Dictionary on disk
THE NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY OF NEW TESTAMENT THEOLOGY
CD-ROM
Windows 98 (Macintosh version due later this year).
Paternoster/Sunrise Software. £69.99
It is much harder to review software than books. With software you have to look at the medium and the message; after all, poor software design or execution can render the finest material useless.
There can be no doubt over the quality of the material with the CD-ROM of the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology (NIDNTT). What we have here is a straight electronic transfer by Zondervan of the 3,660 page, four-volume work edited by Colin Brown that graces many a study and that is cited in almost any serious work on New Testament written in the last twenty years. NIDNTT not only discusses in depth the meanings of the Greek words of the New Testament but looks at the theological ideas behind them. Most words are treated as part of a word group (i.e. 'crown, sceptre, rod') allowing easy comparison of shades of meaning between similar words. In many places the theological discussion is extensive. For example, look up parousia and you find a long article (equivalent to 34 printed pages) by Colin Brown on eschatology in the NT. The theological treatment is conservative, evangelical and, for all the discussion of technicalities, there is often a helpful pastoral slant. Oh, and as the box claims, no knowledge of Greek required.
My main negative observation on the text is that NIDNTT is now beginning to show its age. Its roots lie in a 1960s German work and, apart from a very minor revision in 1980, most of the English text was written in the early to mid 1970s. Unfortunately, in the intervening quarter of a century, things have moved on not just in theology, but also in language studies. For instance, a classicist friend tells me that any such work now would make use of the vast Thesaurus Linguae Graecae online database of all ancient Greek texts.
Computers and searching
Now to the medium. The CD-ROM transfer of the text has been generally well done but a glaring error in the very first line (god for God) irritates as does the fact that longstanding errors in the paper version have not been corrected (I found a reference to a non-existent 1 Corinthians 5:14). The ability to search the volumes and to jump instantly to Bible references is an absolute joy and infinitely preferable to having four weighty tomes and a Bible open on a desk. Included on the CD-ROM disk (but not mentioned on the software packet!) are the full NIV text and a Bible Atlas. The CD-ROM also has a number of resources that can be unlocked upon further payment, the most attractive of which is the 12 volume Expositor's Bible Commentary. Installation is straightforward, sensibly allowing you to install the books to the hard disk, and the manual is a model of clarity. The program itself is very polished and typical of the best current Windows 98 software. It has cleverly worked round one problem; the fact that NIDNTT was based on the RSV. Clicking on a word in the supplied NIV text calls up the entry for the appropriate Greek word. There is an excellent search engine and using the software is fast, easy and generally intuitive.
So is it a 'must have'? Well, I rate both NIDNTT and NIDOTTE (the Old Testament equivalent; available in the States as a CD-ROM format but not yet here) very highly. Together they form a resource that, whether in paper or digital format, any serious preacher or student of Scripture should have access to.
A tale of two formats
Here, alas, we come to complexities that it would be remiss of me to not to mention. The first issue is that, unhappily, there are two currently incompatible formats for Bible software (STEP and Logos). NIDNTT is in STEP format, which allows it to interlock with other Zondervan programs as well as Parson's QuickVerse Bible software. Behind the alternative Logos standard are Nelson with their heavyweight Word commentary series and other publishers, notably IVP.
To exacerbate the problem, if you have both formats and want to add a Bible version then you have to pay for it twice. The pressure then is for the software user to chose one format and stick with it. But which? In favour of STEP format is the fact that currently at the heart of all these titles is a very much better software 'engine'. In favour of the Logos format is the existence of more and cheaper titles.
Swaying the balance for me are two factors. First, I have been trying out the beta version of the new Logos engine 'Titus' and am fairly confident that when it is released in mid 2001 it will close the software gap. Second, by the time you read this IVP will have published their blockbuster, the ten-million-word The Essential IVP Reference Collection on CD-ROM and that will be in Logos format.
The price isn't right?
A second issue is that of pricing. There have been recent offers on the NIDNTT print volumes which has seen them on sale at around £48, some £20 cheaper than the CD-ROM (which, in fairness, includes an NIV). This flies in the face of current pricing trends where the cost of a digital version is generally between a third and a fifth of the cost of the books. Given the age of NIDNTT a lower price might be warranted.
Conclusions? Make no mistake, this is a wonderful resource; I only wish it was a bit cheaper and available in Logos format as well. If you want a digital version of NIDNTT, can live with the cost and don't mind STEP, then you will not be disappointed. Otherwise, you might want to wait and see which way the confrontation of the formats works out in the next few months.
Chris Walley, the reviewer, works as a freelance editor and writer in Swansea.
