Accordance
Libronix/Mac vs. Accordance, Part 2: Printing
08/07/2009 08:25 Filed in: Technology | Faith & Reason
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Libronix/Mac vs. Accordance, Part 1.1: Speed Search Revisited
08/03/2009 08:31 Filed in: Technology | Faith & Reason
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Libronix/Mac vs. Accordance, Part 1: "Speed" Search
07/31/2009 00:01 Filed in: Technology | Faith & Reason
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Accordance vs. "PC Bible Software Ported to the Mac"
06/26/2009 11:00 Filed in: Technology
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Biblical Illustrator Plus: Summer 2009
05/28/2009 00:56 Filed in: Faith & Reason | Technology
Sunday, I received my new copy of Biblical Illustrator Plus CDROM. I’ve been using Biblical Illustrator for years to help me prepare for the Bible studies I teach on Sunday morning. BI contains background articles that go along with the two main Sunday School curricula used in most Southern Baptist churches. BI is completely separate from the regular teacher’s material, but honestly I value it more. Every quarterly issue contains around 25 articles that offer background information for the biblical texts covered in our studies. The information is usually more detailed than what is offered in the average commentary, but short enough to be digested in one sitting. A working knowledge of biblical languages is not required.
G. B. Howell Jr. is editor of BI. In this newest issue, he is interviewed regarding the role he has played over the past six years. In that interview, he offers a very good description of what BI has to offer:
We continue to offer articles on biblical archaeology, geography, history, people, Greek and Hebrew word studies, and some theology. Every issue has a book review that introduces a new resource to our readers. And we offer a CenterSpread that is art intensive but has an economy of words. ... We have begun offering, though, sidebar boxes with self-contained information (see “St. Catherine’s Monastery,” p. 9). We added a twopage article that addresses some aspect of biblical archaeology, either a find or a site of significance.
The cover of the Summer 2009 issue features a bronze mask of a maenad or female follower of the wine-god Bacchus (Roman, 1st cent. A.D.). In addition to the curricula-related articles, this issue offers a review of Paul Barnett’s book, Paul: Missionary of Jesus. The archaeological article by Joe Cathey focuses on the City of David. The center spread covers the geography of ancient Galatia.
I teach the Explore the Bible curriculum which covers Galatians and James for the months of June - August. Many of the articles that you will see in the table below relate to these books of the Bible. Other articles offer background information for the Bible Studies for Life and MasterWork curricula. Below are the new articles in the current issue of BI:
| Jerry Batson | Anointing in the Early Church | James 5 |
| Joseph Beckler | Abide in John's First Epistle | 1 John 2:3-17 |
| Martha S. Bergen | Jewish Feasts & Festivals | John 7:10-39 |
| Rick Byargeon | Sinai: The Mountain of God | Ex 33:12 - 34:9 |
| Joseph R. Cathey | ARTIfacts: The City of David | |
| Bennie R. Crockett Jr. | Three Social Divisions in the First Century | Gal 3:26-29 |
| Terry Ellis | Sins of the Flesh | Gal 5:16-26 |
| R. D. Fowler | Mirrors | James 1:19-27 |
| John L. Harris | The Book of Jonah in Its Historical Setting | Jonah |
| G. B. Howell Jr. | Paul: Missionary of Jesus by Paul Barnett [book review] | |
| Francis X. Kimmitt | Ancient Culture and Law | Ex 33:12 - 34:9 |
| John Mason | Literacy in the First Century | Galatians, James, 1 Peter, 1 John |
| Allan Moseley | The Tabernacle: Its History and Use | Ex 35:4 - 36:7 |
| Mark Rathel | "Light" in John's Writings | 1 John 1:1 - 2:2 |
| Charles A. Ray Jr. | Genuine Humility | James 4:1-17 |
| C. Mack Roark | James' Ethical Imperatives | James |
| Don H. Stewart | Galatia: Its History | Galatians |
| L. Thomas Strong III | The Social Elite in the First Century | James 2:1-13 |
| J. Mark Terry | Gideon: His Life and Times | Judges 6:11-40 |
| Timothy Trammell | Traveling Through Galatia [center spread] | Galatians |
| Robert A. Weathers | Colossae in the First Century | Col 1:1-29 |
| C. Alan Woodward | The Churches of Galatia | Gal 1 |
The articles above are in both the print issue of BI and the BI Plus CD-ROM. However, the articles below are from previous issues and can be found only on the CD-ROM edition, Biblical Illustrator Plus.
