The WordPress.com “stats helper monkeys” prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 32,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 7 Film Festivals.
Click here to see the complete report.
I enjoyed seeing what posts generated the most traffic, from what countries folks visited Words on the Word, and who the top five commenters were.
I’ve just this week gotten into a particular feature of Accordance Bible Software: the User Notes. As I’m doing some research and writing in the book of Romans right now, recording and storing my notes in Accordance itself is very easy–and fun.
I didn’t write about User Notes when I reviewed Accordance 10. It’s a standout feature, though, and very elegantly and smoothly produced by the developers.
In short, you can use User Notes to essentially create your own running commentary on the Bible–whether this is notes about various translations, insights into the original language, or thoughts about how a given text applies to you and the people with whom you are in community.
You can have the User Notes set up as a parallel text (i.e., in the image below, I can replace “GNT-T Notes” with my own notes) or as a tool in a different zone altogether. You can tie the tool to a text so that everything scrolls together verse-by-verse. This latter setup is how I prefer to work, as here (open image in new tab to see at full size):
Edit mode allows you to take notes on any verse. You simply go to a verse in the text, press the shortcut (command key + U), add your note, then click on update, and you’ve got a note. To edit an existing note, go to your notes that are in display mode, click and start typing. The edit window then opens.
You can automatically hyperlink any verse reference you list in a note. So in the “AKJV notes” that are in “display mode” above for Mark 1:2, I simply have to highlight Exodus 23:20, then click on “Make Link” for it to become hyperlinked. And as with other tools, it is easy to search notes by reference or content.
At present it is not possible to hyperlink to anything else in a note besides a verse. (So you can’t hyperlink to a Website, for example, though this would take you outside of the Accordance program anyway.) And live editing does not currently exist in User Notes (see here for more). But the ease with which I’ve been able to begin using and continue to make extensive use of the User Notes is commendable. I really like what Accordance has done here.
More details about User Notes can be found here in the Accordance online help files. And you can watch this video tutorial about the User Notes, too.
My full Accordance review is here.
Honest Toddler has just announced a few details of his/her (?) upcoming book (!):
In other news, I’m writing a book (Scribner USA-Simon & Schuster imprint, HarperCollins Canada, and Orion UK); a parenting guide for those of you disappointing your toddlers on a regular basis.
You probably need it if:
- You’ve ever told someone you love to look with their eyes.
- You think Ferber is a great man. Actually, Dr. Richard Ferber is a recluse who lives in an abandoned barn. He never intended his ramblings to be published.
- You believe in salad even though all the research points to the contrary.
- You’d rather watch Game of Thrones and eat Wheat Thins than take your toddler to an indoor play center.
The book will come out in May and will be available at all the stores (real and online). It’ll cost six or seven quarters, I don’t know. If you don’t have that much money just rip out the pages that apply to you and and take them to the cash register for prorating. Don’t mention my name if you get arrested. Part of being an adult is taking responsibility for your actions.
I’ve posted plenty about HT before. So I’m excited to read this upcoming book, especially since I do believe (strongly) in salad.
The full text of the new NA28 Greek New Testament is available online for free. No critical apparatus (that will probably be for-pay only), but it’s nice to be able to easily access the text now. You can go here to do that.
More about the Nestle-Aland edition is here.
From the Sunday New York Times:
After several well-publicized cases involving writers buying or manipulating their reviews, Amazon is cracking down. Writers say thousands of reviews have been deleted from the shopping site in recent months.
Amazon has not said how many reviews it has killed, nor has it offered any public explanation. So its sweeping but hazy purge has generated an uproar about what it means to review in an era when everyone is an author and everyone is a reviewer.
The world of reviewing is certainly open to abuse and violations of ethics. (Not long ago I read a story about a British mystery writer who, under a fake name, wrote torching reviews of his competitor’s works, praising instead his own.)
So I understand the desire to regulate here. But what’s odd to me is this quote from an Amazon spokesman:
We do not require people to have experienced the product in order to review.
It would be difficult to prove “experience” of the product one way or the other, but I certainly don’t put any stock in reviews that say, “I haven’t read this yet, but….”
As one commenter on this article noted, what I often find most helpful in shopping on Amazon–whether for books or other products–is the negative reviews.
That doesn’t mean that 5-star reviews, however, are not all to be trusted. There’s a bit of self-selection that goes on here. To wit, I tend to only request review copies of books that I think will be worth my time, so my ratings are most often four and five stars. But honesty comes first, so three stars and lower is not out of the question, and has happened before. And I am not always right that I book I want to review ends up being as good as I might have thought.
