Using the Septuagint with MacBible
A Review of Software for the Macintosh Computer
by The Editor
Extracted from Ordained Servant vol. 4, no. 4 (October 1995)
One of the best aids to the study of the Bible for Macintosh Computer users is Zondervan’s MacBible. I recently obtained a test copy of Rahlfs edition of the Septuagint (LXX) which will soon be added to the list of available modules. As most of our readers will be aware the LXX was the version of the Old Testament known throughout the Roman world in the time of Christ and the Apostles. It had something like the same status at that time that the King James Version of the Bible has had in recent history. It is often illuminating, therefore, to compare the various English versions with both LXX and the Hebrew original. And this is very easy to do with MacBible.
The selected English version (NIV, KJV, NRSV with Apocrypha, NAB or NASB) can easily be made to appear on the computer screen beside the Greek and the Hebrew. By a simple mouse command the three texts—English, Greek and Hebrew—can be synchronized with each other. And the synchronization is such that even where there are discrepancies between the three, the computer will place them side-by-side in proper alignment. Thus it becomes quite convenient to quickly check the way in which the LXX translators understood the original Hebrew, and to assess the influence that this has had on subsequent translations.
It is also easy to perform all sorts of cross-reference research. For example—using the English language—it is possible to type the word (or part of a word) with a period after it. Thus typing “right.’ would quickly locate all appearances of such words as right, righteous, righteousness, righteously, etc. And, of course, the same thing can be done in either Greek or Hebrew. And the results can be displayed in a number of ways: by a list of references, by a print out of the texts in which the words appear (and they appear in bold type), or each displayed in a wider context.
Searches can also be made for combinations of words, with a variety of parameters. “Because chapters and verses are somewhat arbitrary divisions in the Bible,” as the manual points out, “it is important that multiword searches be able to search across these boundaries (p. 4-47).” This is easily controlled by checking the number of verse boundaries that may be ignored under the “Search Preferences” menu. And this is just a sample of the many ways in which this fine computer resource can be fine-tuned by the user.
The cost of each Module for MacBible is listed at $49.95 retail, but these can be purchased at a more moderate price of about $37 from some of the discount book sellers. No matter which Module you purchase, it will include a working version of MacBible 3.0. I find the MacBible NRSV particularly helpful for use with the LXX because it includes the Apocrypha. I would assume that the New American Bible (NAB) Module, a Roman Catholic version, also includes the Apocrypha but I have not verified this.
It is understandable that Zondervan has not made available the NKJV, since it is a primary competitor to the Zondervan’s own NIV. It is my hope, nevertheless, that Zondervan may yet decide to provide this as one of the available modules. More and more of the computer Bible study programs have both the NIV and the NKJV option and MacBible—with this addition—would no doubt appeal to many more Macintosh users. But even thought it lacks a NKJV module I would recommend this software as one of the best for Macintosh users.