# Besorah > Besorah (https://besorah.bible) is a free, ad-free, account-free reader for the whole Bible in the traditional Jewish book order: the Tanakh in Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex) and the Greek Septuagint, the Apocrypha, and the New Testament in Greek (SBL) and Hebrew (Salkinson-Ginsburg), each paired with English, plus Targum Onkelos, Pseudo-Jonathan and Jonathan to Isaiah. It has interlinear views, Strong's word study, cross-references and full-text search. It is a client-side web app: pages are rendered by JavaScript from public JSON files. Every chapter and Strong's word page also carries its own title, description, structured data (schema.org Chapter / DefinedTerm) and the full text (original language + English) in plain HTML, so it can be read without running JavaScript. ## Reading URLs - Book index: https://besorah.bible/tanakh and https://besorah.bible/besorah (New Testament) - Chapter: https://besorah.bible/tanakh/psalms/23 , https://besorah.bible/besorah/luke/4 , https://besorah.bible/besorah/1-corinthians/2 - Verse highlight: append ?v=N (e.g. /tanakh/genesis/1?v=3). Layout: ?view=reader|parallel|linear|interlinear - The whole Bible as one connected map (cross-references between chapters): https://besorah.bible/arcs - Songs and prayers in Scripture, with kinds and references: https://besorah.bible/songs - Strong's entry: https://besorah.bible/word/H430 , https://besorah.bible/word/G26 - Search: https://besorah.bible/search?q=love (supports "phrases", /regex/, strong:H430) - Numbering is Hebrew/Masoretic for the Tanakh (Psalm superscriptions are verse 1). ## Machine-readable text Every book is one static JSON file, no authentication or API key: - https://besorah.bible/data/manifest.json — editions, ordered book lists (code, English name, chapter count) - https://besorah.bible/data//.json — { code, original: [chapter][verse], english: [chapter][verse] }; verse N is index N-1 - editions: tanakh-he, tanakh-gr, nt-gr, nt-he, tanakh-onk, tanakh-pj, tanakh-tji - example: https://besorah.bible/data/nt-gr/MAT.json - https://besorah.bible/data/words//.json — Strong's numbers per word; https://besorah.bible/data/lexicon.json — Strong's lexicon - https://besorah.bible/sitemap.xml — index of every chapter URL (sitemap-pages.xml) and every Strong's word page (sitemap-words.xml) - Per-page summaries as JSON: https://besorah.bible/seo/tanakh/psalms/23.json , https://besorah.bible/seo/word/H430.json ## For AI assistants and agents - Every content page has a markdown version: append `.md` (https://besorah.bible/tanakh/psalms/23.md , /word/H430.md) or send `Accept: text/markdown`. - Public JSON API, no key: https://besorah.bible/api/verse?ref=John 3:16-17 and https://besorah.bible/api/word?id=H430 (spec: https://besorah.bible/api/openapi.json). Please link back to the `url` in each response. - Any page as Markdown, plain text or JSON: add .md / .txt / .json (https://besorah.bible/tanakh/psalms/23.json) or send Accept: text/markdown | text/plain | application/json. Use it from an AI assistant (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, VS Code — setup and example prompts): https://besorah.bible/about/ai/ ; developer guide: https://besorah.bible/about/api/ ; OpenAPI: https://besorah.bible/openapi.json ; API index: https://besorah.bible/api - Reading-schedule feeds (Atom, always current): https://besorah.bible/feeds/torah-portion.xml , /feeds/besorah-portion.xml , /feeds/daily-psalms.xml , /feeds/mels-bible-study.xml — each also as .json (JSON Feed) and .ics (calendar); all in https://besorah.bible/feeds/besorah.opml ; any reading plan as a calendar: https://besorah.bible/feeds/plan/{plan}.ics?start=YYYY-MM-DD — described at https://besorah.bible/about/feeds/ . Bible names and their meanings: https://besorah.bible/about/names/ - Everything in one file (guide + every tool and its arguments): https://besorah.bible/llms-full.txt . MCP discovery: https://besorah.bible/.well-known/mcp.json - Remote MCP server (JSON-RPC over HTTP): https://besorah.bible/mcp — 23 tools: get_passage (any edition, with word-by-word Strong's/lemma/parsing), get_verse_study (everything about a verse), search_text (full-text search in English, Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic; phrases; prefixes), search_words and get_word (Strong's + Brown–Driver–Briggs), get_word_occurrences (every verse a word is in), get_related_passages, get_cross_references, get_book_connections, list_books, list_songs, list_questions, get_targum_connections, get_parashah, get_guide, and