Jump to content

Bugs relating to various Pseudepigrapha resources, esp. Charlesworth


Hrugnir

Recommended Posts

So I own volume 1 of Charlesworth's Pseudepigrapha as a physical book, and I was thrilled when I saw both volumes on sale in Accordance today.

 

Partly, I decided to bite the bullet and buy it to solve problems I've already encountered with Accordance. I had previously bought the older Charles' Pseudepigrapha collection from the 19th century simply to have some translation available for 1 Enoch when a commentary or similar referenced "1 En 6:1" or similar. The problem is, however, that the document is known as "Enoch" in Charles and as "1Enoch" in Charlesworth. Ironically, now that I own both Charles and Charlesworth, I can open and scroll 1 Enoch in both modules just fine. But when I didn't own Charlesworth, I was not able to click a key link for 1 Enoch at all - it told me to buy Charlesworth.

 

A similar problem exists with the resources for "The (Greek) Life of Adam and Eve", also known as the "Apocalypse of Moses". I now own 4 different resources containing some form of this text: Pseudepigrapha (Evans), Pseudepigrapha (Charles), Pseudepigrapha (Charlesworth) AND the module called "Apocryphal Apocalypses". In the first three, the text is called "Adam_Eve" and scrolls more or less together. The resource "Apocryphal Apocalypses", however, is not even available to open together with the other three.

 

A third type of problem, however, happened when I tried to read "The Apocalypse of Abraham" in Charlesworth and opened the related Notes module. When I look at verse 1:1, the notes show up fine. When I scroll down to 1:2, however, the notes switch to an entirely different set of notes, and after checking in my physical copy of Charlesworth, it turns out Accordance seems to have linked the Apocalypse of Abraham to the notes of BOTH the Apocalypse of Abrahama AND the unrelated Testament of Abraham. This means that as I scroll down the text of the Apocalypse, the notes frantically switch between showing the correct notes and the notes for an unrelated document. I initially discovered the above mistake as I tried to read the notes for the Testament of Abraham, which simply doesn't show any note at all - assumably because those notes are linked to the Apocalypse instead.

 

These problems, taken together, make using Accordance to study the Pseudepigrapha a tedious exercise. Correct and functional key links between resources is the whole reason I use Accordance to start with, and it's very discouraging to buy a digital copy of a physical book I already own, only to find problems with mismatching resources everywhere. The non-flexibility withing the software when handling different names for the same work (Like "Enoch/1Enoch" or "ApMoses/Adam_Eve") is also quite vexing - I understand that the confusion with titles causes some technical difficulties, but it doesn't really seem like an unsurmountable problem.

 

Accordance 13.0.5.0, Windows 10 (on various computers)

Edited by Hrugnir
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

You make a good point. Links to Enoch or 1Enoch are hard-coded in many of our modules due to differences in naming conventions. We'll see what we can do to standardize the names, and we'll fix the issue with ApMoses/Adam_Eve which is simply an error.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I've now found a similar problem with regards to the Apostolic Fathers.

 

I bought a package for Accordance a while back which contains the two resources "Apostolic Fathers (Lightfoot)" and "Apostolic Fathers English (Lightfoot)". Now, I would have thought that this purchase allows me to click hyperlinks in commentaries and other resources referencing texts within the Apostolic Fathers, like the Didache or the Ignatian corpus. However, when I hover over or click on a link to the Apostolic Fathers within "Eerdman's Commentary on the Bible" or the "Jewish Annotated NT", it tells me to buy the "Apostolic Fathers" resource, more specifically the newer translation by Holmes.

 

I think I'm starting to see a pattern. It seems like hyperlinks to non-canonical works within commentaries etc. are compatible with the newest or most sold resources containing the hyperlinked texts - but older translations containing these same ancient texts are not supported.

 

It would be helpful if you added a note to these apparently legacy resources (Like Lightfoot's AF or Charles' Pseudepigrapha), maybe something like "Warning: Not compatible with other resources in the Accordance Store!"

Edited by Hrugnir
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It would be helpful if you added a note to these apparently legacy resources (Like Lightfoot's AF or Charles' Pseudepigrapha), maybe something like "Warning: Not compatible with other resources in the Accordance Store!"

