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Bible Modules

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Initially this project started out focusing on just the Aramaic Peshitta modules. This is where the biggest gap was at the time. However while developing Haqor it became apparent that the existing Hebrew modules are also somewhat defficient in some ways. So this project has now expanded to include all original language bible modules. As well as generating a bespoke perpose built module and module format for haqor.

The idea is to provide everything from the source texts to the pre generated bible modules themselves including the code to generate them. This means anyone can review the generation process and make improvements as required.

None of this would be possible without the source documents generously provided free to use for all. These scripts are therefore also provided under the Apache 2.0 licence, as I've done very little work on top of the many years of time and effort various people have spent compiling the original information. If you need a different license for some reason then please open an issue and let me know.

"freely ye have received, freely give." (Mat 10:8)

Table of Contents

Pre-generated modules

The bible modules are available pre generated in the modules dir of this repo. At some point I'll try and get them released as part of a github release artefact and perhaps even pushed to the various bible module registries automatically as part of CI.

Until then just grab the files from modules dir. Github will provide a preview of the Markdown versions see Hebrew and Syriac.

Installing

Clone the repository

First clone the repository from github.

git clone git@github.com:machshev/bible-modules.git
cd bible-modules

Environment setup - the easy way

If you have nix and use direnv then all you need to do is direnv allow . and everything will be set up for you automatically. You can skip the rest of this section.

If you don't have these setup or haven't heard of this and would like to experience the magic:

(If you like these then maybe take a look at NixOS)

Environment setup

First install uv.

curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

Create a virtual environment. This is highly recommended as it keeps python dependencies separate from your system Python. Otherwise you may end up updating system python packages to incompatible versions and break other programs, or doing an OS level package update (i.e. apt or dnf) will break this package by changing dependency versions. By using a python virtual environment all dependencies are kept separate.

uv venv

Install the required dependencies and this bm-tools package with a sync.

uv sync

The main part of the install is now complete. The above steps should not be needed again.

Now you have a virtual environment you can activate it by sourcing the activation script. This will have to be done every time you open a new shell as it is essentially just setting environment variables to redirect python to the virtual environment instead of the system python install.

. .venv/bin/activate

Finally done! You should find the bm executable available in your terminal.

Usage

To generate all the bible modules in one go.

bm gen all

For specific formats you can just generate the modules in the formats you want. As an example this generates the HTML modules.

bm gen all -s html

For both HTML and Markdown

bm gen all -s html -s md

If you want more control over the generation process then take a look at bm gen bible --help.

This project is still early stages and the number of formats is likely to increase overtime. For the currently supported module formats see the pre generated modules.

Why produce Aramaic bible modules

This is the reason that I personally want free access to good quality Peshitta texts linked to a good quality Aramaic lexicon. It will allow me to study the NT in Aramaic in the same way I can the OT Hebrew and NT Greek texts.

It's clear that Jesus spoke Aramaic, and that the whole eastern region at the time used one form of Aramaic or another. Josephus describes Greek and a foreign and an unknown tongue, showing that Greek was not widely known or understood by the Jews in the land of Israel at the time of Jesus. Hellenistic forces were actively and passionately fought against.

Examples of Aramaic used at the time are Talmudic Aramaic, and Galilean Aramaic. There are verses in the NT Greek texts that preserve Aramaic speech, for example "Talitha cum" (Mark 5:41) and "Eli Eli Lema Sabachthani" (Matt 27:46) amongst others. Suggesting that Jesus taught using Aramaic.

We also know that while Jesus' disciples were centred in the Galilee throughout his ministry, and then in Jerusalem immediately after his death and resurrection. The Syrian capital Antioch was the first place the disciples were called Christians.

Acts 11:26 And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled themselves with the church, and taught much people. And the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.

Antioch was a Greek city founded by Seleucus one of the four generals of Alexander the Great. It contained a large Jewish population and one of the centres of Hellenistic Judaism in the region. As such it was the perfect location for both the Greek and Aramaic texts of the NT to originate... Greek for the West and Aramaic for the East.

This is not the place to try and persuade people that Aramaic or Greek texts are the "original". I suspect the truth is a little more complicated, and both were divinely arranged to come about (inspired). Both to make the gospel available in the main language of the East and the West.

From my experience so far, when it comes to English translations of both texts there is little difference and certainly no major doctrinal differences. However translation is never perfect, it's simply not possible to translate the richness of some languages into others... capturing all the cultural subtleties and plays on words. For those who can, I'd recommend learning to read the original languages.

So what's the value of the Peshitta? It may not be the same dialect as the original Aramaic spoken by Jesus and his disciples, however it's still Aramaic and more capable of capturing the subtleties of the Hebrew/Aramaic thought we know Jesus taught in. There are several examples of two variant readings in the Greek texts being perfectly valid translations of the one Aramaic word found in the Peshitta.

There are also a number of occasions where I've found allusions back to Hebrew OT passages via Aramaic words which share the same root as Hebrew words. Too many to be coincidence in my opinion. This is one of the unique features of the bible, especially the Hebrew; the sheer number of internal references and word link allusions is in my opinion beyond Human capability. The Peshitta seems to follow that pattern within itself and also beyond itself into the Hebrew as one united whole. The Greek NT reflects this within itself, as it would be expected to do being either directly inspired or divinely arranged translation of an inspired Aramaic text (I'm not absolutely certain which one). However it doesn't have the same capacity for the same kind of links between OT and NT, as Greek and Hebrew are very different languages and very different ways of thinking.

Individuals will ultimately have to make their own mind up. The aim of this project is to make these texts more available than they currently are.

Source documents

Peshitta and SEDRA

The Peshitta NT text provided is the BFBS version that comes with the SEDRA 3 project distribution, a crowd sourced Syriac Lexicon project. These files are made freely available from Beth Mardutho. Further details of the SEDRA project can be found on this website, as well as the following publication.

G. Kiraz, `Automatic Concordance Generation of Syriac Texts'. In VI Symposium Syriacum 1992, ed. R. Lavenant, Orientalia Christiana Analecta 247, Rome, 1994.

SEDRA 3 was the last release in downloadable file format. SEDRA 4 is available as a living online DB that is accessible under Apache 2.0 licence (hence the reason this project is also using that licence) via a JSON API OpenAPI.

UXLC

The UXLC is an XML version of the WLC and provided under a bespoke license. Please take a look at their site tanach.us.

All biblical Hebrew text, in any format, may be viewed or copied without restriction.

Citation of the Tanach.us site as the source of the text is appreciated:


Unicode/XML Leningrad Codex: UXLC 2.3 (27.4),

Tanach.us Inc., West Redding, CT, USA, April 2025.

Documents with restrictions

Available Bible Modules

This project aims to provide both OT, NT modules and also a lexicon module. For the texts, it is intended that at least two versions be produced. The first using Unicode Hebrew consonants and pointing for those who are already familiar with Hebrew but not yet the Aramaic script, as a means of making the text more accessible to bible students. The second using Unicode Aramaic consonants and vowel pointing for those familiar with the Aramaic script.

The lexicon module should be shared by any bible modules provided and use the SEDRA numbers as references (of the form SXXXX paralleling the HXXXX and GXXXX Hebrew and Greek strongs numbers normally used as references). This may also require updates to bible software projects so they can use SEDRA numbers as they currently do Strongs numbers.