| Scott Andrew | Faith | James 1:3; 2:14; 2 Peter 1:5 |
| Stephen J. Andrews | Sackcloth and Fasting in Jonah | Jonah |
| Stephen J. Andrews | Hazor: A Great City | Josh 10:1 - 12:24 |
| Waylon Bailey | Aaron's Golden Calf | Ex 32:15-19, 30-34; 34:4-6 |
| Bryan E. Beyer | God's Message for Ninevah | Jonah 2:10 - 3:10 |
| James A. Brooks | Gnosticism | 1 John 4:1-3 |
| James A. Brooks | Redemption | 1 Pet 1:18; Eph 1:7 |
| Trent C. Butler | Near Eastern Creation Stories | Genesis |
| James Carter | Old Testament Backgrounds of the Book of James | James |
| Robert O. Coleman | The Fountain | James 3:11 |
| Robert O. Coleman | The Sirocco and the Flower | James 1:11 |
| Bob Dean | The Counselor | John 14-16 |
| David S. Dockery | The Meaning of Deposit | 2 Cor 1:21-22; 5:1-5; Eph 1:11-14 |
| David S. Dockery | To Betray Another | Matt 26:26-56 |
| Charles W. Draper | Law and Faith | Galatians |
| Mark R. Dunn | Counselor: The Meaning | John 14:15-31; 15:26-27; 16:5-15 |
| Mark R. Dunn | Who Were the Samaritans? | John 4:4-26 |
| J. Scott Duvall | Grace | Rom 5:6-17 |
| Kendell H. Easley | The Prison Epistles | Philemon; Colossians |
| Terry W. Eddinger | Ninevah: Assyria's Last Capital | Jonah 4:1-11 |
| Gary Lee Gramling | Paul's Ethical Absolutes | Colossians |
| Sharon H. Gritz | The Betrayer: Judas Iscariot | Matt 26-28 |
| Fred Howard | Prayer: A Word Study | Psalm 28:6-7; Col 4:2-4; 1 Thess 5:16-18; 1 Peter 5:6-7 |
| Paul N. Jackson | A Christian Ethic of Business | James 4:1-17 |
| Robert Earl Jones | Abide: The Meaning | 1 John 2:3-17 |
| Scott Langston | Midian in the Time of the Judges | Judges 4:1 - 9:57 |
| Bill Latta | Gold Rings and Fine Clothing | James 2:2-3 |
| Michael Martin | Fallen from Grace | Gal 5:4 |
| John Mason | Horses: Their First Century Use | James 3:1-5 |
| M. Pierce Matheney Jr. | The Historical Setting for the Book of Jeremiah | Jer 1:4-10; 4:1-4; 6:16-17 |
| David M. May | The Spirit of Restoration | Gal 6:1-10, 14-18 |
| Glenn McCoy | Christ's Second Coming | Heb 9:28; James 5:7 |
| Glenn McCoy | The Royal Law | James 2:1-13 |
| Larry McGraw | Freedom and the Christian | Matt 18:15-17; Gal 5:13-15; 6:1-5 |
| Larry McGraw | The Life Situation of James | James |
| Larry McKinney | The Background of Schoolmaster | Gal 3:1-5, 23 - 4:7 |
| Harold L. McManus | First Century Wars and Their Causes | James 4:1 |
| Warren McWilliams | The Galatian People | Galatians |
| Janice Meier | Gideon: All We Know | Judges 6-8 |
| John Polhill | John's Use of "Witness" | 1 John 5:1-12 |
| John Polhill | The Meaning of "Justified" | Gal 2:11-21 |
| John Polhill | No Respecter of Persons: God's View of Race Relations | Acts 10:34-35 |
| Wayne W. Poplin | Gideon: A Mighty Warrior | Judges 6:11 |
| Gregory T. Pouncey | Libertinism & Legalism | Gal 5:16-26 |
| Michael Priest | Titus and Paul | Titus |
| M. Dean Register | God's Wisdom/Man's Wisdom | 1 Cor 2:1-16 |
| Charles A. Ray Jr. | Antichrist in John's Letters | 1-3 John |
| Charles A. Ray Jr. | Christ and the Kosmos | Phil 2:19-24; James 3:13-16; 1 John 2:15-17 |
| Charles A. Ray Jr. | The Law of Freedom | James 1:22-27; 2:14-18 |
| E. Randy Richards | Stop Lying | Col 3:8-9; James 3:3-12; 1 Pet 3:8-10 |
| C. Mack Roark | Introducing 1 John | 1 John 1:5-10; 2:3-11 |
| Paul E. Robertson | The Churches of Galatia | Galatians |
| David M. Russell | The Colossian Heresies | Col 1:9-23 |
| Billy Simmons | A Religious History of Galatia | Galatians |
| Bob Simmons | The Curse | Gal 3:15 - 4:7 |
| Billy K. Smith | The Meaning of "God's Spirit Moved" | Gen 1:1-5, 31 - 2:1, 15-17 |
| Harold S. Songer | Anointing with Oil: What Does It Mean? | James 5:14 |
| Gerald L. Stevens | "Blaspheme": A Word Study | James 2:1-13 |
| Robert A. Street Jr. | Micah: His Life and Times | |
| Leslie "Thomas" Strong III | Family Life in Ancient Corinth | 1 Cor 7:1-5; 8-16 |
| Roger R. Sullivan | Corinth's Religious Atmosphere | 1 Cor 8:12-13 |
| J. Mark Terry | Jonah's Vine | Jonah 4:1-11 |
| William B. Tolar | A Different Gospel | Gal 1:1-12 |
| William B. Tolar | Paul's Fruit List | Gal 6:16-26 |
| Timothy Trammell | Faith Affirmed | 1 John 5:1-12 |
| Timothy Trammell | The Purpose and Life Situation of John's Letters | 1-3 John |
| Robert A. Weathers | Sexual Purity in the New Testament | Job 31:1-4; Psalm 10:3-4; 2 Cor 10:4-5; 1 Thess 3-5, 7 |
| Elgia "Jay" Wells | Lessons for Race Relations | Acts 10:1-48; 8:26-40 |
| Terry L. Wilder | The Role of a Steward | 1 Peter 4:7-19 |
| Jerry M. Windsor | Grace | Ephesians |
| C. Alan Woodward | Heresies in the Colossian Church | Colossians |
| G. Al Wright Jr. | Testing | James 1:2-4, 9-15, 26-27 |
Now, when I’ve written about BI before, I’ve suggested that it has value even for people who don’t teach from SBC curriculum. Why? Well, the articles provided in each issue are invaluable if one is involved in any aspect of preaching or teaching. Every CD in the “Plus” edition contains almost 100 articles. A couple of years ago, I began copying the articles (all in PDF format) from the CD onto my hard drive. I divide them up by books of the Bible as can be seen below:
Thus, regardless of whether I’m working on a Sunday School lesson, sermon, college lecture, or some other study of the Bible, I have dozens of background articles at my immediate disposal.
Recently, I’ve started listing articles in my personal notes in Accordance where I do the bulk of my preparation for teaching the Bible. I haven’t completed this project yet, but once I’m finished, I’ll have a running index in biblical order of the articles I have available.
I promise you I receive no commission from Lifeway for promoting BI here on This Lamp! I simply remain very enthusiastic about this resource and highly recommend it to others who are in any kind of teaching or preaching ministry. The print edition is $24.95 a year and the CDROM edition (with all the extra articles from past issues) is $34.95.
