e-Sword 9+ Module Download:
Download "Dead Sea Scriptures" TC (Hebrew Books Only) 1.0083

I appreciate the attempt to make a module of the composite text of the Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS).  According to the "thewaytoyahuweh.com" (TWTY) the files originated as original transcriptions made from the online photos of DSS manuscripts (mss) and each of these are available separately on that website.  Many of these mss are little fragments containing maybe only parts of 2 words.  When doing the transcription it is generally helpful to supply missing text from other mss (such as the Leningrad Codex) so that the context can be seen for those few words of the DSS mss.  The TWTY website also has files for download that integrate all these fragments to make a more complete text, like piecing together a puzzle for which many pieces may be missing and those pieces which are available can fill in a better picture than any partial set of pieces.  For example, in Genesis there are 22 sets of pieces.  TWTY has available "parallel" text files that show which sets of pieces were used to make the composite.

Now here is the concern about this e-Sword module: it does not distinguish the DSS mss text portions from the filler material supplied from other mss. such as the Leningrad Codex.  In Genesis 1:3, for example, this DSS module shows the entire verse and one might think that among the DSS mss one would be able to piece together the entire verse.  But in fact, only the last 2 words of the verse -- in English: "was light" -- are found in the DSS in the ms called 4QGen-b.  In Gen 1:1, the situation is better and one can piece together from 2 mss 4QGen-g part of the first word and all of the second word and from 4QGen-b the final 4 words plus one letter, so the composite looks kind of like this:   [br's]it bar' ['lhi]m et hsmim v et h'rt  in which the letters in [ ] are supplied from non-DSS mss.

Thus, this DSS module is most reliable for indicating which verses have portions available from the DSS.  It would be far more reliable/useful to have the text displayed with the DSS material clearly distinguished from the supplied text.  I think a good way to display that would be to follow the "parallel" text of the TWTY website, like this:

(4QGen-g)  [br's]it bar' ['lhim et hsmim v et h'rt]

(4QGen-  [br'sit bar' 'lhi]m et hsmim v et h'rt

This should be done in Hebrew, of course, and the easiest way to do it is to use utf-8 text in an html file which will work in e-Sword parallel mode (which the rtf based file won't do).  I have worked with several modules in Hebrew for e-Sword 12 and would be happy to advise on the html formatting (which can be tricky, especially when mixed with left to right text, i.e. in bidirectional lines).

It is nice to have a module that provides quick reference to where there can be found DSS material, and I look forward to seeing this module improved in the future.
 

CORRECTION:

In my previous review I gave an example of Gen. 1:1 which I misunderstood.  In further review of the data, that particular verse is fully represented in the DSS from 4QGen-g and 4QGen-b pieced together.  Similarly for my Gen 1:3 example:  the Hebrew words for "was light" are the missing words, not the extant words, though the module does not show that "was light" is missing from the DSS ms collection.

A better illustration of the problem is Ezra 4:2, which the module (and its source) depicts as fully present, but a look at http://downloads.the...ew/DSS_Ezra.pdf

show that only 2 letters of that verse are extant, although a different download from that site http://downloads.the...dition_Full.pdf depicts Ezra 4:2 in its entirety without showing the 2 letters that are actually extant.  It appears that almost all verses in that TC Full Edition are shown in their entirety whether the whole verse is found in the DSS or not, which is a serious limitation in the trustworthiness of that file.  That website has provided numerous DSS ms files labelled "parallel" and available as a single pdf at http://downloads.the...anuscripts.zip  and these DO show the extant text distinguished from the supplied text.

Most well-done transcriptions make note of text that is unclear and in the online mss. of the DSS there is a very large amount of unclear text, yet one would not be aware of much of it from the transcriptions at https://thewaytoyahuweh.com/  Nonethless, if those transcriptions are truly made from online ms photos, then they constitute a great deal of work, and posting them freely is a generous gesture.  Other transcriptions are available online at https://buyaccess.br..._pe_id=BORWe    or through commercial software such as Accordance, but would be beyond my budget.

For the DSS in English, you might want to take a look at  http://dssenglishbib...hapterview.htm  in which markup of ms vs. non-DSS is present.

FYI, e-Sword ToolTip Tool NT identifies both of the downloads as licensed modules that it is unable to read.