 

Holmes is the standard edition today, which is why Apostolic Fathers links go to that resource. If you do not have the Holmes edition, I highly recommend it. Placing a warning that the older version is not compatible with other resources would not be an accurate statement because compatibility entails much more than hyperlinks between our products.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Holmes is the standard edition today, which is why Apostolic Fathers links go to that resource. If you do not have the Holmes edition, I highly recommend it. Placing a warning that the older version is not compatible with other resources would not be an accurate statement because compatibility entails much more than hyperlinks between our products.

 

I would argue that it is an accurate statement. From your comment it sounds like you are treating these older translations like legacy products with at least limited functionality, even if it is technically possible to read the Lightfoot text in the program. The King James Bible is also an old translation based on outdated scholarship, but it's still supported fully in Accordance with hyperlinks and more. Pretty much the whole reason I buy non-canonical resources for Accordance is so that I can get them hyperlinked. Otherwise I could just use Google and read the texts online for free.

 

I understand that Pseudepigrapha and Apostolic Fathers are perhaps prioritized lower than Protestant canonical literature in Accordance, but are you saying this is simply how non-canonical hyperlinks work in Accordance? Is there some kind of hard-coded limitation in Accordance which makes it so that only one resource can be used per non-biblical text? I just don't see why I can't use Charles and Lightfoot for hyperlinks. Is it because hyperlinks to non-canonical texts always has to be linked to a specific resource unless it is found in the "alternate" resource chosen for the tooltips?

 

I own a physical copy of Holmes' Apostolic Fathers in Greek and English (which I bought new for $17), and it is indeed a great resource. However, I do not at present feel like paying an additional $99 for a digital version of it as well, especially considering all the problems with these kinds resources that I've already found and listed in this thread. I love Accordance for Bible studies, but since extra-canonical writings (both Jewish and Christian) are a speciality of mine, I'm saddened when I notice all these functions bursting at the seams and then being told it's working as designed.

Edited by Hrugnir
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've now found a similar problem with regards to the Apostolic Fathers.

 

I bought a package for Accordance a while back which contains the two resources "Apostolic Fathers (Lightfoot)" and "Apostolic Fathers English (Lightfoot)". Now, I would have thought that this purchase allows me to click hyperlinks in commentaries and other resources referencing texts within the Apostolic Fathers, like the Didache or the Ignatian corpus. However, when I hover over or click on a link to the Apostolic Fathers within "Eerdman's Commentary on the Bible" or the "Jewish Annotated NT", it tells me to buy the "Apostolic Fathers" resource, more specifically the newer translation by Holmes.

 

 

We usually link to what we consider to be the standard edition, which as Rick has pointed out is Holmes (in this case). However, Accordance is "smart" enough to know that if you only have Lightfoot installed, the links will open Lightfoot instead. The only instance in which this wouldn't be the case is if Lightfoot doesn't contain a certain book (for example, Lightfoot doesn't include Quadratius, Papias, or Traditions). 

 

To test, I removed Holmes from my library and clicked on links to the Didache in the Jewish Annotated NT, and Lightfoot opened as expected.

 

If you find links that won't open Lightfoot, please let me know and I'll check it out.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We usually link to what we consider to be the standard edition, which as Rick has pointed out is Holmes (in this case). However, Accordance is "smart" enough to know that if you only have Lightfoot installed, the links will open Lightfoot instead. The only instance in which this wouldn't be the case is if Lightfoot doesn't contain a certain book (for example, Lightfoot doesn't include Quadratius, Papias, or Traditions). 

 

To test, I removed Holmes from my library and clicked on links to the Didache in the Jewish Annotated NT, and Lightfoot opened as expected.

 

If you find links that won't open Lightfoot, please let me know and I'll check it out.

 

Here is a screenshot of what my Accordance looks like when I try to click the link to the Epistle of Barnabas in my Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible resource.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3a7ld91hll0xfvs/accordanceapostolic.png?dl=0

 

If I click "Go to Website", it takes me to Holmes in the Accordance store, since I do not own that resource.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here is a screenshot of what my Accordance looks like when I try to click the link to the Epistle of Barnabas in my Eerdmans Commentary on the Bible resource.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3a7ld91hll0xfvs/accordanceapostolic.png?dl=0

 

If I click "Go to Website", it takes me to Holmes in the Accordance store, since I do not own that resource.

