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Logos 7 is Here!

L7-splash-001Depending on your perspective, it may or may not be a surprise that Logos 7 was released this morning. We’ve been on a six-week release cycle in support of Logos Now for over 18 months. That’s a new release, every six weeks, for 18 months. So we were going to have an update today (August 22, 2016) anyway.

But the release of Logos 7 is big because it means the stuff that Logos Now members have had access to over the last 18 months (with new stuff every six weeks) is now available for purchase and upgrade. And my team has been busy (BUSY!) over those 18 months. I have two lists below representing what we’ve done. The first is stuff my team worked on for the actual Logos 7 release (meaning, it was released this morning), followed by the stuff my team has worked on over the past 18 months that everyone who upgrades to Logos 7 can now access.

I may have posts in the future about some of the new things.

New Stuff for Logos 7 Release

Resources

  1. Lexham Dead Sea Scrolls Hebrew-English Interlinear Bible
  2. Lexham Latin-English Interlinear Vulgate Bible
  3. The Reverse Interlinear Vulgate
  4. The English-Greek Reverse Interlinear Deuterocanonical Old Testament Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition

Datasets

  1. Hebrew Grammatical Constructions — difficult to search for Hebrew constructions annotated so they can be more easily discovered. Verbless clauses, tripartite nominal clauses, and several different flavors of hollow verbs.
  2. Speech Acts (New Testament) — Speech Acts and Sentence Types (#3 below) are separate analyses but when combined offer unique capability. Speech Acts is more functional. For example, sometimes a functional request is formally a declarative sentence. Mt 8.5–7 records the centurion asking Jesus to help heal his slave. But the centurion only tells Jesus his slave is paralyzed and tormented; he doesn’t really ask for him to be healed. Sort of like how my kids say “I’m thirsty!” but what they really mean is “May I have something to drink?” Speech Acts annotates this more functional use of language.
  3. Sentence Types (New Testament) — Sentence types annotates the formal nature of a sentence/clause. Is it declarative, interrogative (question), or imperative (command)? This dataset provides an easy way to search for items that are formally questions or commands in the New Testament — a frequent request from users.
  4. Longacre Genre Analysis — Robert Longacre defined four major types of genre that are applied to larger blocks of text (pericopes). Each type has two nuances or sides. This analysis annotates the Hebrew Bible and Greek New Testament with Longacre’s categories.
  5. Figurative Language (Gospels) — This analysis is of figurative language in the Gospels. We plan to expand it to cover the whole New Testament. So in Mt 5.19 where Jesus notes there will be some called “least in the Kingdom of Heaven” and some called “greatest”, this is metaphorical language. In this case, an orientational metaphor. Where is other language like this used? Mt 10.24, “A disciple is not superior to his teacher, nor a slave superior to his master.” You would’ve never found that other example before, now it can be easily found by searching on the category of figurative language. Or maybe you’re interested in the use of “Shepherd” in figurative language. A search finds several examples in the gospels (Mt 26.31; Mk 14.27; Jn 10.2, 11ff.).

Other Logos Now Material Now Available

These items have been available for Logos Now members, and can now be accessed by Logos 7 owners.

Datasets

  1. Discourse Datasets and Visual Filters 
  2. New Feature: Cascadia Syntax Graphs of LXX Deuterocanon and Apocrypha 
  3. Miracles of the Bible 
  4. Syntactic Force 
  5. Speaking to God 
  6. Proverbs Explorer, vol. 2 
  7. Biblical Theologies Section
  8. Israelite Sacrifices
  9. Reported Speech, Speakers, and Addressees for Deuterocanon
  10. New Testament Use of the Old
  11. Confessional Documents Section
  12. Proverbs Explorer Dataset
  13. Bullinger’s Figures of Speech Dataset
  14. Addressees in Reported Speech 
  15. Greek Grammatical Constructions 
  16. Old Testament Propositional Bible Outlines 
  17. Psalms Explorer Dataset 
  18. RSVCE Hebrew Old Testament Reverse Interlinear 
  19. Systematic Theologies Section

Interactives

  1. Miracles of the Bible 
  2. Speaking to God 
  3. Systematic Theologies Interactive 
  4. Hebrew Bible Manuscript Explorer
  5. Names of God: Deuterocanon 
  6. Proverbs Explorer, vol. 2
  7. New Testament Use of the Old Testament 
  8. Synopsis of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles
  9. Before and After Vol 2 
  10. Commandments of the Law
  11. Names of God Interactive 
  12. Narrative Character Maps Vol 2 
  13. New Testament Manuscript Explorer 
  14. Septuagint Manuscript Explorer

Resources

  1. Parallel Passages in the Pauline Epistles 

We’ve forgotten how to mourn

I still don’t know how to respond to the tragedy of Orlando. But I still don’t know how to respond to other tragic events like Sandy Hook, or the events like those concerning Gabby Giffords, or anything like that.

I still don’t know how to consider the responses to these events. It’s all so predictable; with two potential responses broadcast, each implicitly and explicitly associated with major political parties.

Why does the self-interest of politics need to be the lens forced upon us to understand these events?

Why can’t we mourn? Why can’t we weep? Why can’t we suffer with those who have lost?

Tragedies happen. That’s why we have a word for it.

There is sin. There is evil. And there are things that cannot be explained.

I fear that with our collective societal wisdom, we believe we can fix it. We think, if we just find the reason (or the gene, or whatever), we can fix it.

But we can’t. Tragedies happen.

What we can do is mourn. And I fear we’ve lost that ability, as a society. We move from tragedy straight to blame. We forget to stand with those who lost. In our rush to find root causes, in our rush to predetermine blame, we forget to simply be with the mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, lovers, and friends who have gaping holes in their lives as a result of a tragedy.

I haven’t done any exhaustive study; I haven’t even been able to do any reading or research on what I’m about to say. So this, I guess, is truly a response.

The thing that’s been in my thoughts these past few post-Orlando days is that Jesus was simply with people.

If you were a tax collector, he invited himself over for dinner. If you were a leper, he sat next to you and even touched you. If you were dead, he was in the same room with you (and sometimes brought you back). If you were marginalized, he said “Follow me.” If you were in the 1%, he said “Follow me.” He had things he wanted to teach you, certainly. But he didn’t have a litmus test for being in the same room with him.

When we read about Jesus chewing out the scribes and pharisees, those events require them to be physically proximate. Jesus wasn’t blogging about them. He wasn’t doing it from his Facebook page or his Twitter account. Those folks were around him. He knew them. They knew him. It wasn’t an anonymous social media hit job. He wasn’t building a platform. He wasn’t checking his analytics to see how his message was being received and tweaking it to maximize ratings (and advertising sales).

When Jesus heard of a tragedy, he listened. The father of a little girl tells Jesus that his daughter is sick and maybe even dead. Jesus listens. He doesn’t take it as an opportunity to comment on rural health care or vaccinations or Obamacare or whatever the equivalent. He listens, he speaks, and he goes. Jesus is with him.

When a military guy with a sick servant, mourning the sickness and probable loss of his servant and friend, comes for help, Jesus listens. Jesus doesn’t tell him how Rome needs a Department of Peace instead of a military, or rail about the injustices of slavery. Jesus listens. Jesus is with him.

When Jesus sees a tax collector trying to hear and see more of what’s going on, Jesus acknowledges him. He doesn’t advocate for a flat tax, or rage about the IRS. He says “I’m coming for dinner, let’s hang out. Bring your friends.” He is with the tax collector.

When sick people were around, Jesus didn’t turn the other way. He didn’t think, “Well, I’ve got this gig in Galilee next week and don’t want to be sick” and then take the long way around them. He was with them. He spent time with them. He touched them. Sometimes Jesus even healed them.

We don’t do this. Our first societal response to a tragedy is to figure out what associated political cause we can push to the advantage of whatever political view we align with under the guise of trying to fix the situation and prevent it from happening again.

For Orlando, that seems to be a stance on gun rights. Or some stance on immigration of Muslims. Or some sort of referendum on LGBTQ rights.

Dear friends, we need to mourn. We need to weep.

Dear friends, we need to value “life,” however you define it, throughout its entire cycle.

Dear friends, we need to simply be with those affected by tragedy. Hear their stories. Weep with them. Mourn their loss.

