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e-Sword
Design by Rick Meyers
Developed by Rick Meyers
Initial release April 2000
Latest release 7.9.8 / 25 February 2008
OS Microsoft Windows
Platform Windows 95, 98, ME, NT4, 2000, XP, or Vista
Available in English
Development status Active
Genre Bible Study Tools
License The e-Sword License
Website e-Sword homepage
Pocket e-Sword
Design by Rick Meyers
Developed by Rick Meyers
Initial release December 2003
Latest release 3.0.1 / 17 May 2007
OS Microsoft Windows Mobile 5, Microsoft Windows Mobile 6, Pocket PC 2002, Pocket PC 2003
Available in English
Development status Active
Genre Bible Study Tools
License The e-Sword License
Website Pocket e-Sword homepage
e-Sword is a Bible study computer software package created by Rick Meyers and developed for Microsoft Windows and Pocket PC. Development started in January 2000. Since that time, it has continually grown in popularity, reaching 7,000,000 downloads in January 2008.[1]. e-Sword supports several English translations, as well as translations into many other languages.
Pocket e-Sword 1.0 was released in December 2003. By May 2007 there had been 1,000,000 downloads of Pocket e-Sword.[1] This is the version that runs on the Pocket PC.
Development for e-Sword Live started in November 2007. It went public in May 2008. This is the web based version.
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Purpose
* 2 e-Sword Live Features
* 3 Pocket e-Sword Features
* 4 e-Sword Features
o 4.1 Bibles
+ 4.1.1 Compare Tab
+ 4.1.2 Parallel Tab
+ 4.1.3 Bible Reading Plans
+ 4.1.4 Bookmarks
+ 4.1.5 Verse Lists
+ 4.1.6 Verse Highlighting
o 4.2 Commentaries
+ 4.2.1 Study Notes
o 4.3 Dictionaries
o 4.4 Devotionals
+ 4.4.1 Prayer List
+ 4.4.2 Scripture Memory Verse List
o 4.5 Map / Graphic Viewer
o 4.6 Harmony
o 4.7 Sermon Illustrations
o 4.8 Topical Notes
o 4.9 STEP Viewer
* 5 Distribution
* 6 The e-Sword License
* 7 Resources
o 7.1 Official Resources
o 7.2 Commercial Resources
* 8 Users
o 8.1 User Support Groups
o 8.2 User Created Utility Programs
o 8.3 User Created Resources
+ 8.3.1 Issues with User Created Resources
# 8.3.1.1 Quality Control
# 8.3.1.2 Copyright
# 8.3.1.3 Bibliographic Data
# 8.3.1.4 Locating Resources
* 9 The SWORD Project
* 10 Reviews and Awards
o 10.1 Reviews of e-Sword
o 10.2 Reviews of Pocket e-Sword
o 10.3 Awards for e-Sword
o 10.4 Awards for Pocket e-Sword
o 10.5 Surveys
* 11 External links
* 12 References
[edit] 1 Purpose
Rick Meyers aspired to make Bible study freely available to anyone, while also providing power and depth to research. His theme verse is Matthew 10:8 "Freely you receive. Freely give". Rick Meyers states on the e-Sword homepage:
As a Bible student and teacher I have experienced the necessary work involved in searching the Scriptures for the competent preparation of a Bible study, Sunday school lesson, or a sermon. There are volumes of books available as study tools (and the Christian community is indebted to the various authors' perseverance and scholarship), but there is not enough time, money, or shelf space to properly take advantage of these resources. Computer software has changed the way we can study the Word of GOD. With a simple search or click of the mouse button, we now have access to these same volumes of scholarship within seconds![2]
[edit] 2 e-Sword Live Features
The web version offers the following features:
* Bible
* Commentary
* Dictionary
* Lexicons
* Topical Bible
[edit] 3 Pocket e-Sword Features
Version 3.0.1 offers the following components:
* Bible
* Commentary
* Dictionary
* Devotional
* Study Notes
These components offer the same functionality as those of e-Sword. Thus far, only one utility program is available for users to create their own resources.
[edit] 4 e-Sword Features
Version 7.9.8 offers the following components:
* Bible
* Bible Reading Plan
* Commentary
* Dictionary
* Devotional
* Gospel Harmony
* Map / Graphic Viewer
* Prayer List
* Scripture Memory Verse List
* Sermon Illustrations
* STEP viewer
* Study Notes
* Topical Notes
The program allows the user to view the text of the Bible, Bible commentaries, study notes and dictionaries. Through its customizable layout the user can chose which of these resources to view at once, or how they are arranged in an optional split screen view[3].
