01-20-2008, 08:29 PM
Shlama Akhi Albion and all--
With respect to the debate about which format works, basically what I have found is that no one approach is perfect. Therefore, the best thing I can do I believe is to offer a variety of helpful tools that will hopefully address the different methods and comprehension strategies that people use. Some of us are visual thinkers and others are word-based. My wife is the former and I am the latter, for example. Also some like to look word for word and line by line in the text and others like a detailed study separated and in the back part. So, I have tried to bring the best of all strategies with appendices, essays, and real-time footnotes. What works for one person may not for another, but at least the buffet line is there. How you help yourself to those choices on the line is of course up to you.
I know with perfect faith that everyone here is at least curious about this diglot and how it may or may not resemble Paul or David's works. I can only say that even I don't know that answer fully, and what I believe to be true for myself may not be true for others. I also know that some things that people will like about say Paul's approach they may not like in Mari, and vice versa and that everyone is waiting to judge it when it actually here and not in advance.
Finally, please realize that Mari/PEACE is not the end of my research but in a way just the beginning. We have received a lot of requests for how different formats in the future--including the electronic variety, might aid folks in further manipulating the text to their best comprehension. There was a time when I did not see it that way and thought this edition was IT, but then my publisher said, "Andrew, I am creating a publishing company just for you and for Shali (our proofreader), so I hope you have a lot more books in you." I'm like, thanks for the no-pressure approach there. But getting back to the idea of future editions and approaches, while I am leaving a lot of that decision making to my publisher, I am nonetheless very aware that different approaches will work for different people. I certainly can't ignore the idea that excellent feedback can lead to improvements and the like.
In sum, I know this has been a long wait for many of you, but I ask you to realize that I have been waiting too in a way--for 5+ years--to get this done. I know I did not indicate that directly in the past, simply because for the longest time I was slowly incorporating these readings into my books, to answer people's confidential inquiries and for some very private studies that I was doing. But I am happy that the wait is almost over, and I can only pray that the long waiting of so many will be justifed by the final product.
And finally, to Akhi Albion, I ask you not to worry about your "prodding" for the simple reason that even I could not move Mari/PEACE along faster when I wanted to. But every delay Mari/PEACE got was for a purpose. In one such delay I re-checked the Aramaic and included a Khabouris-1905 comparison that I now view as critical. In other delays, with "nothing" to do I added 200 footnotes that are some of the best work I have ever done. That was funny, because it was a way of "punishing" my publisher, to say, "I have not seen X from you so here's something else to work on." He told me later that it was the best thing I could have done to keep him inspired while he went through some difficulties of his own. Another delay produced my calendar code study, which I have mentioned before. Whatever the world has thrown at me or other members of the MARI/PEACE team, Master YHWH has made sure that the obstacles were made and turned into good purpose for His Kingdom. And since this may be my only shot to do this, I want it done right. So if Mari/PEACE itself is immune to MY wanting it to be done sooner, I am also immune to this from others, since in a way it is out of my hands.
Again, hope this helps and I am grateful to all current and future feedback on this matter. We are still on pace for Spring release, preferably around Pesach.
Shlama w'burkate
Andrew Gabriel Roth
With respect to the debate about which format works, basically what I have found is that no one approach is perfect. Therefore, the best thing I can do I believe is to offer a variety of helpful tools that will hopefully address the different methods and comprehension strategies that people use. Some of us are visual thinkers and others are word-based. My wife is the former and I am the latter, for example. Also some like to look word for word and line by line in the text and others like a detailed study separated and in the back part. So, I have tried to bring the best of all strategies with appendices, essays, and real-time footnotes. What works for one person may not for another, but at least the buffet line is there. How you help yourself to those choices on the line is of course up to you.
I know with perfect faith that everyone here is at least curious about this diglot and how it may or may not resemble Paul or David's works. I can only say that even I don't know that answer fully, and what I believe to be true for myself may not be true for others. I also know that some things that people will like about say Paul's approach they may not like in Mari, and vice versa and that everyone is waiting to judge it when it actually here and not in advance.
Finally, please realize that Mari/PEACE is not the end of my research but in a way just the beginning. We have received a lot of requests for how different formats in the future--including the electronic variety, might aid folks in further manipulating the text to their best comprehension. There was a time when I did not see it that way and thought this edition was IT, but then my publisher said, "Andrew, I am creating a publishing company just for you and for Shali (our proofreader), so I hope you have a lot more books in you." I'm like, thanks for the no-pressure approach there. But getting back to the idea of future editions and approaches, while I am leaving a lot of that decision making to my publisher, I am nonetheless very aware that different approaches will work for different people. I certainly can't ignore the idea that excellent feedback can lead to improvements and the like.
In sum, I know this has been a long wait for many of you, but I ask you to realize that I have been waiting too in a way--for 5+ years--to get this done. I know I did not indicate that directly in the past, simply because for the longest time I was slowly incorporating these readings into my books, to answer people's confidential inquiries and for some very private studies that I was doing. But I am happy that the wait is almost over, and I can only pray that the long waiting of so many will be justifed by the final product.
And finally, to Akhi Albion, I ask you not to worry about your "prodding" for the simple reason that even I could not move Mari/PEACE along faster when I wanted to. But every delay Mari/PEACE got was for a purpose. In one such delay I re-checked the Aramaic and included a Khabouris-1905 comparison that I now view as critical. In other delays, with "nothing" to do I added 200 footnotes that are some of the best work I have ever done. That was funny, because it was a way of "punishing" my publisher, to say, "I have not seen X from you so here's something else to work on." He told me later that it was the best thing I could have done to keep him inspired while he went through some difficulties of his own. Another delay produced my calendar code study, which I have mentioned before. Whatever the world has thrown at me or other members of the MARI/PEACE team, Master YHWH has made sure that the obstacles were made and turned into good purpose for His Kingdom. And since this may be my only shot to do this, I want it done right. So if Mari/PEACE itself is immune to MY wanting it to be done sooner, I am also immune to this from others, since in a way it is out of my hands.
Again, hope this helps and I am grateful to all current and future feedback on this matter. We are still on pace for Spring release, preferably around Pesach.
Shlama w'burkate
Andrew Gabriel Roth