I proposed an initial Django model for storing Greek parsing data in the Open Scriptures mailing list and it has generated a good amount of discussion. The central question is whether we should follow traditional yet problematic morphological parsing paradigm, or whether we should seek to implement a semantic paradigm. Mike Aubrey has written some good posts on the problems with the traditional paradigm (e.g. Robertson on the middle and passive voice).

Luckily with Django we can have an arbitrary number of parsing models for any given word. So from a technical standpoint, it is not a question of which model, so long as that model can be sensibly reduced to database fields.

From a grammatical point of view, I have mixed feelings. I think that there are some real problems with the traditional system, especially in terms of its terminology and treatment of "tense" and voice. I think there is some value in purely morphological descriptions (especially insofar as they provide an objective description of the word), but that should not be the end-all of understanding a word. And I tend to agree  that the introduction of a new technology paradigm (i.e. the Open Scriptures API) may be a good time to introduce new parsing paradigms. Read more »

Today I discovered a very interesting project: The Hexapla Institute.

The purpose of the Hexapla Institute is to publish a new critical edition of the fragments of Origen's Hexapla, an endeavor which might be described as, "A Field for the 21st Century" to be available in a print edition and as an online database.

In other  words, it's about the coolest project I've ever heard of. Sadly the website seems a bit out of date, so I'm not sure how/if the project is progressing at this point.

A while back Mike Aubrey brought up the plight of Buist Fanning's Verbal Aspect of New Testament Greek: It is $240 per copy. That effectively makes it out of reach for everyone but libraries and the richest scholars. The reason it is so expensive is because it is published only as hardback and printed only on-demand. Aubrey has initiated a letter-writing campaign to get the work published in a more affordable form (paperback, or perhaps electronic). Read more »

The Old Greek version of the story of David and Goliath has a rather interesting addition (in bold below):

And Dauid stretched out his hand into the bag and took out from there one stone and slung it and struck the allophyle on his forehead, and the stone penetrated through the helmet into his forehead, and he fell on his face on the ground. (NETS)

Now that is one hard slung rock!