MyStudyBible.com Provides Great Cloud Bible Study Option
MyStudyBible.com updated their tools recently to offer some excellent resources that will help users study their Bible directly on the Internet instead of having to install and maintain a complicated Bible software package. You won’t get all that those installed packages offer, but if you use a netbook with a small hard drive or are running out of space, an online tool like this can solve your biggest problem – storage space.
The Interface
The interface of MyStudyBible offers a two-pain view with the left side designed primarily for your Bible and the right for references. You can put a Bible or reference tool in either side, however.
On the right, there are tabs for Cross References where you find content referring to the passage displayed on the left. The study tools let you view original language information by clicking on a hyperlinked word in a Bible with Strong’s links.
I prefer to have my Bible on the left without hyperlinks and then open the Word Study Tool on the right. The topmost verse displayed on the right will be displayed in the right with each word listed with the Transliteration, Phonetic Pronunciation, Definition, Hebrew Word, Root, Part of Speech and lists of occurrences in the KJV.
Under the Dictionary Tool important words are listed with their Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary entry and pictures when appropriate. The default commentary is the Mathew Henry, but you can see other content here as well like the Hebrew OT/NT Commentary. Finally you will see footnotes for your chosen translation if they are available.
The My Content Tab shows your verse notes or highlights. Along the far left are tabs for your notes, featured articles and new material. There is also a “Brought to you by” tab which includes ads, at present for Lifeway related content.
A toolbar across the top lets you control the look of the text and control navigation in the book.
Tools Available
For free you get access to a few popular translations like the HCSB, NASB and ESV. The KJV is also present along with a few other public domain works. The categories of recourses include:
- Bibles
- Dictionaries
- Commentaries
- Study Bible Notes
- General
- Devotionals
- Christian Living
- Academic
Some of the most popular resources available include the Holman Old and New Testament Commentaries. Being a Lifeway and Holman Publishers tool it also has some other Holman titles like the Holman Illustrated Bible, Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, and HCSB Study Bible (the latter was just added).
My hope is this will be expanded now that Lifeway bought WORDsearch, a great Bible software tool with thousands of available resources and commentaries. I was a little surprised that one of the best commentary series available – the New American Commentary – was not available, even for a paid upgrade.
Speaking of paid upgrades, the site has a freemium model with some of the content available at no coast.. To get the most out of the site just register so you can create your own study notes and customize the look. Yes it does have a nice verse notes feature. For $.99 you can try it out for a day and get everything. As little as $5/month gives you access to the premium content on a per book basis or you can buy permanent access for as low as $20 so that you don’t have to keep paying. If you plan to use a book for more than 4 months this is a good deal. Some of the premium content includes the Apologetics Study Bible, the HCSB Illustrated Bible ($5/month or $20/permanent access each), and the Holman OT and NT Commentary ($15 or $300 for both sets).
Conclusion
This is a simple to use online tool. It has some good content, but will hopefully have a much better selection once it leaves beta. I would love to see a monthly, all-you-can-eat subscription for $10 or so which would give you access to everything available. I’d also like to see people who already own the newly acquired WORDsearch tool get access to some of the their content on the site for a small upgrade fee. Finally, I wish there was a clear “sign in” link somewhere on the front page. I could not figure out a way to get access to my account easily. I had to click a link to buy a book in order to sign into the site. If it is there, I cannot see it easily so correct me if I’m wrong and it shows up on the main page somewhere. To access your content in the “My Content” tab you will have to sign in. Also to open books you’ve paid for requires signing into the site.
Kevin – Thanks for the great review!
I’m sorry that you missed the log-in link. It’s on the left with the tabs, below the book cover image and above the “My Notes” tab.
We’ve got a lot of updates still planned for the site; I hope you continue to use and I get to see the new things that are coming!