Lighting the Lamp

[Accordance 10: Methods] The best way to study a verse in the Bible is to learn to think contextually. Consider a verse's context: the paragraph in which it is found, the section in which it appears, and the book in which it is embedded. Good tools, like Bible outlines and Introductions, can help us see the big picture. Thinking contextually helps us avoid errors in interpretation, as Dr. J shows us in this podcast, using the three parables of Luke 15 as an example.

[Accordance 10: Study] Psalm 103 is a paean of praise to God for all his blessings, past and present. In this podcast, Dr. J walks us through a step-by-step exegesis of this psalm, showing how to move from an initial reading to a final sermon or Bible study. Mingling personal insights with those from the best of the commentaries available in Accordance, Dr. J digs into the passage to mine its depths of meaning.

[Basic: Accordance 10] Key numbers are a numerical system designed to help people with little or no knowledge of Hebrew or Greek. They identify the most important words in the Bible, enabling those who do not read the ancient, original languages to do basic word searches and studies. Once upon a time, key numbers only appeared in the most expensive of printed concordances. Even then, using them was laborious and time-consuming. Now they are included with every copy of Accordance Bible Software. Not only do they make our Word Searches fast and accurate, but they enable Instant Details, Cross-highlighting, the Dynamic Interlinear, and Instant Lookups. Join Dr. J in this episode as he shows us how to leverage the power of Key Numbers in Accordance.

[Accordance 10: Basic] Remember the old printed concordances of yesteryear? They were “must have” tools for Bible study, but each Bible translation needed a different one! Thankfully, modern Bible software has set us free from those sorts of limitations. In this podcast, Dr. J celebrates Accordance’s twentieth anniversary, reminding us of some of the advantages of digital concordances—and the reasons we should be grateful for them.

[Accordance 10: Basic] Lighting the Lamp podcast one hundred, Design Your Own Study Bible, demonstrates an easy way create your very own, custom Study Bible in Accordance. First, choose your Bible from any of Accordance’s modern translations: over thirty English and more than fifty in other modern languages. Next, add your choice of one or more of twenty-three difference sets of Bible study notes—or over fifty different commentaries. Finally, select one of the six different systems of cross-references and add your favorite atlas and Bible dictionary. Save the Workspace. Presto! You now have a custom Study Bible, designed to your specifications.

[Study: Accordance 10.4] Genesis chapter one is often used today as evidence in all sorts of faith vs science debates, but what was its original purpose? What was its message to its first, ancient audience—and how can we hear that message today? In this podcast, Dr. J compares and contrasts Genesis one with an ancient Akkadian creation story. The differences between the two tell us some very important things about the God of ancient Israel.

[Basic: Accordance 10.4] Whether you are teaching using Accordance Bible Software or some other application, here are some Mac system tips and handy utilities to make that task easier and more efficient. This episode includes reviews of Mouseposé, Ink2Go, Ultimate Pen, Doceri, Wacom tablets, Air Parrot, and Reflector.

[Basic: Accordance 10] Thanks to TV and the internet, today's audiences are accustomed to learning visually. Those of us who teach the Bible need to remember the importance of good visual aids for these people. In this podcast Dr. J shows how to identify, locate, and present good graphics using Accordance Bible Software. This episode also includes an overview of the various graphics resources users can purchase.

[Basic: Accordance 10] Accordance's new highlighting symbols make Inductive Bible Study easier than ever. With over one hundred colorful symbols to choose from, users will find it easy to use any marking system they want—or even design something uniquely theirs. Apply these to words, phrases, and references in Bibles, texts, and tools. Save them. Search for them. Use them in combination with User Notes. They're simple enough for children and beginners, advanced enough for scholars and exegetes.

[Basic: Accordance 10] The latest free update of Accordance 10, Accordance 10.2, offers users a number of exciting new features. The podcast covers two of them: 1) Combined Text allows users to combine two texts, like a Hebrew OT and a Greek NT, in a single parallel pane; and 2) The MT-LXX Interlinear displays the LXX under any tagged Hebrew Bible—and the Masoretic text under any Greek LXX. Join Dr. J as he explains these two new features.

[Basic: Accordance 10; iOS 6] Tens of thousands of people using our Bible Study with Accordance app on iPhones and iPads know little about the full version on Accordance, which runs on Macs and PCs. They don't realize how much more powerful the computer programs are. In this podcast, Dr. J answers some of the most common questions about the differences between Accordance iOS and Accordance Mac and PC.

[Methods: Accordance 10] Accordance has everything any biblical scholar needs to explore intertextuality, the relationship between (or among) pieces of literature. Join Dr. J as he provides an overview of this topic, explains the process, then illustrates several different techniques. Learn how to find biblical parallels, quotes, and allusions using an array of tools and techniques.

[Advanced: Accordance 10] The [INFER] command and its related function, Search Back, both excel at finding quotes, allusions, and inferences between any two texts. The relationship between texts, called "intertextuality," is an important avenue of research in literature. Accordance makes it exceptionally easy. Join Dr. J as he explains this most customizable of Accordance's linking commands.

[Intermediate: Accordance 10] [FUZZY] searches and flex searches are both more flexible than exact searches, allowing users to include similar words and phrases in their search results. This podcast compares the the two, demonstrating how to use both. It also explains how to "tune" the ambiguity of a [FUZZY] search for the best search results.

[Advanced: Accordance 10] Accordance's three linking commands, [LINK], [HITS], and [CONTENTS] temporarily “link” Accordance windows (zones or tabs) together, allowing searches in the source window to affect other windows. These powerful commands allow simultaneous searches, searches within searches, and cascading searches in multiple windows. Join Dr. J ask he reviews these three commands, providing practical applications for each.