[edit] 4.1 Bibles
The first 253 installed Bibles are viewable in tabs. All Bibles are linked to the same open reference. This allows the reader to switch back and forth between versions seamlessly.
Examples of available Bibles are La Biblia de las Américas, The Holman Christian Standard Bible, and The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel (Pseudo-Jonathan).
[edit] 4.1.1 Compare Tab
The compare tab allows the reader to view the currently selected verse in Bibles.[4] There are two known issues with this tab:
* Bibles in Hebrew, Aramaic, and other Right to left writing systems are not displayed in the comparison field. (This is due to bugs in Microsoft Windows, and Microsoft Access.);
* This tab is not displayed if more than 253 Bibles have been installed in e-Sword. (This is due to bugs in the toolset that e-Sword was created with.);
[edit] 4.1.2 Parallel Tab
The parallel tab allows the reader to create a customized Parallel Bible of up to four versions [5].
The only way to read the 254th, and subsequent Bibles that have been installed in e-Sword, is to use the parallel tab.
[edit] 4.1.3 Bible Reading Plans
Bible reading plans enable one to easily track one's progress in systematically reading the Bible. For e-Sword, one has to click on a completed icon, for it to start at the correct reading the next time one opens this component.
These resources can be easily created from within e-Sword. Some end users have created more customized reading plans, by using one of the e-Sword Utility Programs.
[edit] 4.1.4 Bookmarks
Up to ten verses can be bookmarked. The bookmarks are displayed as yellow flags on the side of the Bible.
[edit] 4.1.5 Verse Lists
Customized verse lists of any size can be easily created by users. These are frequently used to store the results of searches. Icons on the tool bar allow one to easily switch verses, without reloading the verse list. For example: The proposed components of the Documentary Hypothesis have been distributed as a set of Verse Lists.
[edit] 4.1.6 Verse Highlighting
A basic palate of six colors, and an extended palette of 48 color are offered to highlight text. Four different ways to underline text are available. These are stored in a separate file, so that it can be easily shared with others. The highlighting is translation/resource dependent. Markup for the 1769 KJV will not be displayed for any other translation.
[edit] 4.2 Commentaries
Many commentaries are available for download[6].
Examples of available commentaries include Matthew Henry's Commentary, The Preacher's Commentary Set, and Allusions to the NT in the Ante-Nicene Fathers
[edit] 4.2.1 Study Notes
The Study Notes option allows the reader to chronicle his own thoughts as he studies the text, creating a custom and personalized commentary.[7]
Some e-Sword utility programs (Text2DAO, Commentary Module Editor) claim to convert a Study Note file to commentary file.
The Pulpit Commentary is an example of resource that has been distributed as a study note file.
[edit] 4.3 Dictionaries
Many original language and English language dictionaries are available for download so as to facilitate in depth understanding of the text.[8]
Examples of dictionaries include International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words, and Wulfilla Gothic Concordance.
[edit] 4.4 Devotionals
Devotional resources include Day By Day by Grace'by Bob Hoekstra, Revised Common Lectionary Readings (2006-2008), and My Utmost for his Highest.
[edit] 4.4.1 Prayer List
This component functions as a way for the individual to track their prayers. Who is to be prayed for, and why the request was made.
Examples of user created and distributed Prayer modules are The Prayers for the Rosary (Roman Catholic), and The Catholic Prayers(Latin, Italian, Spanish, and English versions.).
[edit] 4.4.2 Scripture Memory Verse List
This component allows one to easily create a list of verses to memorize. Several tests to see how well one has memorized the passage are included. The only two resources of this type to be publicly distributed are Four Spiritual Laws and The Roman Road.
[edit] 4.5 Map / Graphic Viewer
Every good study Bible has a set of maps.
[edit] 4.6 Harmony
This functionality was included in version 7.8.1, released 25 December 2006. The only resource that is currently available is A. T. Robertson's A Harmony of the Gospels. Other sets of parallel passages, such as The Ten Commandments have been announced, but not publicly released.
[edit] 4.7 Sermon Illustrations
This functionality was included in version 7.9.3, released on 17 January, 2008. Bible Illustrations, published by AMG Publications, is the only resource that will be available for this component.
[edit] 4.8 Topical Notes
The original concept was that this would be user created notes on specific topics. Because of the ease with which users could create this type of resource, it became the format for creating a theological library for e-Sword.
Ante-Nicene Fathers, John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion, Nelson's Bible Manners and Customs,and Encyclopedia of Bible Facts are examples of topical files created by Equipping Ministries.
