Software developed by an Israeli team is giving intriguing new hints about what researchers believe to be the multiple hands that wrote the Bible. The new software analyzes style and word choices to distinguish parts of a single text written by different authors, and when applied to the Bible its algorithm teased out distinct writerly voices in the holy book.
The program, part of a sub-field of artificial intelligence studies known as authorship attribution, has a range of potential applications - from helping law enforcement to developing new computer programs for writers. But the Bible provided a tempting test case for the algorithm's creators.
For millions of Jews and Christians, it's a tenet of their faith that God is the author of the core text of the Hebrew Bible - the Torah, also known as the Pentateuch or the Five Books of Moses. But since the advent of modern biblical scholarship, academic researchers have believed the text was written by a number of different authors whose work could be identified by seemingly different ideological agendas and linguistic styles and the different names they used for God.
Today, scholars generally split the text into two main strands. One is believed to have been written by a figure or group known as the "priestly" author, because of apparent connections to the temple priests in Jerusalem. The rest is "non-priestly." Scholars have meticulously gone over the text to ascertain which parts belong to which strand.
When the new software was run on the Pentateuch, it found the same division, separating the "priestly" and "non-priestly." It matched up with the traditional academic division at a rate of 90 percent - effectively recreating years of work by multiple scholars in minutes, said Moshe Koppel of Bar Ilan University near Tel Aviv, the computer science professor who headed the research team.
"We have thus been able to largely recapitulate several centuries of painstaking manual labor with our automated method," the Israeli team announced in a paper presented last week in Portland, Oregon, at the annual conference of the Association for Computational Linguistics. The team includes a computer science doctoral student, Navot Akiva, and a father-son duo: Nachum Dershowitz, a Tel Aviv University computer scientist, and his son, Idan Dershowitz, a Bible scholar at Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
The places in which the program disagreed with accepted scholarship might prove interesting leads for scholars. The first chapter of Genesis, for example, is usually thought to have been written by the "priestly" author, but the software indicated it was not.
Similarly, the book of Isaiah is largely thought to have been written by two distinct authors, with the second author taking over after Chapter 39. The software's results agreed that the book might have two authors, but suggested the second author's section actually began six chapters earlier, in Chapter 33.
The differences "have the potential to generate fruitful discussion among scholars," said Michael Segal of Hebrew University's Bible Department, who was not involved in the project.
Over the past decade, computer programs have increasingly been assisting Bible scholars in searching and comparing texts, but the novelty of the new software seems to be in its ability to take criteria developed by scholars and apply them through a technological tool more powerful in many respects than the human mind, Segal said.
Before applying the software to the Pentateuch and other books of the Bible, the researchers first needed a more objective test to prove the algorithm could correctly distinguish one author from another.
So they randomly jumbled the Hebrew Bible's books of Ezekiel and Jeremiah into one text and ran the software. It sorted the mixed-up text into its component parts "almost perfectly," the researchers announced.
The program recognizes repeated word selections, like uses of the Hebrew equivalents of "if," "and" and "but," and notices synonyms: In some places, for example, the Bible gives the word for "staff" as "makel," while in others it uses "mateh" for the same object. The program then separates the text into strands it believes to be the work of different people.
Other researchers have looked at linguistic fingerprints in less sacred texts as a way of identifying unknown writers. In the 1990s, the Vassar English professor Donald Foster famously identified the journalist Joe Klein as the anonymous author of the book "Primary Colors" by looking at minor details like punctuation.
In 2003, Koppel was part of a research team that developed software that could successfully tell, four times out of five, if the author of a text was male or female. Women, the researchers found, are far more likely to use personal pronouns like "she" and "he," while men prefer determiners like "that" and "this" - women, in other words, talk about people, while men prefer to talk about things. That success sparked debate about how gender shapes the way we think and communicate.
Research of this kind has potential applications for law enforcement, allowing authorities to catch imposters or to match anonymous texts with possible authors by identifying linguistic tics. Because the analysis can also help identify gender and age, it might also allow advertisers to better target customers.
