What's the right package for my particular situation

I’ve been debating between packages, but none of them seem to be the right one for me; so whatever help/advice users can offer will be much appreciated!

First, software: I have a mac, iphone and will soon be getting an ipad.

Second, my background: I have degrees in Biblical studies and Theology.

My planned usage of Logos: There is nothing I enjoy more than finding a section of Scripture and living in that text for years. I spent 4 years reading every commentary I could find on Genesis chapters 1-11. I did structural analysis of the section and just lived in it and meditated on it, until it began changing the way I looked at the world and I figured out how to communicate it in a fresh way to our world in a Bible study format.

What I don’t plan on using it for: I’m not currently in ministry and I don’t spend any time reading theology. My word studies are only related to the usage in a particular verse or chapter--I don’t do Testament-wide word studies. So I don’t need the theology writings, deep word studies, devotionals, nor theology texts.

My ideal package: I would like a package that was loaded with commentaries, along with the dictionaries/encyclopedias that reference the cultural issues necessary to know, to illuminate the particular verse/chapter. It can be light on (or not contain at all) theology, devotionals, and ministry resources.

I don’t mind spending money on a larger package, but I would rather not pay for all the extras that I’ll never use.

Thoughts?

Thanks in Advance,

Freeman

Find more posts tagged with

Comments

Rosie Perera

Hi Matthew,

Is this the Matthew Freeman I know as a fellow Regent College alum? If so, hi! Regardless (I realize it's a common name, so you're probably not the one I know), welcome to Logos!

Not many good commentaries come with the base packages except Platinum and Portfolio, the really top end packages, so you're probably going to want to buy a lower level base product (perhaps Scholar's or Gold or Silver) and then add your favorite commentary sets in separately.

Review the commentaries section of the Comparison Chart. Also look through the Commentary Sets. Even though not every volume of every commentary set is of the same quality, it's much cheaper to buy them in sets than as individual volumes, unless there are truly only a few volumes from that set that you want. A very good commentary set that is not included in any base package is NICOT/NICNT.

The Essential IVP Reference Collection is hard to beat in terms of bang for your buck in background reference materials. It also does not come included in any of the base packages.

Also watch the Pre-pubs page for new sets and individual volumes coming out in the future. Pre-pub is a great way to get products for a deep discount off what it will eventually sell for once it is released. They gauge user interest this way, and you get the benefit of the cheap price for being willing to be an early adopter. You actually aren't locked into your commitment; you can cancel your order at any time up to the day before it ships, without your credit card being charged. There are a bunch of commentary sets in pre-pub right now. It could take several months or even a couple of years before these reach the minimum number of orders to make it financially feasible for Logos to produce them. So you've got to be prepared to wait. But there are some great deals to be had.

So what I might recommend for you would be Scholar's Library as a base package to start with (you can always upgrade later if you decide you need more; you'll only be charged the difference between their prices), plus the Essential IVP Reference Collection, and NICOT/NICNT. If there are other commentary sets you would like to have that are included in base packages above Scholars', it would be cheaper to go for the higher base package than buying the commentary sets separately, even if there are books in it that you'd never use. You'll probably find a few unknown gems that you will use.

See also http://bestcommentaries.com/ for reviews of commentaries.

Edwin Bowden

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/122251#Comment_122251

I agree with Rosie's basic recommendations. IVP Ref Collection would be a great addition for your study.

I had Scholar's Gold and upgraded to the Platinum and have really enjoyed the additional resources in it.

Donovan R. Palmer

Freeman, one of the beauties of Logos is that you can continue to upgrade it and add to it as time goes on. I started out years ago with Scholars Library and have slowly built it up whenever I have seen a special or pre-pub on something that I want. Buy a basic package and then add to it as your needs and wallet require!

Mark Barnes

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/122501#Comment_122501

I think you've two main options. One would be to go for original languages, then load commentary sets and IVP dictionaries (NT & OT bundles) on top. That's because in my view the commentaries worth getting are:

NICOT/NICNT (not in base)
NIGNT (Gold+)
Baker Exegetical (Platinum+)
Tyndale (not in base)
Pillar (Platinum+)
BST New Testament (not in base)
Calvin (not in base)
NIV Application (not in base)
New American (Gold+)
Word Biblical (not in base)
Baker NT (Platinum+)

So, Gold is nearly $1,000 more than Original Langauges, but you're only getting one good commentary set (NIGTC) and one OK set (New American). You'd be much better off spending the dollars on NICNT/NICOT.

On the other hand, for the price of OL+NICOT/NICNT you could get Platinum+Tyndale instead. With NIGNT, Pillar and Baker Exegetical you've got some excellent NT commentaries. New American and Tyndale would add in a few reasonable OT ones as well.

Finally, whilst I understand you don't particularly want ministry tools, etc., it's pretty hard to do good exegesis without good use of lexicons and original languages or interlinears. A good theological lexicon like Spicq or TDNT is also pretty vital if you want to understand words in context.

Matthew Freeman

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/122520#Comment_122520

Wow, thank you all for your detailed and very helpful responses!

Rosie, I'm not that Matthew Freeman, but I wish I was--I hear Regent has a great program.

After reading through the info from everyone, I'm going to start with the Scholars package and once I get confortable with Logos, I'm going to start upgrading, a commentary at a time.

Once again, thank you all for your great responses. I look forward to getting to know you all better on this forum.