BibleWebApp: Multimedia Bible study website

Yet another Internet Bible study resource is available for free, the BibleWebApp. It requires an Internet connection, and although it’s a webpage, it works like a smartphone app.

On a smart phone, you use it through your browser, but it works very nicely. Most phones let you bookmark the site so that it becomes accessible just like an app.

It defaults to three windows: the text in English (you pick translation), the text in Greek, and a results window, showing word search results or the result of a looking up a word in Hebrew or Greek.

Very simple. Very cool. Very free.

On my iPhone, I can press a word in English, and the same word will be highlighted in the Greek text and the Strong’s definition will appear in a popup, as well as the grammatical parsing — voice, mood, etc. Using a desktop computer, hover the mouse cursor over a word and you get the Strong’s definition and the same word will appear in any other synchronized window — which could be the Hebrew or Greek.

Scattered throughout the text are links to videos, maps, and artwork illustrations. Very nicely done, and I can see this being a great tool for children as well as for teachers in lesson preparation.

There are the usual public domain commentaries, as well as the ability to have the text read aloud (by a real person, not a computer-simulation). Great if you want to listen to the Bible while driving.

I have these complaints —

• The Greek resources are good but I can’t find transliterations. Most people don’t read Greek. It would really help if the Strong’s popups included the Greek in English characters.
• I can’t get the popup to work on my computer in Chrome, but it works in other browsers I tried: Firefox, Safari, and Edge (part of Windows 10).
• Really cool would be the ability to have the software pronounce a Greek or Hebrew word. Add that to a transliteration, and just about anyone could learn how to read Greek and Hebrew.

Nonetheless, while hardly the most powerful software on the market, its simple, highly intuitive interface make it nearly perfect for reading along with the preacher or Bible class teacher in church — since you can so easily check the Hebrew or Greek, link to a commentary, see a map or illustration, or even a video (be sure to turn the sound off in church!) And just so easy to use. I love the interface.

It even has a setting to provide regional equivalents of the second person plural (y’all rather than you). Really. Although the “y’allselves” options came from someone who’s never been south of New York. And there’s a “youse guys” option. At last, cultural sensitivity for us Southerners!

This would even be a good choice for a bright elementary-age child. She could read a gospel and press the touchscreen for pictures and videos and maps as she goes. It just seems like a marvelous tool to help anyone with their Bible study.

Again, I’ve reviewed many more powerful programs here, some of them also free. But none of the other free programs has such a simple interface or such easy access to videos and pictures and maps.

NOTE: There are two versions of this software on their website. I’ve updated the link to version 2.