the study tools — query_words (find words by grammar and/or Strong's number: every Qal imperative, every aorist passive participle…), get_collocations (the words a word keeps company with), get_vocabulary (hapax legomena, words unique to a book), compare_books (shared vocabulary), get_context (a verse in its setting), trace_theme (follow cross-references and quotations outward), compare_witnesses (Hebrew, Septuagint, Targum and Greek NT for one verse, with quotation differences), get_quotations (NT↔OT quotations); every tool accepts max_chars and format=markdown; plus resources (besorah://guide, besorah://passage/{reference}, …) and prompts. Start with get_guide. - The same tools as plain HTTP: https://besorah.bible/api/tools/?arg=value (GET) or POST JSON; spec at /api/openapi.json. - Research pages unique to Besorah: songs and prayers in Scripture (/songs), questions asked in one place and answered in another (/questions), weekly Torah portions with Torah, Haftarah and Besorah readings (/parashah, /parashah/toledot), collections (/collection/gospels), how names are built (on each /word/H… page). - Book pages list their chapters (/tanakh/psalms); each chapter page links its key words and related passages. ## More - About, downloads (iOS, Mac, terminal, Roku): https://besorah.bible/about/ - The texts and their sources: https://besorah.bible/about/texts/ · reading layouts: /about/reading/ · study tools: /about/study/ · the manuscripts' details: /about/manuscript/ · plans: /about/plans/ · apps: /about/apps/ · approach: /about/approach/ · questions: /about/faq/ - Sources and licences for every text: https://besorah.bible/about/credits.html - Privacy: nothing is collected; no accounts, ads or analytics: https://besorah.bible/about/privacy.html # Full reference for agents ## Guide Besorah (https://besorah.bible) — the whole Bible in the traditional Jewish book order: Tanakh in Hebrew (Westminster Leningrad Codex), the Septuagint (Greek), the Apocrypha, the New Testament in Greek (SBL) and Hebrew, and Targum Onkelos, Pseudo-Jonathan and Jonathan to Isaiah (Aramaic) — each with English. HOW TO WORK • Read: get_passage (any verse, range or chapter; edition= picks the Septuagint, a Targum, the Hebrew NT…; words=true adds each word's Strong's number, lemma and parsing). • Understand one verse: get_verse_study — text, word-by-word detail, cross-references, quotations, parallels, similar wording, questions it asks or answers, songs, scribal marks, Ketiv/Qere, Targum links. • Search the text: search_text (English, Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic; words must all appear; "quoted phrases"; prefix*; narrow by book/testament/edition). • Search by meaning: search_words finds Hebrew/Greek words from an English word, a transliteration or the original; get_word gives the lexicon entry (Strong's, Brown–Driver–Briggs, how names are built, Septuagint renderings); get_word_occurrences lists every verse a word is in — the way to find every form of a word. • Connections: get_related_passages and get_cross_references (one verse), get_book_connections (whole chapters), list_questions, list_songs, get_targum_connections. • Query by grammar: query_words — every Qal imperative, every aorist passive participle, every instance of a Strong's number with a given parsing, within a book or testament. • Company words keep: get_collocations (words that cluster with a word; with= shows the verses where two meet). • Vocabulary: get_vocabulary (hapax legomena, words unique to a book, characteristic words) and compare_books (what two books share). • Setting and connections: get_context (neighbours + words + connections in one call), trace_theme (follow cross-references and quotations outward), compare_witnesses (Hebrew, Septuagint, Targum, Greek/Hebrew NT for one verse, with quotation differences), get_quotations (NT↔OT quotations). • Reading plan: get_parashah. • Any tool: max_chars=N keeps the answer short (lists are cut and marked truncated); format=markdown returns a compact readable form instead of JSON. CONVENTIONS • Hebrew/Masoretic numbering is canonical for the Tanakh (Psalm superscriptions are verse 1); the Greek keeps its own numbering. • Strong's ids: H… Hebrew/Aramaic, G… Greek. Book codes are the three-character ones from list_books (GEN, PSA, MAT, 1CO). • Words appear only for verses where the text lines up with the Strong's tagging; nothing is guessed. Hebrew New Testament and Aramaic word