Accordance Extends Web Presence
05/05/2009 06:26 Filed in: Faith & Reason
However, I regularly find that some folks--even Mac users--aren’t familiar with Accordance. Therefore, I’m glad to see Oak Tree Software expanding their web presence. Of course they already had a website, a blog and more, but I’m pleased to see them expanding into resources like their new video podcast as well as creating a YouTube presence.
To my knowledge, here is a fairly complete listing of Accordance’s web presence. If I’ve left anything off, let me know and I’ll add it.
Accordance on the Web
- Accordance Main Website: the main resource for finding out about Accordance and ordering software
- Accordance Blog: updated multiple times a week with tips, help and module profiles
- Accordance Forums: an incredible source for finding help from other users and representatives from Oak Tree software. In fact, Oak Tree has the fastest, personal response to questions I’ve ever seen from any company. Users can also offer their own tips and suggestions as well as request new modules.
- Accordance FaceBook Page: A great way to keep up with what’s new in Accordance as well as interact with other Facebook Accordance users.
- Lighting the Lamp Video Podcast: A brand new weekly video podcast hosted by Dr. Timothy Jenney.
- Accordance YouTube Channel: Features many of the videos available on the main website, but may be easier to embed on personal websites and blogs.
- Accordance Twitter Account: keep up with all things new and interesting about Accordance via Twitter.
- Accordance Exchange: At no extra cost, every level of Accordance comes with the ability to create your own user tools, user Bibles, user notes and distribute them to others. The Accordance Exchange is a great resource for accessing these files created by other Accordance users.
- Banners for User Websites: Accordance users can help to promote Accordance on their own websites and blogs. You’ll see one of these in the left sidebar that I’ve had on This Lamp for a while.
- Video Demos and Instructional Tutorials: Note two separate links at this bullet. The video demos show off the most recent version of Accordance. The instructional videos contain the entire training DVD, now available for free online.
All-Day Accordance Seminar To Be Held at SBTS
02/01/2008 00:34 Filed in: Technology
On Saturday, March 29, I will be teaching an all-day Accordance seminar at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Admission is free, but seating is limited. If you want to reserve your spot contact seminars@accordancebible.com.
For more information, click on the image below or click here for a PDF copy.
For more information, click on the image below or click here for a PDF copy.
Accordance Updated to v. 7.2
05/07/2007 13:20 Filed in: Technology
Well beyond the Mac vs. Windows debate, the very best reason to adopt the Macintosh platform may simply be Accordance Bible software. Today, Oak Tree Software released v. 7.2 of Accordance. There's so much here, one might've expected the release to carry an 8.0 designation. Nevertheless, there's plenty here to explore. From the Accordance website:
Major New Features:
- Import of User Bible texts.
- Printing of highlighted text, both of regular highlighting in text and tool panes, and when using Compare Texts.
- Horizontal option for display of the Resource palette.
- Prior and Next buttons appear after using internal hypertext links in a tool pane in a Search window, with control-command left and right arrow key combinations which also work for the Tools window.
General New Features:
- Larger and more colorful text access buttons at the bottom left of many windows.
- Contextual menus: additional menu for More Options in Tools, and Favorites submenu added to contextual menus.
- Up to 512 characters are allowed in Range definitions.
- The CHAR item in the Construct allows multiple entries.
- Pressing shift with command right and left arrow keys selects the intervening text.
- Diagram window exports as an editable PICT image.
- An option in User Notes preferences allows multiple edit windows.
- SBL standard references for abbreviations is an option for display and export of text.
- Command-click on a verse reference in a tool amplifies to all the references in the paragraph.
New Original Language Features/Updates
- Optional modern Greek Polytonic keyboard for text entry.
- Character palette supports modern Greek and Hebrew keyboards.
- Export to Graeca II font is supported instead of SuperGreek.
- Preferences page to reorder the grammatical tags.
- Option to view tags as full words in Instant Details.
- Format of tag display is clearer.
- Export of Helena text converts the "apple" character into a correct rough breathing.
