TIP OF THE DAY 98: Referred to As section in Factbook

MJ. Smith

I am adding these posts to the previous tip list L/V 10 Tip of the Day 

QUESTION: How do I find all Biblical substitute names for an individual?

Skill: Referred to As section of Biblical Person Factbook record

SOFTWARE: This is a task that Logos/Verbum does well.

Open Factbook from the Factbook icon on the Application toolbar.

Enter the personal Logos name in the navigation box.

Set lens to either “all” or “Biblical”.

Scroll down to the “Referred to As” section.

There you will find all the references to the person in Hebrew/Aramaic, Greek, and in translation. Note that the translation section is built on your preferred Bible.

For our purposes all names should be accounted for except the pronoun references and implied subjects of verb. However, accounted for does not mean accounted for as names. Many will be descriptive phrases or titles that in context refer to a specific person. For example, Abraham is referred to as “the righteous man” (Wisdom 10:5), “one person” (Hebrews 11:12), “strangers and foreigners” (Hebrews 11:13). These descriptive phrases are a treasure trove on information when you try to visualize and characterize the individual Abraham.

In a full study of a person, it is useful to make a table of all the terms (original language words or translated by words) abd their Bible references, then tag them as descriptive, a title, or a name (note names can be in multiple languages), then consider what belongs in 3 columns: (1) what this tells me about the physical person, (2) what this tells me about the social person (roles, relationships ..), and/or (3) what this tells me about the character of the person.

QUESTION: Is the “Referred to As” list complete?[MS1]

Skill: Completeness of data drawn from reverse interlinear

ANSWER: It is as complete as the reverse interlinear. Take for example, this passage:

This man is δdescribed in the Syriac book as living in the land of Ausis, on the borders of Idumea and Arabia: and his name before was Jobab; and having taken an Arabian wife, he begot a son whose name was Ennon. And he himself was the son of his father Zare, one of the sons of Esau, and of his mother Bosorrha, so that he was the fifth from Abraam. And these were the kings who reigned in Edom, which country he also ruled over: first, Balac, the son of ζBeor, and the name of his city was Dennaba: but after Balac, Jobab, who is called Job: and after him Asom, who was governor out of the country of Thæman: and after him Adad, the son of Barad, who destroyed Madiam in the plain of Moab; and the name of his city was Gethaim. And his friends who came to him were Eliphaz, of the children of Esau, king of the Thæmanites, Baldad sovereign of the Sauchæans, Sophar king of the Minæans. [1]

Jobab (son of Zare) is unknown to Factbook, as are his father and mother. Why? Because this is a textual variant that appears in Brenton, Lancelot Charles Lee. The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament: English Translation. London: Samuel Bagster and Sons, 1870. Even single word variants may affect the results.

In general, when looking at a reverse interlinear, any time that either the manuscript line or the surface (translation) line occurs alone, a manual check is required if complete accuracy is required.

QUESTION: How I might use the different ways a person is referenced?

Yes, I know this straddles the fence between studying names and studying persons.

SOFTWARE: The path Factbook > enter personal name > Referred to As to obtain all the raw data. “Read the Labels” method from Coakley, James. 14 Fresh Ways to Enjoy the Bible. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2023 provides a method for using the data.

δGr. interpreted out of.

ζAlex. Semphor, i.e. Zippor.

[1] Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton, The Septuagint Version of the Old Testament: English Translation (London: Samuel Bagster and Sons, 1870), Job 42:17.