It’s a no-brainer to me that someone ought “to have experienced the product” before reviewing it. But what are some other principles of reviewing that should constitute a good ethic for product reviews?
It’s been interesting to watch Bible software companies make a final sales push before Christmas–Logos and Accordance seem to have been the most active that I’ve noticed. I’ve compared the “Big Three” Bible softwares here, which is hopefully of help to someone trying to decide which Bible software program is best for her or him.
Focusing for a moment again on Logos: I wrote a multi-part review of Logos 4 here, then did a review of Logos 5 when it released on November 1. At that time I had the Silver base package to review. I’ve now received a review copy of Gold, so here I offer some initial observations on that base package.
Everything in Silver and below comes in Gold. So like Silver, the Gold base package has:
The Gold base package adds:
There’s more in Gold, so this is just what stands out to me on first use. See the full contents of Gold here. Compare all of the base packages in Logos 5 here.
Perhaps the best I can offer in a review of a base package like this is two implications that stem from my belief that Christians are called to be good stewards of their money:
Logos occasionally receives criticism of offering packages that are bloated. Gold does have more than I think I’d want to use in a lifetime, and the “print value” metric is to be taken with a grain of salt, since the real question is of what value will a given resource be to the user. I still have mixed feelings about the new names and groupings found in Logos 5 base packages (as compared to Logos 4). I think it’s an oversight on the part of the company that there is no longer an Original Languages Library advertised on the Website. This was a market-driven decision, from what I understand, but I doubt scholars of Biblical Studies will appreciate it. (The user forums note that you can purchase an original languages package by phoning the sales department at Logos.)
Compatibility issues are also at play in one’s purchasing decisions. Logos for now is the only major Bible software program that can run natively (without an emulator, bottle, etc.) on any platform: Mac, PC, iPad, mobile, etc. It also is set up such that all your resources, notes, and even screen layouts sync automatically across platforms. However I close Logos on my PC is how it looks when I open it back up on my Mac. That kind of flexibility is great to have.
Gold is not a cheap package, but a lot comes with it. It makes a good long-term investment, if you’re comfortable building your library electronically. But using a resource in Logos is much more than just reading a commentary on a Kindle or as a pdf on a computer. References and abbreviations are hyperlinked throughout, and you can use the search features and “Data Sets” in Logos to more fruitfully explore any given resource. So it’s not just library-building, but information sorting, textual analysis, flexible searching of multiple resources, data manipulation, etc.
If as a pastor, professor, seminarian, or Bible translator you do a good amount of research and writing on the Bible, the Gold base package in Logos 5 combines a wealth of resources and features that could be of benefit. I’m especially eager to dig more into the UBS Handbooks, the Exegetical Summaries, the N.T. Wright works, and the Bible Sense Lexicon. I’ll post more about Gold before long. (UPDATE: See concluding part of Gold review here.)
Thanks to Logos for the gratis review copy of Gold, given me with the sole expectation that I review it honestly here on my blog.
There’s something that has seemed appropriate about beginning to read through Isaiah during Advent. At a pace of roughly five verses each weekday, I’ve been reading through Greek Isaiah in a Year with a sizeable group of folks on Facebook.
Tomorrow (Monday) is the start week 4. Below is the schedule and text for Monday through Friday, using the text from R.R. Ottley’s Book of Isaiah According to the Septuagint. (Ottley is here on Amazon, here in Logos, and here as a free, downloadable pdf, since it’s public domain.) The full reading plan for our group is here (pdf).
Also, this last week I reviewed Ottley’s work in Logos. You can read more about that here. And now, the readings. At the end of this post I’m including a link to a pdf of the schedule and text for the week, as well, at the request of one of the group members.
Monday, December 24: Isaiah 3:22-4:1
22 καὶ τὰ ἐπιβλήματα τὰ κατὰ τὴν οἰκίαν καὶ τὰ διαφανῆ Λακωνικά, 23 καὶ τὰ βύσσινα καὶ τὰ ὑακίνθινα καὶ τὰ κόκκινα, καὶ τὴν βύσσον, σὺν χρυσίῳ καὶ ὑακίνθῳ συνκαθυφασμένα, καὶ θέριστρα κατάκλιτα. 24 καὶ ἔσται ἀντὶ ὀσμῆς ἡδείας, κονιορτός, καὶ ἀντὶ ζώνης σχοινίῳ ζώσῃ, καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ κόσμου τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ χρυσίου φαλάκρωμα ἕξεις διὰ τὰ ἔργα σου, καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ χιτῶνος τοῦ μεσοπορφύρου περιζώσῃ σάκκον. 25 καὶ ὁ υἱός σου ὁ κάλλιστος ὃν ἀγαπᾷς μαχαίρᾳ πεσεῖται, καὶ οἱ ἰσχύοντες ὑμῶν μαχαίρᾳ πεσοῦνται καὶ ταπεινωθήσονται· 26 καὶ πενθήσουσιν αἱ θῆκαι τοῦ κόσμου ὑμῶν, καὶ καταλειφθήσῃ μόνη καὶ εἰς τὴν γῆν ἐδαφισθήσῃ.
