He sits, silently reading, his mind prying the words off the page. The meaning is hard to decipher because the text is crammed together without vowels:
bcthtxtscrmmdtgthrwthtvwls
Read aloud, the words come to life, but quiet study is almost impossible.
My dad shared a fascinating link about the theological implications of adding spaces to the text of the Bible. I knew Hebrew didn't have spaces (or vowels), but I hadn't realized that breaking up words was introduced so "late" in the game.
I quipped that perhaps texting was pushing us back to a world without spaces. But the more I thought about it--and skimmed through S. Joel Garver's Inventing "The Bible" article--I realized that, even after all these years of Sonlight, Bible study, Scripture memorization, college courses, and excellent teaching from the pulpit... there's so much more for me to learn about the Bible! That's part depressing--I should know something by now--but it's also exciting because there is so much to discover and uncover.
If you or your children are just starting out in Scripture study, academic essays about the impact of printing on hermeneutics may not be the best place to start. I'd recommend something more gentle, like What's in the Bible? or singing along with Seeds Family Worship. But if you're getting deeper, it may be time to check out BibleMesh. I'm just thrilled to find even more things to study and ponder... like our changes in understanding that come with technological and cultural shifts such as spaces, punctuation, grammar, or no.
That's what I've got for you today.
kthxbi
~Luke Holzmann
Filmmaker, Writer, Empty Nester
P.S. Okay, one more thing: pre-order the new Piano Wizard and get a $50 Sonlight gift certificate! It has nothing to do with the Bible, but it is a pretty sweet deal.