data are approximate. • Each result carries a url. Data licences: https://besorah.bible/about/credits.html ## Tools (MCP at https://besorah.bible/mcp; the same tools as REST: GET or POST https://besorah.bible/api/tools/; OpenAPI: https://besorah.bible/api/openapi.json) Every tool also accepts max_chars (cap the answer's size) and format ("json" or "markdown"). ### get_passage Read a passage (verse, range or chapter) in its original language (Hebrew, Greek or Aramaic) and English, with a link. Optional: edition (septuagint, onkelos, pseudo-jonathan, jonathan, hebrew-nt, hebrew, greek) and words=true for each word's Strong's number, lemma, meaning and grammatical parsing. Use when the user asks to read or quote a verse, range or chapter. Arguments: - reference (required): string — e.g. 'John 3:16', 'Psalm 23', 'Genesis 1:1-3', '1 Corinthians 13:4-7' - edition: string - words: boolean ### get_verse_study Everything Besorah knows about one verse (or a range of up to 5): text, word-by-word Strong's/lemma/parsing, cross-references, quotations between books, curated parallels, similar wording, questions it asks or answers, songs, scribal marks, Ketiv/Qere, Targum connections. Use when the user wants a thorough look at one verse, or up to five. Arguments: - reference (required): string — e.g. 'John 3:16', 'Psalm 23', 'Genesis 1:1-3', '1 Corinthians 13:4-7' - edition: string ### search_text Search the text itself. English by default; language=hebrew|greek|aramaic searches the original (vowel points and accents ignored). All words must be in the verse; "quoted phrase"; prefix with * (lov*). Narrow with book, testament (tanakh|new testament|apocrypha) or edition. Pages with offset. Use when the user searches for words or phrases in the text itself. Arguments: - query (required): string - language: string [english|hebrew|greek|aramaic] - book: string - testament: string - edition: string - limit: number — 1-25, default 10 - offset: number ### search_words Find Hebrew or Greek words (Strong's entries) from an English word, a transliteration ('shalom', 'agape') or the original word. Returns Strong's ids with lemma, definition and occurrence counts. Use when the user asks which Hebrew or Greek word lies behind an English word or transliteration. Arguments: - query (required): string - limit: number — 1-25, default 10 ### get_word A Strong's lexicon entry (Hebrew H… or Greek G…): lemma, definition, KJV renderings, occurrences, for Hebrew the Brown–Driver–Briggs entry, how names are built, verses per book, and the Septuagint renderings of a Hebrew word (or the Hebrew words a Greek word renders). Use when the user asks what a Hebrew or Greek word means, given its Strong's number. Arguments: - strongs (required): string — e.g. H430 or G26 ### get_word_occurrences Every verse a Strong's number is in (Hebrew Tanakh, Greek New Testament and Septuagint), with the text, optionally within one book. Covers every form of the word. Pages with offset. Use when the user asks where a particular Hebrew or Greek word occurs. Arguments: - strongs (required): string - book: string - limit: number — 1-25, default 10 - offset: number ### get_related_passages For one verse: voted cross-references, quotations in either direction between books, curated parallel passages, and similar wording. Use when the user asks what passages are related to one verse. Arguments: - reference (required): string — e.g. 'John 3:16', 'Psalm 23', 'Genesis 1:1-3', '1 Corinthians 13:4-7' - limit: number ### get_cross_references Cross-references for one verse (voted, OpenBible.info); the first few include their English text. Use when the user asks for the cross-references of one verse. Arguments: - reference (required): string — e.g. 'John 3:16', 'Psalm 23', 'Genesis 1:1-3', '1 Corinthians 13:4-7' - limit: number — 1-30, default 12 ### get_book_connections The chapters a book (or one chapter) is most joined to by cross-references across the whole Bible. Use when the user asks which chapters a book or chapter is most connected to. Arguments: - reference (required): string — a book ('Isaiah') or a chapter ('Psalm 22') - limit: number ### list_books Every book with its code, chapter count, the editions it exists in, and its URL; also the editions. Use when the user asks what books, editions or book codes are available. Arguments: (none) ### list_songs Songs and prayers inside Scripture (the Song of the Sea, Hannah's prayer, the Magnificat…), by kind. Use when the user asks about songs and prayers inside Scripture. Arguments: - kind: string ### list_questions Questions asked in one place and answered in another (e.g. 