Verbum Tip 5c: Bible Search -- grid view

MJ. Smith

Docx files for personal book: Verbum 9 part 1; Verbum 9 part 2; Verbum 9 part 3; How to use the Verbum Lectionary and Missal; Verbum 8 tips 1-30; Verbum 8 tips 31-49

Please be generous with your additional details, corrections, suggestions, and other feedback. This is being built in a .docx file for a PBB which will be shared periodically.

Previous post: Verbum Tip 5b Next post: Verbum Tip 5d

Note previous post has been modified to include Dave Hooton's information.

Bible Search – view in grid mode

Search multiple resources

My collection of Catholic Bibles is likely incomplete but it is close enough to be useful.

To Search Catholic Bibles, I only need to replace the NRSV in the Search panel with the collection name “Bible: Catholic (Western).”

The results in grid view mode:

• Grid (1) is the selected view mode. It is well suited for searches against multiple resources.
• NABRE (2) is currently the selected column. This means that the text shown on the right is from the NABRE.
• Where the square is colored, that translation meets the search argument requirements for that reference. Where the square is white, the search argument requirements are not met in that translation.

When the column D-R is selected, the text changes to the Douay-Rheims translation. Note how mouse over any square allows you to see the text in the specified translation.

As expected, mouse-over the abbreviated title of the Bibles provides a standard popup description of the resource.

The text that is not highlighted as a search argument match is inactive. Text that is a search argument match is interactive:

• Mouse-over previews the text
• Click opens the resource to the text
• Right click opens a context menu

Search 3: How often is Abraham used as an example of faith?

Finding Abraham is easy. We know that <Person Abraham> will fit our purposes quite well. There is no coding that will show us that something is being used as an “example”, a rhetorical classification. The nearest tag is exemplum which is much narrower than what we want:  [quote]

Exemplum; or, Example

Addition of Conclusion by way of Example

This is not the same as using examples in the course of argument. We do this latter when in any reasoning we adduce one known object or thing as a sample of another in respect to some particular point.

Exemplum, on the other hand, is when we conclude a sentence by employing an example as a precedent to be followed or avoided:—

Luke 17:31, 32.—“In that day, he which shall be upon the house top, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away; and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back. Remember Lot’s wife.”^[1]

We need to reframe the question – How often in Abraham used in a passage which has a topic faith? This is broader than the original question. That means we will have to manually go through the results to determine whether or not Abraham is used as an example.

We have four ways that topics are coded:

• Topic i.e. <Topic Faith> which becomes {Section <Topic Faith>}
• Preaching theme i.e. <PreachingTheme = Faith> which becomes {Section <PreachingTheme = Faith>}
• Theological topic i.e. <LSTO = Saving Faith> which becomes {Section <LSTO = Saving Faith>}
• Counseling theme i.e. <CT Faith> has no relevant coding in the Bible at this time.

How do I find the formats I forget?

1. I enter “faith” into Factbook.
2. I select the faith entry of interest.
3. I skip down to the bottom of the See Also section and run the Search
4. I look at the Search argument and select the portion that is of interest as the Verbum search often includes many near synonyms of no interest in my case.

How do I know to use {Section <>}? Generally, if you want to look at a block of text, a simple datatype will require {Section <>}; labels will not require it.

For my first test I see if Abraham INTERSECT {Section <Topic Faith>} returns cases:

These results appear to be exactly what I want. I add in the additional ways sections are coded for the topic of faith giving a search argument of Abraham INTERSECT ({Section <Topic Faith>} OR {Section <PreachingTheme = Faith>} OR {Section <LSTO = Saving Faith>}). Note the faith passage selections are separated by the logical operator OR and encloses in simple parens to be treated as a single unit for the INTERSECT.

Note that WITHIN is more precise than INTERSECT in the sense of describing the relationship but for the results it makes no difference. Therefore, I went with the operator  used previously.

This gives me a manageable 47 verses to read and determine if they should be included in my list of occurrences of Abraham as an example of faith.

Homework: Search 4: Find all occasions where Jesus speaks to his mother.

Hint: elements required for one solution

• <Person Mary (mother of Jesus)>
• {Addressee <Person Mary (mother of Jesus)>}
• <Person Jesus>
• {Speaker <Person Jesus>}

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^[1] Ethelbert William Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible (London; New York: Eyre & Spottiswoode; E. & J. B. Young & Co., 1898), 467.