its fullest capabilities, users should familiarize themselves with the User’s Guide. One peculiarity of the search system which the User’s Guide explains is the use of spaces, or the necessary lack thereof, when searching for passages. As explained in the User’s Guide: “Probably the most common error users make when formatting passage references for the Bible Browser is to insert extra spaces after commas in verse lists. A typical example of this would be for someone to write Genesis 1:1, 5 (= Genesis chapter one, verse one and Genesis chapter five) when he or she really meant to write Genesis 1:1,5 (Genesis chapter one, verses one and five). Note the absence of the extra space after the 1 in this second reference” (http://goon.stg.brown.edu/bible_ browser/pbdoc.shtml#passage). This peculiarity could be damaging for those users who have not taken the time to read through the User’s Guide before attempting a search for a particular passage.
In addition to the User’s Guide, the author provides a FAQ, a list of Biblical book name abbreviations, a Pitfalls and Tricks page, and an audio tutorial. The various help tools are comprehensive; but it would be more helpful if the information were located in one place instead of in a number of places, not all of which are available from every page.
Regardless of which type of search the user performs, one of the nicest features of the Bible Browser is that it consists of quick loading pages with no unnecessary or superfluous graphics or artwork. The site is text‐based and purposeful. I recommend this site for academic libraries supporting programs in theology or religious studies.
