Accordance Bible Software

Accordance Bible Software, developed by OakTree Software, is without doubt the premier software package for serious Bible study and research available for any computer platform. It has many strengths, including the ease one can perform complex grammatical searches in the original languages. At the heart of Accordance is a robust — yet easy to use — search engine.

From the general Search window one can execute simple single term searches to complex grammatical searches with multiple operators. To fully exploit the searching power of Accordance, however, users will want to use its powerful Search Construct window. In addition, its interface is clean and intuitive and integration between Accordance’s search functions and the various dictionaries, commentaries and other available reference tools is near seamless. While Accordance lags behind programs such as Logos in terms of the shear number of reference works available, the ones available are among the best available in terms of quality and ease of use.

Read my detailed (and slightly out-of-date) review of Accordance at Chorus: Computer-Assisted Bible Analysis

Summary

  • Developer: OakTree Software (www.accordancebible.com)
  • Platform & System Requirements: Developed for the Macintosh: native MacOS X (any version); classic MacOS (System 7.1 or above). N.B. Accordance can be used successfully on Windows machines with free emulation software. For more information on emulation software, please see the Accordance website (Tim Hegg’s Macintosh Emulator & Accordance Bible Software page on his Torah Resource site also has some good information).
  • Strengths/Weaknesses: Accordance’s clear strengths are its search capabilities and its clean and easy-to-use interface. Weaknesses include its price as well as its limitation to the MacOS (Perhaps this is also its strength! While you are able to use emulation software to run Accordance on Windows machines, iit is slower).

Packages Available

  • BHSDemo: Two demos — a standard English Bible demo and scholars demo — are available from Accordance’s website (www.accordancebible.com).
  • Starter Collection: If you want to get started with Accordance, you can download the base program (Accordance 6.5) for $39 and download a number of free basic Bible study tools including the KJV and WEB Bible versions. The purchase price will be credited towards your next purchase of Library 6, Scholar’s 6 Core Bundle, or the Jewish or Catholic Collection, or you can add any of the other packages or modules to expand your Accordance library. See the Accordance website for more details.
  • Library 6: The Library 6 CD-Rom is the core Accordance collection for English Bible studies, offering the widest selection of Accordance-compatible Bible texts, commentaries, and other tools. You may create your own custom combinations of modules or purchase one of three prepackaged levels:
    • Introductory: Contains everything you need to begin studying the Bible with Accordance: KJV with Strong’s, several other translations and your choice of one $30 modern Bible, outlines, study guide, creeds, hymns, commentaries, parallels, and devotional writings. Buy from Amazon.com
    • Standard: This is the core collection for English Bible studies, offering the widest selection of Accordance-compatible Bible texts, commentaries, and other tools. The Standard Level includes all the contents of the Introductory level with your choice of two modern $30 Bibles, and adds the NASB with Strong’s, Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary and numerous additional study aids. Buy from Amazon.com
    • Premier: The level includes all the contents of the Standard level with your choice of three modern $30 Bibles, plus the Greek Textus Receptus with Strong’s, New Living Translation, Ryrie’s Study Bible, Calvin’s complete commentaries, Word Pictures, historical and theological writings, and much more. Buy from Amazon.com
  • Scholars Collection: Most people interested in the original language texts start with the Scholars Collection Core Bundle which includes the grammatically tagged Greek New Testament and Hebrew Bible, three lexicons, and your choice of one free unlockable Bible, and more. Buy from Amazon.com
  • Jewish Collection: The Introductory Level of this Collection includes the JPS and KJV translations of the Tanakh, Readings and Prayers, Tanakh Parallels and Outlines, Hebrew Bible with Te’amim, and Hebrew Strong’s Dictionary. You can upgrade to Advanced level or add individual modules by purchasing an unlock code. Buy from Amazon.com
  • Catholic Collection: A collection of Bibles in English, Spanish, and Latin as well as the Catechism, Canon Law, Vatican and other documents.

With all of these different collections and levels it is possible to purchase an upgrade to the next level or unlock individual modules with the purchase of an unlock code.

Final Recommendations

I can’t say enough about this product. I have used Accordance for many years, and for serious study of the Scriptures in the original languages it is difficult to beat or even match. This is the primary reason I still keep a Macintosh.

Purchasing Information

While it may be possible to purchase used versions of these collections from Amazon.com (I have provided easy to access links above), it is easiest to purchase them directly from Accordance, either via their website (www.accordancebible.com) or by phone (1-877-339-5855).