Dataset
Septuagint Acronym, Acrostic, and Telestic Searchable Greek Database
(2022)
Description
This Excel database provides a convenient tool for searching for acronyms (horizontal acrostics), acrostics or telestics, and mesostics involving the first/last words, of each verse in the Greek Septuagint (LXX) Old Testament. The data was compiled from the CCAT base text of Rahlf’s Septuagint, supplemented with the missing verses/words of Lamentations 3:22-24, 29, and 42 as restored in NETS.
Each verse record displays orthographic word and letter counts, and first letters and last letters of each Greek word. Each verse-record is tagged by book name and chapter/verse reference, and each column-field may be searched and manipulated with Excel Auto-Filter. After the last verse of each chapter, a chapter-level summary, tagged with a final underline character, displays word and letter count sums. Each chapter-level record contains two extra letter displays; the four columns of letters in the chapter records contain the following sequences:
Initial (First) = the initial letters of the first word of each verse,
Final (First) = the final letters of the first word of each verse,
Initial (Last) = the initial letters of the last word of each verse, and
Final (Last) = the final letters of the last word of each verse.
This workbook contains four tables encompassing the entire Septuagint:
Torah: Genesis through Deuteronomy
Histories: Joshua through 4 Maccabees
Poets: Psalms (of David) through Psalms of Solomon
Prophets: Hosea through Susanna
The Greek Unicode characters in the letter fields are separated by spaces. All letters are in lower case, and all instances of Greek sigma, including final letters, are displayed as σ.Thus, a search for κυριος (”Lord”) may be implemented by entering the sequence of Unicode characters κ-space-υ-space-ρ·space-ι·space-ο·space-σ in the Excel “Find and Replace” search box (CTRL-F). Note also that the “Within” option in that “Find and Replace” tool allows the search to cover only the active table, or all four tables in the active workbook. It may be helpful to perform searches by entering the letter/space sequence in reverse order as well as in normal order.
This particular database may be opened and used with Excel 2007 or later, or with generic spreadsheet software such as OpenOffice or LibreOffice. Due to the many irregularities in Septuagint verse/chapter numbering, I have included a separate Index column that enumerates every record sequentially through all four tables, from 1 to 31,832. In case the records in any table are sorted out of canonical order, performing an A to Z Auto-Filter sort in this "Index" column will restore that table to its original canonical order.
Keywords
- Septuagint,
- acrostic,
- acronym,
- telestic
Disciplines
Publication Date
Fall 2022
Citation Information
Keith L Yoder. "Septuagint Acronym, Acrostic, and Telestic Searchable Greek Database" (2022) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/klyoder/67/