Hey everyone,
Could someone help me understand the difference between 'verse' and 'pericope'.
I guess the other way of asking this question is, What is a pericope and why would I want to use it?
Many thanks,
Matt
Pericope from The New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, Volumes 1–5
PERICOPE puh-rik´uh-pee [περικοπή pericopē]. From perikoptō (περικόπτω, “to cut around”), pericope (“selection”) is a rhetorical term for a portion of a text set apart for study or to be read in worship, e.g., a passage from the Psalms, a prophetic oracle, part of a narrative, a thought-unit from an epistle, or a parable. See EXEGESIS; LECTIONARY.
MARIANNE BLICKENSTAFF
pericope. From the Greek word meaning “section,” a particular portion of Scripture to be read as a *lesson. Certain ancient manuscripts of the NT, such as Vaticanus and Alexandrinus, have the NT marked into pericopes, and liturgical *readings are attested as early as Justin (1 Apol. 67). See also kephalaia.
Brett Scott Provance, Pocket Dictionary of Liturgy & Worship (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2009), 101.
pe•ric•o•pe \pə-ˈri-kə-pē\ noun[Late Latin, from Greek perikopē section, from peri- + kopē act of cutting, from koptein to cut—more at CAPON] 1658: a selection from a book specifically: LECTION 1
Inc Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003).
lec•tion \ˈlek-shən\ noun[Late Latin lection-, lectio, from Latin, act of reading—more at LESSON] 1608 1: a liturgical reading for a particular day 2 New Latin lection-, lectio, from Latin: a variant reading of a text
Here are a couple. Handle with great care. Esoteric in places.
And then there are people like myself who can't understand why anyone would use verse except as a location marker similar to the line numbers on legal forms. Basic history:
Both chapter and verse are arbitrary in nature; pericopes have to be a cohesive unit that can be studied independently.
Chapters are sometimes a sort of large pericope--division by topic or subject. Pericopes are usually smaller and are a cohesive unit. Pericopes often span chapter parts that encompass more than one chapter. Verses are bite-sized chunks of a chapter or pericope. People don't always agree on the constructed borderlines of chapters, pericopes, or verses.
Depending how you look at chunks of thought, each has value for different reasons. All three can be quite arbitrary as both Mike and MJ indicate. All three are added to enhance reading, study, appearance, and reference. None are part of the original text. Enjoy, but use with discretion.
Yes ... and no. Certainly chapter and verses are somewhat arbitrary, neither original, but both numeric, allowing sorting etc. Pericopes, however, quite often assume a theology system, which can overlay the writer.
On my neurals, I ran into this early, especially when you can't assume same-author. The neural reads across 25 words at a time, while racheting forward a word at a time (as the writer writes, or sort of).
But not being a pericope person (growing up, not the Bible!!), Matt's 2nd question seemed to get ignored. Does Logos do anything with pericopes, besides dropdowns? Are topics arranged by pericope? Searches?
Have you played around with the Compare Pericopes tool? Tools > Passage > Passage Analysis > Compare Pericope
I think the OP would wonder?
Pericopes, however, quite often assume a theology system, which can overlay the writer.
Please explain as I cannot make sense of this statement. Pericope as a concept/term comes from Greek literature as essentially a unit that it makes sense to study as a unit. If it isn't a unit of text that is a logical/reasonable unit of study in the context of the entire work , it isn't a pericope by definition. Pericope boundaries are determined by changes in the text.
Does Logos do anything with pericopes, besides dropdowns?
Lectionaries are based on pericopes by definition. Therefore, the sermon/homily manager works around pericopes. One could argue that the sermons and commentaries based on liturgical dates are built around pericopes. Lexham has its own pericope set which is built into Factbook ...
On my neurals, I ran into this early, especially when you can't assume same-author
What were you using to identify the pericope breaks? The usual criteria:
[quote]
Pericope boundary markers
potential pericope boundary markers
• Narrative structures
o Change of place
o Change of time
o Change of characters
• Structural elements
o Concentric pattern
o Chiasm
o Inclusion
o Parallelism
Wim Weren, Windows on Jesus. Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International. 1999.
Usually, a boundary has multiple markers.
Have you played around with the Compare Pericopes tool?
I've used it many times as a way to analyze pericope boundaries but I'm not sure I've ever played around with it. What games does it know? Jeopardy, Monopoly, Poker?
I'd like to see a parallel tool reflecting the pericopes of lectionaries.
All three can be quite arbitrary as both Mike and MJ indicate. All three are added to enhance reading, study, appearance, and reference.
Just to make my position clear and to prove I can be as bigoted as anyone:
Units that it makes sense to study:
Units that it doesn't make sense to study unless they happen to coincide with one of the above:
Not that I've been known to have an opinion on the matter.[8-|]
Okay, I'll admit to having a bit of fun overstating my case. But anytime a reader, teacher, or preacher picks a chunk of text rather than simply going line by line until they run out of time, they are defining a pericope. The question is whether they do it with conscious attention or in a slap-dash manner. The term "pericope" does not need to be in their vocabulary.
Many thanks for everyones help on this.
Makes a lot for sense now.
In His Grace,
I've tried the Pericope Tool. But I have not found it helpful for what I am looking for. What I was hoping is that I put in a verse (or verses), and then it tells me the pericope it belongs to for the various translations (ESV, NASB,....) and the corresponding headings.
Let's say I put in Mt 11:28-30, it should say
ESV: Mt 11:25-30 / Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest
NASB: : Mt 11:25-30 / Come to Me
CSB: Mt 11:25-30 / The Son Gives Knowledge and Rest
In this case, all 3 translation have the same beginning and ending. But I understand that different translations can have different start and end of a pericope. The reason I want this information is to make sure that to understand the context of the verse I am studying, I make sure I read the broadest pericope just in case the smaller pericopes miss out a key verse.
If Pericopes tool doesn't do what I am looking for, if someone knows how to get what I am looking for, please let me know.
Thanks
And then there are people like myself who can't understand why anyone would use verse except as a location marker similar to the line numbers on legal forms.
Count me among your tribe.
Being a book-chapter-verse man.... I guess that makes me an outcast? hmmm.... Course... there are many theories about the Bible... that comes from man... that the Bible just doesn't support... I'm a guessing... [8-|]
Being a book-chapter-verse man.... I guess that makes me an outcast?
No, it makes you a person who uses a division that would never have occurred to the author. word-phrase-clause-sentence-paragraph-section-book or dialogue-scene-event all would have occurred to the author.
And then there are people like myself who can't understand why anyone would use verse except as a location marker similar to the line numbers on legal forms. Count me among your tribe.
And here I am....in my 7th dimension world.... studying the context of a verse in the context of the verses around it and in the context of the chapter and in context of the book...
Which shows to go you.... just how messed up I really am![8-|]
just how messed up I really am!
Not messed up IF it is an informed, conscious choice. If only by habit . . .
