Analog Meets Digital: Meet the Notebook that Connects to the Cloud

I have had a bit of a dilemma over the last few years. You see, those of you who know me know that I'm a bit of a tech geek, and make heavy use of my digital tools. But, at the same time, I've come to learn and recognize that writing things out by hand is actually much better for learning, comprehension, and retention. I have lived with this conundrum for a little while, and I tried when I am able to actually write things.

However, I do not intend on going back to the old days of filing papers in a drawer. The reality is that notes and documents are much more usable when they are stored on my computer in an easy to use fashion.

There are two items that are now in my repertoire which it helped me to bring handwriting back into my life, albeit in a limited capacity. Still, I found them very helpful and I can foresee continuing and increasing my use of them. The first is the Apple pencil, which works with my iPad Pro. This is truly the first tablet stylus that actually feels like a pen. The delay is almost non-existent. My main apps are DEVONthink To Go and Notability, and the pencil works great especially with Notability.

But while the Apple Pencil is kind of old news, the Everlast Rocketbook is the new kid on the block. It was a Kickstarter project and was even on Shark Tank. It is an actual notebook, which comes in a smaller size and a larger 8.5x11 size, with pages that can be erased with a moistened paper towel, provided that you use Pilot FriXion pens or highlighters.

But while it is cool enough to have erasable pages, the link between analog and digital comes with the free companion app. With the app, you scan the page and check off which cloud folder you want to send it to (see it in action in this video). I have this set up to go to a Dropbox folder, which is connected to my DEVONthink database. I then tag the PDF with some information, so that the information is easily accessible later via searching.

I wish I had known about the Rocketbook before the publication Surviving and Thriving in Seminary, as I would have recommended it in the book. But this blog post will have to do. Check it out!

Josephus and New Testament Studies

Josephus is an essential source for our understanding of the world of Jesus. There are a number of important events and figures that we would know little to nothing about apart from his writings.

While it might not be necessary to sit and read through the entire Antiquities, students of the New Testament simply must be familiar with Josephus and recognize where we have significant information and parallels for the New Testament. Readers always ought to bear in mind that Josephus wrote with his own agenda and bias which needs to carefully scrutinized. The sections below will highlight some of the important passages, some essential works on Josephus, and some fantastic web resources for the study of Josephus.

Josephus Parallels, Similarities, or Points of contact with the New Testament

I am shamelessly pulling this list from the Josephus.org page:

1. King Herod: Luke 1:5 and Matt 2:1 // Ant. 17.7.1 191 and War 1.31.8 665
2. The Slaughter of the Innocents: Matt 2:2-16 // Ant. 17.2.4 43
3. Archelaus: Matt 2:22 // Ant. 17.8.1 188
4. The Census of Quirinius: Luke 2:1 // Ant. 18.1.1 1 
5. Jesus at Twelve: Luke 2:42 // Life 1.2 8
6. The Fifteenth Year of Tiberius: Luke 3:1 // Ant. 17.11.4 318, 18.2.2 35, 20.7.1 137; War 2.6.3 94
7. John the Baptist: Mark 6:17-29; Matt 14:1-12; Luke 3:3, 3:19 // Ant. 18.5.2,  18.5.3 136. See more on the Josephus page dedicated to this.
8. Pharisees: Matt 23:1, Luke 14:1-14 // Ant. 13.171-173, 18.1.2-3 11-13; War 2.8.14 162-166
9. Sadducees: Matt 22:23, Mark 12:18, Luke 20:27, Acts 5:17, 23:8// Ant. 18.2.4 16-17, War 2.8.14 162-166
10. All Things in Common: The Essenes: Matt 10:5-14, Mark 6:11, Luke 9:5, Acts 2:45 // Ant.18.2.5 18-22, War 2.7.4 119-127
11. Samaritans: Luke 9:51 // Ant. 20.6.1 118, War 2.12.3-4 232-235
12. Insurrection in the City under Pilate: Mark 15:7, 27; Luke 13:1, 23:18, 23:32; Matt 27:38 // Ant. 18.3.2 60-62, War 2.9.4 175-177
13. Render to Caesar: Matt 22:15-22, Mark 12:13-17, Luke 20:19-26 // War 2.8.1 118, Ant. 18.1.1 3
14. Jesus: Ant. 18.3.3 63-64 (for more on the testimonium flavium see the Josephus page on it.
15. James the Brother of Jesus: Mark 6:3, Matt 13:55, Gal 1:19, Acts 15:5-21 // Ant. 20. 9.1 199-203 
16. Theudas, and Judas the Galilean: Acts 5:33-39 // Ant. 20.5.1 97-99, 20.5.2 102
17. The Famine under Claudius: Acts 11:27-28 // Ant. 20.2.5 49-53, 20.5.2 101
18. The Death of Herod Agrippa I: Acts 12:20 // Ant. 19.8.2 343-361 
19. Expulsion of the Jews from Rome: Acts 18:1-2 // Ant. 18.3.5 81-84
20. The Egyptian: Acts 21:37-38 // Ant. 20.8.5 169-172, War 2.13.5 261
21. Ananias the High Priest: Acts 23:2, 24:1 // Ant. 20.5.2 103
22. Felix the Procurator, and his wife Drusilla: Acts 24:24 // Ant. 20.7.1 137-144
23. Festus the Procurator: Acts 24:27-25:2 // Antiquities 20.8.9-10 182-186
24. Agrippa II and Berenice: Acts 25:13, 26:27-28 // Ant.20.7.3 145
25. The Widow's Mite and Sacrifices: Mark 12:32-34, 41-44; Luke 21:2-4 // Ant. 6.7.4 147-149
26. The Circumcision Requirement for Converts: Acts 15:1-20 // Ant. 20.2.3-4 34-48
27. Living as a Pharisee: Acts 26:4-5 // Life 12
28. Inner Temple Forbidden to Foreigners: Acts 21:26 // Ant. 15.11.5 417; War 5.5.2 193-94, War 6.2.4 124-26

 

A Few Important Books for the Study of Josephus

Steve Mason is the scholar I rely most on for Josephus. His book Josephus and the New Testament is excellent. The more important book project that Steve Mason is editing is the new translation and commentary on Josephus. You can see the current list of published books in this series on the Brill page. A number of these volumes are available on Logos, yay!

Important Web Resources for Josephus

The Josephus page that has already been referenced is a great website for Josephus. However, by far the best web resource for Josephus is the work of, again, Steve Mason. The Project of Ancient Cultural Engagement is a website that every NT scholar should have bookmarked. Not only does it have a good bibliography, but it has the Greek text aligned with an English translation (including the Brill translation for some books!!). In addition to being able to access the Greek text and translation, there are textual notes, commentary notes, and bibliography related to the different sections. This is still an expanding project, but is already a very impressive site, and we are indebted to Steve Mason for his lifetime of work on Josephus.

Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments?