I want to do a study on Sampson. How would I go about doing such a thing In L4 for Mac? I want to know EVERYTHING there is to know about him.
First, you'll need to start by spelling his name correctly. It's Samson.
Next open up Biblical People and enter Samson. Glean what you can there about his family, key Scripture verses, and dictionary entries on him. Be sure to scroll to the right if there's a scroll arrow near the list of dictionary articles to see the rest of them:
Click on each of these links to open the corresponding dictionary entry and read that. (EDIT: Note, the screen shot is from the Windows version, but I'm pretty sure it's nearly identical on the Mac.)
Next do a Bible search for Samson and read all the passages that mention him.
Next do a basic search in your Entire Library for Samson. You might want to narrow this down to just commentaries if you're getting an overwhelming number of hits.
It might be helpful to start with a character study template with questions you could ask yourself as you're reading through all the available material in your library. You can find such a template here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/bible-character-study-TC030001164.aspx
How to Ask for Help | Logos Wiki | My Machine Specs | My Blog
Rosie Perera: Next do a basic search in your Entire Library for Samson. You might want to narrow this down to just commentaries if you're getting an overwhelming number of hits.
OR don’t limit the search. The 310 th resourse just might have an item that all of the rest missed.
You may just need to scan [rather then read every word] after the first fifty or so but there are ‘gems’ to be found
– it just takes time [Lots of time]
To try and keep it simple:
Mark Barnes:Search for his name in the Bible, and read through those stories several times (you can use Biblical People instead of searching if the name is ambiguous).
if you have time, I also recommend reading the Bible stories as your first stop. Take notes of what you find about him. Ask questions on topics that arise from your reading--you can research those in dictionaries, commentaries, or other collections later.
Reading the Bible texts first gives you a "direct from the source" understanding. You may notice things others don't--so you gain by your own original study. You may notice things others do, too--so you gain confidence. ("Hey! I already discovered that, cool!"). It gives you a deeper well from which to draw, rather than snippets of what people said.
THEN, you go to other sources. They might challenge what you "discovered." They might bring new insight. They might employ a phrase or idea that will aid your teaching/presentation (if you are doing one).
Anyway, have fun!
I like Apples. Especially Honeycrisp.
Dan DeVilder:Reading the Bible texts first gives you a "direct from the source" understanding.
Yeah !!! ... What He Said !!!
Hey Dan, I've been meaning to ask you, Is your middle name "Caddy" ?
Dan DeVilder:if you have time, I also recommend reading the Bible stories as your first stop. Take notes of what you find about him. Ask questions on topics that arise from your reading--you can research those in dictionaries, commentaries, or other collections later.
I would also give special head to places outside of the originating story, for instance if an OT character is mentioned in the NT or a prophetic book. These I view as a special treat...sort of like a divine commentary. For instance, Samson is listed in Heb 11.
Mark Barnes:I would use a search on a small collection (say resources on Bible characters)
Yes, that's a great idea! Here is my list of resources from my "Bible Character Studies" collection that have significant mention of Samson:
Gardner, Paul Douglas. New International Encyclopedia of Bible Characters: The Complete Who's Who in the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995.
Rasnake, Eddie, Richard L. Shepherd and Wayne A. Barber. Learning Life Principles from the Personalities of the Old Testament. Following God Series. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 1998.
Richards, Larry. Every Man in the Bible. Nashville: T. Nelson, 1999.
Rosie Perera: Mark Barnes:I would use a search on a small collection (say resources on Bible characters) Yes, that's a great idea! Here is my list of resources from my "Bible Character Studies" collection that have significant mention of Samson:
What rule Rosie & Co are you using to create "Bible Character Studies" collection? Thanks.
Ted
Dell, studio XPS 7100, Ram 8GB, 64 - bit Operating System, AMD Phenom(mt) IIX6 1055T Processor 2.80 GHZ
Or...or...you can wait for Logos to make John G. Butler's Biography Series available in Logos 4 format and then you can get all the information AND practical applications about Samson in a beautiful alliterated way. In fact, you could preach that information, since it's all outlined in simple sections for you. John G. Butler's commentaries, Studies of the Savior and Biography Series will preach as they are or you can use the outlines and preach your own findings on Samson's life. Hope this helps! By the way, go to Christianbook.com and you will see John G. Butler's Biography on Samson. You get to see the outline of the entire book and you can use that as a starting point. Great outline! I wish I had the book in Logos format though!
Blessings!
Douglas
Jerry Walker: I want to know EVERYTHING there is to know about him.
Here's what I would do:
First I'd discover the direct sources of information about Samson I had.
I'd begin by turning to the Bible. By doing a Bible search on 'Samson' you quickly discover the only Old Testament references are in Judges 13-16. So you will not find anything else on Samson in the OT. In the NT there is nothing besides the listing of his name in Hebrews 13:2. This does let you know he's considered a hero of the faith, that's all. So the Biblical data is basically all in Judges 13-16. By consulting the Bible Harmony "Old Testament Quotations and Allusions in the New Testament" and looking for references to Judges 13-16 you find a few, but they are allusions not quotations and I doubt they add anything to your knowledge of Samson.