I'm very intrigued to explore the new option to import other Bible texts. What this means is that any freely available texts on the internet can now be imported for use into Accordance.
For more details on all the new features, see the announcement in the Accordance forums and David Lang's post on the Accordance Blog.
What's In Your Accordance?
01/13/2007 02:40 Filed in: Technology
Nine years ago when I was cautiously considering the switch from Windows to the Mac, one of my biggest concerns was Bible software. At the time I was primarily using BibleWorks 3.5 on my Windows machines. In BibleWorks I had access to the Greek NT, Hebrew Bible, LXX, NASB with Greek and Hebrew dictionaries, and a couple of good lexicons among a few other modules. My main concern in switching to the Mac was finding equitable replacements for all the modules I was currently using. My hopes and fears were soon relieved when I discovered Accordance for the Mac. Not only could I do everything in Accordance that I was already doing in BibleWorks, I could do much more. In many ways my discovery of Accordance helped me make the final decision to take the plunge into the Mac world. And nine years later, if I were to list out top reasons for staying with the Mac, Accordance would be high on the list.
My initial purchase of Accordance and my first modules was made through the Gramcord Institute of which at one time Accordance was associated. The texts and modules listed below were not purchased all at once but have been acquired gradually over the last nine years. Oak Tree Software, the makers of Accordance have a very generous upgrade policy with many of the updates to the modules offered for free or at very reasonable prices. When Microsoft Office for the Mac is updated every three years or so, I have to think about where I'm going to find the money for an upgrade and plan ahead. I've never had such concerns with Accordance upgrades.
Below is a list of biblical texts I own, followed by other modules I've added. I'm actually not listing everything I have because a number of public domain works were included in some of my purchases. One day I'll make the time to weed out some of these modules that I never use, but the reality is that they don't really take up that much space.
Accordance Biblical Texts I Own:
American Standard Version
Bible in Basic English
Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia with Westminster Morphology
Bishop's Bible
Douay-Rheims Bible
Darby Translation
English Standard Version
Geneva Bible
Novum Testamentum Graece (Nestle-Aland, 27th Edition) with Morphological tagging
Greek New Testament: Textus Receptus with Strong's Numbers
God's Word Translation
Holman Christian Standard Bible
King James Version with Strong's Numbers
La Biblia de las Américas
Rahlfs Greek Septuagint
The Message
New American Standard Bible
New American Standard Bible (1995 Update) with Strong's Numbers
New English Translation (Including all notes)
New International Version with Goodrick/Kohlenberger Numbers
New Living Translation (first edition) [this module is no longer available]
New Living Translation (second edition)
New Revised Standard Version with Apocrypha
Revised English Bible
Today's English Version
Today's New International Version
World English Bible
The Holy Bible by Noah Webster
Weymouth New Testament in Modern Speech
Young's Literal Translation
Accordance Extra-Biblical Texts I Own
Kaufmann Mishna (grammatically tagged)
The Mishna: A New Translation by Jacob Neusner
Qumran Sectarian Manuscripts (Hebrew)
Qumran Sectarian Manuscripts: A New English Translation
An Index of Qumran Manuscripts
Works of Flavius Josephus (Greek) with Morphological Tagging
Works of Flavius Josephus (English) translated by William Whiston
Works of Philo (Greek) with Morphological Tagging
Works of Philo (English) translated by C. D. Yonge
Accordance Greek Reference Works I Own
A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (BDAG)
Strong's Greek Dictionary of the New Testament
Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains (Louw & Nida)
NASB Greek Dictionary
NIV Greek Dictionary
UBS Concise Greek-English Dictionary of the NT (Barclay Newman)
New Testament Greek, 2nd ed. (Gerald Stevens)
Accordance Hebrew Reference Works I Own
Koehler & Baumgartner Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament
Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament
Strong's Hebrew Dictionary of the Old Testament
NASB Hebrew Dictionary
NIV Hebrew Dictionary
Other Accordance Reference Works I Own
Accordance Bible Atlas
Accordance Timeline
Anchor Bible Dictionary
