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How would you like a general purpose bible to be divided?

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sestir
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How would you like a general purpose bible to be divided?

Postby sestir » Mon Sep 16, 2013 7:36 pm

Should...
... the present system with OT verses based on masoretic cantillation marks be preserved, reformed or ignored?
... the present division into chapters be reformed or ignored?
... Mose's book be split in five?
... Genesis be split according to toledoth or according to suitable chapter-length?
... paragraphs be used?
... verses be longer so they become harder to quote out-of-context?
... verses be shorter so they can be referenced more precisely?
... verses be adapted to sections of harmony?
... verses be verses in poetry and sentences in prose?
... there be an old and a new covenant explicitly?
... there be a verse numbered 0?
... a system of headers be used to enable the reader to quickly find a certain story?

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Re: How would you like a general purpose bible to be divided

Postby TWTY-Admin » Fri Sep 20, 2013 2:25 pm

Well, how I like a "Bible" formatted is how I have them on TWTY:

Verses to the side (so as to not mess with the core text so that people can't take verses out of context); Headings and chapters also to the side (same principle as with the verses); and basically, anything that isn't the main text itself to be to the sides or at the bottom of the page (notes etc).

I originally had very few paragraphs, but that made it even harder to read than it already was (amplified English = very long sentences that people are no longer used to), so I wouldn't say no to paragraphs.

I would generally ignore the current "chapter" divisions - some are in the completely wrong place, and usually end up breaking up the content and context of a passage.

I would indeed split the Torah into its Five books - the oldest known manuscripts certainly did that, so I see no reason why we should group them altogether as one book. I'd also ignore the Toledoth.

I'd still keep the usual split between the Tanakh and the RC, and not have a verse 0 at all.
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sestir
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Re: How would you like a general purpose bible to be divided

Postby sestir » Sun Sep 22, 2013 9:53 am

I like the idea of putting the verse-numbers in the margin!
Is there some particular reason to ignore the toledots and how about references to time?
e.g. "And it came about in the third year of Hoshea the son of Elah the king of Israel that Hezekiah the son of Ahaz the king of Judah became king." - 2 Kings 18:1, NW
I would tend to make this the beginning of either a chapter or a paragraph because I assume most authors who provide chronological points of reference do this at the start of a story.

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Re: How would you like a general purpose bible to be divided

Postby TWTY-Admin » Sun Sep 22, 2013 10:45 am

Well, it all comes down to your own personal preference - if it's a general Bible for general readers, are they really going to understand the Toledoth groupings in Genesis (2:4-4:26; 5:1-6:8; 6:9-9:20; 10:1-11:9; 11:10-11:26; 11:27-25:11; 25:12-25:19; 25:19-35:29; 36:1-37:1; 37:2-50:26)? I don't know of any current Bible that does that...

...but thinking about it a bit more, than would indeed make it quite "unique": splitting Genesis to reflect that there're certain sections dedicated to discussing a person and their toledoth/generations/immediate descendants.

As for where you would put a division, again that's really up to you. All I would suggest is to not go overboard - more than enough Bibles appear to split things far too much just to give their Bible version a sense of "easy reading" :)
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