Nerdlets

Online Version of the ESV Recently Updated

Tommy — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 14:26:13 +0000

The online edition of the ESV Bible recently got a face lift. Many of you probably know this already, but I though I would point out a very handy feature. It’s called “reading mode.”

I have long wanted a Bible that looks more like a book; keep the paragraph breaks, the Book Titles (“Matthew,” “Romans”), and maybe the chapter numbers, but get rid of everything else. Verse numbers, section headings, cross-references–all these things are a distraction to what we might call “normal” reading, and the Bible is meant to be read (not dissected).You really do read differently this way, and the differences are for the better. (If you really need verse numbers, put them in the margins, like we do with Josephus and other ancient literature). If you’re looking for something like this, the closest thing I have found for the ESV, and it’s not even close, is this.

Well, the online version of the ESV goes a long way to making this a real possibility. To access it, click on the arrows in the top left corner of the page.

All Crossway.org Ebooks on Sale | Crossway

Tommy — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 15:53:36 +0000

And here’s another sale, this time on Ebooks from Crossway. Note that it also includes modules for their online bible site, esvbible.org, which some of you might find handy.

50% Off Sale at WTSBooks

Tommy — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 14:57:17 +0000

Westminster Books is running a special sale on best-sellers from 2012. Check it out.

Reformed Creeds, Now Android Compatible

Tommy — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 21:17:14 +0000

For those who both love Christian Creeds and have an Android device (which may be a small subsection of the general population), check out this app from WTS in California. ENJOY!

WTS Blog Partners’ Automatic Link Builder for Firefox

Tommy — Tue, 17 Jul 2012 22:04:57 +0000

Those of us who loved it have known for some time that the WTSBooks link-builder plugin for Firefox has been non-functional for some time now. Good news! It’s now back. Now all we need is one for Chrome!

Massive Sale on ESV Bibles Bought in Bulk

Tommy — Tue, 10 Jul 2012 14:35:14 +0000

Everyone’s favorite Christian Bookstore, Westminster Books, is currently running a huge sale on ESV Bibles, particularly if you purchase by the case. Check it out here.

BibleArc Gets New Features and a New Look

Tommy — Thu, 05 Jul 2012 15:25:56 +0000

For those of you who have not yet discovered Biblearc, now may be a good time to check it out. Biblearc is a handy tool for semantic and thought flow diagramming of Biblical passages, which is often a very helpful step in exegesis. I teach various kind of sentence diagramming in my exegesis classes, and I usually use BibleArc as a quick way of demonstrating some of the tools available.

They have recently updated their webapp with some significant improvements that make it much more usable. My favorites include:

The addition of WLC, NA27 and the new SBL Greek New Testament as primary language resources.
A brand new and fairly decent syntax diagramming component. I had a little trouble getting certain words and components to “stick,” and I’m not sure yet how to diagram subordinate clauses (though I’m sure that’s because I refused to read the directions), but it’s actually pretty slick, especially if you don’t want to shell out a lot of $$$ for similar functionality in Bibleworks or Logos.
A radically new look that is both easier and more functional. It now looks like a modern webapp. Kudos to the designer!
The addition of BDB and Thayer’s is nice, as is the parsing module. Thayer’s is no substitute for BDAG, though.
Easier sharing and printing. But there is no way to save as PDF or PNG, which would have been nice.

All in all, a great update. I still have some quibbles, though. There is no way to mark prominence in the semantic diagramming module, for example, and I don’t like some of the categories and descriptions they use (I prefer the methods discussed by Cotterell in this book). But if you are look for an inexpensive and helpful way to move through the exegetical process, BibleArc can help.

How to Block Inappropriate Web Sites

Tommy — Thu, 24 May 2012 03:26:13 +0000

Whether it’s your home or your work network, it’s always a good idea to block material that should not be viewed. And the best way to keep such material off your screen is to block it before it even gets to your router. A great resource for doing just that is OpenDNS. You can find a guide to setting things up here. I recommend blocking things at the router level, but that can be a bit more complicated. Setting it up on a computer-by-computer basis is not difficult, though, so it’s your choice. Regardless, it’s worth the time to do it!

Oxford and the Vatican Putting Millions of Texts Online

Tommy — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 03:22:52 +0000

From Ars Technica:

Specifically, the texts will include pages from Oxford’s Bodelian Libraries and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (BAV). The digitized pages will include early printed books—called incunabula—from Rome and the surrounding area; Greek manuscripts including early church texts and works by Homer, Sophocles, Plato, Hippocrates; and Hebrew manuscripts from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. “With approximately two-thirds of the material coming from the BAV and the remainder from the Bodleian, the digitization effort will also benefit scholars by uniting virtually materials that have been dispersed between the two collections over the centuries,” a statement from Oxford read.

New Journal for Biblical Greek and Linguistics

Tommy — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:55:17 +0000

It’s called Biblical and Ancient Greek Linguistics (BAGL). You can find the full text of the first handful of articles at their site, and there is also an RSS feed here.

HT: Rod Decker