Using AI, experts have uncovered hidden language patterns within some of the Bible’s oldest books. A group of international researchers led by Duke University in the US combined artificial intelligence, statistical modelling, and linguistic analysis to answer the endless question: who wrote the Bible?
Getting to this point began in 2010. The leader of this study Faigenbaum-Golovin began collaborating with Israel Finkelstein, head of the School of Archaeology and Maritime Cultures at the University of Haifa, using mathematical and statistical tools to determine the authorship of letters found on pottery fragments from 600 B.C. “We concluded that the findings in those inscriptions could offer valuable clues for dating texts from the Old Testament,” Faigenbaum-Golovin said.
This kick-started the building of the team behind the recent revelation. The group included archaeologists, biblical scholars, physicists, mathematicians and computer scientists.
They used a new AI-based statistical model to analyse language patterns in three major sections of the Bible. They studied the Bible’s first five books: Deuteronomy, the so-called Deuteronomistic History from Joshua to Kings, and the priestly writings in the Torah.
“We found that each group of authors has a different style – surprisingly, even regarding simple and common words such as ‘no,’ ‘which,’ or ‘king.’ Our method accurately identifies these differences,” said Thomas Römer, professor at the Collège de France.
While certain chapters clearly fell into one of these categories, the team was surprised to discover portions of the Ark Narrative in 1 Samuel that didn’t align with any of the three, pointing to another previously unrecognised element in the Bible.
Looking ahead, the researchers believe this method could be applied to other historical texts as well.
“If you’re looking at document fragments to find out if they were written by Abraham Lincoln, for example, this method can help determine if they are real or just a forgery,” added Faigenbaum-Golovin.