4 1 καὶ ἐπιλήμψονται ἑπτὰ γυναῖκες ἀνθρώπου ἑνὸς λέγουσαι Τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν φαγόμεθα, καὶ τὰ ἱμάτια ἡμῶν περιβαλούμεθα· πλὴν τὸ ὄνομα τὸ σὸν κεκλήσθω ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς, ἄφελε τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν ἡμῶν.
Tuesday, December 25: Isaiah 4:2-6
2 Τῇ δὲ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ λάμψει ὁ θεὸς ἑν βουλῇ μετὰ δόξης ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, τοῦ ὑψῶσαι καὶ δοξάσαι τὸ καταλειφθὲν τοῦ Ἰσραήλ· 3 καὶ ἔσται τὸ ὑπολειφθὲν ἐν Σιὼν καὶ τὸ καταλειφθὲν ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ, ἅγιοι κληθήσονται πάντες οἱ γραφέντες εἰς ζωὴν ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ. 4 ὅτι ἐκπλυνεῖ Κύριος τὸν ῥύπον τῶν υἱῶν καὶ τῶν θυγατέρων Σιών, καὶ τὸ αἷμα ἐκκαθαριεῖ ἐκ μέσου αὐτῶν ἐν πνεύματι κρίσεως. 5 καὶ ἥξει, καὶ ἔσται πᾶς τόπος τοῦ ὄρους Σιὼν καὶ πάντα τὰ περικύκλῳ αὐτῆς σκιάσει νεφέλη ἡμέρας, καὶ ὡς καπνοῦ καὶ ὡς φωτὸς πυρὸς καιομένου νυκτός· πάσῃ τῇ δόξῃ Κυρίου σκεπασθήσεται· 6 καὶ ἔσται εἰς σκιὰν ἀπὸ καύματος, καὶ ἐν σκέπῃ καὶ ἐν ἀποκρύφῳ σκληρότητος καὶ ὑετοῦ.
Wednesday, December 26: Isaiah 5:1-7
5 1 ᾌσω δὴ τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ᾆσμα τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ τῷ ἀμπελῶνί μου. ἀμπελὼν ἐγενήθη τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ἐν κέρατι ἐν τόπῳ πίονι. 2 καὶ φραγμὸν περιέθηκα καὶ ἐχαράκωσα, καὶ ἐφύτευσα ἄμπελον σωρήχ, καὶ ᾠκοδόμησα πύργον ἐν μέσῳ αὐτοῦ, καὶ προλήνιον ὤρυξα ἐν αὐτῷ· καὶ ἔμεινα τοῦ ποιῆσαι σταφυλήν, ἐποίησεν δὲ ἀκάνθας. 3 καὶ νῦν, ἄνθρωπος τοῦ Ἰούδα καὶ οἱ ἐνοικοῦντες ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ, κρίνατε ἐν ἐμοὶ καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ ἀμπελῶνός μου. 4 τί ποιήσω ἔτι τῷ ἀμπελῶνί μου, καὶ οὐκ ἐποίησα αὐτῷ; διότι ἔμεινα τοῦ ποιῆσαι σταφυλήν, ἐποίησεν δὲ ἀκάνθας. 5 νῦν δὲ ἀναγγελῶ ὑμῖν τί ποιήσω τῷ ἀμπελῶνί μου. ἀφελῶ τὸν φραγμὸν αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔσται εἰς διαρπαγήν, καὶ καθελῶ τὸν τοῖχον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔσται εἰς <καταπάτημα>. 6 καὶ ἀνήσω τὸν ἀμπελῶνά μου, καὶ οὐ μὴ τμηθῇ οὐδὲ μὴ σκαφῇ, καὶ ἀναβήσεται εἰς αὐτὸν ὡς εἰς χέρσον ἄκανθα. καὶ ταῖς νεφέλαις ἐντελοῦμαι τοῦ μὴ βρέξαι εἰς αὐτὸν ὑετόν. 7 ὁ γὰρ ἀμπελὼν Κυρίου σαβαὼθ οἶκος τοῦ Ἰσραήλ ἐστιν, καὶ ἄνθρωπος τοῦ Ἰούδα νεόφυτον ἠγαπημένον· ἔμεινα τοῦ ποιῆσαι κρίσιν, ἐποίησεν δὲ ἀνομίαν, καὶ οὐ δικαιοσύνην ἀλλὰ κραυγήν.
