12 replies to this topic

[Bobert]

Quick question for anyone familiar with the ins and outs of these two collections.

 

I have most of the Accordance DSS modules and intend on getting the remainder of the non-biblical DSS modules, but was curious about the DSS images module compared with Brill's library.  Does anyone know the major differences?  How does Brill's image quality compare with Accordance's?  Any other comparisons would be helpful.  Thanks!

 

Neill

[J. T.]

Bobert:

 

I've not forgotten about your question. I've not used Brill's series all that much. I did find a little bit of time yesterday to give it a look, but only briefly. I will find more time tomorrow to examine the texts and images.

[Bobert]

James,

 

Thanks for looking into it!

[bkMitchell]

If, you mean the Dead Sea Scrolls Electronic Edition by Emanuel Tov you may find a decent image of the product here: http://cpart.byu.edu/images/DSS3_Web.jpg

The database has an improved image set. Many images have been replaced with higher resolution copies, additional images have been included, and each fragment or scroll image is individually labelled. (link)

If, you are a serious Dead Sea Scrolls student you may want to have both Accordance and Brills' edition, But if I were you I'd make Accordance my priority.Brill's library will set you back $359.00 but Accordance image module only cost  $129.99.

 

Now, having said the above Brills' edition comes with a lot more than images. However, the interface is an older Microsoft Windows one since it is an older program called WordCruncher that is it's search engine. And, since it is a Windows program it's not going to run on a OS X. 

 

Much, like Accordance, Brills' version is also capable of running queries on lemmas, morphology, words, and phrases But in Accordance you can do so graphically. If, you also would like to see what Brill's searches look like check here: http://dss.byu.edu/dssel/help/advanced/tutorials/search%20overview.htm

Basically, you type in everything on a command line, and use check boxes.

 

(edit)Take in mind also that the transcriptions and the morphologies of Brill's Dead Sea Scrolls database and the modules in Accordance are different. For me the only major reason to have Brill's is so that you have another  independent opinion. 

  (edit) Being that I now know the morphology of the BYU edition is, "reliant on Dr. Martin Abegg's electronic database" added to the fact that neither the BYU's program nor the databases have been updated since 2006, it's hard for me to justify purchasing the BYU/Brill product. The best bet is Accordance. After all even the editor (Emanuel Tov) of the BYU product uses Accordance and recommends it to his students. 

Edited by bkMitchell, 12 February 2013 - 06:53 PM.

[Bobert]

BKMitchell,

 

Thank you for the thorough reply and links.  Since investing in this resource would also require investing in Windows, I think I'll forego this purchase for the time being.  I am still curious, however, about the image contents of the two modules.  How much of the DSS corpus does the Accordance module cover compared to Brill's library?  Thanks again!

 

Neill

[J. T.]

Bobert:

 

This is still on my list of items to do. I'm going to be on campus a good part of today, and will make a point of spending some time with the images. 

 

I can, however, answer one aspect of the question. In Accordance, the DSS Images module contains only Trever's images:

 

[Helen Brown]

The Accordance text modules are, to our knowledge, the most complete electronic edition available, lacking still just a few of the Wilderness texts. They are also fully and accurately "tagged," enabling the searches described above. We don't have images for all the scrolls, but we do have the texts.

[J. T.]

Bobert:

 

I had a chance to sit down with the Brill Electronic Library this morning, although it was only for a short time. As for the images, yes, their image database covers nearly every transcription (although I was hard pressed to find images for CD). In the introduction, it is claimed that the accompanying images are the source of the transcriptions.

 

It's really a shame that the Brill Edition (and BYU) didn't just join hands Accordance on this (I say this, and everything else on this thread as a Graduate researcher, not an Accordance affiliate). As Helen mentions above, the texts in Accordance are best to have through Accordance, for the Brill edition is reliant on Dr. Martin Abegg's electronic database (which is in Accordance).

 

One thing I didn't do was to compare the DSS Images in DSSEL to Google. Either way, I would like to see Accordance get more images of the Scrolls. Even here at TWU, the internet connection is slow, and I don't care for the Google interface. In addition, I would like to see Accordance add manuscript images for Leningrad and Aleppo, amongst others. There's a great deal of value in looking at the facsimile editions! 

[bkMitchell]

 I would like to see Accordance get more images of the Scrolls. Even here at TWU, the internet connection is slow, and I don't care for the Google interface. In addition, I would like to see Accordance add manuscript images for Leningrad and Aleppo, amongst others. There's a great deal of value in looking at the facsimile editions! 

 

So, would I. In fact I'd love to see the 'newer' Leningrad Codex Facsimile edition in Accordance!

[Ken Simpson]

I picked up the facsimile of a really old version in pdf (over a gb) and it's really quite good in lots of ways. Except very difficult to navigate! Wish it had a TOC. But it's true, there's sometimes nothing like looking at the folio itself. I'd love any WLC facsimile in Accordance.

 

Here's Gen 1:1 blown right up. it's not bad really. Of course it would be nice to have a really high def scan - but boy it would be big!

 Screen Shot 2013-02-13 at 11.19.02 .jpg   96.91K   23 downloads

Edited by Ken Simpson, 12 February 2013 - 07:22 PM.

[Bobert]

James,

 

Thanks for the comparison.  I'm going to eventually purchase the Accordance module, as I'll be near a library where the DJD volumes are easily accessible if I need to take a closer look.  (Wouldn't mind seeing those in Accordance, either...).  Thanks to all who weighed in!

[J. T.]

Yes, the DJD volumes would be an excellent addition. But alas . . . 

[bkMitchell]

One, may also view and download Leningrad codex book by book over at Wikimedia Commons:

http://commons.wikim..._Leningradensis

 

 

But, it would be nice to have the following edition in Accordance:

 

"The Leningrad Codex: A Facsimile Edition.

General Editor: David Noel Freedman 
Managing Editor: Astrid B. Beck 
Associate Editors: Bruce E. Zuckerman and Marilyn J. Lundberg 
Publication Editor: James A. Sanders 
Photographers: Bruce E. Zuckerman, Kenneth A. Zuckerman, Marilyn J. Lundberg, and Garth I. Moller

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Brill Academic Publishers in Leiden, the Netherlands, have published (1998) a facsimile edition of the Leningrad Codex using the photographs taken in 1990. The facsimile is intended as a scholar's edition, and most of the pages are in black and white. The sixteen illuminated pages of the Codex, however, are printed in color. If you would like more information, please write to us at mlundber@usc.edu. Because of the publication of this facsimile, digital images are unavailable at the present time. The following is a list of images in the West Semitic Research archive and in the facsimile edition. "

http://www.usc.edu/d...eningrad_codex/