Verse Index for Chanting the Hebrew Bible book

Joshua Jacobson's book Chanting the Hebrew Bible: The Complete Guide to the Art of Cantillation (Amazon link) is a fantastic and wonderful resource for anyone who has an interest in either Hebrew chanting or cantillation. However, one issue that I have with the book is that there is no index. The book is about 1,000 pages long and, although it does have a very good Table of Contents, it would really benefit from having an index. I've exchanged emails with the author and he has indicated that any future update (if there is one) will have an index. I googled around a bit to see if anyone else had any supplementary material that would be useful. On Len Fellman's site, I found an index that he had compiled listing all of the scripture references in the book along with page numbers and chapter subheadings. Although the verse index that I found on Len Fellman's site was good to print out, it was not very useful for interactive searching. So, I spent some time converting it into an Excel spreadsheet (I also had to "rationalize" some of the section names that Len used as he wasn't entirely consistent). Now it can be used interactively (you can sort by page#, verse, etc or use any of the other data functions that are available in Excel). You can download the spreadsheet from here.

HebrewBible Version 5.1 now available on the Apple App Store

Hot on the heels of the Version 5.0 update to my HebrewBible App, I've released a version 5.1 update. This update adds support for local audio files (previous versions would stream audio over the Internet - this version allows the user to either stream audio or store it on their device and access it without an Internet connection). I had expected that this enhancement would take a lot longer to do (which is why it wasn't included in the 5.0 release); however, it's amazing what a few late-night development sessions will do! This enhancement will allow users to store and access on their devices either the standard audio (that is currently streamed over the Internet) or their own audio files. This could be useful for use with Bar/Bat Mitzvah audio training files or if you simply prefer a different set of audio readings of the Tanach or if you simply want to have the audio files on your device so that you can use them when you don't have Internet connectivity. Be aware that there are certain standards that you must conform to if you use your own audio files. Also, be aware that storing the audio files on your device could consume a significant amount of storage space. Full setup instructions are located here.

The new version of the app is now available on the Apple App Store and I recommend that all current users download the upgrade (it is a free upgrade for existing users of the app).

HebrewBible Version 5.0 now available on the Apple App Store

This is a fairly major release since I've added an additional "Hebrew/English (reader)" Bible version to the app. This version is based on the Leningrad Codex Hebrew text and the JPS 1917 English text. As with the "Hebrew (reader)" version, it provides word-lookup functionality when Hebrew words are touched and the Hebrew text has full vowels and cantillation. The new version of the app is now available on the Apple App Store and I recommend that all current users download the upgrade (it is a free upgrade for existing users of the app). The following changes are in the HebrewBible App update:

1. Enhancement: Added "Hebrew/English (reader)" Bible version which provides a parallel Hebrew/English version of the Tanach with support for Hebrew word lookups (by touching on a Hebrew word, the definition is displayed with buttons to display verses or relevant page from BDB).
2. Enhancement: Changed word translate functionality from Google Translate to Microsoft Bing Translate.
3. Enhancement: Built with iOS SDK 5.0 but will run on any iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch with at least iOS 3.0.
4. Enhancement: Changed cache functionality so that cached Bible data is not backed up to iCloud (better performance, doesn't impact user iCloud storage limits, and is in keeping with Apple's iCloud guidelines).
5. Fix: Audio was sometimes not terminating properly on iPad.
6. Fix: Minor cosmetic fixes.

Here is a screenshot of the new "Hebrew/English (reader)" Bible version (shown after touching the Hebrew word for "serpent" and displaying the word-lookup definition information):

Video review of Hebrew Bible app

Rabbi Ari Sytner has created a great presentation titled ”Judaism In The 21st Century: How The iPhone Is Changing The Way We Observe The Torah“. In it, he reviews a lot of the currently-available iPhone/iPad apps that have Jewish content, including my Hebrew Bible app. The youtube movie of his presentation is broken down into 3 parts (Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3). There is also a nice summary (with links to the apps referenced in the presentation on "The Jewish iPhone Magazine" site. The section of the presentation where Rabbi Ari Sytner discusses my Hebrew Bible app is at the beginning of Part 2 (the first 3.5 minutes of the clip) in which he looks at the Hebrew/English Tanakh version, the verses lookup, and the maps functionality in the app.

BiblicalHebrew version 1.4 now available on App Store

As with my recent HebrewBible version update, this update is a bunch of usability updates that I've been meaning to do for a while. The new version is now available on the Apple App Store and I recommend that all current users download the upgrade (it is a free upgrade for existing users of the app). The following changes are in the BiblicalHebrew App update:

1. Enhancement: Added Prev/TOC/Next buttons (segmented control) to Dictionary tab's version of BDB page display so that the user can navigate in the BDB more easily when accessing the BDB from the word definition popup from that tab.
2. Enhancement: iPad enhancement to display (depending on orientation) portrait or landscape-specific splash screen on startup.
3. Enhancement: Built with iOS SDK 4.3 but will run on any iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad with at least iOS 3.0.
4. Fix: Fix for bug that was preventing dictionary display of 2-letter words that ended in a 'sofit' character.

HebrewBible version 4.8 now available on App Store

It's been a few months since I've posted an update (due to personal and work issues) so this one is a bunch of usability updates that I've been meaning to do for a while. The new version is now available on the Apple App Store and I recommend that all current users download the upgrade (it is a free upgrade for existing users of the app). The following changes are in the HebrewBible App update:

1. Enhancement: Added Prev/TOC/Next buttons (segmented control) to Bible tab's version of BDB page display so that the user can navigate in the BDB more easily when accessing the BDB from the word definition popup of the Bible.
2. Enhancement: Added Prev/TOC/Next buttons (segmented control) to Words/Dictionary tab's version of BDB page display so that the user can navigate in the BDB more easily when accessing the BDB from the word definition popup from that tab.
3. Enhancement: iPad enhancement to display the last Bible chapter previously selected on startup.
4. Enhancement: iPad enhancement to display (depending on orientation) portrait or landscape-specific splash screen on startup.
5. Enhancement: Support display of settings in both Portrait and Landscape orientations (previously only displayed in Portrait orientation).
6. Enhancement: Built with iOS SDK 4.3 but will run on any iPod Touch, iPhone, or iPad with at least iOS 3.0.
7. Enhancement: Changed the temporary Bible version Menu Bar Button to a regular Button to better conform to Apple HIG (Human Interface Guideline) standards.
8. Fix: Fix for bug that was preventing dictionary display of 2-letter words that ended in a 'sofit' character.
9. Other: Some minor UI fixes/adjustments were made for improved usability.