Have your Say: From the sky the stars fought

I am currently completing the final copies of the pages of Judges 4 and 5, the story of Deborah and Barak's battle against Sisera. In the song of Deborah she and Barak describe what happened in the battle in poetic language.

One verse stands out, it is intriguing and not entirely clear what is meant :

“From the heavens the stars fought,
    from their courses they fought against Sisera.” Judges 5:20 (NIV)

(See the verse in context and with parallel translations here)

Commentator and scholars are divided over the interpretation of this verse, but it basically breaks down into two camps: those that think this means angels fought in the battle against Sisera's army and those that believe it means something else.

The reason commentators are divided is because angels are referred to as stars in other parts of the Bible (Daniel 8:10, Jude 1:13, Revelation 1:20, Job 38:7). So it is a possibility; but it's not mentioned in any other way in these two chapters and so other commentators feel it should be interpreted as natural stars or as lightning, or as other natural phenomena. Also, angels do fight or at least muster in battles in other parts of the Bible (Isaiah 37:36, Revelation 12:7, 2 Kings 6:14-17, Matt 26:53).

You can see a range of commentaries here (and links across the top of this page to even more commentaries)

Also I would not be the first to depict the battle this way here is one example...

The Defeat of Sisera : Luca Giordan 1692

So the question is whether I should draw in the angels on my comic.

If I do draw in the angels...

If I do draw them in I will have categorically sided with the “angels interpretation”, it is a view consistent with the rest or the Bible but as it is uncertain perhaps it should be left ambiguous. On the other hand this is a comic and the more exciting it is for the readers the better (especially those just dipping their toe into the Bible with the comic). Having the angels there looks cool (as you'll see below) but it make the comic a little bit more interpretational.

It should be noted that the image below is the only image in which the angels would appear, there are not lines and lines of angels fighting men, just this one image where, as the lightning strikes, we (the reader) glimpse them there. The cyan colour and the fact they are mostly transparent also communicates (within the comic's language) that they are not seen by the humans only by the comic reader, exactly like in the verse mentioned above  (2 Kings 6:17).

If I do not draw in the angels...

If I do not draw them I am gently siding with the “naturalistic interpretation” but not exclusively as the angels could still be there but just invisible. This way of doing things is more in line with the normal way I treat the text when creating the comic. The general rule I have is...

If it's clear = draw it that way

If it's ambiguous but another part of the Bible clarifies it = make it clear

If it's ambiguous but all the trustworthy commentator agree = make it strongly implied

If it's ambiguous and commentator have differing interpretations = make it as ambiguous as the text.

By that rationale it should not be explicitly drawn, but is that the best way?

So what should I do?

Look at the pictures compared below and give me your opinion on what you think a word-for-word bible comic should do, play it safe or have cool angels?

Battle without visible angels

Battle with visible angels

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Have your say: Title for each instalment

In this blog you can have your say about the method used to Title each book within the series of the Word for Word Bible Comic. The easy way is to keep it simple and just have the standard english name (for the English versions) e.g....

The Word for Word Bible Comic – The Book of Judges

...but I had an idea which may or may not be a good idea. I would like you to tell me if you think having the Hebrew name for the book (of the Old Testament) as the title of the book, followed by the normal name would be good e.g.

The Word for Word Bible Comic – SHOFTIM (The Book of Judges)

Here are some pro's and Cons

Standard

PROs

• It's what is expected/logical

CONs

• Lost in a search engine (Google etc) to billion articles about the book and online Bible sites of the same name.

Hebrew Version

PROs

• It is excellent for searching online (Amazon, Google etc)
• It embraces the Hebrew origin
• It shows a deep connection to the original text.
• It would be more unique when spoken about “Have you read the Shoftim comic?”

CONs

• Could confuse people and make them think it's a “version/paraphase” of the book in question
• Might give the idea it's cultic interpretation to some. (Kabbalah etc)
• Christians might think it's a Jewish comic that ignores Christ.
• I can't seem to find Greek versions for the New Testament so if there are none it would be a bit inconsistent.

