BibleMate.org, a ChatGPT-based alternative

A recent Christianity Today article surveyed a number of people about the use of Google as compared to ChatGPT for asking questions about the Bible or theology. One of the respondents is Suman Kumar Polepaka, founder of BibleMate, Still in an early stage of development, BibleMate.org is a ChatGPT-based alternative whose "mission is to provide biblically accurate answers and guide users on their faith journey. It's about ensuring AI doesn't just offer information but contributes meaningfully to spiritual growth."

I posed two questions to BibleMate and to ChatGPT to compare responses. First, though, note that BibleMate does not require any login to access. It did take a little longer (10-15 seconds) to generate responses.

1) Was Jonah really swallowed by a whale?

BibleMate: 

"Yes, according to the Bible, Jonah was swallowed by a great fish, not specifically identified as a whale, in the book of Jonah. The book of Jonah is a narrative about a prophet named Jonah who was called by God to go to the city of Nineveh to preach repentance to its people. However, Jonah disobeyed God and tried to flee by boarding a ship going in the opposite direction.

As a result, God sent a great storm that threatened to sink the ship. The sailors on the ship realized that Jonah was the cause of the storm and threw him overboard. It was then that Jonah was swallowed by the great fish. After three days and three nights in the belly of the fish, Jonah repented and prayed to God, and the fish vomited him onto dry land.

While some people may view this story as a metaphor or allegory, others believe it to be a literal historical event. Regardless of one's interpretation, the story of Jonah teaches important lessons about obedience to God and the power of repentance and forgiveness."

ChatGPT:

The story of Jonah being swallowed by a whale or a great fish is found in the biblical Book of Jonah. According to the account, Jonah was a prophet who was commanded by God to go to the city of Nineveh and deliver a message of repentance. Instead of obeying, Jonah attempted to flee from God's command by boarding a ship bound for Tarshish.

During the journey, a great storm arose, and the sailors realized that Jonah was the cause of their misfortune. Jonah instructed them to throw him overboard, believing that this would calm the storm. As he was cast into the sea, the text says that "the Lord provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish for three days and three nights" (Jonah 1:17).

The Book of Jonah does not specify the exact creature that swallowed Jonah, using the Hebrew word "dag gadol," which generally refers to a large sea creature. The term "whale" is commonly used in translations, but the text itself does not provide specific details.

The story of Jonah being swallowed by a great fish is often interpreted symbolically or as a miraculous event. It emphasizes the themes of obedience, repentance, and God's mercy. Some consider it to be a parable or an allegorical tale rather than a historical account, while others view it as a literal event.

As with many biblical narratives, the interpretation of Jonah's story varies among different individuals and religious traditions. Ultimately, whether one believes the account to be a historical event or a symbolic story is a matter of personal faith and interpretation.

2) What does the gospel of John say about the “Jews”?

BibleMate: 

The Gospel of John mentions the Jews many times throughout the book, as they were the primary religious leaders and opponents of Jesus during his ministry. However, it is important to note that the term "Jews" in the Gospel of John is not used to refer to all Jewish people, but rather to a specific group of Jewish leaders who opposed Jesus and his teachings.

For example, in John 1:11, it says "He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him." This is referring to the fact that Jesus came to the Jewish people, but many of them rejected him. In John 5:18, it says "This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God." This is referring to a specific group of Jewish leaders who were angry with Jesus for claiming to be the Son of God.

It is important to read these passages in context and not use them to make generalizations about all Jewish people. The Gospel of John was written by a Jewish author and is part of the Christian Bible, which acknowledges the Jewish roots of the faith.

ChatGPT:

The Gospel of John, like other books in the New Testament, includes references to "the Jews" in various contexts. It is important to approach these references with sensitivity and recognize that the term "the Jews" in the Gospel of John refers primarily to specific groups of Jewish religious leaders or opponents of Jesus, rather than the entire Jewish people as a whole.

While the Gospel of John acknowledges Jesus' Jewish identity and the fact that he and his earliest followers were Jewish, it also highlights conflicts between Jesus and certain Jewish religious leaders of his time. These conflicts often revolve around theological disagreements, the authority of Jesus, and the claims he made about himself. It is important to note that the Gospel of John was likely written at a time when early Christian communities were distinct from mainstream Judaism, and these tensions influenced the portrayal of Jewish leaders in the narrative.