Help Us Fund Our Adoption

adopt (the dictionary project)The Brannans are adopting. Again. And we’re asking for your help.

If you’ve been around us for awhile, you know that we have a heart for adoption. Our nearly four-year-old son Lucas is adopted. But adoption is an expensive thing. Like, really expensive. So we need some help.

Now, since you’ve been around us you also know that I’ve recently published three books through Appian Way Press. If you didn’t know, “Appian Way Press” is me (Rick Brannan), and these books are self-published. That means we’re in control of the copyright and the proceeds.

Now here’s the important part: All proceeds from all sales of Appian Way Press books are being set aside to assist with our adoption. If you’re interested, there are two ways you can help.

  • First Method: Buy the books in print from Amazon.com (1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Apostles’ Creed). You’ll get great books on 1 & 2 Timothy or the Apostles’ Creed, and you’ll contribute around $7 per 1 Timothy book, $4 per 2 Timothy book, or $4 per Apostles’ Creed book to our adoption fund.
  • Second Method: If you’d just like to help us with our adoption but don’t really want to buy any books, you can donate with a credit card through Paypal. Pick your amount. We’re grateful for any donation amount, and it will all go straight into our adoption fund. 100% of it.

Please tell your family, friends, and everyone about this, especially if you think they may have interest in these books or interest in helping fund a domestic infant adoption.

Lastly — and most importantly — please pray for the little one we hope to have join our family, and their birth family.

Lexical Commentary Excerpt: 1 Tim 1:5

BookCoverImage-LCPE-1TimHere’s an excerpt from my recently published Lexical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles: First Timothy. The commentary below is on 1 Timothy 1:5, which is pretty much the thesis of the letter.

Verse 5

but the goal of our instruction

The word translated “goal” is τέλος. The basic meaning is that of ‘end, finish, or termination;’[1] though τέλος developed many supplemental and context-sensitive meanings over time. In this context, the meaning of ‘aim’ or ‘goal’ is appropriate as the context indicates that it is the end of the effort, thus the purpose or reason for expending the effort. The word translated “instruction” is παραγγελία, which is less common in the New Testament. The basic sense of the word is that of a message that essentially commands or orders someone (or a group) to do something.[2] This is commonly known as a charge. Consider First Clement:

Therefore, having received commands and being fully convinced by the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, and full of faith in the word of God, they went forth with the full assurance of the Holy Spirit, proclaiming the gospel, that the kingdom of God was about to come. (1Cl 42.3, emphasis added)

Here the charge or παραγγελία is received by the apostles and dutifully acted upon.

Paul does not establish a new charge for Timothy, but rather confirms that the charge is a common one.[3] Paul includes Timothy in the fulfillment of the charge that has been laid on him by none other than Christ Jesus. Paul sets Timothy’s goal in service to the Ephesian fellowship: to oppose the false teachers, myths, and endless genealogies of verses 3–4.

is love from a pure heart

The phrase “a pure heart” is relatively straightforward in its meaning. The word for “pure” (καθαρός) generally means ‘clean’ though it does have some ceremonial, ritual and religious undertones in its primary senses.[4] This leads to the preference of the translation “pure” instead of simply “clean” in this instance. This is the same language used in Ps 51:10 (lxx 50:12) when David pleads to God for mercy:

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit in my inward parts. (Ps 51:10 [lxx 50:12], emphasis added)

The word for “heart” (καρδία) eventually becomes shorthand for all that “heart” actually means when it occurs in this sort of context. That is, καρδία refers to the figurative usage and assumes that the heart is the center or seat of ‘physical, spiritual and mental life.’[5] Its literal meaning is minimized and the figurative meaning becomes primary. Paul indicates that one’s innermost motivation must not be for impure motives, but rather for pure motives. Love is a result of these pure motives.

and a good conscience

Paul next mentions “a good conscience.” The word translated “good” (ἀγαθός) is a common word expressing the concept of good or goodness.[6] The word for “conscience” (συνείδησις) has to do with being aware of information concerning something. The primary sense, however, seems to be a bit more refined and carries the connotation of moral consciousness or conscience. These imply the idea of not only knowledge but the ability to discern right from wrong.[7]

Paul used this phrase in his testimony before the Sanhedrin, as is recorded in the book of Acts:

And looking intently at the Sanhedrin, Paul said, “Men and brothers, I have lived my life in all good conscience before God to this day.” So the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike his mouth. (Ac 23:1–2, emphasis added)

Paul is not weighed down by guilt from things he has done in the past, he instead considers his conscience clear. A similar usage is found in First Clement:

Each of us, brothers, in his own group, must be pleasing to God, being in good conscience, not going beyond the appointed rule of his ministry, with dignity. (1Cl 41.1, emphasis added)

In First Clement, the “good conscience” helps keep one’s mind on the task at hand. It allows one to focus on pursuing what is proper, and to dismiss what is not.

Paul desires for the Ephesian believers to have an innate ability to discern proper teaching from improper. At the time of the writing of this epistle, the Ephesians did not have this ability. They were falling prey to heretical teachers and false prophets. A “good conscience” contributes to the ability to discern proper teaching from improper teaching, hence Paul’s desire to instill “a good conscience” in them.

and a faith without hypocrisy

Finally, Paul mentions “a sincere faith.” Faith, in this context, carries the sense of trust. The word translated as “sincere” (ἀνυπόκριτος) means ‘genuine’ or ‘sincere’ or even ‘without play-acting’ when taken literally.[8]

The word ἀνυπόκριτος could also be translated as “unfeigned.” This implies the idea of genuine, but also conveys the idea in the Greek that rather than simply being genuine, this faith is something more. It is not faked and is not false. The faith unfeigned is real, sincere faith.

Consider also the use of ἀνυπόκριτος in the Wisdom of Solomon:

… bringing your sincere command as sharp sword; and it stood and filled all things with death, and it touched the sky but stood on the earth. (Wis 18:16, emphasis added)[9]

These three components of Paul’s goal are connected with conjunctions that indicate these three things—a pure heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned—all work together to display the love Paul desires the Ephesians to exhibit.

 

[1] bdag, p. 998. Occurs 40x in nt, only here in pe.

[2] bdag, p. 760. Occurs 5x in nt, 2x in pe: 1Ti 1:5, 18. The verb form of this word occurs in 1Ti 1:3. Cf. comments on both 1Ti 1:3 and 1Ti 1:18.

[3] Note that the charge is actually being explained and clarified from 1Ti 1:5 all the way through 1Ti 1:18. The basics of the charge, however, are in 1Ti 1:3–7.

[4] bdag, p. 489. Occurs 27x in nt, 7x in pe.

[5] bdag, p. 508. Occurs 156x in nt, 2x in pe: 1Ti 1:5, 2Ti 2:22.

[6] bdag, p. 3. Occurs 102x in nt, 10x in pe.

[7] bdag, p. 967. Occurs 30x in nt, 6x in pe: 1Ti 1:5, 19; 3:9; 4:2; 2Ti 1:3; Tt 1:15.

[8] bdag, p. 91. Occurs 6x in nt, 2x in pe: 1Ti 1:5; 2Ti 1:5.

[9] nrsv translates “authentic.”

Development of the Greek NT: Simple Outline

P45_Matthieu_25.41-46Last Friday (May 6, 2016), I had the privilege of being a guest on Michael S. Heiser’s Naked Bible Podcast. Since the show (#99) is now live, I wanted to share some of the notes I threw together (emphasis on “threw”).

Mike asked me to give a sketch of the historical periods that make up the development of the Greek New Testament. Below is the very rough outline I put together as notes for the show. Mike asked me to concentrate a bit more on the 18th-20th centuries as he planned to chat particularly about KJV-only approaches to textual criticism.

If the outline is useful, great. If you find stuff that’s wrong or perhaps a little generalized, that’s OK too. These aren’t hard-and-fast periods. This is really the product of about an hour of just brain-dumping. Feel free to comment if you think there are things that should be tightened up or clarified.