If you can suggest more pros and cons, share your opinion and let me know if you know of Greek versions of the names of the New Testament books then please comment below.

Below are the Hebrew names to help you think about it

1. Genesis [בראשית / Breisheet] (B'resheet)
2. Exodus [שמות / Shmot] (Sh'mot)
3. Leviticus [ויקרא / Vayikra]
4. Numbers [במדבר / Bamidbar] (B'midbar)
5. Deuteronomy [דברים / D'varim]

Nevi'im (נביאים, ("Prophets") Major and Minor.
6. Joshua [יהושע / Y'hoshua]
7. Judges [שופטים / Shophtim]
8. Samuel (I & II) [שמואל / Sh'muel]
9. Kings (I & II) [מלכים / M'lakhim]
10. Isaiah [ישעיה / Y'shayahu]
11. Jeremiah [ירמיה / Yir'mi'yahu]
12. Ezekiel [יחזקאל / Y'khezqel]
13. The Twelve Prophets [תרי עשר] (minor)
a. Hosea [הושע / Hoshea]
b. Joel [יואל / Yo'el]
c. Amos [עמוס / Amos]
d. Obadiah [עובדיה / Ovadyah]
e. Jonah [יונה / Yonah]
f. Micah [מיכה / Mikhah]
g. Nahum [נחום / Nakhum]
h. Habakkuk [חבקוק /Havakuk]
i. Zephaniah [צפניה / Ts'phanyah]
j. Haggai [חגי / Khagai]
k. Zechariah [זכריה / Z'kharyah]
l. Malachi [מלאכי / Mal'akhi]

Ketuvim (כתובים, "Writings") or "scriptures" ...
The "Sifrei Emet," "Books of Truth":
14. Psalms [תהלים / Tehilim]
15. Proverbs [משלי / Mishlei]
16. Job [איוב / Iyov]

The "Five Megilot" or "Five Scrolls":
17. Song of Songs [שיר השירים / Shir Hashirim]
18. Ruth [רות / Rut]
19. Lamentations [איכה / Eikhah]
20. Ecclesiastes [קהלת / Kohelet]
21. Esther [אסתר / Esther]

The rest of the "Writings":
22. Daniel [דניאל / Dani'el]
23. Ezra-Nehemiah [עזרא ונחמיה / Ezra v'Nekhemia]
24. Chronicles (I & II) [דברי הימים / Divrei Hayamim]
 

Use of colour in the Word for Word Bible Comic

This is a selection of facts and information about how and why the comic is coloured the way that it is.

Natural and dirty.

As much as possible I try to make the colours of clothing, skin, hair, pots, pans, animals etc. look natural. It is in line with the comic's principle of being as historically accurate as possible. So coloured clothes are still quite drab by today's standards. But in contrast to this there are things that throughout time have been bright and colourful like jewels and gold and certain dyes. We will see the allure of these things against the natural back drop and why they were so prized. For example, the royal purple from murex shells that kings and emperors have worn for centuries was even more striking a purple then against such a natural hued backdrop than it is to us now. The Canaanites were, in fact, known as the “Purple People” due to their trade in purple cloth.

Also to add to the realistic feel of the pictures, things will often be worn and grubby, again to show the contrast of the rich and the poor and what life was like in ancient times.

Ethnicity

The ethnicity, including skin, hair and eye colour will try to be as accurate as possible. Generally speaking, most of the people in the Bible are middle eastern, especially in the Old Testament. The Philistines are one of the exceptions to this rule. They originate from Crete and during this time period therefore have Greek/European complexions with a range of hair and eye colours. Egyptians are the other main exception, and will be of darker skin than the Israelites and may include black Africans in their number (Nubian, Ethiopians, Cushites etc) as they were a part of every echelon of Egyptian society at one time or another.

People who are poor and therefore generally spend a lot of time outdoors in the sun will be of darker complexion than the nobles and ladies whose lifestyles preserve their pale skin.

