# Sela

> A Web-Based Exegetical Tool for a Close Reading of the Hebrew Bible

- **Slug:** `sela`
- **Organization:** Biblepoetry.org
- **Website:** https://www.biblepoetry.org/
- **HTML page:** https://www.tools.bible/tools/sela
- **Markdown page:** https://www.tools.bible/tools/sela.md

## Classification

- **Translation stages:** Scripture Engagement
- **Medium:** Written
- **Pricing:** Free (Unrestricted)
- **Release status:** General Availability
- **Localization:** English
- **License:** Unknown

## Description

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.

## Screenshots

![Engage an English text in Hebrew Word Order](https://www.tools.bible/api/media/file/Screenshot_31-3-2026_162848_www.biblepoetry.org.jpeg)

*Engage an English text in Hebrew Word Order*

![Divide the text into Literary Units](https://www.tools.bible/api/media/file/Screenshot_31-3-2026_16290_www.biblepoetry.org.jpeg)

*Divide the text into Literary Units*

![Track layered observations with color layers](https://www.tools.bible/api/media/file/Screenshot_31-3-2026_162917_www.biblepoetry.org.jpeg)

*Track layered observations with color layers*

![Instantly find repeated words and ideas](https://www.tools.bible/api/media/file/Screenshot_31-3-2026_162929_www.biblepoetry.org.jpeg)

*Instantly find repeated words and ideas*

![Explore patterns in the Hebrew syntax](https://www.tools.bible/api/media/file/Screenshot_31-3-2026_162942_www.biblepoetry.org.jpeg)

*Explore patterns in the Hebrew syntax*

![Access word parsing and lexical information](https://www.tools.bible/api/media/file/Screenshot_31-3-2026_163611_www.biblepoetry.org.jpeg)

*Access word parsing and lexical information*

![Annotate observations and label literary units](https://www.tools.bible/api/media/file/Screenshot_31-3-2026_163622_www.biblepoetry.org.jpeg)

*Annotate observations and label literary units*

![See the poem as a unified whole](https://www.tools.bible/api/media/file/Screenshot_31-3-2026_163635_www.biblepoetry.org.jpeg)

*See the poem as a unified whole*

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Source: [Tools.Bible](https://www.tools.bible) · Catalog: [https://www.tools.bible/tools.md](https://www.tools.bible/tools.md) · Index: [https://www.tools.bible/llms.txt](https://www.tools.bible/llms.txt)