  1. Autographs
  2. Early codices (papyri)
    1. Collections
      1. Gospels
      2. Acts + Catholic Epistles
      3. Paulines
      4. Apocalypse
    2. Four-gospel collections
      1. Tatian’s Diatesseron (Syriac)
        1. Talk about “Early Versions” (Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, Ethiopic, etc.)
          1. Vööbus, Metzger
  3. 4th-8th centuries: Major Uncial/Majuscules
    1. Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, Alexandrinus, Bezae, Claromontanus, Washingtonianus
    2. Others
  4. 9th-15th centuries: Minuscules
  5. 15th-17th centuries: Early printed editions
    1. Erasmus
    2. Complutensian Polyglot
    3. “Stephanus” and the Textus Receptus
  6. 18th-19th centuries: More manuscript discoveries
    1. Bengel, Tregelles: Early reconciling of MS evidence against the now standard TR.
      1. Previously, the apparatus would list MS variations from the established text (TR, Stephanus).
      2. Especially with Tregelles, these previously variant readings began to migrate up into the main (or “upper”) text.
    2. Tischendorf: Several editions based on new textual evidence he discovered. His edito octava maior is still used today.
    3. Westcott & Hort: Textual revolution. Reliance on better quality manuscripts (Vaticanus, Sinaiticus) to establish the text.
      1. Note Hort’s intro, which fully documents their principles
  7. 20th century: Nestle and Aland
    1. Nestle’s 1st edition: 1898. A comparison of three GNT editions, WH, Tischendorf, and Weymouth. The main/upper text established by the majority (consensus) reading, with Nestle mediating triple disagreements. Variations listed in an apparatus
    2. Nestle’s 13th edition (1927) was a complete reworking of the apparatus, listing manuscript info supporting/contrasting readings in the apparatus (instead of just editions).
    3. Nestle & Aland’s 26th edition (1979) was a complete reworking of the text in light of manuscript evidence. This is the basis of most modern translations. The 27th edition uses the same main/upper text with a significantly revised apparatus.
  8. 21st century: Edito Critica Maior and Digital Imaging
    1. Nestle-Aland 28th edition (2012) is the 27th edition with completely updated main/upper text for James-Jude, as well as completely (again) revised apparatus.
    2. New Testament Virtual Manuscript Room (NTVMR). The NTVMR is a warehouse of manuscript imagery, indexed by reference to manuscript page, of a massive and growing proportion of NT manuscripts.
    3. Center for the Study of New Testament Manuscripts (CSNTM). The CSNTM is focused on capturing high-quality images of New Testament manuscripts and providing the images to scholars and others online to consult.

What’s Next for Rick?

BookCoverImage-LCPE-1Tim2016 has been a productive year so far. At the beginning of the year I ran a survey asking what I should focus on with my research and writing time this year.

My own personal goal was to publish some stuff I’d written but simply needed to finish, and to get it done before the summer. Rather than pursue publishing the traditional way, I set up Appian Way Press as my imprint/publisher, and used CreateSpace to publish two books:

One takeaway from the survey was noting interest in material from some classes I’d taught in adult education settings years ago. So next up on the Appian Way Press schedule, I think, is work on a class on the Apostles’ Creed. I hope to re-work my existing notes into a study guide and also a teacher’s edition.

Before that, however, I have an outstanding commitment for an introduction and translation to the Second Apocalypse of John for volume 2 of New Testament Apocrypha: More Noncanonical Scriptures. (more info, volume 1) Once that’s in the can, then it’ll be full-tilt boogie on the Apostles’ Creed.

In other news, it looks like Lexham Press will be publishing my Advent guide, Anticipating His Arrival, in print.

Thanks, everyone, for your support and encouragement!

New Publication: Lexical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles: First Timothy

BookCoverImage-LCPE-1TimIf you’ve followed me around the internet (blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc.) then you probably know about my long-term interest in the Pastoral Epistles. I’ve always had an interest in the letters, but the disease seriously took hold around 2003, when I was single and had lots and lots of free time. I dug into these letters and didn’t look back.

Back in those days, I started writing as I studied First Timothy. I didn’t really know where it was going or what it would look like, but it was helpful in thinking through the text. I invited friends over for dinner to eat food and thrash what I’d written — some of the best feedback ever (thanks again to Eli, Vince, James, Bob, Dale, and the other Bob) —and began to produce what just today (April 20, 2016) became available for purchase on Amazon: Lexical Commentary on the Pastoral Epistles: First Timothy.

I’m thrilled it’s finally out. Thanks to all who encouraged and supported me along the way. Especially you, Amy.