Clans Colours of Israel and their Enemies

Conveniently, the 13 tribes of Israel are each associated with a different colour. This is based on the gem stones that represents them on the Breastplate of the High Priest. In the table below I've collected together information on the tribes, the order they were born in, their gem stone, their Emblem and the colour I have therefore chosen to use to represent each one in the comic. I believe my colour selections are as true to history as they can possibly be.

These clan colours and emblems make us a basic heraldry for Israel, which is not only very useful in the comic but also really interesting as the Biblical narrative goes on. While reading the comic the clan associations are very interesting. For example, in the book of Judges the clan of Ephraim repeatedly throw their weight around and act arrogantly towards the other clans. The roots of this makes sense when we realise that Joshua, who obviously headed up the whole conquest of Canaan, was an Ephraimite. The use of clan colours helps you link things like the disgraceful acts of the Benjamites in the Book of Judges and then the choice of a Benjamite King in Saul. It also helps break down wrong stereotypes of clans. For example, people might think of the tribe of Levi as “the priestly ones”, but the visual consistency helps link events like Phinehas with his spear or their patriarch's actions in Genesis 34 after the rape of his sister.

I have tried to also remain consistent with the enemies of Israel. For example, I have given each of the five lords of the Philistines a colour that is associated with them and their city. This colour features alongside the general Philistine colours, (terracotta, red and aqua).

This helps to link the events to the geography. For example, the Philistines at Samson's wedding and subsequent retribution at Timnah are wearing orange plumes in their helms as Timnah is on the doorstep of Ekron which has orange as its colour; but the commander of the thousand or more Philistines that come to arrest Samson at Lehi have blue plumes as they are from Ashkelon where he slew the thirty Philistines for their garments.

Walking with God or walking away

With regards to the Israelites, I have also earmarked times when God's people are falling away from him by their acceptance of another culture's dress. When they are walking with God they wear natural colours (browns, tans, greys, blacks, whites, some pale colours) that have simple or no patterns. When they are embracing other gods and customs, they dress in patterns and colours and wear jewellery and the men cut their beards etc. There is an example of this in the sample story, where we see the head man in Lehi of the tribe of Judah. His beard is cut at the corners, and he wears a lion's mane and claws, which are 'unclean' for Jews. His dress is a mixture of Philistine and Hebrew, in bright colours and patterns, and he even speaks their language. This is based on a tile picture from Egypt which some people think shows a Philistine, while others think it depicts an Israelite.

Supernatural and Spirit

One of the most important colour elements is the use of the Spirit colour. This is a bright Cyan/ turquoise and it means there is something of the Spirit or something of God in the story. The idea is to show things that are very real in the spiritual realm but not necessarily the physical. The best example of this is with Balaam's Donkey. When I draw that story the angel that stands invisible to Balaam but that the donkey can sense will be shown in the Cyan colour. When it manifests in a way that Balaam can see it will be in the standard black lines. This colour is also used when Samson is empowered by the Spirit, with a power acting in the spiritual realm depicted as Cyan lightning. Lastly, it is used when God speaks, and for the speech of angels.

There is a corrupted version of this colour that is a pure putrid yellower green. This demarcates possible demonic activity.

Flashbacks

There are times that the pictures in the comic will show things that happened before the events being described in the story. These may be a memory of one of the characters or just events that proceed the current narrative. These are shown in a brown “greyscale” with a hazy red border.

Parables and Prophecy

When there is a parable or a prophecy a unique colour scheme is used. This has not been finalised but it is currently planned to be a dreamy blend of pinks and the spiritual cyan.

Dreams

Dreams will likely have a unifying colour scheme but this has yet to be decided.

So there you have it...

So there you have it, the many aspects that make up the colour choices for the comic - and you thought it was all just slapped in there! :-) I hope this blog has highlighted not just the comic's colours but also their  specific use to deepen scriptural understanding in an easy way.

Have Your Say: Verse order on Maps, Standard or Dynamic?

You can have your say and influence to way the comic is compiled. Please read below and comment with your opinion.

