Verbum Breviatum

I’ve been enjoying Day One (Bloom Built) on my MacBook Pro and iPad from day one of 2012. I’m already using it to record thoughts and ideas on a range of topics, and I tried my first export of journal entries today.

One problem is that Day One exports all of the entries into a single text file. I like the text file. But I don’t like (a) not being able to choose which entries to export, and (b) having them all in a single file.

I don’t have a solution for exporting a selection of entries. It appears that Day One is working on that, including some sort of tag feature.

Enter Scrivener.

Scrivener gives you an easy way to convert Day One’s single text file into separate entries.

1. In Day One, conclude each entry with any set of characters that you’re unlikely to use in the body of your entries. I use five dashes.
2. Export your entries from Day One (File -> Export).
3. In Scrivener, select File -> Import -> Import and Split. A file selection window should open.
4. At the bottom of the file selection window, you should see a smaller window labeled “Sections are separated by:” Type your character set there (for example, it’s five dashes for me), and click “Import.”

That should do it. You should now see all of your Day One entries as separate documents in Scrivener’s binder. And if you wish, you can easily export these from Scrivener as separate files in one of several formats.

I expect that Day One will provide their own solution in the future, but I couldn’t wait.

Later this year, the Society of Biblical Literature will hold its annual meeting in San Francisco. Here are two Wordles I created from the program unit descriptions.*

It’ll be interesting to see Wordles of the actual paper titles, but we’ll have to wait a few more months for that.

Any surprises so far?

*Note that I lowed all caps, and I deleted these words from the Wordle: also, among, annual, bible, biblical, call, contact, description, e.g, first, group, meeting, one, open, paper, papers, program, programs, proposals, provide, provides, research, sbl, scholars, second, section, seek, seeks, session, studies, study, third, three, topic, topics, two, unit, within

While reading his introduction to The Prophets (my Amazon link), I came across this statement by Abraham J. Heschel (page x in the 1969 Harper & Row paperback edition):
        

Rather than blame things for being obscure, we should blame ourselves for being biased and prisoners of self-induced repetitiveness. One must forget many clichés in order to behold a single image. Insight is the beginning of perceptions to come rather than the extension of perceptions gone by. Conventional seeing, operating as it does with patterns and coherences, is a way of seeing the present in the past tense. Insight is an attempt to think in the present.
        Insight is a breakthrough, requiring much intellectual dismantling and dislocation. It begins with a mental interim, with the cultivation of a feeling for the unfamiliar, unparalleled, incredible. It is in being involved with a phenomenon, being intimately engaged to it, courting it, as it were, that after much perplexity and embarrassment we come upon insight — upon a way of seeing the phenomenon from within. Insight is accompanied by a sense of surprise. What has been closed is suddenly disclosed. It entails genuine perception, seeing anew. He who thinks that we can see the same object twice has never seen. Paradoxically, insight is knowledge at first sight.

There are Aha! moments that seem to come with no effort. But insight of the sort that Heschel describes here, I think, is generally hard won. Even if it comes suddenly and unexpectedly — seemingly without effort — it is the result of deep reflection and struggle.

Here’s a question I have. What role can another person — a parent, teacher, or friend, for instance — play in one’s attainment of this sort of deep insight?

Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel (second from right) marching with Martin Luther King, Jr., from Selma to Montgomery, less than an hour from where I grew up. Heschel later said, “When I marched in Selma, my feet were praying.”

This book offers a new account of the origins of biblical studies, illuminating the relation of the Bible to churchly readers, theological interpreters, academic critics, and people in between. It explains why, in an age of religious resurgence, modern biblical criticism may no longer be in a position to serve as the Bible’s disciplinary gatekeeper.

This is how Oxford University Press describes The Death of Scripture and the Rise of Biblical Studies by Michael Legaspi (Assistant Professor of Theology at Creighton University). You can find the publisher’s full description of the book, as well as brief reviews by Gary Anderson (Notre Dame), Walter Moberly (Durham), and Jon D. Levenson (Harvard), at OUP’s website.

I predict that Michael Legaspi’s book will quickly rise to the top of “must read” lists for people who have academic interests in the Bible. But I think it will also be highly relevant for anyone else who wonders about the many ways people approach the Bible in modern times (and postmodern times, if you like). I make these predictions not only based on the impressive endorsements Legaspi’s book is already receiving, but also based on discussions with, and presentations by, the author about parts of the book.

And that’s why I strongly recommend this book. I’m about to place my own order here (my Amazon link).

