New "Art of the Bible" site from OpenBible.info

OpenBible.info has just announced a new "Art of the Bible" site. The project is described here and says:

Art of the Bible is a website I* made to catalog 5,800 freely available historical Christian-themed artworks on Wikipedia. The site primarily focuses on European paintings from the 1400s to the 1800s that, at least in the U.S., should be free from copyright considerations. Arranged into 116 Bible stories, it relies on linked data to populate its database–which means you should be able to use these images for pretty much any purpose.
*I'm presuming the "I" is Stephen Anderson who's been behind most of OpenBible.info's stuff like this.

The homepage graphically organizes major biblical events or persons along with subcategories. Clicking on one of the subcategories will bring you to a visual collection of related art. (Cf. the graphic above.) Clicking on one of the images brings you to Wikimedia where more information and downloadable files can be found.

The advantage of this site as compared to a Google or Bing image search is that these are all from Wikimedia, and that means you can be (completely?) sure that the image is free to use.

Check it out!

VizBible Map of Paul's Journeys

I just learned about this fabulous mapping project that is shared by Robert Rouse on the VizBible site. It displays Paul's journeys which can be displayed separately, and the but the really wonderful aspect is that the sites on the route are hyperlinked to a popup that indicates on which journey and which Bible text mentions the site. Further, there is a link to the Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire which opens in a new window. From there, you have access to tons of further information from Pleiades, Brill's New Pauly, Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites, more maps, articles, etc. Yes, it becomes a rabbit hole from which you may never emerge, but you'll enjoy the journey! It also works well on a smartphone through a browser with pinching to enlarge/shrink and to select a site.

 

HERE is the Rouse's blog post describing the work he did in creating the map, and while you're on the VizBible site, be sure to check out the other visualizations he's created.

HT: Tim Bahula on Twitter

Accordance offers update with new Text Browser

Accordance has announced a free update to version 12.3. If you have Accordance, you will definitely want to update. Read about all the new features here in the release note. There are lots of nice little touches to make using the program easier (options in a Research tab; many improvements to the web browser including locating Scripture references on a web page that can become text links), but I want to highlight the new Text Browser feature.

Those familiar with BibleWorks know that one of its features was its Browse pane which allowed for the display of a verse or verses as found in a customizable collection of Bible versions. Accordance has now added this feature with its Text Browser. Right-clicking on a passage reference in any text display and choosing "Look Up" now includes the option to choose the Text Browser. It looks like this:

This is a great way to compare original texts and translations, and one has access to all the linked tools including the cross-highlighting and instant details information. The texts to display can be customized easily by creating one's own text group. Note also that the number of verses can be selected from 1-9. There is a "compare" option, but it (quite logically) only compares the first two versions in each language. The Text Browser tab, when opened as noted above, automatically ties it to the originating tab, so it's possible to scroll through the text quite nicely. It's also possible to use CTRL (COMMAND)-C to copy all the displayed versions and paste them into a word document. (I do miss, however, the great control of customizing text exports that was available in BibleWorks which surpasses both Logos and Accordance.)

One tip: The text size of each version can be controlled individually or set in the text display defaults, but if you want to increase or decrease font size of all the texts at the same time, just hold down the ALT key as you click on the aA font size icons.

For more info on the Text Browser, be sure to watch Dr. J's video on the Lighting the Lamp Video Podcast.