I am currently applying the text to the page of the comic covering Judges Chapter 1, one of the panels is a map of Canaan and the verses about the places in the story are overlayed on the map. Because the text, can jump around (geographically) the places that it talks about rather than conveniently listing places from north to south, I am considering changing the order of the Bible verses to more clearly fit the map. Before going any further, clearly the verses will still have to make sense and run into each other as they are read even in the alternative order.

In the example here, verses 16 to 21, there are several stand alone statements made about the events that are occurring. The order doesn't seem important as it does not seem to be listing the events chronologically. So I am thinking of changing the order of the verses to make the content and use of the map more clear. Here are two images with the different methods employed, please take a good look at them and think about which is best in the context of a comic and a comic that claims to be completely unabridged.

Standard: Map with verses out of order.

Dynamic: Map with verses out of order.

(Please note: The different sizes above are due to auto formatting on the blog they are the same size in the comic)

In the example with the correct order the reader need to search for the places mentioned. It cannot have arrows like the other image as they would cross around all over the image and be a mess. But the advantage is the text is un-tampered with.

In the example with the alternate, or Dynamic order you can see that it all still makes sense and the verse order is supplied down the left hand side to inform the reader of the alternate order and allow them to re-read them in the original order if they wish.

If I did charge the ordering I intend to keep any reordering to an absolute minimum and always within the some panel (box) on the page, and I don't think it'll ever be necessary except on maps like this one.

Also please bear in mind that the comic will have a full page map on its own at the front or the back for reference, however that influences you.

In these images both work to a greater or lesser degree. In other places like several chapters in the Book of Joshua, where there is extended talk about the myriad of towns and cities and tribal divisions, I am thinking this flexible ordering will make things a lot clearer for the reader and be able to fully embrace the benefits of this alternative media. If I had to keep the verses in order on sections like Joshua the map image would probably have to be repeated several times in order the get all the info in clearly. However the biblical purist in me wants the verses to be as unadulterated as possible, I don't want the comic to be “my interpretation” of the Bible but as faithful as possible to God's word.

So this is where you can have your say and influence the end produce of the Word for Word Bible Comic. Rigidity stick to the standard order or re-jig slightly with notes to make the text and maps clearer?

Please comment whatever your thoughts on this, I want to see how people feel about this and whether it compromises the unabridged nature of the work.

Game of Thrones and The Word for Word Bible Comic

I received a question last week about the comic and it's association with the TV show Game of Thrones, below is the question and my reply. As this touches on some important areas I thought I'd post it up as a blog.

Question : “I have a question about the purity of this 'comic'. I see you talk about Game of Thrones on your page but this is not something that Christians should be watching! Are you trying to include porn in the comic? Not sure I want to buy that, even if its supposedly 'true to the text'. John Piper has been speaking out against this ... http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/12-questions-to-ask-before-you-watch-game-of-thrones”

Answer: I understand why you are asking this question. First up I'll answer your question about how I will deal with the sex etc in the Bible. This is the statement I wrote on my Kickstarter page, I've included the section on violence too as it gives a fuller answer...

VIOLENCE – This graphic novel will not shy away from any issue the Bible addresses. Unfortunately, due to the corruption of mankind, these issues include violence, kidnapping, cold-blooded murder, even rape and infanticide. This work will not glamorize evil of any kind, nor will it be explicit or dwell on these things, but it will cover all the lessons that the Bible teaches.

NUDITY - Nudity will be implicit but not explicit. Where people are naked in the story they may appear as a silhouettes or partially obscured but they will still be naked. My aim is to be faithful to the text but not provoke lust in the reader.

In regards to associating it with Game of Thrones (GoT), that's a bit more controversial I guess but here is how I see it. The creators of GoT are out to make money and get the most viewers they can, GoT is based on an adult book which has a complex plot and lots of scenes filled with dialogue. The producers of the TV show obviously feel they have to jazz this up by adding pornographic nudity etc. They are not Christian so to them this is totally normal and good for ratings. I agree the nudity in GoT is too much for Christians and I wouldn't recommend that other Christians watch it, lest I cause my brother to stumble - so please note I am not recommending people go and watch GoT!

