Tool for Highlighting Key Observational Questions in Text
I'm looking for a tool or resource in Logos that visually highlights the key questions typically asked when first reading a text, especially the Gospels. These questions include who is involved, when did it happen, and where did it happen-essentially all the references to people, time, and place.
I have tried to implement this as a visual filter, but have not been successful yet.
In addition, is there a tool that highlights other key questions such as what happened, how it happened, and why it happened?
Any suggestions or resources for this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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Assume that you need to manual highlight them; I would build a custom palette with visual coding that has meaning to me. In theory, one could automate it with a combination of sense coding, semantic domains, and roles but since clause search arguments cannot be combined with Bible text or morphology search arguments, this is not in fact practical/straight forward. The why question is the nearest to impossible in theory as it is often the result of interpretation rather than linguistic categories and relationships. I actually use case frames to break an event down to individual actions with particular roles (players), places, objects, times ...
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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Thanks, M.J., for the quick response. I also assumed there wouldn't be an automated solution to the "what, how, why" questions.However, for the "who, where, when" aspects, I would have thought that someone using Logos might have developed an automated solution by now, as it seems like a common concern. Is there perhaps a resource or book that addresses this?0
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The who portion is easy in the sense of identifying that it is a person but not in the sense of the role which is often the critical piece of information. The where would be easy if it were not so often carried over from several event previously i.e. you are in the same location until the text specifically says you change locations which is often independent of event boundaries. When is even less frequently explicit ... after event A but before event B is often the only timeframe for an event. But remember I am more a stickler for precision than many who take a "good enough for what it's for" approach.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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Thank you for your explanation. I fully agree with the importance of accuracy. My approach to identifying markers for characters, places, and time indicators would also prioritize a high level of precision. Ideally, I would rely solely on explicit references in the original Hebrew or Greek texts, rather than on interpretive decisions made by translators. For example, translators might introduce time markers such as "after" or "while" when resolving participles, even though such markers are not explicit in the original language and could be interpreted differently, such as concessive or causal. I would prefer the tool to mark only clear references in the text, such as μετά or אַחֲרֵי, though I realize that might be asking a lot.
As for your point about place and time being carried over from one story to another, I do not need that. For my purposes, it would suffice if the tool or resource could highlight references to characters, places, and times that are present in the specific pericope I am examining.
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Here is an example from shared visual filters that should show you how to do it ... I usually just use a broad range and color codes. Andersen-Forbes has a bit of semantic range for Hebrew.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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That's fantastic, MJ! Thank you so much. I hadn't considered using Louw-Nida, but it makes perfect sense here!
I've implemented it and it works beautifully 😊
Thanks again for your efforts and help!
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