Biblical Studies and Technological Tools: AI

Find all the instances of κωμη in the gospel of Mark and create a table showing the parallel passages in Matthew or Luke.

There is a Bible search task I have long wished that Accordance or Logos (or BibleWorks back in the day) could do, but it did seem to be asking a bit much. Namely, I wanted to run a search for a word that occurs in one of the gospels and concurrently check out the parallel passages in the other gospels to see if the same wording was used.

What I have done in the past is run the search to get the results and then manually compare (either just using the search results or entering passages one at a time into a parallel resources like Aland's Gospel Parallels) to see whether they matched or not.

On a whim, I decided to ask Microsoft CoPilot to run such a search for me. It worked!

Here's the prompt I used: Find all the instances of κωμη in the gospel of Mark and create a table showing the parallel passages in Matthew or Luke.

My hope was to see whether Luke 'upgraded' Mark and turned villages / towns (κωμη) into cities (πολις) similar how to coinage in Luke is upgraded compared to Mark. You can see in the graphic that it explained its methodology and then created the table. Here is the Summary it produced at the end:

When I told it to go ahead and create a slide deck it went even further generating 8 slides (including one of Theological Implications and another of Reflections that weren't bad) and created a cleaner table.

I did some other similar searches, and there were some less reliable results, largely due to trying to match up passages rather than exact verses. So, as you can expect, results need to be confirmed, but this is a really fascinating use of AI.

Another search I tried is that I searched for all the uses of the form λεγει in Mark and asked for the parallels in Matthew and Luke in order to see what they do with Mark's frequent use of the historical present. Results were not precise. It did cite Toronto's Five Gospel Parallel and the Four Gospel Harmony as sources.

Image created by DALL-E with prompt: create an image of Jonah and the whale, there is a storm and rough seas, Jonah is about to be swallowed, there is a ship nearby, angular and abstract style

I first posted about AI and their ability to respond to Bible related questions in May 2023. I did an update in November 2023 and noted some significant changes. I thought I would revisit the matter again and see what's new. Well, a lot is new.

A year ago, ChatGPT was the really the primary service, but I also used biblemate, a customized version which, as the name suggests, is Christian-moderated. One of the prompts I used was: "Was Jonah swallowed by a whale?" I chose this figuring it would sort out how aware the AI was of literal or metaphorical readings. Also, would they know that the Hebrew really just refers to a "great fish" and not necessarily a whale?

What's new now is that ChatGPT has a whole host of related services dedicated to different sorts of tasks. For this time, I chose "Scholar GPT." But there are quite a few other AI services now: Bing Copilot, Gemini, Claude, and more. Another somewhat new aspect is that the Copilot, Gemini, and Claude interfaces are now presented as 'chats.' I.e., they understand that there is some sense of a conversation, and that its response to a query can need either refinement or expansion. I did also try asking the same question at different times, and I got different responses, so they all (except for biblemate) seem to be constantly updating themselves. (This is also why it makes it so hard to track down plagiarism.)

So how do they each answer the question: Was Jonah swallowed by a whale?

You can check the November responses for ChatGPT and biblemate, and this time around, they both are more 'conservative.' Scholar GPT similarly describes the event and notes that it was a "great fish," but it omits this part that it had last time:

Whether the events in the story are to be understood as literal historical events or as a symbolic or allegorical tale is a matter of interpretation. Some people interpret the story as a miraculous event that actually happened, while others see it as a literary device with a moral or theological message. It is important to note that interpretations of biblical stories can vary among different religious traditions and denominations.

I.e., it only reports a literal reckoning of the story. biblemate was 'conservative' last time and is even more so this time. Here's what it says now:

Yes, the story of Jonah being swallowed by a great fish is found in the book of Jonah in the Old Testament. In Jonah 1:17, it states, "Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights." This miraculous event serves as a sign of God's sovereignty and mercy, as Jonah was eventually spit out onto dry land and given a second chance to fulfill God's mission for him.

That's pretty similar to last time, except that it omits: " The story of Jonah is often interpreted as a lesson about obedience and repentance." I.e., it seems to only be concerned about the literalness of the event and doesn't even consider it to be a "lesson." Where are Scholar GPT and biblemate learning this from?

Bing Copilot by default provides cross references. (I probably could have asked the others to do so.) Here is how it answers the question:

The story of Jonah being swallowed by a whale is a well-known biblical tale. According to the Bible, Jonah was swallowed by a “great fish” that God provided ¹ ². The Hebrew text uses the phrase “large fish,” and it doesn’t specify the exact type of creature ³. In popular culture, this fish is often depicted as a whale, but the original text leaves it more ambiguous ².

It’s a fascinating story that has captured the imagination of many over the centuries!
Do you have any other questions about biblical stories or anything else?

Those references are to BibleGateway for the text, Wikipedia, and a response on billygraham.org. It does answer the question quite concisely, and it does leave some room for it being a "biblical tale" and "story."

As an experiment, I asked Copilot the exact question again some time later, and it generated a different response.