So those are the bad things, but here's my point: My work is intended to reach people who are not Christians, to show the relevance and excitement within the Bible and for people to consider it in a way they haven't before. The storyline, plot and setting of GoT are excellent and people are already watching it and talking about it. Sometimes to reach people we have to meet them where they are even if it's in a place that is not the purest of places. Another thing to consider is that the reason the Bible deals with these things is because they are real things that can effect people today, unfortunately, like rape, prostitution, promiscuousness, fornication, abuse and incest.

In regards to pornography, I am acutely aware of what Christ says about lust and our eyes causing us to sin, so I will be careful (as stated above) not to provoke lust in the reader. Regarding the porn industry, Piper brings up a useful point in his blog article: “Do I Care About the Souls of the Nude?” and the abuse of young ladies (and men) within the industry? These are things Christians should consider, but for my part this is not a factor because any nudity in my comic is obviously not real. Additionally, my illustrations are highly stylised so the people are not photo-realistic, just lines and block colours so it's less likely to cause the same kind of lust or covetousness as GoT.

I hope my work will in every way honour God and the Bible. It is possible that it will cause some people to be uncomfortable but only in as much as the Bible does or should.

Jerusalem through the Ages

I am now starting to draw a new section of the comic. I have completed the Samson story and considered which bit to cover next. I have some good ideas for the Ehud section, but as Ehud story comes in just five pages in from the beginning, I decided to start at the beginning of the book. I know, madness.

As I go along illustrating the comic I have to refine my broader research into specifics. One of the first things to research was the city of Jerusalem, as it shows up in Judges 1:7.

As Jerusalem features in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and a time period of over four thousand years I had already decided to draw the Holy City from the same angle whenever it appears in the story, so as you read through the books of the comic you will see it growing and developing over time.

I've heard some preachers say one element of the Bible is “A Tale of Two Cities”, concerning Jerusalem and Babylon, as almost characters in this millennia spanning narrative.

In (very) brief, Jerusalem appears in Genesis 14:8 under the name Salem, later in the Conquest period it is called Jebus and is inhabited by the Jebusites (Judges 19:10)  It is captured by David and renamed Jerusalem and goes on to grow under David and Solomon and other later Kings. It is destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar II in around 587BC (Jeremiah 52:6)  and the walls are later rebuilt by Nehemiah. The city continues to grow and change hands through to Jesus' time and is then struck again in 70AD when the Temple is destroyed. The city then continues to grow until the modern day again changing ownership several times. The city features heavily in the book of Revelation also which will be in the End times. (Revelation 11)

In Judges, Jerusalem is a town called Jebus. In order to draw it as it would have looked I first needed to find out what the topography of Jerusalem’s steep hills and deep valleys. I was very happy to discover this is something that has been extensively research and even modelled before. This relief model below shows the hills as they are without any building on and just a faint line marking out the where the city walls stand today.

http://www.gihonmystery.com/#!topology/zoom/c1adp/image2ud

This amazing site even has a fly over video of how the city would have been in Solomon's day. (20 secs in)...

I found a map with the location of Jebus

http://www.israel-a-history-of.com/map-of-ancient-jerusalem.html

...and was able to overlay it with the topographical relief (this image shows the map and maps of later ages overlaid with the topology. The red dot is the location of where the temple would be built)...

I found an entry on Wikipedia about the Walls of Jerusalem and thus discovered that Jebus would have had wall in the Late Bronze Age (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walls_of_Jerusalem) and so from this I was able to draw the hills and accurately plot the location of walled Jebus.

My image views Jerusalem from the east, just over from the Mount of Olives. You can see I've used the blue guides to line up the ridges and referred to other photos of the area to get the heights correct.

Jebus

Now all I have to do is set it on fire and it's all done! (Judges 1:8b).

I think it will be very interesting to see the urban sprawl of this great city through to millenia, and it's a great privalige to be able to use this under valued and often misunderstood medium to visually present the historically development of, arguably, the most significant city on the planet.