Shanah Usage Explorer

An interactive web application for exploring occurrences of the Hebrew word שָׁנָה (shanah, "year") throughout the Hebrew Bible. This project provides comprehensive morphological analysis, statistical insights, and visualizations of how this important temporal term is used across different biblical books.

📊 Project Overview

The Shanah Usage Explorer analyzes 878 total occurrences of שָׁנָה across the Hebrew Bible, providing detailed insights into:

• Morphological Analysis: Gender, number, and state variations
• Book-by-Book Statistics: Distribution across all biblical books
• Interactive Filtering: Explore data by specific criteria
• Visual Charts: Graphical representations of usage patterns

🎯 Key Statistics

Overall Distribution

• Total Occurrences: 878
• Gender Distribution:
  • Feminine: 704 occurrences (80.2%)
  • Masculine: 174 occurrences (19.8%)
• Number Distribution:
  • Singular: 673 occurrences (76.7%)
  • Plural: 192 occurrences (21.9%)
  • Dual: 12 occurrences (1.4%)
• State Distribution:
  • Absolute: 691 occurrences (78.7%)
  • Construct: 185 occurrences (21.1%)

Top Books by Usage

1. Genesis: 161 occurrences
2. 2 Kings: 104 occurrences
3. Numbers: 92 occurrences
4. Leviticus: 59 occurrences
5. 1 Kings: 58 occurrences

🚀 Features

• Interactive Dashboard: Modern, responsive web interface
• Advanced Filtering: Filter by book, gender, number, and state
• Statistical Analysis: Comprehensive breakdowns and insights
• Hebrew Font Support: Proper display of Hebrew text using SBL Hebrew font
• Data Visualization: Charts and graphs for pattern analysis
• Export Capabilities: Access to raw data for further research

🛠️ Technical Stack

• Frontend: Next.js with React
• Styling: Modern CSS with responsive design
• Data: JSON-based data storage
• Fonts: SBL Hebrew font for proper Hebrew text rendering
• Deployment: Static site generation

📁 Project Structure

├── data/
│   ├── shanah_records.json      # Detailed occurrence records
│   └── shanah_summary.json      # Statistical summaries
├── fonts/
│   └── SBL_Hbrw.ttf            # Hebrew font file
├── _next/                       # Next.js build output
├── index.html                   # Main application page
└── README.md                    # This file

📈 Usage Patterns

Gender Analysis

• Feminine predominance: The overwhelming use of feminine forms (80.2%) suggests שָׁנָה is primarily conceptualized as feminine in Hebrew
• Masculine contexts: Masculine forms appear more frequently in certain books (e.g., Joel, Habakkuk, Ecclesiastes)

Number Analysis

• Singular dominance: Most occurrences are singular, reflecting individual year references
• Plural usage: Often appears in contexts of multiple years or extended periods
• Dual forms: Rare but significant, appearing in specific temporal contexts

State Analysis

• Absolute state: Most common, indicating independent usage
• Construct state: Appears in compound expressions and genitive constructions

🔍 Research Applications

This tool is valuable for:

• Biblical Studies: Understanding temporal language in Hebrew texts
• Linguistic Analysis: Morphological patterns in Biblical Hebrew
• Theological Research: How time concepts are expressed across different biblical traditions
• Comparative Studies: Usage patterns across different biblical books and genres

📚 Data Sources

The analysis is based on comprehensive morphological tagging of the Hebrew Bible, providing accurate grammatical information for each occurrence of שָׁנָה.

🤝 Contributing

This project is part of academic research. For questions, suggestions, or collaboration opportunities, please contact the author.

📄 License

This project was developed for academic purposes.