The story of Jonah being swallowed by a whale is a well-known biblical account. However, the original Hebrew text of the Bible refers to a “great fish” rather than specifically a whale ¹ ² ³. In the Book of Jonah, it states that "the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah"². This has led to various interpretations over time, with some translations and cultural depictions referring to it as a whale ³.

Regardless of the exact species, the story emphasizes Jonah’s miraculous survival and his subsequent mission to deliver God’s message.

Is there a particular aspect of this story that interests you?

The conclusion says a bit more the second time. The references it cites this time are from: armstronginstitute.org, BibleGateway, Wikipedia, learnreligions.com, and BibleHub. That's a rather interesting spectrum from Armstrong's Worldwide Church of God to Learn Religions' all-religions approach.

Gemini offers an even more concise answer.

Yes, according to the biblical account of Jonah, he was swallowed by a "great fish." This fish is often interpreted as a whale, though the exact species is not specified in the text.

The story of Jonah and the whale is a well-known parable in the Bible that highlights the power and mercy of God.
Would you like to know more about the story of Jonah and the whale?

It knows about the "great fish" aspect, and, as you can read, it labels the story as a "parable."

Here is what Claude returns:

According to the biblical narrative in the Book of Jonah, Jonah was swallowed by a "great fish" rather than specifically a whale. The exact Hebrew term used is "dag gadol," which translates to "great fish."

This story is part of the Judeo-Christian tradition, found in the Old Testament. In the account, God commands Jonah to preach to the city of Nineveh. Jonah attempts to flee from this divine command by boarding a ship. A great storm arises, and the sailors, believing it's due to Jonah's disobedience, throw him overboard. It's at this point that the "great fish" swallows Jonah.

Jonah remains in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights before being vomited out onto dry land. He then proceeds to fulfill his mission to Nineveh.

It's worth noting that while many popular retellings and interpretations of this story refer to the creature as a whale, the original text does not specify the exact type of sea creature. The idea of it being a whale likely stems from the creature's large size and its ability to swallow a man whole.

Would you like more information about the story of Jonah or its interpretations in various religious traditions?

This is the longest response of the AI generators I tried, and it provides quite a bit more context for the account. It only answers the question posed without getting into literal or metaphorical matters, but it did offer to go further at the end. When I replied with a "yes," it came back with this:

Certainly, I'd be happy to provide more information about the story of Jonah and its interpretations. Here are some key points:

1. Historical and Literary Context:
   - The Book of Jonah is part of the Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament.
   - It's believed to have been written around the 8th-5th century BCE.
   - Unlike other prophetic books, it's primarily narrative rather than a collection of prophecies.

2. Interpretations in Judaism:
   - In Jewish tradition, the story is read during Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) as a reminder of God's mercy and the power of repentance.
   - Some rabbinical interpretations focus on Jonah's reluctance to prophesy, seeing it as a reflection of his concern for the Jewish people.

3. Christian Interpretations:
   - In Christianity, Jesus references the "sign of Jonah" as a prefiguration of his death and resurrection (three days in the tomb).
   - The story is often seen as an example of God's universal love and forgiveness, extending even to non-Israelites (the people of Nineveh).

4. Islamic Perspective:
   - Jonah (Yunus in Arabic) is considered a prophet in Islam.
   - The Quran mentions his story, emphasizing the themes of repentance and divine mercy.

5. Symbolic and Allegorical Interpretations:
   - The "great fish" has been interpreted as a symbol of chaos, death, or the unknown.
   - Jonah's journey has been seen as an allegory for spiritual transformation or rebirth.

6. Scientific and Historical Debates:
   - Some have attempted to identify real marine creatures capable of swallowing a human, such as large species of whales or sharks.
   - Others interpret the story as purely allegorical or mythological, not meant to be taken literally.

7. Cultural Impact:
   - The story has inspired numerous works of art, literature, and even idioms (e.g., "a Jonah" referring to a person who brings bad luck).

Would you like me to elaborate on any specific aspect of the Jonah story or its interpretations?

That's quite a broad perspective, and one that seems reasonably objective and accurate. I did ask Claude to provide source references for its response, and it replied:

I apologize, but I need to clarify that I don't have access to a database or the ability to search for and provide specific source references. The information I provided in my previous response is based on my training, which includes general knowledge about religious texts, interpretations, and scholarship. However, I cannot cite specific books, articles, or authors.

When it comes to providing accurate citations, especially for academic or scholarly purposes, it's always best to verify information from primary sources or peer-reviewed publications.

For the most reliable information on this topic, I would recommend consulting:

1. The original biblical text (Book of Jonah in the Old Testament)
2. Academic commentaries on the Old Testament or specifically the Book of Jonah
3. Scholarly works on Jewish, Christian, and Islamic interpretations of prophetic literature
4. Books or articles on comparative religion, particularly those focusing on shared narratives across Abrahamic faiths
5. Academic databases or libraries for peer-reviewed articles on the literary and historical analysis of the Book of Jonah

If you need specific citations for any part of the information I provided, I encourage you to cross-reference with these types of sources. This will ensure you have accurate, up-to-date, and properly cited information for your purposes.

As always, the AI generator results may not be accurate and require further confirmation. Copilot seems the most transparent in pointing to its sources.