Abstract
The text of the Hebrew Bible is a subject of ongoing study in disciplines ranging from theology to linguistics to history to computing science. In order to study the text digitally, one has to represent it in bits and bytes, together with related materials. The author has compiled a dataset, called bhsa (Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (Amstelodamensis)), consisting of the textual source of the Hebrew Bible according to the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (bhs), and annotations by the Eep Talstra Centre for Bible and Computer. This dataset powers the website shebanq and others, and is being used in education and research. The author has developed a Python package, Text-Fabric, to process ancient texts together with annotations. He shows how Text-Fabric can be used to process the bhsa. This includes creating new research data alongside it, and sharing it. Text-Fabric also supports versioning: as versions of the bhsa change over time, and people invest a lot in applications based on the data, measures are needed to prevent the loss of earlier results.
Highlights
The Hebrew Bible is an old text, with a period of origin ranging roughly from 1000 bc to 1000 ad, if we count the long sequence of copying and editing activities leading to the Masoretic Text in the 10th century ad
This final text exists in several witnesses, one of which is the Codex Leningradensis, on which the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia text is based
The Eep Talstra Centre for Bible and Computer started pioneering with texts and computers in the 1970s, and essentially never stopped doing so. They harbour a comprehensive database of the text and linguistics of the bhs, which is still growing in sophistication
Summary
The Hebrew Bible is an old text, with a period of origin ranging roughly from 1000 bc to 1000 ad, if we count the long sequence of copying and editing activities leading to the Masoretic Text in the 10th century ad. This final text exists in several witnesses, one of which is the Codex Leningradensis, on which the Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (bhs) text is based. A consequence of this is that the terminology in the etcbc database has idiosyncratic tendencies It looks linguistic at times, but it does not always conform to the mainstream linguistic conventions. We refer to (Roorda, 2017a) for an historical overview of the digital history and references to prior work, including to the text of the Biblia Hebraica
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: Research Data Journal for the Humanities and Social Sciences
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
