EVALUATION OF AN INTERNET SITE

(Sample)

Title of the Document: The Life of Adam and Eve: The Biblical Story in Judaism and Christianity.

Address of the Document: Life of Adam and Eve
Date the Document was Accessed: Various dates in November/ December 2000.

1. Authority
The authorship of the document is displayed prominently on the menu page of the website. It is Gary A. Anderson of the University of Virginia and Michael E. Stone of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

The credentials of the authors (i.e. position, education, occupation) are not given explicitly although this can be safely implied from their institutional affiliation. No specific additional information is given on the site itself (e.g. cv, list of publications) to indicate whether these authors are qualified to write on this topic. There is no editorial board or sponsoring organization mentioned (publication under the auspices of an institution being the normal method of determining authority) but the inclusion of a copyright notice to the effect that items published by the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities [University of Virginia] are copyrighted by the authors and may be shared, suggest that it may have some role in this regard. Thus we can say that the authority of the authors and any associated sponsoring organization are reputable.

Contact information for one of the authors, Gary Anderson, is provided. A "Send Comments" button allows readers to forward comments, suggestions, or remarks by email, thus providing another form of authentication.

2. Content
The scope and content of the web page are not clearly stated, at least on the initial page. The title "The Life of Adam and Eve: The Biblical Story in Judaism and Christianity" is our only clue but nowhere on the initial page are we told that we are dealing with The Life of Adam and Eve, an apocryphal story about the experience of the first human couple after their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Only when we follow the hyperlink generally phrased "Research Report" [it actually brings us to a page entitled "An Electronic Edition of the Life of Adam and Eve"] do we learn this and that we are dealing with an apocryphal work which had great influence in antiquity and popularity in the medieval world.

The work has substance and depth and is clearly written for an academic/research audience and is intended to appeal primarily to literary and biblical scholars. The work is divided into the following sections:

1.An introduction to the topic, problems of the text, and an examination of the different versions of the Life found in various languages (Latin, Greek, Coptic, Armenian, Georgian, Slavonic). Here for each language a thorough description of the title of the work; its editions and translations; survival of manuscripts and reference to secondary literature. Later, in the Archive section (#3 below), a critical translation of each of these (except the Coptic) is provided. However, the links to the original language version (e.g. Armenian), do not work, which is a drawback in terms of completeness.

2. The text including a consideration of its potential, existing technology, non-Latin character sets, and "Babble" a software program that allows display of multiple texts in a synoptic fashion, in parallel windows.

3. There is a tour of the archive, whose purpose is to enhance the study of the Life itself, and to assemble a wide range of material related to the interpretation of the Life in Late Antiquity. The archive has a synopsis section containing pericope titles (in English translation) for each of the units of the Life. After each pericope title one will find a set of references to the various language versions of the tale. Included also are two apocryphal retellings of the story. Finally, a sample story The Fall of Satan is presented based on the Life and in the exegesis of Ezekiel 28.

4. The sources of information for the study are listed in an extensive bibliography.

In general, one can say that this is an information-rich site in terms of the content of the material. The information provided appears to be valid and well researched. However, it is very much a work in progress. For example, in the Archive page, the various sub-headings under the different language translations do not have (except for the critical text in English translation) active links for textual history, individual textual witnesses, and manuscript plates. Also under the archive section containing pericope titles, the authors admit that not every pericope can be found in each version. Similarly, in the same section, under Genesis 1-3, we are informed that we can by selecting a verse go to a page which will provide a selection of biblical versions, commentary sources and other material related to that verse. But this is not the case. Only Genesis 3 is active. As well, for commentaries, none of the links are active largely, we learn, because of the large number of commentaries produced on Genesis 1-3 in Late Antiquity. It is hoped to add Patristic commentaries, rabbinic texts, and medieval commentaries. All this points to the relative incompleteness of the site in terms of a comprehensive academic apparatus.

3. Currency
The value of a resource is closely related to currency and timeliness. The site was created and copyrighted in 1995 under Gary Anderson's name. It was last modified on 3 May 1999. The work has already appeared in print as A synopsis of the books of Adam and Eve (Atlanta: Scholar's Press, 1994, 1999). This is not mentioned in the website, so it is not apparent which of the media is the most current, i.e. the 1999 edition of the book or the website. This has the advantage that the information can be verified in the print source, though it is not clear how complete an exercise this would be. This raises an interesting issue over the advantages of using the different media. No statement is made on the website as to whether it is used to update information in the published edition. Deficiencies with regard to the links on the page have already been mentioned. Such deficiencies derive from the non-existence of the links, rather than to the fact that they might have moved or expired. Yet broken links may mean that the site is out-of-date, or at least they are an indication that the site is not well maintained.

4. Objectivity/Accuracy/Bias
It is important to distinguish between fact and opinion. In this case, however, given the nature of the enterprise undertaken, we can assume that there is objective analysis as opposed to mere expression of opinion. Levels of objectivity are indicated for instance by the use of bibliographical references to other credible sources. Typographical errors and other examples of carelessness are generally absent.

5. Functionality
Effective use of resources is indicated by the functionality of the site. In general, the site is intuitively organized. However, one has to dig deeper than the initial page to determine the full purpose of the archive: there is no "Introduction" button on the first page that would introduce the topic to the reader in a general way. Given its intended academic audience, the writing style is appropriate. There is a general ease of navigation with a back button on each page, although there is no "Home" page specified. Not all links to remote sites are functional. There are no help files. Given the extensive nature of the site, the absence of a search capability is a deficiency.

6. Conclusion
There are deficiencies present with regard to the links, the relative currency of the data, and aspects of functionality. Yet one can be confident that the website is accurate, reliable and a suitable resource for Old Testament studies.

Tom Power