The Gospel of John does not represent the attitudes or beliefs of all Jewish people but rather focuses on specific interactions and disputes between Jesus and certain Jewish leaders of his time. It is crucial to interpret these passages carefully, avoiding generalizations or perpetuating harmful stereotypes about Jewish people.

Ultimately, the Gospel of John emphasizes themes such as the divinity of Jesus, his role as the Messiah, and the call for individuals to believe in him. It is essential to approach the text with an understanding of its historical and cultural context and to exercise caution in interpreting references to "the Jews" within the narrative.

SUMMARY:

Both BibleMate and ChatGPT gave reasonable enough answers, but BibleMate's initial affirmation that Jonah was swallowed by a whale indicates a conservative perspective before noting the possibility of it being a metaphor or allegory. Both rightly noted that it was a "great fish," and ChatGPT even included the Hebrew.

With regard to the question of John and the "Jews," both warn about drawing anti-Semitic conclusions. BibleMate referenced a couple specific passages in John, though I don't fully agree with the exegetical conclusions it drew. ChatGPT provided a broader background which I found more helpful.

It will be interesting to see how projects like BibleMate develop. I'm guessing that they are drawing on the ChatGPT technology but weighting some sources more heavily than others. I'm still doubtful any such technology can claim to contribute meaningfully to spiritual growth.

John 17.1-11: Translations and Notes - RCL Year A 7th Sunday after Easter

John 17.1-11 is Jesus' concluding prayer to the long discourse at the last supper. I have attached my compilation of translations along with my own translation. I also include the introduction I use before reading (performing) the text. A few things to note:

• Verses 1-11 are only the first part of Jesus' prayer. The words and themes raised in this section will carry on throughout the rest of the part. I like to talk about the language in John as "spiraling." It seems like we keep hearing the same thing over and over, but the text is not going in circles. It is circling back to early themes, but it is also moving forward with new insights. It keeps spiraling in this way until it reaches its conclusion.
• One way I try to visualize the passage is to highlight repeated words. This demonstrates the spiraling, and it also aids in memorization of the passage for performance. At the end of my notes I've included my highlighting along with logical indentations. It becomes clear in this passage that "glorification" is one key theme. Another theme is the act of "giving." God gave all things (authority, eternal life, work to do, God's words...), and Jesus has given them to the disciples. It all leads to verse 11: "... that they may be one just as we are."
• My translation is somewhat wooden, but I'm trying to be attentive to tenses and syntax and emphasized elements in the Greek while also preserving the repeated words as much as possible.
• In John, when Jesus finishes the prayer, he and his disciples go directly to the garden where he is arrested. Unlike the synoptic gospels, there is no record of Jesus' prayer in Gethsemane. Instead, this prayer in John 17 should be the point of comparison. And, further, unlike the Synoptics where Jesus prays that the "cup / hour might pass" him by, in John, Jesus' prayer is a confident one. Jesus is completing his work, and his prayer is for his disciples rather than himself.
• Another aspect of John that is evident in this passage is the "two-level" nature of Jesus' speaking. On the one hand, it's a record of Jesus speaking to his disciples, but it is also a record of Jesus speaking directly to the members of the Johannine community. It makes it a bit tricky rendering verb tenses. We also see things like verse 3 which is an explanatory aside addressed directly to John's community.
  
• As I have in the past, I encourage people to check out the resources available at GoTell. HERE is the link for John 17.1-11.

Here, then, are my notes and translation: John 17.1-11 mgvh notes

Luke 24.13-35

Caravaggio (Wikipedia CC: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4d/1602-3_Caravaggio%2CSupper_at_Emmaus_National_Gallery%2C_London.jpg)

Luke 24.13-35 Jesus and the Travelers to Emmaus: 

This is the appointed text for the coming Sunday, 23 April 2023. I've composed an introduction to the passage and also am sharing my translation of the text. The translation stays close to the Greek text, but it is intended to be 'performed' and heard. A few things to keep in mind:

1. Cleopas is named, but who was the other person? It could well have been his wife.
2. Why didn't the two recognize Jesus? The text says that their eyes were 'held back' from recognizing him. Similarly, after Jesus breaks the bread, their eyes were opened to recognize him. I.e., in/sight are withheld or given by God. It is not simply a matter of a person having the right understanding.
3. While Luke in general has a higher literary standard than the other gospels, this Emmaus story 'sounds' more like an oral telling. (E.g., there is a much higher use of και / "and" as compared to δε than is usual for Luke.) This is a fun story to tell, and the biblical storyteller should be able to lean into it with a range of expression.
4. Luke twice uses a 'biblisch' type of Greek that imitates the Hebrew > Greek style of the Septuagint. In the KJV, it gets rendered with "And it came to pass..." (verses 15 and 30) Most modern English versions think that sounds old-fashioned, so it usually gets translated as "When..." That totally misses Luke's intent of wanting the story to sound scriptural. In my translation, I use, "And so it happened..." Not as 'biblisch' as the KJV, but it does reflect the Greek well.
5. When I translate the gospel of Mark, I find that the 'casualness' of the Greek reflecting its oral background leaves room for a lot of differences between English translations. Even in this Lukan story in which I hear oral echoes, Luke's better grammar does make for more consistency between my translation and other ones.
6. I think it is a disservice to have a gospel reading without providing some context. I also think it is unhelpful to have an introduction that tells you what the reading is 'about.' (After all, if you tell me what it's about, why should I bother to listen to the reading?) You can see how I try only to set the stage for the reading.

I hope this helps. Anything you find striking in my translation? Let's have a discussion here!

Download the file here: https://ltsg-my.sharepoint.com/:w:/g/personal/mhoffman_uls_edu/EX7YAFtSGalIiidiD8sX7pcBYiMjqCoAEvndtK2nvvg3dQ?e=ewCenn

Perseus 6.0: Beyond Translation — the first version of a next generation Perseus

This is an interesting and exciting new stage for the Perseus site. Read more about it HERE.

Five years after the March 15, 2018, announcement of the Scaife Viewer, we are announcing Beyond Translation, the first version of the sixth generation Perseus (Perseus 6.0)... We have a great deal of content to add and much to do with every aspect of the system, but the basic features of Perseus 6 are now largely in place.

Go to the Beyond Translation page and play around with it for yourself! There is audio for the texts, many options for displaying and accessing resources. Pretty amazing.

ChatGPT

I have been talking about ChatGPT with my faculty colleagues.ChatGPT is the new artificial intelligence resource that creates responses to questions posed to it. It surveys the web, and has learned enough natural language ability to create reasoned responses. You can ask it to write songs, poems, stories with parameters you specify. It can sometimes be amazingly good and sometimes stunningly bad. (Cf. below where I asked it to compose a poem based on Luke 8.22-25.)

I’ve played around with it posing biblical and theological questions. The responses were mostly accurate, sometimes even insightful, and sometimes better than what I’ve gotten from students. The concern in an academic setting is that the responses can be used without fear of plagiarism, because each time you use it, it creates something new. (Apparently new tools are being created to check if someone has used ChatGPT.) You can get very specific about asking questions requesting evidence or citations, and you can ask it to include particular details in its response.

Someone did further testing using ChatGPT for biblical stuff. You’ll see how far you can go with this: https://isaacsoon.com/blog-2/
You’ll also see that it has fatal flaws.

TLdr: ChatGPT was smart enough to identify what the scholarly issues are re: Jew and Gentile in Romans 2. It was able to address for specific and detailed questions. It even was able to cite known scholars and provide citations for articles in JBL or in books. Good? Further digging, however, showed that some of the citations were either inaccurate or fictions. I.e., ChatGPT was probably drawing on stuff it found on the web where people have made the errors, and it just repeated them. (Follow up article on Isaac Soon’s ChatGPT experiment: https://christianscholars.com/chatgpt-and-the-turing-test-biblical-studies-version/ )

So what does this mean for seminary teachers?

1. ChatGPT  is out there, it’s free, it’s handy… Assume students are going to use it.
2. ChatGPT might be quite useful for students just wanting to get some initial background information. In many instances, it’s better than a Google search.
3. It might be helpful in provoking new ideas. Stuck on a writing a sermon? ChatGPT shouldn’t be used to write a sermon, but it might generate some sparks to get you going.
4. I think the most helpful way to use ChatGPT is to assign students a question to ask it. Then, ask them to verify and provide accurate citations for the responses. As a final outcome, they should edit or rewrite the ChatGPT response and provide a better and more reliable response.

