Bible breakthrough as AI unveils ancient book’s ‘likely authors’ | World | News
Experts used cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) to uncover hidden language patterns and identify possible authors of some of the Bible’s oldest texts.
An international team of researchers led by Duke University in the United States has used artificial intelligence technology to unravel centuries of Biblical history.
Scholars examined the first nine books of the Hebrew Bible, referred to as the Enneateuch, using a specially developed artificial intelligence model as well as advanced linguistic analysis.
They discovered three completely different writing styles. These distinctive patterns suggest that different authors or groups of scribes were responsible for the scriptures and provide new evidence for centuries-long debates around the authorship of the Bible.
“We found that each group of writers had a different style, surprisingly even for simple and common words such as ‘no’, ‘which’ or ‘king’. Our method accurately detects these differences,” said Collège de France professor Thomas Römer.
The groundbreaking project was spearheaded by mathematician Shira Faigenbaum-Golovin. He first started this research in 2010 in B.C. He began by examining handwriting on ancient pottery sherds dating from 600 BC.
“We conclude that the findings in these inscriptions may provide valuable clues in the dating of Old Testament texts,” said Faigenbaum-Golovin. “That’s when we started assembling our existing team who could help us analyze these biblical texts.”
Faigenbaum-Golovin currently leads a team of mathematicians, archaeologists, linguists, and computer scientists in an ambitious effort to combine scientific analysis with biblical scholarship.
The AI model identified three distinct writing styles in the text: the Priestly source, the Deuteronomy History, and the Book of Deuteronomy itself.
Although some passages fit neatly into one of these categories, researchers were surprised to discover that some portions of the Ark Narrative in 1 Samuel do not fit into any of the three styles; This pointed to another mystery surrounding the composition of the Bible.
The team believes that this technique could be invaluable in authenticating other historical documents in the future.
“For example, if you are looking at fragments of documents to see if they were written by Abraham Lincoln, this method can help you determine whether they are real or just fake,” Faigenbaum-Golovin said. he explained.
The authors of the study say: “Our paper sheds new light on the question of authorship of Biblical texts by providing interpretable, statistically significant evidence for the existence of linguistic features that can be automatically identified in the writings of Biblical authors/redactors.
“Our methodology thus provides a new tool for addressing controversial issues in biblical studies.”
Researchers are now exploring how the same approach could provide new insights into other ancient manuscripts. “This is a unique collaboration between science and the humanities,” Faigenbaum-Golovin said.
“It’s an amazing symbiosis, and I’m lucky to work with people who use innovative research to push boundaries.”