Second, I'd look for any ancient historical references to Samson outside the Bible. He is mentioned by Josephus, of course. Other than that I found no references to him that add to our information about him.
The result of this step is that I've identified the only direct sources of information about Samson as Judges 13-16 and Hebrews 13:2. I therefore can learn EVERYTHING there is to know about Samson right there.
Third I'd study and draw conclusions from this direct source material (Judges 13-16 and Hebrews 13:2).
Next I'd consult secondary information as others have suggested. (Remember that commentaries, Bible Dictionaries, and other resources are just interpreting Judges 13-16 not accessing data beyond that.)
Other resources like The Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary on the Old Testament can give me cultural background information that may help me, but, again, are not sources of additional information on Samson himself.
I don't tend to use it, but you may find that the Cited By tool is helpful as you work through the passage in Judges. You'll pick up a lot of unhelpful hits but there might be one or two that point you to a resource that you'll find helpful.
Once I've done this, once I've read and understood Judges 13-16, I know all there is to know about Samson until some new information comes to light.
Pastor, North Park Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT USA
Ted Hans: What rule Rosie & Co are you using to create "Bible Character Studies" collection? Thanks.
Ted, you're not gonna like this, but:
mytag:BibleChar
Yup, I've manually gone through and tagged all my resources that have biographical info on Bible characters. Here they all are:
I might have missed some, or you might have other resources that I don't have.
EDIT: Incidentally, I did not include any of the Life of Christ type materials. Of course he's a Bible character too, but he's much more than that and it would encompass way too many resources to be useful in finding the typical things I might search for in a Bible character study.
Thanks Rosie. With a large library like mine going through each one of them manually is going to be a time consuming exercise! This one of the down side of a large library. Blessings.
Ted Hans: Thanks Rosie. With a large library like mine going through each one of them manually is going to be a time consuming exercise! This one of the down side of a large library. Blessings. Ted
I have a large library too. Not as large as yours, though. I did the tagging by narrowing down my library using some Library filters first. I can't remember exactly what I used but I took several stabs at it. Stuff like subject:biography AND subject:bible. Then bible characters (no quotes). I also did some filters on the names of major Bible characters that I thought might have entire monographs about them. Each time it filters your Library into a group of books that are likely to have a bunch of useful ones, and you select those ones using multi-select (Ctrl+Click) and tag them. It took me 15 or 20 minutes. Like I said, I've probably missed some, but whenever I stumble upon them, I'll tag them too. And as I buy more resources I always tag them as appropriate when I download them into my library. It seems that "of the tagging of books there is no end and much making of collections is weariness to the flesh," to borrow shamefully from Ecclesiastes.
Rosie Perera:I have a large library too. Not as large as yours, though.
I thought only Bob P had a larger library than you have.
Enable-and-Submit-Log-Files | Install
Jack Caviness: Rosie Perera:I have a large library too. Not as large as yours, though. I thought only Bob P had a larger library than you have.
Not by a long shot. When I uploaded my catalog to Mark Barnes's nifty bibliography tool, it showed that my library size was number 24 (or 28?) among the roughly 250 people who had uploaded their catalogs thus far. I've bought a couple of books since then, but I'm still not in the top 5 percent, I'm sure.
EDIT: Though I do have Portfolio and then some, I've only really been buying Logos resources in earnest for the last year (since L4 came out). I've got a lot of catching up to do and a huge list of resources I'd like to buy but haven't yet.
Abi Gail:Is your middle name "Caddy"
Not that I am aware of, but my kids sometimes call me "Daddy."
Dan DeVilder: Abi Gail:Is your middle name "Caddy" Not that I am aware of, but my kids sometimes call me "Daddy."
Ah...maybe that's what confused me, or maybe I was confused even before that.
No...It's the last name . It sounds a bit like a line of automobiles. I guess that's all in the ear of the beholder.
Rosie Perera:I have a large library too. Not as large as yours, though. I did the tagging by narrowing down my library using some Library filters first. I can't remember exactly what I used but I took several stabs at it. Stuff like subject:biography AND subject:bible. Then bible characters (no quotes). I also did some filters on the names of major Bible characters that I thought might have entire monographs about them. Each time it filters your Library into a group of books that are likely to have a bunch of useful ones, and you select those ones using multi-select (Ctrl+Click) and tag them. It took me 15 or 20 minutes. Like I said, I've probably missed some, but whenever I stumble upon them, I'll tag them too. And as I buy more resources I always tag them as appropriate when I download them into my library. It seems that "of the tagging of books there is no end and much making of collections is weariness to the flesh," to borrow shamefully from Ecclesiastes.
Thanks, Thanks, Thanks. Tried your above suggestion & was pleasantly surprise at the result - subject:biography AND subject:bible & bible characters. I am sure glad I did ask for your help. Blessing.
Abi Gail:No...It's the last name . It sounds a bit like a line of automobiles. I guess that's all in the ear of the beholder.
It always reminds me of the brand of humidifier we had when I was a kid, DeVilbiss, just like this one. I'm sure Dan would rather I think of that than seeing the word "devil" in his name which many other people do.