More maps and biblical studies (sort of...)

A post by Suzanne McCarthy on the Better Bibles Blog brought my attention to yet another mapping project related to the Bible. At worldmap.org, working with the MissionsAtlasProject, you will find maps of the whole world. You can then choose to view various aspects of the maps, and one aspect that relates to this blog is the status of Bible Translation. (Click on a country, then click on the map, then choose the "Bible Translation" map.) There appears to be lots of translating work yet to be done! (Also check out the interactive map feature on this site for access to some excellent maps and selective layering.)

iTunes U. and Greek

On this thread in the BibleWorks forum, Michael Hanel notes that Concordia Seminary (LCMS in St. Louis) has posted quite a few lessons and lectures on the iTunes U. site. (HERE is the direct link.) As Michael notes,

There you will find some great things like an entire Elementary Greek course taught by James Voelz (author of a Greek grammar among other things), Lectionary at Lunch (weekly readings of the Hebrew and Greek text appointed for the Sunday), an entire course on Exodus and Torah, Day of Homiletical Reflection which includes two lectures by Leonard Sweet, etc.

There is quite a bit more, and these are all free downloads. Both audio and video are available. It will be interesting to see if this technological step proves to be popular/successful, but for now, this looks very cool to me.
AKMAdam provides additional comments on this offering at his blog.

BibleWorks Lectionary Module Addin

Thanks to the work that Jenee Woodard does at The Text This Week (textweek.com) in providing lectionary resources (and for her permission to use the tables she created for years A, B, and C) and the amazing job that Pasquale Amicarelli does in converting html into BibleWorks modules, there is now a BibleWorks module that lists all the texts for Years A, B, and C of the Revised Common Lectionary. Within BW, it is a great way to see if and when a text is used. (The link will show up in the Resource Summary tab.) As a help file, it is very nice to have the weekly texts at your fingertip or just hover over them to get a quick idea of what the text is about.

Click HERE to download the module. (Unzip the files into your /databases directory. If necessary be sure to "unblock" the .CHM file.) I'll also pass the zip file along for Hanel and Darlack to post on the master list at The BibleWorks Blog. (ZIP file updated 2007.05.24 and now works correctly)

Christian Computing Magazine

Though directed primarily to those working in churches, Christian Computing Magazine is a free, monthly digital journal that often includes ads, announcements, or reviews of electronic resources related to biblical studies. (For example, in the latest issue there is a review of the eBible.com site.) The most recent volume is available as a PDF HERE.

Updates on Bible mapping

I've updated an earlier posting on Bible mapping. In particular, note that I've spend some time with the free version of the Bible Mapper program (and recommend it). I also added another website--BibleMap.org--to the list of online resources.

Online biblical research tools

There is a fine article by Danny Zacharias (contributor to the equally fine deinde.org blog on "discussion and resources for biblical scholars") on the Society of Biblical Literature site entitled, "The Wired Scholar: Five Free Tools You May Not Know About." He describes some of the neat resources available through Google and LibraryThing. I would particularly highlight (and I now have bookmarked) his references to the following sites: BIBLE, JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY via Google Book Search (which contains a listing of links to Migne's Patrologia Graeca and Patrologia Latina) and the Free Books in Biblical Studies and Related Fields. As if I didn't already have too much to read...
Two items I would add to the list:

• Amazon's Search Inside feature: If you search on Amazon for keywords, it not only looks at titles, but it also look inside books. This only applies to some books which have the "Search Inside" feature indicating that the books have been scanned, but I have definitely benefited from using this technology to find sources I would otherwise have missed.
• Amazon's YourMediaLibrary: If you have an Amazon account, it already knows everything you have ever purchased. You can add tags and comments to anything, and you can also add any item whether you've purchased it or not using ISBN, UPC, or ASIN codes. It's similar to LibraryThing, although it isn't as helpful as an academic resource linking to other book lovers, but it doesn't appear to have any limits. Printing options are very limited, and it is not really a bibliographic tool, but it is a great organizer.

Logos Greek NT Workspace

Some postings on the Logos newsgroup have been discussing what peoples' Greek NT Workspace looks like, so I thought I would share mine. Since I regularly go back and forth between Logos and BibleWorks, I have tried to have some continuity between them. In particular, I like BW's tri-column layout of searching > browsing > research.
In the picture below of my workspace, then, you will see that in the top left are my search windows: the Bible Study Starter, and then tabbed below it a Bible Speed Search window and a Search Results one. (Note that I keep the "Target" button enabled on these last two. That way, when I do a search, the results show up in those windows and don't open a new window that covers up my other ones.)
At the top of the center column are my English versions. I mainly use the NRSV along with the NET Bible and its excellent notes. For comparison sake, I also keep a copy of Peterson's The Message (for a dynamic translation) and the NASB95 (for a formal, literal one).
Below that I keep my Greek NT which for me is the SESB version of NA27. In another tab in that pane I put my BHS Hebrew OT.
To the left on the bottom, I then have resources that match up with the Greek NT, namely, the NA27 Apparatus, Metzger's Textual Commentary, and a copy of the LXX. In this way I can easily have my text in front of me and check out variants, or, when there is a citation of or allusion to the OT, I can have the LXX alongside (and switch to the BHS as desired).
Note that I have my English versions, the Greek NT and its Apparatus, and Metzger all linked. I also have the LXX and BHS linked.
In the right column are all my research tools. BDAG is my primary lexicon, but I also like the Exegetical Dictionary of the NT (EDNT), Louw-Nida's semantic domain lexicon, and the TDNT. I set up my keylink in the Greek NT to find the word in BDAG, and since I have all these lexicons linked, the others follow right behind.
Also in this column, in addition to the lexicons, I keep two very handy general references for quick lookup work: Harper's Bible Dictionary and Harper's Bible Commentary.
Finally, note that I have added a few icons on the top for quick access to a few other favorite books including some text books and the OpenText Greek NT.
(Click on image for full size.)