In many colleges and universities, we have already reached the point where a student’s (or professor’s!) first impulse when confronted with a desire for new information is to “Google it.” With the increasing power of small mobile computing devices like smartphones and tablets, students are rarely more than a few taps away from whatever online information sources they choose to access. The ubiquity of Google searches poses at least two specific challenges for biblical studies courses: (i) it enables students to rely more heavily than ever on secondary sources rather than primary sources, and (ii) it conditions students to rely less on memory and more on quick access to indexed information. Using a digital Bible instead of a paper Bible can accommodate and even “redeem” the second challenge while somewhat counterbalancing the first. In this presentation, I will describe how I have leveraged the ubiquity of smart devices to teach and test digital Bible search skills in “Religion 101: The History and Religion of Israel.” I will share specific apps and exercises used to help students climb the “scaffold” from Bible search novices to more skilled navigators of digital Bibles. Originally presented to the Academic Teaching and Biblical Studies unit of the Society of Biblical Literature at the Society’s Annual Meeting in Baltimore, Maryland, November 2013.

1. Searching the
Scriptures
(Without
’s Help)
Chris Heard, Pepperdine University
cheard@pepperdine.edu
slidesha.re/I3JwCf

2. BYOD Spread
1%
1%
66%
18%
0.35%
22%
5%
1%
73%
13%
Aggregate over three semesters.

3. BYOD Options
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓

4. BYOD Options
$19.99
$144.99*
✓
✓
$14.95
$6.95
✓
✓
$9.99
$6.50
✓
✓
Free
* In a bundle.

5. Single Words and AND
Find a Bible verse
that connects your
tribe’s name to its
symbol.

6. Single Words and AND
Hits
Hits
Reuben
58
Asher
36
Reuben AND herbs
1
Asher AND tree
0
Simeon
38
Issachar
34
Simeon AND city
1
Issachar AND donkey
1
Levi
42
Zebulun
37
Levi AND lampstand
0
Zebulun AND ship
0
Aaron AND lampstand
3
Zebulun AND ships
1
Judah
635
Ephraim
142
Judah AND lion
3
Ephraim AND helmet
Dan
53
Manasseh
Dan AND scales
0
Manasseh AND bull
0
Naphtali
48
Manasseh AND ox
0
Naphtali AND doe
1
Joseph AND ox
1
Gad
66
Benjamin
Gad AND tent
0
Benjamin AND wolf
2
132
121
1

7. Words and Phrases
"fiery chariots"

8. Words and Phrases
2 Kings
2:11
2 Kings
6:17
fiery chariots
5
5
2
•••
•••
"fiery chariots"
1
2
1
•••
•••

9. Combining Boolean Operators
crushed AND
(heads OR body)
crush AND
(head OR body)
crush <AND>
(head <OR> body)

10. Combining Boolean Operators
Ps
74:14
crushed AND (heads OR
body)
crushed AND heads OR
body
crushed heads body
Ps
89:10
5
7
3
•••
•••
371
381
279
•••
•••
1
1
0

11. Wildcards/Fuzzy Searches
r?d* AND cloud*
ride AND cloud
ride <AND> cloud

12. Wildcards/Fuzzy Searches
Deut
33:26
Ps
68:4
Isa
19:1
Heb
12:1
•••
"rider on the clouds"
0
0
0
rider AND clouds
4
4
0
•••
•••
•••
ride AND clouds
5
4
0
•••
•••
•••
rid* AND clouds
5
5
3
•••
•••
•••
rid* AND cloud*
5
5
4
•••
•••
•••
•••
r?d* AND cloud*
8
8
8†
•••
•••
•••
•••
r*d* AND cloud*
16
16
16
•••
•••
•••
•••
†
0 on Windows

13. Design-a-Search (Explicit)
In Jonah 4:2, Jonah complains
(!) that God is “merciful and
compassionate …, very patient,
full of faithful love.” With slight
variations (like “truly faithful”
instead of “faithful love”), the
same statement appears at
least seven other times elsewhere in the Tanak (more if you
allow for more variation). Please
devise a search that will allow
you to locate five of those other
verses.

14. Design-a-Search (Explicit)
Exod Num
34:6 14:18
Neh
9:17
Ps
Ps
Ps
86:15 103:8 145:8
Joel
2:13
merciful
38
315
38
•••
••• ••• ••• ••• •••
merciful AND compassionate
11
11
11
•••
•••
merc* AND compassion*
24
23
28
•••
••• ••• ••• ••• •••
128
132
128
8
8
8
•••
10
11
10
••• ••• ••• ••• ••• ••• •••
"faithful love"
merc* AND compassion*
AND faith*
"very patient"
••• ••• •••
••• ••• ••• •••
••• ••• ••• ••• •••

15. Design-a-Search (Implicit)
Earlier in this course, you learned
that biblical prophets typically
interceded before God on their
people’s behalf, and that people
might come to a biblical prophet
to inquire of God. Therefore, you
might be surprised to encounter
two unusual circumstances:
!
• God rebuffed some elders who
came to inquire of God through
the prophet _________.
• God told the prophet _________
not to intercede for his people.

16. Design-a-Search (Implicit)
Jer
7:16
Ezek
20:1
interceded
7
7
1
•••
intercede
7
7
6
•••
inquired
14
14
0
•••
inquire
14
14
6
•••

17. Student Reactions
•
•
•
•
Before this class we didn’t know how to search the Bible to
find things related to a specific topic, person, or place, but
now we are familiar with the Bible Search Apps and the skills
needed to specify our searches.
Using the Olive Tree Bible Study Application we were able to
efficiently navigate the Bible. We are now able to find
information in the Bible that we wouldn’t have been able to
find before.
One thing we learned that is super helpful is the Olive tree
Bible app. We learned how to create specific searches to
find exactly what we want.
We are able to learn how to use the Bible Reader app, which
will help us to read and understand the Bible in the future.

18. Student Performance
75
&
60
|
45
*
30
&|
&*
15
0
Simple Search
Boolean AND
Boolean OR
AND/OR vs. Wild
Phrase Search

19. Future Developments
Multi-verse searches
Delimited search ranges
Topical searches
Complex searches?

20. IP Credits
Image by user “Simon” via Pixabay,
PD/CC0
Ancient sculptor; photograph © the
Louvre; fair use asserted
Image by user “molumen” via Open
Clip Art Library
Painting by Raphael; image obtained
from Wikipedia; public domain (age)
Image via mysanantonio.com,
uncredited
Unsigned; sculpture at Dom St. Peter, Worms,
Germany; photo by Rebecca Kennison; CC-BY
Image by user “Evan-Amos” via
Wikimedia Commons
Painting by Rembrandt; image obtained
from Wikipedia; public domain (age)
Image via psdgraphics.com,
uncredited
Photo by Dave Edmonds via stock.xchng
Icons by Jason Engle for Crossroads
board game; used by permission
Unknown photographer via iStock
Movie poster © Warner Bros., image
obtained from Wikipedia, fair use
asserted
Art by Jeremy McHugh; copyright holder
unclear (publisher out of business)
Photo by Patrick Hajzler via stock.xchng
Photo by anonymous user via stock.xchng
OS and app logos/icons via the respective publishers/manufacturers.
This presentation by Chris Heard in 2013; CC-BY.
Slideshow version 1.3