Luke 18.9-14 Translations and notes (Judge and Widow: Lectionary 30, 20th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C)

The Revised Common Lectionary gospel text for Lectionary 30 (on 23 October 2022) is Luke 18.9-14, the parable told be Jesus commonly known as "The Pharisee and the Tax Collector." There are some interesting word choices that need to be made (just- or right- cognates? exalt / lift up / promote <> humble / bring down?), so you may want to check my translation and notes. 

We have had all these parables lately in the lectionary, and one resource I recommend is Robert Farrar Capon's Kingdom, Grace, Judgment: Paradox, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus. (Affiliate link) I really think he has the right idea about how the parables work. You may not always agree with him, but he's always provocative in a way that I have found him to be a good conversation partner with this parables. For this Pharisee and tax collector parable, check out this short reflection. (It's from a 1983 interview on the Chicago Sunday Evening Club and 30 Good Minutes. The original transcript is no longer on the web, but the link is to where someone preserved it.) He gets right to the heart of why it should not be easy to preach this parable. Are you just hoping for the tax collector coming back and being able to humble-brag pray like the Pharisee? "The answer is we fear salvation that is so cheap that it saves everyone in his or her death." And to see just how hard it is for people to hear this, check out the interview that followed Capon's presentation HERE. The interviewer just can't get his head around it despite Capon's insistence the parable is about death and resurrection, not about being a better person.

• Luke 18.9-14 mgvh notes and translation

 One other resource to note if you are not familiar with it is the GoTell website. Lots of excellent stuff. Check under the Stories header to find comments on specific texts. Here is the page for Luke 18.9-14.

Luke 18.1-8 Translations and notes (Judge and Widow: Lectionary 29, 19th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C)

https://www.progressiveinvolvement.com/.a/6a00d8341c3e3953ef0240a4ba489d200d-320wi

The Revised Common Lectionary gospel text for Lectionary 29 (on 16 October 2022) is Luke 18.1-8. It seems to be a simple enough parable that Luke explains for the reader in verse 1: Always pray and don't get discouraged. That's good advice, but there is lots more going on in the parable than that. 

When I go over this parable in my classes, I don't have people look at the text, and I start and just read the parable in verses 2-5. When you do so, the judge is clearly the focus. I then include verses 6-7 which also reinforce that interest in the judge, but the logic here is from lesser to greater, a typical pattern: If a bad judge can do good, how much more so a good God. Okay, that works, but it is an odd way to think about God's actions as simply being better than a bad example.

But now when I include verse 1, the focus switches to the widow. The word typically used to describe the widow is "persistent," and that is reflected in her actions of keeping on coming and keeping on pestering the judge. (The verbs are present tense with the sense of a repeated or ongoing action.) Okay, that's fine, but I think the key is not just about persistence but also about not getting discouraged.

Then, I add verse 8 to the reading. Suddenly we have introduced the Child of Humanity and the issue of faith. Further, reference is made to the Child of Humanity "when he comes." Here we should note that the verb used twice to describe the widow is the same "coming" verb. What if... the God / Jesus figure in the parable is the widow and not the judge? In that case, this parable functions similarly to the Luke 15 parables where the shepherd persists in finding the lost sheep, the woman persists in searching for her lost coin, the father persists in trying to bring home both his sons. And if we are to think about ourselves in this parable, I suspect we are closer to the judge by not regarding God properly and thinking about ourselves more than others. 

While it's good advice to always pray and not get discouraged, this parable is also one of grace. Does it matter whether the judge ends up doing right even for the wrong reason? The parable points to a persistent God who will not stop until the unjust do the just thing. In the end, that's what really matters.

If you want to study further, here is my collection of translations and notes. I also include my own translation. If you go to the end you will see how I have highlighted themes in the parable. The parable also has a nice oral quality to it that I try to capture in my translation.