User created resources reflect the entire theological spectrum:
* Gnostic Gospels of Thomas, Phillip, and Truth
* Adrianus Haemstedius' Historie Der Martlearen
* The Didache
* The Babylonian Talmud
* New World Translation Bible Words Indexed
* The Writings of Charles Spurgeon
* The Writings of John Gill
* Max Muller's Sacred Books of the East
* Aleister Crowley's Liber Al vel Legis
* The Quran
* The Egyptian Book of the Dead
* The Tao te Ching
* The Bhagavad Gita
[edit] 4.9 STEP Viewer
e-Sword remains as one of the few programs to offer a viewer for STEP (Standard Template for Electronic Publishing) resources. Light By Design has licensed several resources for distribution from the e-Sword Home Site.
[edit] 5 Distribution
E-Sword is available for download from its homepage. Alternatively, it can be obtained on CD, for a donation of $25.00, or more. The program downloads with the Strong's Concordance and the King James Version annotated with Strong's reference numbers. Other resources can be downloaded and installed by users.
From October 2001 though December 2002, Sovereign Grace Publishers included e-Sword in a CD that accompanied their hard copy Bibles.[9]
Ubuntu Christian Edition includes scripts to automatically download and install e-Sword. [10] For licensing reasons, e-Sword can not be included in this, or any other distribution.
[edit] 6 The e-Sword License
The inspiration for the license used by e-Sword comes from Matthew 10:8. "Freely you receive. Freely give". The major intent of the license is:
* e-Sword is to be distributed gratis[11];
* e-Sword resources are not to be sold at a profit;
* e-Sword content is not to be distributed on a for-profit website[12];
All documentation and modules fall under this license, unless the documentation or module creator has specified a different license. Most user created documentation uses the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial - Share alike 2.0 License.
Starting with version 7.8.1, a PDF copy of the e-Sword license has been installed in the e-Sword directory, as part of the program installation. The license is also displayed from the Help Menu.
[edit] 7 Resources
[edit] 7.1 Official Resources
Official resources can be found at the e-Sword download page. Resources in roughly 34 languages are available from this site.
Some user created resources can be found at UserMods
[edit] 7.2 Commercial Resources
eStudySource is the primary outlet of resources that must be purchased[13]. Some publishers, such as The Lockman Foundation prefer to sell e-Sword resources of their material through their website.
[edit] 8 Users
The projects of a small group of e-Sword activists are not officially sanctioned. The results of those projects have spurred the popularity of the program.
[edit] 8.1 User Support Groups
English is the dominant language of the support lists. Venues for Korean, Dutch, German, Spanish, Romanian, and French exist.
Korean users are supported by a web forum. French, German, Dutch, and Romanian users are supported by mailing lists on Yahoogroups. Spanish and English users are supported by mailing lists, and web forums hosted at various sites on the Internet. The size of these groups ranges from 5,342 on the English eSword to Twelve on the French e-Sword list. Activity on the support groups fluctuates.
Whilst the program is not easily used by those with accessibility issues, eSword-Accessibility provides some support for those individuals.
[edit] 8.2 User Created Utility Programs
Users have created a number of tools to ease the process of creating new resources. Whilst documentation is lacking, their usage can be seen in the number of resources bearing a line stating the tool that was used to create the resource.
The most popular utility programs are:
* Ben's e-Sword Tool 2.0, used to import text files into different types of resources;
* Module Utility Program, used for creating MAP/graphic resources;
* Text2DAO, used for creating most resource types;
* TheWORDpad Editor, used for editing existing resources;
* The Tooltip Generator converts scriptural references that, when moused-over, will be displayed as a tooltip;
* FixStrong's, used for converting Bibles to e-Sword 9.8 specifications;
[edit] 8.3 User Created Resources
The utility programs have made it very easy for users to create, and distribute resources. STEP modules are the only resource type that users have not created, and subsequently distributed.
Users have created resources in sixty different languages ranging from Lugandan to Klingon. English and Spanish are the most popular modern languages. Hebrew and Greek are the most popular Biblical languages.
[edit] 8.3.1 Issues with User Created Resources
There are some issues with user created resources[14]:
Beginning in 2006, some users have tackled the following issues: Their effectiveness has yet to be determined.
[edit] 8.3.1.1 Quality Control
This ranges from very good, to non-existent:
* Textus Receptus (Stephanus) includes an accurate, comprehensive morphological interlinear markup;
* One version of the Spanish Biblia de Jerusalem skips verses, duplicates entire chapters, and misplaces entire books;
[edit] 8.3.1.2 Copyright
Because of the ease with which material can be converted into e-Sword, resources that violate copyright law have been publicly distributed. Examples include English version of New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, The Spanish translation of The Jerusalem Bible (1st, 2nd, and 3rd editions), The Dead Sea Scrolls, and The Nag Hammadi Library (2nd edition).