New International Encyclopedia of Bible Words by Lawrence Richards [this may no longer be available; I could not find it at the Accordance website]
IVP Dictionary of Biblical Imagery
IVP New Dictionary of Biblical Theology
IVP Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
IVP Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments
IVP New Bible Dictionary
IVP Dictionary of New Testament Background
IVP Dictionary of Paul and His Letters
IVP Pocket Dictionary Series (Theological Terms, Biblical Studies, Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion, New Testament Greek)
IVP New Dictionary of Theology
NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible
NIV Compact Nave's Topical Bible
NIV Place Names
Accordance Bible Lands PhotoGuide
Accordance Dictionary of Place Names
Assorted Quotations (Compiled by David Lang of Accordance)
Accordance Gallery of Bible Art
Dictionary of Bible Difficulties (Gleason Archer)
IVP Hard Sayings of the Bible
IVP New Bible Commentary
IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament
IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
Zondervan NIV Commentary
Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance
NIV Study Bible
Outlines of Bible Books (David Lang and Greg Ward)
IVP New Bible Atlas
Manners and Customs in the Bible (Victor H. Matthews)
Theological Journal Library Vols. 1-5
Theological Journal Library Vol. 6
And as mentioned above, this list does not include some of the dozens of public domain works that are also installed, a number of which are quite interesting. But when I look at this list, the most amazing aspect of it all to me is that I can carry ALL of it on my MacBook wherever I go. And even more amazing, my Accordance folder only takes up about 3GB of space, even with the all the works listed above. Simply incredible!
The NLT's Use of the Dead Sea Scrolls
08/02/2006 12:31 Filed in: Faith & Reason
In writing the previous blog entry on the HCSB’s use of "guy," I happened to notice a rather large block of text appended in brackets to 1 Sam 10:27 in the New Living Translation:
I should note that the above addition to the text is in found the second edition of the NLT (2004) and not the first (1996). There is a footnote attached to this additional text that reads, “This paragraph, which is not included in the Masoretic Text, is found in Dead Sea Scroll 4QSama.”
Since I can search the notes of the NLT using Accordance, I found that there are around two dozen instances in the 2004 edition in which the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) are given preference over the Masoretic Text (MT): Deut 31:1; 32:8 32:43; 1 Sam 1:24; 2:20; 2:33; 2 Sam 6:7; 12:14; 22:36; 22:43; Isa 3:24; 14:4; 15:9; 21:8; 33:8; 37:20; 37:25; 37:27; 45:2; 49:12; 49:24; and 51:19. There are also a number of references that compare readings in the MT to the DSS although the former is favored.
From what I found in my search, the only extensive addition to the OT text from the DSS is the one in 1Sam 10 quoted above. But it begs the question as to whether Bible translations are moving further away from sole dependence on the Masoretic Text. A number of contemporary translations give alternate readings from the DSS, but I don't remember if I've ever come across such a major extension to the text of the Old Testament except for the NLT2 and the NRSV (in the same passage). From a theological perspective, there would be issues of inspiration and canonicity to wrangle with, too. Obviously, for the NLT translators to include this passage, they must assume that it was part of the original canonical text.
And less dependence on the MT also makes one wonder if it's not time to create an eclectic Hebrew OT text, much like the Greek New Testaments that are in use today. With some of the DSS manuscripts well over a millennium older than the MT, at the very least they should be given serious consideration as the NLT translators have done.
Redacted 08/05/2006
[Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the people of Gad and Reuben who lived east of the Jordan River. He gouged out the right eye of each of the Israelites living there, and he didn’t allow anyone to come and rescue them. In fact, of all the Israelites east of the Jordan, there wasn’t a single one whose right eye Nahash had not gouged out. But there were 7,000 men who had escaped from the Ammonites, and they had settled in Jabesh-gilead.]
I should note that the above addition to the text is in found the second edition of the NLT (2004) and not the first (1996). There is a footnote attached to this additional text that reads, “This paragraph, which is not included in the Masoretic Text, is found in Dead Sea Scroll 4QSama.”