• Luke 18.1-8 mgvh notes
  

Luke 17.11-19 Translations and notes (Ten "Lepers": Lectionary 28, 18th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C)

https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/pittsdia/1712BiblA/00002521.jpg

The Revised Common Lectionary gospel text for Lectionary 28 (on 9 October 2022) is Luke 17.11-19, the well-known story of the ten "lepers." (Persons with a leprous skin disease would be a better description. The NRSVue uses "defiling skin disease.") There is lots of odd stuff going on in the story:

• Where is "the midst of Samaria and Galilee"?
• Jesus only indirectly heals by simply telling them to go
• 1 out of 10
• One is a Samaritan

 With this in mind, I think it is more helpful to read this story as a parable instead of a healing miracle. I did a rhyming sermon once upon a time when this text was the regular text for Thanksgiving services. You'll see that I take it in the direction of a parabolic reading that makes it more than a simply scolding about remembering to say "Thank you." HERE is the sermon. You are welcome to use / adapt it for a non-Thanksgiving context. (I would appreciate a reference to my CrossMarks.com site if you do.)

I also have accumulated a variety of translations and added notes and my own translation you can consult. As one gets used to an author's style, this one is typical Luke in some ways, but it also strikes me that one can still hear echoes of how this story was orally presented and not literarily improved.

• Luke 17.11-19 mgvh notes
  

Luke 16.19-31 Translations and notes (Rich Man and Lazarus: Lectionary 26, 16th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_man_and_Lazarus#/media/File:Gustave_Dore_Lazarus_and_the_Rich_Man.jpg

The Revised Common Lectionary gospel text for Lectionary 26 (on 25 September 2022) is Luke 16.19-31, the well-known parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Lots going on in the parable, and even in Luke's improved Greek style, it 'sounds' like an orally told story.  Here is a collection of translations with my notes and my own translation: Luke 16.19-31 mgvh notes 

For a couple examples of historic takes on this parable:

• Frederick Douglass
• Martin Luther King

 And check out this Virtual Museum of artistic interpretations of the parable. 

Luke 15.1-10 Translations and Notes (Lectionary 24, 14th Sunday after Pentecost, Year C)

Good Shepherd; Corinth, 4th CE; Christian Byzantine Museum (Athens) mgvh

The Revised Common Lectionary gospel text for Lectionary 24 (on 11 September 2022) is Luke 15.1-10. These are the first two parables that really set the stage for the parable of the lost son/s in 15. It's important to keep in mind that the reason for these parables is that the Pharisees and Law experts were grumbling about Jesus welcoming and eating with tax collectors. Even without the final parable in the series, these two provide a challenge to the religious authorities both asking them to identify with low status characters like a shepherd and a poor woman while also appealing to their awareness of God's role in seeking to reclaim all people. In the end, the issue is less about sinners repenting and more about the 'righteous' rejoicing that sinners are restored to God's family.

A collection of translations and my notes and translation:

• Luke 15.1-10 mgvh notes

In the Steps of Paul - New Trails Planned in Greece!

Part of Via Egnatia between Kavala / Neapolis and Philippi

I am taking an outstanding class in Athens now on "Jews and Early Christians in the Graeco-Roman World" with the Hellenic Education and Research Center. Our teacher, Dr. Socrates Koursoumis, Archaeologist at the Hellenic Ministry of Culture & Sports, has shared plans that Greece is planning to create three Pauline pilgrimage paths that will hopefully be ready in 2023 or 2024. One path is from Neapolis / Kavala to Philippi, a path Paul followed on both his second and third journeys. The second path goes from Beroea / Veroia to Pydna, retracing Paul’s visit to Beroea and his escape to the coast before sailing to Athens as recorded in Acts 17.10-15. The third path goes from ancient Corinth to Cenchreae where Paul passed through at least once. (Acts 18.18) 

2nd Journey of Paul from BibleMapper Blog

This will be a fantastic opportunity for those wanting to walk in Paul's steps!

Automatic Hebrew Transliteration Website

I just came across that website that automatically transliterates Hebrew text into English using a variety of transliteration systems including SBL Academic, SBL Simple, Brill Simple, Simplified Modern Israeli, and more. You can copy/paste in Hebrew, or you can use the Reference to enter a biblical text. Choose the transliteration scheme you want, click the button, and the result appears in a popup window that can be copied. Very handy!

HT: Peter Gurry on Twitter