Synoptic Parallel Highlighting

A very important exercise for anyone seriously studying the Gospels is to highlight or underline the agreement/disagreement between the parallel passages (see Scott McKnight's book Interpreting the Synoptic Gospels for a widely adopted method).

In Logos 3, the parallel passages (most students would likely be required to use Kurt Aland's Synopsis) could be used with any version of the Bible (including Greek) but the displayed text could not be highlighted or marked up in any way.

In Logos 4, the parallel passages seem to be a function of actual resources instead of a tool of some sort. The advantage of this seems to be that they will be able to be highlighted (when that functionality is released early next year). The disadvantage is that you are limited to the versions that are available as resources (RSV in the English version of Aland) with apparently no Greek text as an option.

Is there a way to display the Greek text of the Gospels according to Aland's synopsis in a way that can be highlighted? Am I missing something?

Will the Greek text be available for this resource in the near future?

Thanks,

Russ

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Russ Quinn

I am wrong! I am wrong! I am so glad to be wrong!

You CAN change the version used in the Synopsis.

There is a drop down menu next to the search field and Interlinear tab in these resources that allow you to change the version (see attached image).

I repent and am sorry to post before figuring this out.

The text is selectable on a character level which is perfect for highlighting.

Will the new highlighting tools allow us to highlight these resources with custom colors and styles?

Thanks,

Russ

Bradley Grainger (Logos)

Is there a way to display the Greek text of the Gospels according to Aland's synopsis in a way that can be highlighted? Am I missing something?

Will the Greek text be available for this resource in the near future?

Yes, you can show the Greek text in Synopsis of the Four Gospels. Open the resource from the Library; in the resource panel toolbar, there is a drop-down that lets you select the version that should be displayed.

No, this text can't be highlighted. Because it is not really part of the resource, but is inserted dynamically (depending on the version you have selected), the Highlighting feature cannot be used with it.

Bradley Grainger (Logos)

Will the new highlighting tools allow us to highlight these resources with custom colors and styles?

No (see my post above). You can only highlight the text in the synopsis resource that doesn't change, e.g., "The Journey into Galilee" in your screenshot.

Russ Quinn

Just in case I haven't been clear enough about what I mean by Synoptic highlighting, here is an example of a passage that is highlighted like I hope to be able to do in L4:

Russ Quinn

Bradley,

Obviously I have been taking screenshots and composing posts while you were answering my posts.

Sorry for the crosstalk.

I'm sure this is a feature that a very small number of people care about. However, it is very important to scholars and students who do serious work in the Synoptic Gospels. It is important enough to me that I spend a good bit of money on a competitor's product mainly for this reason.

I would love to see L4 mature to the point that I don't have a reason to use or recommend any other software.

I know that Logos seeks to balance market demand with scholarly needs.

What would be the best way to start a discussion on the possibility of finding a solution for this functionality in the future?
Has it been considered and determined to be something that will never happen? Or is there room for development?

Thanks for how much you guys have already advanced Bible study,

Russ

Russ Quinn

Playing around with this a little bit and found that when you past the columns of text from the parallels into a note, they retain their column format (although a little narrower for some reason) and the text can still be selected.

Will the coming highlighting feature allow highlighting with custom styles and colors in a note?

If so, this might be a workable solution.

Is there a way to adjust the column width in the notes?

Ken McGuire

I know you want the Greek, but the Throckmorton Gospel Parallels-NRSV does allow highlighting.

And yes, I know this is not good enough.

Bob Pritchett

We have two types of parallels books. The first is aligned only to verse level granularity. This book allows you to dynamically change the Bible translation used, but doesn't let you highlight, since the words will change whenever the verse changes. (When the diagramming tool is done, you'll be able to copy this text there for manual markup, diagram, line drawing, etc.

See Robertson's "A Harmony of the Gospels".

The second type of parallels book was aligned word-for-word in print, and we have (painstakingly!) re-built it electronically, complete with wrapping columns support. (One of the hardest things we've done for the least appreciation. Feel free to appreciate it more, though it isn't perfect, because converting it to wrapping columns reveals defects in the original print layout...)

These books do NOT allow you to change translations, but DO allow you to highlight the text, since it's static.

See Burton's "A Harmon of the Synoptic Gospels".

I'm familiar with McKnight's work, and had it in mind while designing this support. Our expectation was that anyone trying to do this level of word-for-word highlighting would probably start with the Aland Synopsis, which is word-for-word aligned in print, and would thus work with the highlighters. But we haven't gotten to that alignment project yet. (A big, difficult project that requires someone very patient, and comfortable with the Greek.)

Sorry it isn't all ready yet in the Greek!

David P. Moore

I know I am jumping in on a 3 month old topic, but I need some clarification (since I'm new to Logos).

I purchased the back issues of Bible Study Magazine, and ran across the interview with Mark Goodacre in the March/April 2009 issue about synoptic gospel study. On page 44 is a chart comparing the Parable of the Mustard Seed in Matthew, Mark and Luke. It is color coded as to where Matthew and Mark agree, where Matthew and Luke agree, where Mark and Luke agree, and so on. My question is, can this not automatically be done in L4? How do I duplicate this? I have examined Burton, Aland and other harmony resources in my library, but I guess what I am looking for is a synoptic gospel study tool, not a resource. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

David

Emery Horvath

I know you want the Greek, but the Throckmorton Gospel Parallels-NRSV does allow highlighting.

And yes, I know this is not good enough.

Where is this resource? I don't see it available anywhere in Logos.

Emery

Steve Maling

It's a tad late to respond to Bob Pritchett's post of Nov 7, 2009. But gratitude never expires, so my heartiest thanks for keeping at the alignment of Aland's Greek Synopsis[:)]

Steve