No matter whether you’re looking for more detail about biblical people and places, background on significant historical events, or insight into a theological topic, Factbook will get you started. Factbook is one of the most powerful features of Logos, and it makes almost any biblical or theological term easily searchable.
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To use Factbook, start by entering something you are exploring in the Topic or Reference box. Then, select the precise item to study from the dropdown list, select the lens through which you want to study the article (biblical, theological, information from your library, etc) examine the different sections presented and find relevant information drawn from a combination of Logos provided data and resources in your Library.
In this article we will look at how to open Factbook and then go through five examples showing how to use it as a starting point for study.
Note: Available to all subscriptions and in all legacy packages Starter and above.
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Study an Original Language Word
Accessing Factbook Using Factbook Tags
Open Factbook
You can open Factbook by clicking the Factbook icon on the toolbar.
Alternatively, you can select it from the Tools menu.
Study a Biblical Passage
The Factbook provides a great starting point to engage with a biblical passage, with access to a wide variety of information at the click of a button. We will look at John 2:1-12.
The Factbook article starts by showing the biblical text itself and follows this with a number of different sections - many of which provide links to other Factbook articles.
To find out more about the jars that Jesus commanded to be filled with water, click the link to open that Factbook article which, in turn, provides access to more information.
To examine the Greek term, while keeping the current article open, right-click the link and choose to open it in a new tab.
This provides access to lexicons and additional reference material.
To get back to the original article on the passage, click the back arrow at the top right of the panel.
Here, the events section shows where this story fits within the wider ministry of Jesus, while the Reported Speech section makes it easy to understand how the different speakers interacted with each other within the context of the story. Right-click any of the links to find out a bit more about the people involved.
To see what commentaries in your library say about this passage, click one in the Commentaries section:
If you want to explore the passage in even more detail, there are a range of options in the Dig Deeper section such as the ability to open an Exegetical Guide on the passage.
Study a Biblical Event
Sometimes, when studying a biblical passage it is really helpful to know where the events it is describing fit within the wider biblical story and the Factbook tool is a great place to start.
In this example, we are going to look at when Jesus was transfigured on a high mountain.
Right-click somewhere in the passage, select the event on the left of the context menu and then click the link to the Factbook tool on the right.
In addition to showing the key passages where this event is described and referenced, the Events section shows that this takes place in the period of Jesus' northern ministry. Click the link to see the Factbook article describing that period to see where the transfiguration fits within that.
The Factbook Tags section shows where in your books the event is "tagged" as it is discussed. Click one of these tags to open that book directly to the tagged reference.
The Dig Deeper section provides links to other Factbook articles about key people, places, and things within the passage and more. Open one to examine it in more detail.
Study a Biblical Book
If you are reading a biblical passage, or starting to study a biblical book, it can be really helpful to get an overview of the whole book and, again, the Factbook tool can help with this.
Enter the book into the tool and select the option you require from the dropdown menu.
From here, you can access commentaries that discuss the book and see where the different people (or places and things) occur within it.
There are many other sections within this article, all of which provide helpful information about the book but the two main sections for our purposes are the Bible Book Guide and Dictionaries.
The Bible Book Guide section contains many links to books in your library that discuss different aspects of the book you are studying. Click these links to explore what commentators have said about the purpose of the letter, when it was written (by whom and for whom as well), where it fits within the canon, and much more.
The Dictionaries section contains links to articles in dictionaries in your library that discuss the book you are studying.
The Dig Deeper section provides links to other Factbook articles relevant to the book as well as links to other Logos tools and capabilities designed to enable deeper study.
Study a Theological Topic
The Factbook tool is also helpful when starting a study on a theological topic - we'll use the Trinity as an example. Enter trinity into the reference box to get a list of options that relate to this topic. You will see a range of options. For this example, we'll select the Systematic Theology entry.
I've selected the Theological lens to just focus on sections in the article that engage with the theology of the topic.
The first section, drawn from the Lexham Survey of Theology, is a great way to start exploring this topic either within the Factbook article itself or by accessing up the entire discussion in the linked book.
You can also see key biblical passages that speak about the Trinity, and open your preferred Bible filtered to just show those passages enabling you to really focus on what they say. Or you can save them in a Passage List for later study.
Use the other sections in the article to get access to books in your library that explore the topic in more detail.
Study an Original Language Word
Sometimes when studying a passage it can be really useful to explore the meaning of the underlying original language - such as trying to understand what is meant by the word often translated as Blessed at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.
Right-click the word, ensure the lemma option is selected on the left of the context menu and then select the Factbook option on the right. This opens the Factbook to the article on that word enabling you to study it in more detail.
The first section is drawn from your highest prioritized lexicon with a discussion of that word - you can either study it within the Factbook or click the original language word to open the lexicon to that place.
Sometimes, looking at where this word is mentioned in other lexicons (or similar reference works) can provide greater background on the use of the word - and the Factbook Tags section provides links to some of these.
For a really deep study of the word, open the Bible Word Study Guide from the Dig Deeper section.
