| Developer(s) | OakTree Software, Inc. |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 9.x / September 2010 |
| Operating system | System 7 to Mac OS X, iOS |
| Type | Digital library, Bible study |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | www.accordancebible.com |
Accordance is a bible study program for Apple Macintosh and iPhone developed by OakTree Software, Inc.[1] Reviewers consider it a premium program.[2]
As well as a standalone program, it is the base software packaged by Zondervan in their Bible Study suites for Macintosh.[3] Although Accordance has been written exclusively for the Mac OS and iOS, it also runs on PCs using the Basilisk II emulator.
The program is used for both private and academic study. The translators of the Holman Christian Standard Bible, completed in 2004, used it for word studies, comparisons and instant searches. Commenting on the use of Accordance, the HCSB's editor Ed Blum said, "This project used far more computerization than anyone else has ever been able to do."[4]
Contents |
OakTree Software, Inc. is based in Altamonte Springs, Florida, USA. The company has focused on areas of special interest, particularly the study of Biblical texts.
OakTree Software claims three specific goals:
Roy Brown, OakTree Software's president and application developer, created one of the first Bible programs available for the Macintosh, known as ThePerfectWord, in 1988. ThePerfectWord was later bought by another company and renamed MacBible. By the early 1990s there were a number of good general Bible study programs for the Mac. However, Brown saw the need for a new program which would make it easy to engage in more sophisticated kinds of Bible study, enabling scholars and pastors to do in-depth analysis of the original Greek and Hebrew texts of the Bible. Accordance 1.0 was released in February 1994, and welcomed for its power and ease of use.[5]
A version of Accordance 5.0 rewritten to run natively under Mac OS X was released at the start of 2002.[6] The company has continued to add and improve features, such as the native Quartz rendering system. Version 8 was released in May 2008 and introduced a universal binary for Intel-based Macs. The latest version 9 was released in September 2010.
Accordance for iOS was released on December 30, 2010 as a free app for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.[7]
The program is centered on the Biblical text,[8] but has many additional texts. There are many optional modules, detailed study tools for the original Hebrew and Greek, commentaries and reference dictionaries, with a unique cross reference system to interconnect the Biblical text with entire libraries of ancient extra-biblical material [1].
Some modules available include:
Although the product has many modules, purchasing is simplified by packaging these into standard bundles e.g. Starter, Library, Scholar's, Jewish and Catholic collection.