Suggestion: "Sympathetic" Compare Texts

This is hard to describe, so allow me to illustrate.

I was reading through a book this evening that was discussing some of the textual differences of a passage comparing the Masoretic Text and the Septuagent.

Here's what would be neat...

That I could load two different texts into Logos Text Comparison that utilize two different languages, and Logos would determine through a proper translation the textual differences between the two different texts containing the two different languages.

Another scenario it would be neat on....

We all love to compare english Bibles to see how close they are to a particular base translation. The only drawback with our current comparisons today is that we're simply comparing English words, and the Bible wasn't written in English. It was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

So what would be neat is to (say for example) load in a Greek manuscript, then load in various English Bibles into Text Comparison, and through correct translation, Logos would determine how close each English Bible is to the Greek manuscript that is set as the base text.

This would be difficult to implement and take a ton of scholarly work and programming, but it sure would be a fun and useful feature.

Maybe something for Logos 6?

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Comments

Dave Hooton

So what would be neat is to (say for example) load in a Greek manuscript, then load in various English Bibles into Text Comparison, and through correct translation, Logos would determine how close each English Bible is to the Greek manuscript that is set as the base text.

This would be difficult to implement

One problem would be having the actual manuscripts that were used for the translation. Even though one could assume that certain NT translations were based on a Greek TR, and others on a Critical Text they may not be the sole base, or the translators adopted/made certain variations. Ditto for the OT manuscripts.

Secondly, how do you define a "correct translation" e.g. NIV 2011 had a different idea than ESV, as did NIV84.

I don't think it would be meaningful.

That I could load two different texts into Logos Text Comparison that utilize two different languages, and Logos would determine through a proper translation the textual differences between the two different texts containing the two different languages.

Similar comment/issues as above even though these may not be bibles e.g. compare original German/French with the English translation.

Nathan Parker

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/431770#Comment_431770

So what would be neat is to (say for example) load in a Greek manuscript, then load in various English Bibles into Text Comparison, and through correct translation, Logos would determine how close each English Bible is to the Greek manuscript that is set as the base text.

This would be difficult to implement

One problem would be having the actual manuscripts that were used for the translation. Even though one could assume that certain NT translations were based on a Greek TR, and others on a Critical Text they may not be the sole base, or the translators adopted/made certain variations. Ditto for the OT manuscripts.

Secondly, how do you define a "correct translation" e.g. NIV 2011 had a different idea than ESV, as did NIV84.

I don't think it would be meaningful.

That I could load two different texts into Logos Text Comparison that utilize two different languages, and Logos would determine through a proper translation the textual differences between the two different texts containing the two different languages.

Similar comment/issues as above even though these may not be bibles e.g. compare original German/French with the English translation.

One way it could be pulled off with Bibles is through the RI's. Then what would essentially be happening is Compare Texts are comparing the underlying Greek words to a base text.

I've thought about the TR, CT differences, etc., and what could happen in some of these reports is link to apparatus, translator's notes, etc., in a sidebar (similar to other L5 notes) showing where the differences are used. Basically allowing people who've never touched apparatus resources or consulted with translator's notes to begin to engage with them more personally.

In other resources that would require "translation", in order to determine the "correct" (a better word might be "best" or "most precise"), this is where the Logos Research Team could labor over the texts and build datasets we could use to access this information, finding those "best' and "most precise" translations for us.

It's something that would have to be carefully planned out and would definitely take more than mere programming. It'd take some hefty Biblical scholarship behind it. It would be a way to take comparing Biblical texts to another level though.