Thursday, December 27: Isaiah 5:8-11
8 Οὐαὶ οἱ συνάπτοντες οἰκίαν πρὸς οἰκίαν, καὶ ἀγρὸν πρὸς ἀγρὸν ἐγγίζοντες, ἵνα τοῦ πλησίον ἀφέλωνταί τι· μὴ οἰκήσετε μόνοι ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς; 9 ἠκούσθη γὰρ εἰς τὰ ὦτα Κυρίου σαβαὼθ ταῦτα· ἐὰν γὰρ γένωνται οἰκίαι πολλαί, εἰς ἔρημον ἔσονται· μεγάλαι καὶ καλαί, καὶ οὐκ ἔσονται οἱ ἐνοικοῦντες. 10 οὗ γὰρ ἐργῶνται δέκα ζεύγη βοῶν, ποιήσει κεράμιον ἕν, καὶ ὁ σπείρων ἀρτάβας ἓξ ποιήσει μέτρα τρία. 11 Οὐαὶ οἱ ἐγειρόμενοι τὸ πρωὶ καὶ τὸ σίκερα διώκοντες, οἱ μένοντες τὸ ὀψέ· ὁ γὰρ οἶνος αὐτοὺς συγκαύσει.
Friday, December 28: Isaiah 5:12-16
12 μετὰ γὰρ κιθάρας καὶ ψαλτηρίου καὶ τυμπάνων καὶ αὐλῶν τὸν οἶνον πίνουσιν, τὰ δὲ ἔργα Κυρίου οὐκ ἐμβλέπουσιν, καὶ τὰ ἔργα τῶν χειρῶν αὐτοῦ οὐ κατανοοῦσιν. 13 τοίνυν αἰχμάλωτος ὁ λαός μου ἐγενήθη διὰ τὸ μὴ εἰδέναι αὐτοὺς τὸν κύριον, καὶ πλῆθος ἐγενήθη νεκρῶν διὰ λιμὸν καὶ δίψαν ὕδατος. 14 καὶ ἐπλάτυνεν ὁ ᾅδης τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ καὶ διήνοιξεν τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ τοῦ μὴ διαλιπεῖν, καὶ καταβήσονται οἱ ἔνδοξοι καὶ οἱ μεγάλοι καὶ οἱ πλούσιοι καὶ οἱ λοιμοὶ αὐτῆς. 15 καὶ ταπεινωθήσεται ἄνθρωπος, καὶ ἀτιμασθήσεται ἀνήρ, καὶ οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ οἱ μετέωροι ταπεινωθήσονται· 16 καὶ ὑψωθήσεται Κύριος σαβαὼθ ἐν κρίματι, καὶ ὁ θεὸς ὁ ἅγιος δοξασθήσεται ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ.
Here are the week’s readings as a pdf.
See here for more resources and links to texts for Greek Isaiah. Here are previous weeks’ readings: Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3.
Not long ago we began instituting “the bedtime rules” for our two boys. The idea was to have a sequence of rules (steps, really) for the boys to follow once in bed that would provide consistency and direction each night. They were:
1. Put your head on your pillow.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Go to sleep.
Our 5-year-old added a couple, so now they read:
1. Put your head on your pillow.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Put your arms and your legs down.
4. Close your mouth.
5. Go to sleep.
Some nights, by the time I’m done with bedtime, I think the bedtime rules really just sound like:
1. Please stop talking.
2. Stop talking.
3. Stop talking right now.
4. Stop talking or I’m not going to sing to you anymore tonight.
5. SHHHH!!!!!
They will put themselves to sleep on their own eventually, right?
Emanuel Tov is J. L. Magnes Professor of Bible at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Among many other publications, his Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible contains a wealth of information for the student of the Septuagint and Hebrew Bible.
On his site there are lots of pdf articles you can read for free. One particularly helpful one is this very short introduction (3.5 pages) to the Septuagint. It covers the name of the Septuagint, its nature and content, date, origin, background, and more.
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