Sela
A Web-Based Exegetical Tool for a Close Reading of the Hebrew Bible
Sela helps readers explore meaning that emerges through Hebrew syntax, word repetition, and literary structure. Readers can work in Hebrew, English, or both, while the display retains the original Hebrew word order and word count.
To support careful literary analysis, the platform makes it easy to divide texts into literary units, compare parallel lines, trace repetition, explore syntactic patterns, and record observations directly in the text. It is especially well suited for biblical Hebrew poetry, where structure and parallelism are central, but it also functions as a general tool for text-centered Hebrew exegesis.
Screens
Engage an English text in Hebrew Word Order
Divide the text into Literary Units
Track layered observations with color layers
Instantly find repeated words and ideas
Explore patterns in the Hebrew syntax
Access word parsing and lexical information
Annotate observations and label literary units
See the poem as a unified whole