Accessing Factbook Using Factbook Tags
The case studies above involve typing a term into the Factbook reference box and selecting from a range of options or accessing the Factbook tool from the Context Menu. It is also possible to open the Tool to an entry directly from the biblical text using the Factbook Visual Filter.
Note: Available in packages Starter and above.
Factbook tags add millions of tags to resources so that more detailed information is only a click away. With Factbook tags, you can hover over the tagged text to get a brief definition or click to find more details.
Click the Factbook visual filter icon to toggle Factbook Tags linking within your resource on or off. Now words that are tagged will show a dotted blue underline.
Hover over the tagged text for a brief definition, or click the tag to open the associated Factbook entry
You can choose to just show certain classes of information via this filter by opening the dropdown menu and selecting the options you want:
Along with the tags included in Logos, users can tag any text and share it with the community. Currently, Factbook tags are only available on Logos Desktop. Learn more about Factbook Tags here.
Additional Resources
Skip ahead to:
Study an Original Language Word
Open Factbook
If you are using a tablet, you can open Factbook by tapping the Factbook icon on the toolbar.
On a phone, you can select it from the Tools menu (this option is also available for tablets).
Study a Biblical Passage
The Factbook provides a great starting point to engage with a biblical passage, with access to a wide variety of information at the tap of a link. We will look at John 2:1-12.
The Factbook article starts by showing the biblical text itself and follows this with a number of different sections - many of which provide links to other Factbook articles.
To find out more about the jars that Jesus commanded to be filled with water, tap the link to open that Factbook article which, in turn, provides access to more information.
To examine the underlying Greek term, tap the link.
This provides access to lexicons and additional reference material.
To get back to the original article on the passage, tap twice the back arrow at the top right of the panel.
Here, the events section shows where this story fits within the wider ministry of Jesus, while the Reported Speech section makes it easy to understand how the different speakers interacted with each other within the context of the story. Tap any of the links to find out a bit more about the people involved.
To see what commentaries in your library say about this passage, tap one in the Commentaries section.
Study a Biblical Event
Sometimes, when studying a biblical passage it is helpful to know where the events it is describing fit within the wider biblical story and the Factbook tool is a great place to start.
In this example, we are going to look at when Jesus was transfigured on a high mountain.
Start entering the word transfigure in the Factbook tool and select the required event from the dropdown.
In addition to showing the key passages where this event is described and referenced, the Events section shows that this takes place in the period of Jesus' northern ministry. Tap the link to see the Factbook article describing that period to see where the transfiguration fits within that.
The Factbook Tags section shows where in your books the event is "tagged" as it is discussed. Tap one of these tags to open that book directly to the tagged reference.
The Dig Deeper section provides links to other Factbook articles about key people, places, and things within the passage and more. Open one to examine it in more detail.
Study a Biblical Book
If you are reading a biblical passage, or starting to study a biblical book, it can be really helpful to get an overview of the whole book and, again, the Factbook tool can help with this.
Enter the book into the tool and select the option you require from the dropdown menu.
From here, you can access commentaries that discuss the book to explore it in more details.
You can also find our information about the different people (or places and things) occur within it.
There are many other sections within this article, all of which provide helpful information about the book but the two main sections for our purposes are the Bible Book Guide and Dictionaries.
The Bible Book Guide section contains many links to books in your library that discuss different aspects of the book you are studying. Tap these links to explore what commentators have said about the purpose of the letter, when it was written (by whom and for whom as well), where it fits within the canon, and much more.
The Dictionaries section contains links to articles in dictionaries in your library that discuss the book you are studying.
The Dig Deeper section provides links to other Factbook articles relevant to the book as well as links to other Logos tools and capabilities designed to enable deeper study.
Study a Theological Topic
The Factbook tool is also helpful when starting a study on a theological topic - we'll use the Trinity as an example. Enter trinity into the reference box to get a list of options that relate to this topic. You will see a range of options. For this example, we'll select the Systematic Theology entry, and I've selected the Theological lens to just focus on sections in the article that engage with the theology of the topic.
The first section, drawn from the Lexham Survey of Theology, is a great way to start exploring this topic either within the Factbook article itself or by accessing up the entire discussion in the linked book.
You can see key biblical passages that speak about the Trinity.
And you can save them in a Passage List for later study.
Use the other sections in the article to get access to books in your library that explore the topic in more detail.
Study an Original Language Word
Sometimes when studying a passage it can be really useful to explore the meaning of the underlying original language - such as trying to understand what is meant by the word often translated as Blessed at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount.
To enter the original language lemma into the Factbook, tap and hold the word in your translation and select the Word Info option. Make a note of the transliterated form of the word.
Then enter the transliterated form in the Factbook and select the required option from the dropdown. This opens the Factbook to the article on that word enabling you to study it in more detail.
The first section is drawn from your highest prioritized lexicon with a discussion of that word - you can either study it within the Factbook or tap the original language word to open the lexicon to that place.
Sometimes, looking at where this word is mentioned in other lexicons (or similar reference works) can provide greater background on the use of the word - and the Factbook Tags section provides links to some of these.
For a really deep study of the word, open the Bible Word Study Guide from the Dig Deeper section.