The sporadically issued Currently Available e-Sword Resources [15]attempts to list the copyright status of e-Sword resources.
BeST 2.0 automatically creates a "copyright table". This is an unofficial table that should contain the relevant copyright and bibliographic information.
[edit] 8.3.1.3 Bibliographic Data
This can range from the very good --- to the point of including the copyright notice of the material it is pirating [16] --- to non-existent[17].
The e-Sword Module Database attempted to provide full bibliographic information for the resources it listed.
[edit] 8.3.1.4 Locating Resources
Due to the absence of a centralized listing of user created e-Sword resources, there has been some duplication of effort in creating resources. For example, five different versions of the Didache. An additional effect is that when a user site goes down, the resources usually are no longer available for public distribution.
* Original Languages Library contains a current list of all publicly distributed Biblical language resources, along with where they can be obtained from;
* The sporadically issued Currently Available e-Sword Resources attempts to list the name and location of modules for e-Sword;
* Premium e-Sword Modules restricts itself to resources that are commercially distributed.
[edit] 9 The SWORD Project
The SWORD Project is an API for Bible Study Software. Despite the similarity in names, there is no connection between e-Sword and the SWORD Project, or any of the programs (including The SWORD Project for Windows, BibleTime, GnomeSword, MacSword, and BibleDesktop) that use its API.
Potentially adding to the confusion between the two projects are a group of utility programs which enable users to convert resources for one project into a format usable by the other project.
[edit] 10 Reviews and Awards
[edit] 10.1 Reviews of e-Sword
Bible Software Review 20 October 2005. e-Sword version 7.7.7. http://www.bsreview.org/index.php?modulo=Reviews&id=19
Christian Computing Magazine September 2006 e-Sword version 7.7 http://www.ccmag2.com/2006_09/2006_09techtalk.pdf
Christian Computing Magazine November 2007. e-Sword version 7.8.5 http://www.e-sword.net/1107techtalk.pdf
[edit] 10.2 Reviews of Pocket e-Sword
Bible Software Review 26 November 2005 Pocket e-Sword 2.5 http://www.bsreview.org/blog/2004/11/pocket_esword_25.html
[edit] 10.3 Awards for e-Sword
[edit] 10.4 Awards for Pocket e-Sword
* 2004 Pocket PC Magazine Text and Reference Bible Software
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/_archives/feb05/fromthejudges.aspx
* 2005 Pocket PC Magazine Finalist: http://www.pocketpcmag.com/awards/category_2005.asp?catid=42
* 2006 Pocket PC Magazine : http://www.pocketpcmag.com/awards/category_2006.asp?catid=42
* 2007 Pocket PC Best Software Awards (Religious) : Finalist
http://www.pocketpcmag.com/awards/category_all_2007_newquery.asp
[edit] 10.5 Surveys
For most of 2005, Bible software blog ran a survey on what Bible study Software was used. e-Sword garnered the most votes in the free/shareware category. It also had more votes than any of the Commercial programs. Full results of the survey can be found at http://www.bsreview.org/survey05.htm
[edit] 11 External links
* www.e-sword.net
[edit] 12 References
1. ^ a b e-Sword History. Rick Meyers. Retrieved on 2008-06-09.
2. ^ e-Sword Homepage. Rick Meyers (2007-01-31). Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
3. ^ e-Sword Splitscreen. Rick Meyers (2007-01-31). Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
4. ^ e-Sword Compare Tab. Rick Meyers (2007-01-31). Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
5. ^ e-Sword Parallel Bible. Rick Meyers (2007-01-31). Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
6. ^ e-Sword History. Rick Meyers (2007-01-31). Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
7. ^ e-Sword Downloads. Rick Meyers (2007-01-31). Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
8. ^ e-Sword Downloads. Rick Meyers (2007-01-31). Retrieved on 2007-02-15.
9. ^ e-Sword - the Sword of the LORD with an electronic edge
10. ^ Ubuntu Christian Edition
11. ^ Point 2: The e-Sword License.PDF. This document is installed in the e-Sword directory, in version 7.8.1 or higher. It is also viewable from the Help menu in the main screen.
12. ^ Point 3: The e-Sword License.PDF.
13. ^ New Company Makes Bible E-Content - 2/21/2007 - Publishers Weekly
14. ^ Bible software Review
15. ^ Blake, Jonathon (2005 - 2007), Currently Available e-Sword Resources (PDF ed.), Self published,
16. ^ "Dake's Commentary of the Bible" is an example.
17. ^ "Created using Biblos" is very common for user created Spanish resources.
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