I wanted to update you on the CEHP project. Thanks to a generous research grant through the University of Münster, it has become possible to continue working on the project through the end of 2025. Brent and I will use this time to submit several major grant proposals in hopes of procuring long-term funding and bringing the project to full completion. We are also using this time to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the collation process across multiple languages, which will make that part of the project go much faster.

 

In the meantime, we are able to resume managing the transcription work. Thankfully, with the completed assignments submitted by around 100 volunteer transcribers and the dedicated work of our expert reconcilers (if you have completed a transcription assignment, please confirm that your name has been added to the Team page, so we don’t miss anyone), we now have approved project transcriptions for almost all of the major manuscripts we originally intended to include, plus most of the oldest St. Petersburg codices. We have also begun adding in several additional early Greek fragments. And now, with the help of Ben Outhwaite and Kim Phillips from Cambridge, we have started to include all of the most important manuscripts from the Cairo Genizah. We also hope soon to receive 127 additional transcriptions of later medieval manuscripts reconstructed from the old Kennicott collations by our colleagues on the Digitizing Kennicott project. With this wealth of data, we can now say that we are producing the first editio critica maior (large critical edition) of the Hebrew Psalms, in addition to being eclectic and born-digital.

 

If you are interested in taking on another transcription assignment this fall, please reply here or email me to confirm, and I will set up an assignment for you. If you haven't done transcribing in the past but would like to get involved, please fill out our Google form to register your interest. Most of the assignments will be working with Cairo Genizah fragments, which are slightly more complicated (because they are fragmentary), but mostly have the same features as the other Masoretic manuscripts we have already transcribed. If you would prefer to work on early Greek fragments, please let me know, so I can give you an appropriate assignment. Once we have the assignments sorted out, Caleb Punt will post your assignment on the Forum and confirm with you by email.

 

Thanks again to all of you who have contributed, and I look forward to working with many of you again this fall.

Yonat Shimrom has published a nice article on NEH funding cuts for grants in the area of religion that features our CEHP project.

Dear Volunteers and Friends of the Critical Edition of the Hebrew Psalter Project:

We write you with heavy hearts. We have just learned last week that our federally funded grant through the National Endowment for the Humanities to produce the Critical Edition of the Hebrew Psalter was summarily terminated without warning by the US federal government. The long and short of this terrible news is that Drew’s position at Duke University must end because there is no longer funding for it, and Brent’s research leave to work on the project is immediately over as well.

This is obviously a major blow to the project and its timely completion. We wanted you to hear it from us, first, before learning of it some other way. We will appeal the decision with the NEH, but we do not expect the appeal to be successful. We are presently considering alternative funding sources, but we have no clear immediate prospects for continuing the research at its previous pace. Drew will need to be seeking regular employment elsewhere, and Brent will be occupied once again full time with teaching and service responsibilities. It seems that the work on the CEHP will, therefore, slow down considerably; indeed it may be on a long hiatus barring some unexpected benevolence.

We are, again, very sorry to report this news. We could never thank each of you enough for all you’ve done for this project and for us. We are forever grateful and we remain committed to bringing this work to completion as opportunity allows. We are convinced it is of great importance for biblical studies, Bible translation, and larger communities of faith, and we also wish to honor the work our volunteers and supporters have done. Indeed, one of the things that makes us most upset about this termination is that it is not just a cancellation of two researchers at a university somewhere. It is a cancellation of the work of some 200 volunteers drawn from across the world—indeed from every continent on the planet except Antarctica. Thankfully, none of that transcription work will be lost, but for the foreseeable future we will be considerably limited in our ability to manage new transcription work and construct the edition itself.

So please accept our heartfelt thanks for your help and service. We welcome your prayers and any suggestions or advice you might offer as we ponder our next steps. If you wish to stay involved with CEHP and help us continue toward our shared goals, we would be happy to know that as well.

Yours sincerely,

Brent and Drew

For those who are looking for more information about the methodology and goals of the CEHP project, Andrew Case has a nice podcast where we discuss these issues and examples in detail.

Yonat Shimron has published a nice article highlighting the work of our transcribers on the CEHP project.