The new software might be used to investigate Shakespeare's plays and settle lingering questions of authorship or co-authorship, mused Graeme Hirst, a professor of computational linguistics at the University of Toronto. Or it could be applied to modern texts: "It would be interesting to see if in more cases we can tease apart who wrote what," Hirst said.
The algorithm might also lead to the creation of a style checker for documents prepared by multiple authors or committees, helping iron out awkward style variations and creating a uniform text, Hirst suggested.
What the algorithm won't answer, say the researchers who created it, is the question of whether the Bible is human or divine. Three of the four scholars, including Koppel, are religious Jews who subscribe in some form to the belief that the Torah was dictated to Moses in its entirety by a single author: God.
For academic scholars, the existence of different stylistic threads in the Bible indicates human authorship.
But the research team says in their paper they aren't addressing "how or why such distinct threads exist."
"Those for whom it is a matter of faith that the Pentateuch is not a composition of multiple writers can view the distinction investigated here as that of multiple styles," they said.
In other words, there's no reason why God could not write a book in different voices.
"No amount of research is going to resolve that issue," said Koppel.
Explore further:
Ancient Bible fragments reveal a forgotten history
flashgordon
flashgordon
flashgordon
210
Flash? Gordy-babe, I AM...AM tryin' to follow you..!
What do you mean, "...reading to publish!"???
flashgordon
Somehow my deductive disproof of the existence of god got deleted; so much the better; i'm waiting till I'm "ready" to publish!
210
Your Flashness, modern Judaism is A LITLE BIT different than what it once was, yes,yes.
The Temple was destroyed in 70 AD...the Jewish Faith was ALWAYS based on blood sacrifice, AND the great Temple to sanctify it. Our modern Jewish brethren are NO LONGER looking for/anticipating a Messiah of any kind and no longer use the holy writ...most use the Book of Palm I believe it is called. But yes, they are different as you note!
210
Excuse me your excellent Flashiness, oh great One ...but... wouldn't the presence of the Sun ALSO and possibly, primarily be of great benefit to...welllll...my flower garden? I also have a very excellent veggie garden and my neighbors centerfold-buxom teenage daughters love to TAN in the Sun. I am sure we can also see the practical side to what can also be called an astrological element. :-)
word-to-ya-muthas
210
Stop it Gordo...you Gordonian you!!!
"Write" is not right! 'Right' is right/correct...!
You ARE testing me to see if I can qualify as your editor when you write your best seller: 'WORLD ACCORDING TO GORDON THE GORDONIAN." ....am I hired?
word-to-ya-muthas
flashgordon
flashgordon
210
HEY! Gordonitude!! You ain't got no sins to worry about...I corrected all your mistakes, mostly... When you publish, just give me a little credit...slip me some coin...we're tight, friends, biz-partners, I like you cause when Christmas comes I don't have to spend any money on you. I know girls like you cause your name sounds like that porn movie...
word-to-ya-muthas-
flashgordon
210
SHWEEEEET!!!
flashgordon
http://israelpale...soldier/
flashgordon
Matti Friedman actually wrote this; i remember coming across it at yahoo. Maybe, he's not as biased as I thought.
Norezar
RobertKarlStonjek
It is just a collection of local myths, legends and popular stories...
kevinrtrs
Ever heard same such for the evolutionary myth? I thought not.
ennui27
Have heard that claimed for the Qua'ran, the Book of Mormon, the writings of Mary Baker Eddy, and all that pales compared to what the Scientologists claim for a not-very-good SF writer. Regular viewings of OPRAH will do the same thing. We all know that Johnny Rivers can better that 'cause he is the One, the One. the One they call the Seventh Son".
TheGhostofOtto1923
Kevin also ignores the fact that the majority of criminals are religious. This has been posted here before and I'm sure he's seen it.
FrankHerbert
Christianity is the successor to the ancient Sun religion through Rome's influence on the early church. When Rome adopted Christianity as the state religion, it was merged with the previous Sun cult. Ever notice that Jesus usually has rays coming out of his head?
