This document provides instructions for using BibleWorks software to analyze parallel passages from the Gospels. It describes how to open the desired Greek and English texts in the Synopsis tool, and how to edit or create a new Synopsis Definition File (SDF) if the desired texts are not included. It then gives directions for setting up a Word document to copy the analyzed texts into a table with columns for reference, Greek text, and English text. Formatting and highlighting techniques are outlined for marking up similarities and differences between the Gospel accounts when copying them over from BibleWorks. The purpose is to examine the textual relationships and potential literary sources.

1. A Suggested Procedure Using BibleWorks
MGVHoffman
2015.02

2.  Go to your text in BibleWorks
 Open the Synopsis Tool
(‘hit the juggling balls’)
 Do you see the Greek and
English you want?
If so, skip the next slide...
 What if I don’t see my text?
What if there is only Greek or
an English version I don’t
want?
If so, see the next slide...

3.  In the Synopsis Tool window:
 File > Open
 Use a SDF file that does what you
want
If you don’t see what you want...
 File > Edit
 Type in something like this in the
first two lines >>>
 Then, File > Save
and name it as you wish
 Then, File > Run
 To get back to your text, close
the Synopsis tool and reopen that
window (juggling balls!)

4.  Open your word processor
 Depending on your
software and version, get to
the Page Setup
 Perhaps use Home > Margins >
Custom
 Try using the parameters in
my suggested setup

5.  Give your page a title
 Insert a table
 Use 3 rows: Text reference / Greek Text / English Text
 Use as many rows as you need depending on number of parallels

6.  Going back and forth
between BibleWorks
and Word, copy /
paste your texts into
the appropriate cells
or
With Word, try using
CTRL-SHIFT-B
 If necessary, adjust
column widths and/or
font sizes

7.  Use paragraphs to line up
sense units and breaks in
the text

8. MARK
Matthew uses
Mark
Special
MATTHEW
Q
Special
LUKE
Luke uses
Mark
Matthew and Luke
use Mark

9. The following instructions use MS Word,
but it should be similar in other word
processing software
 Highlight the word/s you
want
 Click on the highlighter
tool and choose the color
you want
 It goes faster if you use the
Format Painter (the little
paintbrush) to repeat the
coloring you are using >
Double-click it to make it
persist
 There is no orange
highlighter in MS Word! >>
Highlight the word/s and
use the Fill Tool
You can be as precise as you want in highlighting. I tend
to be somewhat loose and highlight a word even if it is in
a different tense, but maybe you could partial
highlighting or shades of a color.

10.  First mark up Matthew,
Mark, and Luke as you
normally would
 Now apply those colors
to the John text where
appropriate
Matt 26:6-13 Mark 14:3-9 Luke 7:36-50 John 12:1-8

11.  Is there enough shared text to think that they are telling the same story?
 Matthew & Mark = common and purple text:
Does it make sense that Matthew was using Mark?
 Luke & Mark = common and green text:
Does it make sense that Luke was using Mark?
 Matthew & Luke = orange text = Q material in Matthew and Luke but not Mark
Does it make sense that Matthew and Luke were using a Q source?
(Or would it be easier to think that Luke was using Mark and Matthew?)
 If there is a parallel in John, is there any reason to think that he knew one of the
synoptic Gospels? Or is it more likely that he knew some version of the story that
precedes or is otherwise related to the synoptic versions?
 Red, blue, or yellow texts unique to each gospel: We will go into more detail of
explaining the differences between the versions in each gospel when we do
Redaction Criticism!