@user2479 @Daи - I probably shouldn't get involved. :) But: (1) "To 'exegete' is to ascribe the correct meaning to a particular text" : no, "to exegete" (only a noun in UK English) is simply to "explain or interpret", and that can be good/bad, right/wrong. (2) Thank God, no one needs the latest lexicon to understand Truth. It definitely helps when it comes to Hebrew and Greek, though. ;)

@Davïd @user2479 bingo and there is a time and place for Strong's and for scholarly lexicons. But one's a screwdriver and one's a hammer. They have different purposes/uses in the process of exegesis. I'm not denigrating either nor espousing elitism. A doctor who uses the latest medical reference text isn't elitist.

@user2479 And we've already discussed that some questions aren't asking for Truth, they are simply looking for linguistic/literary/historical/etc. research. You refuse to accept this so I won't waste any more time discussing it.

@Davïd Personally, I'm not comfortable with father as a verb either (not least because the obvious related verb mother in fact has a completely different meaning).

@Daи-If not truth, then what? Falsehood?

@user2479 there are questions that ask about religious aspects of texts, in those cases you can state such things. But there are also times questions ask about the meaning of a word, and going beyond this goes off target. It's a false dichotomy that there is either Truth or Falsehood (both capitalized). The meaning of a word based on the best research available can be the answer to a question without going further into the meaning of the text.

@JonEricson @Caleb @Daи @JackDouglas - Now that I can :) I thought I was do a bit of work on the tag wiki. I've read the guidance and poked around. I made a start with "authorial-intent". Care to have a look and see if I'm on the right track before I go too much farther? Thanks!

@Soldarnal - Hi there! I don't think we've met in the Library before. ;)

@Davïd Hey there, didn't mean to jump out right away as you said 'hi'

@Davïd outstanding

keep on doing what you're doing :)

Thanks for answering my Fear of Isaac question; as I was composing it last night, I was thinking "I bet I get a good answer from David on this one" and sure enough :)

@Soldarnal hola, long time no chat

@Soldarnal :) Have to say - I find it fascinating you come up with so many good questions!

@Daи Hi Dan - long time!

@Daи Hey Dan; yeah, I've not been able to be present as much, other than to ask questions here or there

@Soldarnal I understand

@Soldarnal I want to have a go at your "Mahanaim" too - maybe tomorrow morning unless someone else gets to it.

@Soldarnal @Davïd between moving, prepping for GRE, fulfilling various requests being made for my Ph.D. application, and transitioning at work, I'm also not able to answer as much as I'd like

@Daи I think there's a "w00t" lurking in there, Dan!

@Soldarnal Also - while I'm at it - I quite like your "gravatar".

@Davïd depends on my test scores haha

@Daи Ha - not really used in UK, you know.... Just sayin'....

@Davïd Thanks

@Soldarnal It resonates.

@Davïd I wished I could get more of the larger painting in, but it gets too small

@Soldarnal Yep - know what you mean.

@Davïd I've been curious - do you have a large personal library? Or do you have access to a university library somehow?

@Soldarnal But as a "gratavar", it's an appropriate crop

@Soldarnal I've probably got more to hand than I should, and I do have access to a good theological library.

@Davïd I feel like no matter which text I'm asking about, you often have just the right resource :)

@Soldarnal I'm sometimes not sure about recommending things, but don't most institutions have some "public access" for reading?

@Soldarnal Glad you think so! My "answers" sometimes look more weak to me a day or so later than they do when I click the "submit" button for the first time.

@Davïd your answers are a breath of fresh air

@Daи Kind of you to say - I guess it's safe to say there's a fair range on offer. Inevitable, really.

@Soldarnal What sort of library resources are accessible to you?

@Davïd Well, I don't have connections with any universities at the moment. I'm sure there are a couple within driving range of me I could visit. I do have a decent sized personal library with Logos.

@Soldarnal Btw - just noticed that the full resolution of your gravatar's painting on Wikipedia is (gulp) 22,991 × 30,000 pixels!! I don't think I've ever seen an image that huge on Wikimedia.

@Davïd Wow, 250MB

@Soldarnal I won't try looking at it on the machine I'm on at the moment - 7 yr old Tosh laptop running Mint LTS. :)

@Soldarnal Maybe I'll see what it looks like at work tomorrow - you must be able to see every crack and fleck.

@Davïd Yeah, I wonder; largest image I've ever seen like that was a NASA panoramic from the Spirit and Opportunity rovers on Mars. It took forever to render even on a decent machine.

But then you could see so many tiny details of the landscape

Which would be quite neat. I like the red "Warning" notices they have: "may cause your browser to freeze" :)

Well, I should shuffle along just now, but thought I'd take my chance with a "hi" - bonus that Daи happened along, too. Almost a party. ;)

@Davïd Yeah, glad you said hi. Glad to at least meet you a bit.

@Soldarnal I'll hope to catch you for another chat some time soon!

bye for now

@Davïd sounds good; catch you later

What did I miss? Right. Reading...

Sidebar effect, Lexicons (lastest), good theological libraries, big gravatar. OK.