Johann David Michaelis’s Latin edition of Robert Lowth’s Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews (De sacra poesi Hebraeorum praelectiones; 1758, 1761). Among other discussions, Legaspi explains how this publication played an important role in scholars’ reconceiving “divinely inspired Scripture” as sublime literature that should be approached according to the same methods scholars used when studying classical texts from the ancient world.

A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.* ~Saul Bellow (1915–2005)

Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. ~Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968)

Genuine ignorance is more profitable because likely to be accompanied by humility, curiosity, and open-mindedness; while ability to repeat catch-phrases, cant terms, familiar propositions, gives the conceit of learning and coats the mind with a varnish waterproof to new ideas.* ~John Dewey (1859–1952)

The greater the ignorance the greater the dogmatism.* ~Sir William Osler (1849–1919)

The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: Be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge. ~Elbert Hubbard (1856–1915)

To be ignorant of one’s ignorance is the malady of ignorance. ~Amos Bronson Alcott (1799–1888)

Nothing is worse than active ignorance. ~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832)

My colleague and good friend, Joseph Poulshock, the editor of BeeOasis.com and professor of English Linguistics at Tokyo Christian University, loaned me How to Write a Lot: A Practical Guide to Productive Academic Writing (Amazon), by Paul J. Silvia. It’s a good read so far (I’m only a couple of chapters into it).

In chapter 2, the author debunks these “specious barriers to writing a lot”:

• Lack of time
• The need for more research
• Lack of a good working environment
• The need for inspiration

Here are a few of the key points I took away from it.

(1) Schedule your writing. Don’t try to find time to write, and don’t wait for the inspiration to hit. Instead, schedule time to write. Regularly. There are very, very few successful writers who don’t make and jealously keep appointments with themselves to write. Silvia humorously, but no doubt seriously, gives this advice (p. 15):

If you don’t plan to make a schedule, gently close this book, clean it so it looks brand new, and give it as a gift to a friend who wants to be a better writer.

(2) Schedule your “non-writing” writing. Let “writing” include every part of the writing process, from research to manuscript submissions. As long as you are doing something that you must do for your writing to be published, then you probably need not worry that this will become an excuse to put off the hard work of actually writing words, sentences, and paragraphs.

The key point here is that you need to schedule the “non-writing” part of writing as much as the actual writing. And by scheduling it, too, you will free yourself from constantly wondering when you’ll “find” time for it (and from beating yourself up for not finding the time after all).

Time Saving Truth from Falsehood and Envy (François Lemoyne, 1737)

(3) Write first, and write free. Try morning writing appointments whether you’re a morning person or not. But whenever you schedule your writing, just do it. Don’t first check your email or your friends’ status updates. Do what you can to free yourself from online and offline distractions from start to finish. Another good line (p. 22):

The best kind of self-control is to avoid situations that require self-control.

Is there anything new here? If you’re any kind of a writer at all, then probably not. Then where is the value in it? Good question.

For me, I think the benefit of reading a book like this comes primarily from acknowledging and affirming — and sometimes rejecting — certain ideas and disciplines together with Joe, who loaned me the book. Silvia’s book would still be helpful without that, but the added accountability makes it more enjoyable and effective for me.

How about you? Any stories of writing success (or failure, for that matter) by adopting these and/or other work habits?

In my first post about my new book, I posted statements by a couple of well-known and a couple of anonymous biblical scholars. For my second post, I’d like to post here the summary that Harvard University Press used in their catalog (both online and in their Spring/Summer 2010 print catalog). It’s also the summary that vendors like Eisenbrauns and Amazon picked up (with lightning speed, I might add) when HUP started promoting my book online.

THE SURPRISING ELECTION AND CONFIRMATION OF KING DAVID
J. RANDALL SHORT
Some of the best-known biblical episodes are found in the story of David’s rise to kingship in First and Second Samuel. Why was this series of stories included in the Bible?

An answer that has become increasingly popular is that this narrative should be interpreted as the “apology of David,” that is, the personal justification of King David against charges that he illegitimately usurped Saul’s throne. Comparisons between “the History of David’s Rise” and the Hittite “Apology of Hattušili,” in particular, appear to support this view that the biblical account belongs to the genre of ancient Near Eastern royal apology.