Rome had a history of retaining past religious practices upon adopting a new religion. This explains confession (pagan) and the date of Christmas (originally Saturnalia, also pagan).
panorama
They believed it allowed them to control the people they had conquered who worshipped said ghod. They would essentially "capture" the new ghods. Gotta catch 'em all...
Scientist_Steve
Most healthy intelligent people can't square with the idea that there might not be anything beyond this life for them. That ultimately, they are not "special". You expecting people at the end of the rope to do it?. I watched a family member come back from alcoholism, trust me they need something (or anything) to cling to. Religion provides a nice foothold, a "purpose" to the madness, thats it. Don't try to oversell it there champ.
ennui27
TheGhostofOtto1923
The concept of a higher power in AA can mean anything to anybody. It is only a convenient mechanism for shedding baggage. And it WORKS, in conjunction with ALL the other aspects of the program, when nothing else will.
No religion can make this claim, and kevin is being willfully dishonest (as usual) in doing so. His 'conform or be condemned' threats are exactly the type of baggage addicts need to shed.
Scientist_Steve
Interesting comment. I generally agree with it. However, I think its too bold to say religion NEVER serves that purpose. Case in point, my brother never attended AA. He got involved in a church and it had the effects i listed above on him and allowed him to get control over his drinking problem (chemical addiction, thats a different conversation). My point was simply that religion serves that purpose for alot of people, regardless of whether or not they struggle with addiction. From my experience, it simply has an amplified draw for those in distress. Sounds like i am agreeing with kevin, but the difference is in the fact that he probably sees this effect as something of a divine nature. I see it as being a social and psychological effect that is easy to explain.
TheGhostofOtto1923
1) We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.
There are 11 more but the first ones probably the toughest.
http://www.na.org/
http://en.wikiped...nonymous
Scientist_Steve
ok?? If there was a point there it went completely over my head.
TheGhostofOtto1923
It divides people and sets them against one another. It makes each group feel that they are more divinely privileged than the rest. It promises people that their god will provide them with special favors and will support however many children they may chance to have. It enables people like kevin to spread the kind of lies that endanger the lives of people like your brother.
Religions are the cause of all the problems in the world. And EVERY religionist will agree with me on this point; save for the one they believe in, the one which has the right to rule the world.
TheGhostofOtto1923
Im sorry I thought you said your brother still had a problem. My mistake. Sobriety means different things to different people.
Scientist_Steve
gotcha.
Per your other comments, you are preaching to the choir. I definitely don't agree with most of religion, I just see how necessary it is for most people. The alternative is much too difficult to accept for many.
TheGhostofOtto1923
Religion provides the quick fix of the epiphany, but you have to keep going back to achieve the same effect. Pretty soon it has consumed your thoughts (re Kevin), stolen your money, and commandeered your life.
You may think that religions provide friends and fellowship; but they also provide instant enemies, which can have various implications depending on the time and the place.
ennui27
Pas2
Raygunner
TheGhostofOtto1923
Youve got a number of things wrong here probably because you dont know much about the bible or the species. Most bible stories originated far earlier in previous religions. They all contain valuable lessons on human nature and fundamental social truths, often presented with very subtle messages and many layers of meaning. We can see how they were refined from earlier versions from other cultures and tailored for their most effective application in HERDING PEOPLE.
And yet they are very blatant and open in how they do this, and exactly why it has needed to be done. The bible is the triumph of gens of some of the most brilliant People who ever lived.
Cont
TheGhostofOtto1923
And yet since around the time of the sumerians, and coincidently [?] when Abram left Ur, civilization as a whole continued to grow. Its centers of control moved to be sure, but Order and Stability expanded unabated.
Cont
TheGhostofOtto1923
And we can see just how Useful this concept could be in convincing people to give up their own wants and needs for Those who could provide immortality. Well, 'goodness' is measured not only in how altruistic you are to fellow tribal members but also how ruthless you are in destroying tribal enemies. Religion can extend the tribal dynamic beyond the tribe - a brilliant triumph.
