Page Shifting on a Kindle Touch

Sometimes I struggle with widows and orphans when using my Kindle Touch, and I need to flip between screens. This Instructiable will show how to shift the display on a page so page flipping to see connected material one page apart is no longer necessary.

My pre-seminary education on the way to becoming a pastor required a year of biblical Hebrew. Since retirement I am working at becoming more proficient at reading and using Hebrew for sermons and Bible studies, and also when searching out a personal question or curiosity.

No supplies were needed.

The photo above shows a screen from the parallel Hebrew and English Old Testament I have on my Kindle Touch. Look at verse 5 at the bottom of the screen. The last lines of the English text cannot be read without swiping to the next page. But, then the Hebrew text of verse 5 is no longer visible. If the user needs to compare both texts, it can become frustrating. It would be much more helpful to learning unfamiliar words or making sense of a difficult sentence if the complete verse in both Hebrew and English could be viewed on the same screen. The text displayed is Genesis 17:5.

This Hebrew - English Tanakh (Torah-Prophets-Writings, called the Old Testament by Christians) is from Miklal Software Solutions. To my knowledge only Miklal has developed a way to reproduce very nice Hebrew characters on a Kindle (or a Kindle App. on tablets and phones).

It is possible to shift the boundaries of a screen on a Kindle. I am using a Kindle Touch, circa 2011. There may be some minor differences on your Kindle. Simply change the Location number in the bottom left corner of the display screen.

In the first photo I have used a 5x magnifier for the benefit of those who read this Instructable. Notice the Location Number for the page displayed is 11700. By trial and error I discovered each page or screen is about 60 Location Number units long. I shift the Location Number by adding 30 to it, but that is a starting point that usually works.

On my Kindle Touch, I touch the top of the screen with a finger or a stylus. The navigation box in the second photo appears. I enter 11730. and tap "Location."

The photo shows the screen with the new Location. Notice all of verse 5 is now visible, both in Hebrew and in English. But, also notice verse 6 is split just like verse 5 was.

In order to get verse 6 back so both the Hebrew and the English are on the same page, go back one screen by swiping (Kindle Touch) and then swipe forward one screen. Verse 6 will be properly displayed, but verse 5 is split again.

Christians who want to consult original biblical language texts usually focus on biblical Greek for the New Testament. There are benefits to be found in a study of the Old Testament by way of biblical Hebrew, even if you struggle with it. We all do for a very long time. Quite a few Christians do take it upon themselves to learn some Hebrew. Some become quite proficient at reading it. The best advice for gaining proficiency at biblical Hebrew is to read lots of Hebrew. Although some reader's editions have appeared in recent years, I find a parallel version is most helpful to me. St Jerome has a famous quotation on his difficulties at learning Hebrew. He says it brought him a great deal of misery, as those close to him could attest, and he quit many times. But, something always drew him back to it. Finally, he was reaping the sweet rewards on his labors.