#bibleworks modules

As reported today on the BibleWorks forum:

We are pleased to announce new Aramaic resources available for BibleWorks 8. The first new resource is the Introductory Lessons in Aramaic, by Eric D. Reymond. This introductory Aramaic grammar includes exercises, answers to the exercises, and a glossary. The second new resource is a set of Aramaic Paradigms for Aramaic verbs, produced by Jan Verbruggen. Included in a future update will be the full set of sound files by Jan Verbruggen for each paradigm. The sound files will be posted shortly, after making some adjustments to the updater to install the sound files correctly. This is a free download for BibleWorks 8 users. It is available through the BibleWorks 8 updater under Help | BibleWorks on the Internet | Check for updates.

The Aramaic Targum of Isaiah is an incredibly important resource for the study of ancient biblical interpretation. It is particularly relevant to the study of the Old Testament in the New, because many of its readings/interpretations of the Hebrew text appear to inform, parallel, or be reflected in the New Testament. Accordance, BibleWorks, and Logos all have tagged Targum texts available. English translations are a bit harder to obtain. As far as I can find, Logos does not have any such translations available. BibleWorks contains the old Etheridge translations of the Pentateuch targums and Cook's translation of the Psalms Targum. Accordance is particularly notable for commissioning their own translation by Eldon Clem. In addition to the Pentateuch targums, they also have ones for Targum Jonathan to Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, Hosea. (I am under the impression that this translation project is ongoing, so more texts may be coming.)

For online Aramaic texts, check the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon.

The Etheridge translations of the Pentateuch targums are at NTCS. (Note the links to English translations to the targums on Lamentations, Ruth, and Psalms as well.)

You can get the targumim--both Hebrew and English--for the Palm operating system HERE.

Image scanned by Felix Just, S.J.

Gustave Doré was the popular 19th century French illustrator known for his 'dramatic' depictions. In 1866, he published an illustrated 2 volume work with over 200 Bible illustrations, but his also illustrated numerous other works (Dante's Divine Comedy, Milton's Paradise Lost) and had hosts of other indiviual pieces. His fame continues today, since his works are in the public domain, have been widely scanned, and are easily available for free on the Internet. You will probably recognize his images for their distinctive woodcut style. I have collated some of the best ways to access his Bible-related works, noting both ways to obtain images online, to download, or to integrate with Bible software. (Links provided to download modules for Accordance, BibleWorks, E-Sword, LaParola, and Logos. You may already have the artwork in Accordance, but these are free downloads for the other programs. The PBB file for Logos is brand new thanks to Don Ring. [UPDATE: LaParola added to list via comment by Richard Wilson.])

HERE is the Gustave Doré page with samples and links

While Doré was not regarded as an 'elite' artist in his own day and most of his images certainly have a 19th century look to them, he does have some interesting depictions worth considering. Here's an illustration of Jesus (not included in the Bible volumes) that is rather well done, imo.

I'm still learning the enhanced features of the new BibleWorks8, but if you are upgrading from BW7, there is really no additional learning curve to use the program. It's mainly providing enhancements, more tools, and more resources. But in the meantime, the indefatigable Michael Hanel has updated and improved some user-created databases. Sophocles in Greek and Tacitus in Latin and English: These were already available and the previous versions worked fine in BW7. Because of some naming changes, these are updates for BW8, and you should also grab the names file on the page as well. Book of Concord: There was a previous version, but this is a major jump up from 1.3 to 3.8 Mb of data. This module works in both BW7 and BW8, and there are links from the module to Scripture and from Scripture to the module. (Cf. graphic below.) As Michael notes, it includes:

German text of the entire Book of Concord

An alternate English translation of the Augsburg Confession

Materials considered “source and context” text, things like the 95 Theses, Heidelberg Disputation, the Saxon Visitation articles, etc.

Text from Bente’s Historical Introductions to the Lutheran Confessions and more.

In the previous post I showed how to create vocabulary or word frequency lists in Logos. I'll do the same now for BibleWorks7. There are actually three ways to create such lists in BW7 depending on what you want to do with them. A neat feature in BW7 is the flash card module which provides a great way to memorize vocab. For this exercise, we are looking to create a list of all the words in 3 John and sort them according to frequency. Here is a 2 minute video showing you how to do that.

Creating Flashcards in BibleWorks7 using the Flash Card Module

You can use the list in the flash card module to practice memorizing. With that list that is generated, you can also (using File > ) Print Flash Cards. (The print on 8.5 x 11 paper; use 2 steps to first print the front with the word, then the back with the gloss; then cut to size.) The frequency numbers, however, are those for the whole NT and not our particular range. You can print out a more condensed list by going File > Print Review List. This will print out a tabular list with the word and the gloss, but there is no frequency data included. There is another option in BW7 that uses the Word List Manager. Here is a 2'15" second video showing you how to that.

Creating Word Lists in BW7 using the Word List Manager

As noted in the video, you can export the list as RTF or TXT for use in any word processor, but that list will only give you the word and frequency (and no gloss/meaning). You can also use File > "Make Lexicon from selected words (to editor)" and choose which lexicon to make a much more thorough listing. Note that once the results have been copied to the BW7 editor, you can easily copy/paste it into a word file or you can save the file as a RTF document. Finally, there is another really slick way to do this in BW7 that I think often goes unnoticed. This 1'45" video will show you how to powerful Report Generator tool in BW7.

Creating Word Lists in BW7 using the Report Generator