A Review of François Bovon's Hermeneia Commentary on Luke (3 vols.)

I plan to review these volumes in three parts, the final two of which will be devoted to the content of the commentaries. I begin in this first part with a few thoughts on using the Logos version of this resource.

I have used Logos for nearly 10 years, mostly as a digital library of commentaries and reference resources (though it is more than this). It has served this purpose very well, from my undergraduate and ministry days to my PhD studies at present. It continues to be an important part of my workflow. When I work through a biblical text, I typically work through a print edition of that text (e.g., NA28) with relevant commentaries and critical texts open in Logos (e.g., Göttingen LXX, etc.).

Since my research is focused on Luke and Acts, I consult François Bovon’s (who sadly passed recently) commentaries fairly frequently—both the German (EKK) and English (Hermeneia). Now that the final two volumes are available in the Hermeneia series (and English is my first language!) I have been looking to get my hands on the full Hermeneia set (Logos; Amazon).

While I enjoy certain features of print resources, I like the digital Logos option for a few reasons:
(1) I live about 4,000 miles away from much of my print library (sadly in boxes in a basement), so I am wary of collecting books (=freight) that will require shipping later!
(2) I like to have digital access to important resources for use wherever I am working (e.g., I can pull open a resource on my mobile device during a seminar).
(3) The Logos edition is searchable and navigating sections is quicker (for me) than turning print pages.
(4) The Logos edition plays nicely with my entire library.
(5) The cost: the Logos edition is comparable to the best price I could find on the print editions (Amazon.com).

A screenshot of a typical (for me) workspace in Logos (click for full resolution):

Thanks to Logos for making this resource available to me for review. (For other stuff I’ve written on Logos, try this).

In coming weeks, I will highlight the strengths of Bovon’s commentary in the Hermeneia series, as well as comment on the extent of the updates from the German EKK series.

On another note, it occurs to me that it is high time to post fresh reviews of Bible software products once again, as the major companies have updated their products since my last series on the subject. Look for this soon.