Having presented this approach, Randall Short argues that the biblical account has less in common with the Hittite apology than scholars have asserted, and he demonstrates how interpretive assumptions about the historical reality behind the text inform the meaning that these scholars discern in the text. His central contention is that this story should not be interpreted as the personal exoneration of David composed to win over suspicious readers. Rather, composed for faithful readers represented by David, the story depicts the dramatic confirmation of David’s surprising election through his gradual emergence as the beloved son of Jesse, Saul, all Israel, and YHWH Himself.

The main purpose of a summary in a print catalog, of course, is to give readers a good idea of what the book is about. But online summaries have a purpose that is equally important. They draw people who are running searches on the key words and phrases to the website and let them know about the book in the first place.

I would love to see what search strings bring people to my book’s site at Harvard University Press, Amazon, and the like. One problem with summaries, though, is that they don’t include — and can’t include without becoming nearly unreadable — many of the key terms and phrases that a lot of people among my intended readers are likely to be Googling and Binging.

So, in the interests of reaching as wide an audience as possible, and hoping that you won’t be disappointed if your online search of any of the below terms brought you here, I offer a mini-index of keywords and phrases that somehow relate to my book. This, too, is rather limited, but I hope it’s skim-worthy and, more importantly, search-worthy.

Interested in Any of the Following? Then please check out The Surprising Election and Confirmation of King David:

Biblical figures and themes: King David, King Saul, the Prophet Samuel, Davidic Covenant, David’s Anointing, Divine Election, Divine Rejection, Davidic King and Kingdom, Kingship in Israel and Judah

Texts and corpuses: Books of Samuel, Historical Books of the Bible, the Former Prophets, Nevi’im, Nebi’im, Historical Psalms, Tanakh, Masoretic Text (MT), Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (BHS), Hebrew Bible, Old Testament; Samuel Commentary

Critical sources, extra-biblical texts, etc.: History of David’s Rise (HDR), Apology of David, Ancient Israelite Royal Propaganda, Apology of Hattusili, Apology of Hattushilish, Hittite Empire, Ancient Near Eastern Apologies, ANE, Deuteronomist, Deuteronomistic, Dtr, Original Context, Final Form

Modern Scholarly Approaches: Historical Critical Scholarship, Historical Criticism, Source Criticism, Redactional Criticism, Rhetorical Criticism, Ideological Criticism, Tradition Criticism, Canonical Criticism, Literary Criticism, Comparative Criticism, Theological Interpretation, Biblical Interpretation, Biblical Exegesis

Scholars and works: P. Kyle McCarter, “The Apology of David” (JBL), and I Samuel (Anchor Bible); Baruch Halpern, David’s Secret Demons: Messiah, Murderer, Traitor, King; Steven L. McKenzie, King David: A Biography; James W. Flanagan, David’s Social Drama: A Hologram of Israel’s Early Iron Age; Harry A. Hoffner, “Propaganda and Political Justification in Hittite Historiography.”

I’ve thought about things I can do to build some anticipation around the launching of my first book, The Surprising Election and Confirmation of King David (Harvard Theological Studies). It won’t be out until May, so I have a few months to go. For instance, I could have a lot of fun making a book trailer, and a trailer for a dissertation-turned-into-book might even create some buzz. But I’m afraid I don’t have the right set of skills to pull it off.

I’ll start, instead, by letting others speak for me. The fact is, very few people have read my book so far — it’s not out yet, after all. But I’m happy to say that the people who’ve read it are experts about these things, and they had some very positive and encouraging things to say.

Jon D. Levenson was my doctoral advisor at Harvard Divinity School. According to this most trustworthy source that professors just love for their students to cite, he is “the most interesting and incisive biblical exegete among contemporary Jewish thinkers.” Professor Levenson had this to say about my book:

This provocative and well-reasoned interpretation of David’s rise to kingship challenges the standard political reading of the narrative and impressively recovers its key theological dimensions. By refusing to assimilate the text to its putative ancient Near Eastern parallels, Randall Short enriches our understanding of an exceedingly subtle and complex narrative in a valuable way. This volume should command the attention of scholars, students, and clergy alike.

Recent books by my doctoral advisors

Resurrection and the Restoration of Israel by Jon D. Levenson
and Sin: A History by Gary A. Anderson

Gary A. Anderson was also my advisor at Harvard until he moved to the University of Notre Dame. But even after his move, he continued to advise me by serving on my dissertation committee. At some point I expect the above-cited source to describe him as “the most interesting and incisive biblical exegete among contemporary Catholic thinkers” (he’s a little younger than Prof. Levenson, so give it time). Professor Anderson offered this statement:

It is not frequent that a book comes along and proposes a bold new approach to a problem that was once thought to be solved. Short’s bold and deftly argued thesis about the founding of the Davidic Kingdom is going to mark a new direction for the exegesis of I and II Samuel.

