New Oxford Annotated Bible Author:Oxford University Press The most comprehensive and well-respected biblical reference library is now available on CD-ROM. The unparalleled scholarship of the The New Oxford Annotated Bible is now digitally linked to the highly acclaimed Oxford Companion to the Bible and Oxford Bible Maps. Oxford has long provided readers with the best research tools for understanding th... more »e Bible. Now, Oxford has linked them all in one digitally seamless CD-ROM. The New Oxford Annotated Biblical Reference Library lets readers explore the world of the Bible with a level of speed and accuracy never before possible. The New Oxford Annotated Biblical Reference Library has truly become the essential framework for understanding this fundamental work of Western culture. There are few who debate the significance and influence that The Oxford Annotated Bible has exerted over the last 34 years. It has been and, as it is continually revised, continues to be the study Bible of choice for professors, students, ministers across the ecumenical spectrum, lay persons and general readers. It brings together the scholarship of renowned leaders in the field of biblical studies in the form of introductions, annotations and general essays. This new CD-ROM version delivers all of this content at the click of a mouse. The annotations scroll along with the NRSV text and allow the user to create custom concordances, perform complex word and phrase searches, and enter and save personal commentary in a specially designed third window. Along with this in-depth biblical information, The New Oxford Annotated Biblical Reference Library provides information on the broader context of the Bible through quick and efficient connection between The NOAB and The Oxford Companion to the Bible. This reference work, compiled by over 250 scholars is the definitive guide to the people, places, events, books, institutions, religious beliefs and secular influence of the Bible. When, for example, one would like more background on the mysterious reference to Melchizadek, "the prince of Salem", than is provided in the NOAB annotations, a simple click on the Companion icon allows a speedy jump to the Melchizadek entry in the Companion to find that he was a "priest of god most high who met Abram when the latter was returning victorious from battle." When, in the text of this entry, there is yet another verse reference to Melchizadek, a double-click will bounce the reader back to the NOAB. This back-and-forth manueverability brings unprecedented speed and efficiency to biblical explorartion. The third and perhaps most impressive component to this revolutionary biblical reference package is the Oxford Bible Maps. Prepared and continually updated by the Oxford cartographers, the 14 Bible maps represent, with astounding graphic quality, the clearest and most accurate information on the geography of the biblical world available. Now, in addition, the CD-ROM technology gives them an immediacy and versatility impossible in their print form. The maps include a unique "zooming" feature which allows the user to zoom in and out on a particular map for closer or more general examination. The unique accesibility provided by the CD-ROM technology lets the user jump, for example, from the biblical story of Jonathan's sneak attack on the Philistine army via "the pass of Michmash" to the map index where he or she can choose from all the possible views of Michmash. The user can then go to the map of choice and click on the desired location. The zoom feature activates and the map centers on the clicked location. Features like this one bring the information to life with the vitality born of this incredible new technology. The New Oxford Annotated Biblical Reference Library is clearly the most well-rounded electronic resource for getting to know the world of the Bible. The full weight of its contents and components working together to provide the necessary tools for comprehensive, efficient and extremely convenient study make it an essential title in the electronic bookshelf for anyone with an interest in the Bible.« less