 

In this case, the issue is that Lightfoot only includes the first two verses of chapter 18, and doesn't include chapter 19 at all.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hrugnir, based on what Mark stated above, do other links to the Apostolic Fathers in the Eerdmans Commentary take you to the Lightfoot edition in your library?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some experiments linking to Apostolic Fathers Lightfoot via hyperlinks if Holmes is not part of the owned resources:

 

--These Link to AFL correctly and display the AFL text in Instant Details.

 

APOSTOLIC FATHERS CROSSREFS

The Comprehensive Bible Cross Reference Index for the Apostolic Fathers (AF Crossrefs)
Version 1.3
 
HERMENEIA APOSTOLIC FATHERS
Version 1.6
 
DECKER’S KOINE READER (NT & LXX)
Version 1.0
 
 --These do not link to AFL nor show anything in instant details when the text is available in AFL. Popup for Holmes appears.
 
The New International Greek Testament Commentary (13 vols.) (NIGTC-13) Version 1.7
Sacra Pagina  Version 1.1
Paideia NT Version 1.0
and many more commentaries
 
Special note to Mark.  When I tested the links as you had and clicked on links to the Didache in the Jewish Annotated NT, my Accordance crashed 100% of the time. Also, nothing appeared in the instant details before I clicked on the hyperlink. I have Version 1.2 of the 2nd Ed. of the Jewish Annotated NT.
 
Happy sleuthing,
​—Joseph
 
Note Added: This was done only on my macOS system with version 10.14.6 
Edited by Solly
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Solly! That's strange that links in some modules are working and some aren't. That obviously shouldn't be happening, and I'll take a look.

I'm not sure what's crashing the crashing issue in the Jewish Annotated NT (2nd Ed.). You have the current version. If you find a hyperlink that causes a consistent crash, could you send me the location? 

 

Sorry you've all been having these issues; just know that we're working to get them resolved asap!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Mark, I have tested all 1Clem. and Did. links in the the Jewish Annotated NT (2nd Ed.) this evening and no crashes have happened. All links examined were to references that do exist in AFL-E when I manually examined them in the text. In all cases the popup for Holmes appeared and nothing was displayed in the instant details as found in the three earlier tools mentioned that worked as expected with AFL.

 

​One consistent finding: If hovering over a link that should show in AFL does not display information in Instant Details, then the Holmes Popup will appear.

 

Bit Rot must have caused the crashes earlier today. ;)

 

—Joseph

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks Solly! That's strange that links in some modules are working and some aren't. That obviously shouldn't be happening, and I'll take a look.

 

I'm not sure what's crashing the crashing issue in the Jewish Annotated NT (2nd Ed.). You have the current version. If you find a hyperlink that causes a consistent crash, could you send me the location? 

 

Sorry you've all been having these issues; just know that we're working to get them resolved asap!

 

Thanks! I'm happy to hear it's being looked at.

 

Here are some examples of links I've found which all take me to the prompt to buy Holmes:

 

In Eerdmans Commentary:

Epistle of Barnabas 11; 7

1 Clem 55:3,4

1 Clem 5:1-7

1 Clem 42:1-4

2 Clem 16:4

 

In Jewish Annotated NT:

1 Clement 47:3

Didache 9.5

Barnabas 16.3-4

Polycarp to Philippians 7:1

 

In New Oxford Annotated Bible:

Mand. 8.10 (Shepherd of Hermas)

Sim. 9 (Hermas)

Sim 9.6.1

 

In Oxford Commentary:

Ignatius to Ephesians 21.1

Didache 8.2

Didache 15

Ign. Trall. 2, 3

Ign. Magn. 6, 13

 

Of course, many of these resources simply don't hyperlink references to the Apostolic Fathers at all, and sometimes there are two references next to each other where one is hyperlinked and the other isn't. But I suppose that's another kind of problem.

 

The point is that I have still not been able to find a single clickable reference to the Apostolic Fathers which takes me to Lightfoot. They only tell me to buy Holmes.

Edited by Hrugnir
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes Hrugnir, there's definitely something broken here. Those links SHOULD be sending you to Lightfoot. We're trying to track down the issue now.

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...