Cont
TheGhostofOtto1923
Elsewhere Progress continues unabated, spurred on to a great extent by the threats these religionist groups present, a time-honored Incentive. This wild rate of tech development will soon hatch this egg we inhabit, and humans in their best Form will populate the inner system.
Which will give the race the Opportunity for yet another great evolutionary Leap. It will at last have the confidence to believe that it will persist. I would have to say that things seem to be going quite well indeed.
Raygunner
Raygunner
Raygunner
Technology maturity=civilization moves towards greatness
Technology immaturity=eventual civilization death
And being militarily mature does not equate to being emotionally mature. It shouldn't be "Kill the invaders!" but "Welcome visitors!"
I think we be WAY off the subject now!
pokerdice1
"The Bible, and whoever was responsible for its conception, needs to return to Earth ASAP and give us an update."
Google "The Urantia Book"
Raygunner
TheGhostofOtto1923
TheGhostofOtto1923
You may think this is an ancient problem but it fully explains all the turmoil in the middle east and africa today. Religions there demand that their people outreproduce their infidel neighbors. What we see on tv has always been the result of this ancient method of beating an even more ancient dilemma.
There is a Solution to this. Again, western growth rates now roughly equal tech progress. There can be no peace in the world until those ancient cultures which exceed this balance, are destroyed.
Raygunner
Raygunner
TheGhostofOtto1923
The fact that we're here to contemplate, means we have some Purpose of Theirs to Serve.
Raygunner
A) I don't believe in time, just a NOW
B) no time = NO FATE/DESTINY
We are making this up as we go NOW. That means our future is not, cannot, be perfectly predicted no matter how powerful the Deity. A nudge here, there, and you can push or help shape society in a direction but there are no firm outcomes. Patterns, however, can be discerned into paths that statistically have almost certain outcomes, all due to averaged human behavioral patterns and tendencies. Turn on the TV and you see that every day.
The mass mindset and how to manipulate it for big bucks - now there is one of the ugly truths on our small, polluted rock spinning on the far outskirts of the Milky Way. Me thinks we are the trailer trash of the galaxy, and no disrespect intended to the trailer folks
TheGhostofOtto1923
Your future is not up to gods. It can be changed by people very easily. You see a commercial on tv and get the notion for a trip to disney world, or youre hungry for a mcfish sandwich. Same thing. You want a mcfish sandwich but you caught the flu, or cant find your car keys. So much for free will.
Similarly you can be given attitudes based on where you live, how old you are, how much money you make, etc.
cont
TheGhostofOtto1923
You can blame some CEO in NYC if you lose your job or your bank goes belly-up, because people whose opinions you trust tell you this CEO is responsible. In fact you will believe just about anything youre told, when it is presented to you in the proper manner.
All thats needed is a little preparation and a pressing need for you to believe. This here is a very good example. You are led to believe that the only reason others would want to manipulate large groups of people, is because they are GREEDY.
The Truth could very well be that They are manipulating people in order to SURVIVE. That people, if left to their own motivations, would end up ruining the world. If there was a way to prevent this, by manipulating people, dont you think it would be well worth doing?
cont
TheGhostofOtto1923
People are so easy. Luckily.
Raygunner
Raygunner
TheGhostofOtto1923
Raygunner
There is one destiny that I can say with 100% certainty will happen: it's 6:58 EST I'm planning to go and eat some juicy hamburgers and fries!
neiorah
FrankHerbert
ennui27
Were there not something like 5 dudes nameed Ecclesiastes? If any God decided to divide Herself (Himself?) into 5 .. then "Vanity, Vanity, All (certainly) is Vanity".
Ramael
Ignorance is bliss.
ennui27
It is my understanding that this is Muslem dogma - that the Qu'ran is the actual word of god, dictated and written down. The testiments, old and new, are stories, parables and bon mots of what the writers believe is god or what this god wants, but nothing is actually dictated. (There are three versions of of 10 Commandments that often do not agree.)