I’m indebted to and grateful for these men, and I’m deeply honored to have them evaluate my work so highly.

Let me share comments about my work by two more scholars. I don’t know their names because the comments were from two anonymous reviewers of my manuscript at an early stage in Harvard Theological Studies’ review process. The below statements came to me along with several constructive criticisms that helped me to make a number of improvements.

One reviewer said this about my manuscript in general:

[Short’s book] has a clear and important thesis to put forward on an important text and issue in Hebrew Biblical studies, and everything, so far as I can see, is very well arranged around the definition, exposition, and substantiation of this thesis, in a style that is lucid, direct, and precise: few, if any solecisms or baroque formulations typical of dissertations. It makes its case by a serious critique of one standard view of the History of David’s Rise (HDR), and then by a penetrating, closely observed analysis of facets of the literary techniques and themes of the HDR . . .

And another reviewer said this about my chapters 4 and 5:

I have found his analyses of the individual verses to be detailed and reasonable. The impression that Short’s text gives is that he attends to the interpretation of individual verses or texts with great care.

Andover Hall, Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, Massachusetts

I don’t mean to imply that my advisors and reviewers agree with me about every position I take. That is certainly not the case, but no one who knows the field of biblical studies would expect it to be.

I am extremely pleased, though, that these scholars all agree on this point: You’ll benefit from reading my book if you have any interest in Samuel’s account of David’s rise to kingship in particular and/or modern biblical scholarship in general.

Tokyo Christian University is beginning a new short-term program for international students this fall called the East Asia Institute. The program lasts a full semester, starting in late August and ending in early December.

Most students will take the following four courses, though some may wish to exchange one or two with other courses offered at TCU this fall:

• Japanese Language and Culture
• Japan, Asia, and the West
• History of Japanese Arts and Aesthetics
• Japanese Religion and Philosophy

Students will take part in several field trips towards completion of their course credits, which should be fully transferable to undergraduate programs at foreign universities in the U.S. and other countries.

Shinkyo (Sacred Bridge), Nikko

TCU expects that most of the applicants will come from CCCU member and affiliate schools, but it welcomes others to apply.

The cost of this study abroad program is less than students would pay for a semester of study at most private colleges in the U.S.

See the East Asia Institute website for more information.

Every month, a designated blogger writes “the Biblical Studies Carnival,” a summary with links to some of the previous month’s best blog posts about the Bible and biblical studies. Some of the bloggers whose posts are highlighted are established scholars and professors, and some are not. Whoever they are, they are eligible because they write about the Bible and biblical scholarship with academic concerns at the forefront.

This month, Doug Chaplin wrote the 48th Biblical Studies Carnival on his blog. His carnival begins with links to digital resources from highly resourceful people, and he moves on to introduce blog posts about archaeology, the Hebrew Bible / Old Testament, the New Testament, commentaries, translation, and many other topics. He also links to several posts about the Society of Biblical Literature’s national conference in New Orleans just before Thanksgiving.

New Orleans: Scene on Canal Street during a Carnival parade (Wikimedia Commons)

I think that anyone who enjoys reading biblical studies blogs (also called “biblioblogs”) hopes to discover something new in a Biblical Studies Carnival. And most of these people, I suspect, are interested in seeing which of their favorite bloggers and blog posts from the past month were included and overlooked.

For instance, I was happy to discover Joel Hoffman’s review of a book by Gary A. Anderson, who was one of my doctoral advisors. Anderson’s recent book is Sin: A History (Amazon link). And I was glad to see Karyn Traphagen’s and Chris Heard’s contributions highlighted among bloggers and posts that I enjoyed reading in November. The one post that I looked for but couldn’t find was Derek Leman’s “What is Historical Criticism?” How about you?

Title page of Histoire critique du vieux testament by Richard Simon, published in 1685 by Reinier Leers at Rotterdam, Netherlands. (Wikimedia Commons)

So check out the 48th Biblical Studies Carnival. First, though, here’s a tip that might help, depending on which browser you use. When reading the post, “right click” on the links to open them in new tabs or new windows. Or even better, use your mouse wheel, if you have one, to quickly open links in new tabs without leaving the carnival. Then, after every section, you can click on the tabs and quickly review the blogs to find the ones that interest you the most.