Since I can search the notes of the NLT using Accordance, I found that there are around two dozen instances in the 2004 edition in which the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) are given preference over the Masoretic Text (MT): Deut 31:1; 32:8 32:43; 1 Sam 1:24; 2:20; 2:33; 2 Sam 6:7; 12:14; 22:36; 22:43; Isa 3:24; 14:4; 15:9; 21:8; 33:8; 37:20; 37:25; 37:27; 45:2; 49:12; 49:24; and 51:19. There are also a number of references that compare readings in the MT to the DSS although the former is favored.
From what I found in my search, the only extensive addition to the OT text from the DSS is the one in 1Sam 10 quoted above. But it begs the question as to whether Bible translations are moving further away from sole dependence on the Masoretic Text. A number of contemporary translations give alternate readings from the DSS, but I don't remember if I've ever come across such a major extension to the text of the Old Testament except for the NLT2 and the NRSV (in the same passage). From a theological perspective, there would be issues of inspiration and canonicity to wrangle with, too. Obviously, for the NLT translators to include this passage, they must assume that it was part of the original canonical text.
And less dependence on the MT also makes one wonder if it's not time to create an eclectic Hebrew OT text, much like the Greek New Testaments that are in use today. With some of the DSS manuscripts well over a millennium older than the MT, at the very least they should be given serious consideration as the NLT translators have done.
Redacted 08/05/2006
Whither the Land of Cush?
03/27/2006 23:09 Filed in: Faith & Reason
First, read the message I posted on the Accordance Support forum early Sunday morning:
For today (March 26) Southern Baptist Sunday School literature focused on Isa 17-18. In ch. 18, there were references to the land of Cush (Ethiopia in some translations). I usually put together a handout for the class that I teach, and I had hoped to include a map that showed where the land of Cush was. I had even greater hopes of finding a map that demonstrated that Cush was actually greater in size than merely modern-day Ethiopia.
So I fired up the Accordance Bible Atlas, and I was disappointed to see no entry for the land of Cush. I tried searching for Ethiopia, but no luck there either. I looked in other modules that I have such as the Anchor Bible Dictionary and the IVP New Bible Atlas, but no luck. I even looked in the Photoguide thinking maybe I could find photographs from the region. But nothing.
From there, I fired up VirtualPC where I keep a few Windows Bible programs from my pre-Mac days (I switched in 1998). The version of Logos Bible Atlas had nothing, and neither did the map module in Wordsearch.
Even a Google image search yielded nothing (except for some really weird stuff).
All of these programs are in equal standing it seems. There are also no references to Cush in the maps in the back of my Bible! I've decided this morning just to tell my class to think "south of Egypt, going down the Nile."
Here's my question... I admit that I don't have the newest version of the Accordance Bible Atlas. Just out of curiosity, is Cush included in the new Atlas? Admittedly, Cush would be the very southwestern edge of the biblical world, but I would think that it's mentioned enough in the Bible to warrant inclusion in a biblical atlas.
Today, David Lang of Accordance responded to my message confirming that Cush was not included in the newer version of the Atlas either, but should probably be added in a future release. I'm not surprised at this point. My search has not been exhaustive, but I can't find one decent depiction of Cush anywhere. I don't have a map of Cush in any Bible or any reference book (that I know of).
What exactly was the extent of Cush? Grogan (EBC) notes the following:
[Cush] designates a much larger area than present-day Ethiopia--an area including the Sudan and Somalia. This somewhat mysterious area, situated at one of the limits of the normal biblical world, had come right into the world in Isaiah's day. It was normally in Egypt's area of influence and, usually, of control; but for a period during the eighth century, Egypt was ruled by an Ethiopian dynasty.
If you know of a good cartographical depiction of ancient Cush, please share.
Incidentally, one person commented in the Accordance forums that my description "south of Egypt, going down the Nile was incorrect." The Nile oddly flows northward, so the direction to Cush should be "south of Egypt, going UP the Nile!"