219. “Electronic Tools for Biblical Study at Home, at the University, and in the Classroom,” in Computer Assisted Research on the Bible in the 21st Century, ed. Luis Vegas Montaner et al., Bible in Technology 8 (Piscataway, NJ: Gorgias, 2010), 45–60 (submitted ms, now published) (original) (raw)
Related papers
The CATSS project created a flexible multipurpose database which contains data needed for the study of the LXX and its relation to MT (for bibliography, see section III). In the perusal of the database (see section IV), certain types of information can be disregarded when necessary, and other information can be added according to specific needs. The main section of the database is composed of the following elements: a. A parallel alignment of all elements of the MT and LXX. The text of MT (BHS) was encoded under the direction of R. Whitaker and H. Van Dyke Parunak and verified by a team at the Westminster Theological Seminary headed by A. Groves. The text of the LXX (the edition of Rahlfs) was created by the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae in Irvine, CA. The initial alignment of the LXX and MT was created in 1982–1983 by an automatic program written by J. Abercrombie, and the results were corrected in accord with the project's conception of the equivalence of the MT and LXX by the team in Jerusalem. The alignment of MT and the LXX creates exact equivalents of all elements in both texts in two parallel columns: 1. Column a of the Hebrew records the formal equivalents of all elements of the two texts, as if the LXX were a translation from MT. In this recording, several types of symbols are used indicating special phenomena and features which can be listed and analyzed separately. 2. Column b of the Hebrew records a selection of presumed equivalents of the LXX retroverted from the Greek, when the Greek seems to reflect a reading different from MT. It also records select differences between the LXX and MT in the area of translational technique. The main purpose of this column is to provide data which are not available through the use of col. a.
The purpose of the larger data base is to provide data for all aspects of the study of the LXX: its language, grammar, translation technique, its relation to the MT and the reconstruction of elements in the Hebrew text from which the translation was made. The data base is meant to be flexible, that is, at each stage new types of information can either be inserted in it or attached to it, and it can be used in many different ways for producing running texts, indices, concordances, analyses, etc. The larger data base consists of the following components: 3. A full morphological analysis of all words in the LXX. This analysis provides all relevant morphological data, such as person, number, tense, mode and type for verbs, and the case, number, gender and declension for nouns. It also gives the dictionary form, that is, E)/RXOMAI for H)=LQEN, KU/RIOS for KURI/OU, etc. The morphological information is needed for producing the indices, as the computer must be given the dictionary form for each text word (see 70). 4. A full morphological analysis of the Hebrew, needed for generating indices.
Interactive Tools and Tasks for the Hebrew Bible
Journal of Data Mining and Digital Humanities, 2016
This contribution to a special issue on "Computer-aided processing of intertextuality" in ancient texts will illustrate how using digital tools to interact with the Hebrew Bible offers new promising perspectives for visualizing the texts and for performing tasks in education and research. This contribution explores how the corpus of the Hebrew Bible created and maintained by the Eep Talstra Centre for Bible and Computer can support new methods for modern knowledge workers within the field of digital humanities and theology be applied to ancient texts, and how this can be envisioned as a new field of digital intertextuality. The article first describes how the corpus was used to develop the Bible Online Learner as a persuasive technology to enhance language learning with, in, and around a database that acts as the engine driving interactive tasks for learners. Intertextuality in this case is a matter of active exploration and ongoing practice. Furthermore, interactive corpus-technology has an important bearing on the task of textual criticism as a specialized area of research that depends increasingly on the availability of digital resources. Commercial solutions developed by software companies like Logos and Accordance offer a market-based intertextuality defined by the production of advanced digital resources for scholars and students as useful alternatives to often inaccessible and expensive printed versions. It is reasonable to expect that in the future interactive corpus technology will allow scholars to do innovative academic tasks in textual criticism and interpretation. We have already seen the emergence of promising tools for text categorization, analysis of translation shifts, and interpretation. Broadly speaking, interactive tools and tasks within the three areas of language learning, textual criticism, and Biblical studies illustrate a new kind of intertextuality emerging within digital humanities.
New Digital Tools for a New Critical Edition of the Hebrew Bible
Open Theology, 2019
This article describes the digital edition of the Hebrew Bible: A Critical Edition (HBCE), which is being produced as part of a project called Critical Editions for Digital Analysis and Research (CEDAR) at the University of Chicago. We first discuss the goals of the HBCE and its requirements for a digital edition. We then turn to the CEDAR project and the advances it offers, both theoretical and technological. Finally, we present an illustration of how a reader might use the digital HBCE to interact with the biblical text in innovative ways.
The Use of Computer Hardware and Software in Bible Translation
Journal of Biblical Text Research
This is a very practical presentation on the use of computer hardware and software in Bible translation. The use of computers has changed the way in which Bible translation work is done. It cannot replace human translators yet, as this anecdotal example shows: Matthew 26:41 "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak"was translated by computer as "The vodka is agreeable, but the meat is tasteless". Nevertheless, the technology to assist us in our work is getting better everyday. Many translation projects around the world these days are utilizing computers for their work. Although there are a few exceptions, it is taken for granted today that it is inevitable that Bible translation projects will be computerized. Technological explosion Technology is changing many aspects of our lives. Things that we could not imagine being influenced by technology have been transformed. We have numerous gadgets available to us to make old tasks easier, and new tasks possible. For example, how many of these technologies do you use every day? Mobile/Handphone/Cell Phone SMS (Short Message Service) USB and MP3 Player Electronic diaries Electronic games