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Tip 3.3 Using Word Lists as Search Tools

Word lists can be used as powerful search tools in BibleWorks 8. In this Classroom Tip we will use the new Command List Word List search feature to search on a word list to find all the participial forms of words occurring 50 times and more in the New Testament.

Create a List of Words Used 50 or More Times

Begin by creating a list of words used 50 or more times in the New Testament. For this lists use the BNM as your search version. Create your word list following the instructions provided in the first part of Classroom Tip 1.7 Highlight Words Used 50 or More Times. When you create your word list, uncheck the box to keep morph codes and uncheck the box to keep Greek accents. Be sure when you name your word list that you do not include any spaces in the file name. Word list file names that contain spaces cannot be used as search tools on the Command Line.

Search on the Word List on the Command Line

Change your Command Line search version to BNM. Place your cursor on the Command Line, and click your right mouse button to open the context menu. Select Insert Word List File Name. Choose your saved word list. The name of the word list will appear within angle brackets on the Command line, like so:

.<BNM_50x_and_more>

Our goal is to find the participial forms of words that appear 50 or more times in the New Testament. Since our word list includes all words that appear 50 and more times in the New Testament, we need to add some morphological codes to the word list to restrict the search to only find participles. Add the @ sign, followed by the codes for participle "vp". Be sure to add the asterisk at the end of the code. The completed search is:

.<BNM_50x_and_more>@vp*

When run, the search returns all the words in the word list that appear in the text as participles. You can use the results of this search to quiz your Greek students on words that they know, but for forms they are still learning.

Summary

The Word List Search feature on the Command Line is a powerful new search tool in BibleWorks 8. When used in conjunction with other BibleWorks tools like the Word List Manager, it opens a number of new search possibilities.

• Now you can create lists of lemmas using the Word List Manager, and then use them on the Command Line as search tools.
• The Command Line Word List search tool enables you to use a word list in place of a single word or wildcard.
• Since the word list functions as a single word, you include more than one word list in a single search. You can include more than one word list in a phrase search, as well.
• When you are searching a Greek or Hebrew morphology version, you can add the appropriate codes to a word list. Add the @ sign, followed by the codes. Words in the word list to which the codes do not apply are overlooked in the search. This enables you to filter out words from a word list during the search.

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