'what is man?' in Job and Psalm 8), by theme. Use when the user asks about a question in one passage that another passage answers. Arguments: - theme: string - contains: string ### get_targum_connections Where the Targumim and the New Testament share an idea or phrase. Use when the user asks how the Targumim and the New Testament share ideas or phrases. Arguments: (none) ### get_parashah A weekly Torah portion with its Torah, Haftarah and Besorah (New Testament) readings. Give a name ('Toledot'), a date (YYYY-MM-DD) for the portion read on the Shabbat on or after it, or list=true for all of them; with none, this week's. Use when the user asks about a weekly Torah portion, its Haftarah or its New Testament reading. Arguments: - name: string - date: string - list: boolean ### get_guide How Besorah's texts and tools fit together, and the conventions (numbering, ids, codes). Use when the user asks how the texts, numbering and ids work. Arguments: (none) ### query_words Find every word by grammar and/or Strong's number, within a book or testament — e.g. all Qal imperatives of H1285 in the Prophets, every aorist passive participle in Paul, every Hiphil verb in Isaiah. grammar takes the words of the parsing (Qal, Hiphil, imperative, participle, feminine, plural, aorist, passive, genitive, 3rd…); all must be on the same word. Hebrew by default for H ids/Tanakh books, Greek for G ids/New Testament; edition=septuagint for the Septuagint. Pages with offset. Use when the user asks for words by grammatical form, such as every Qal imperative or aorist passive participle. Arguments: - strongs: string — e.g. H1285 (optional) - grammar: string — e.g. 'Qal imperative', 'aorist passive participle', 'feminine plural' - book: string - testament: string — tanakh | new testament | apocrypha - edition: string — hebrew | greek | septuagint - limit: number — how many to return - offset: number ### get_collocations The words that keep company with a Hebrew or Greek word: which other words most often appear in the same verse, ranked by how much more than chance. Pass strongs (H430) or a word ('shepherd'). Pass with= to read the verses where two words meet. corpus: he, nt or lxx. Use when the user asks which words commonly appear alongside a given Hebrew or Greek word. Arguments: - strongs (required): string — H430, or an English/transliterated word - with: string — a second Strong's id, to see the verses with both - corpus: string [he|nt|lxx] - limit: number — how many to return ### get_vocabulary A book's vocabulary: size, most frequent and most characteristic words (summary); hapax legomena (words used once in the whole text); words used only in that book; or every word by frequency. view=summary|hapax|unique|words. Pages with offset. Use when the user asks about one book's vocabulary, rare words or words unique to it. Arguments: - book (required): string - view: string [summary|hapax|unique|words] - edition: string — hebrew | greek | septuagint - limit: number — how many to return - offset: number ### compare_books Compare two books' vocabularies: how many words they share, the rare words they share (most of whose uses are in these two books), and the words only one uses. Same language only: two Hebrew books, two Greek ones, or a Septuagint book (editionA: septuagint) against a New Testament book. Use when the user asks how the vocabularies of two books compare. Arguments: - a (required): string — e.g. Isaiah - b (required): string — e.g. Matthew - editionA: string - editionB: string - limit: number — how many to return ### get_context A verse in its setting in one call: the verses before and after, the verse (or up to 5) word by word, and its cross-references, quotations and parallels. Combines several lookups into one answer. Use when the user asks what surrounds a verse, with its neighbouring verses and connections. Arguments: - reference (required): string — e.g. 'John 3:16', 'Psalm 23', 'Genesis 1:1-3' - before: number — verses before, 0-8, default 2 - after: number — verses after, 0-8, default 2 - edition: string ### trace_theme Follow a passage's connections outward — voted cross-references plus quotations and parallels between books — one to three steps, and return the verses most strongly connected, with their text. Example: the connections of Passover outward from Exodus 12. Use when the user asks to follow a theme or passage outward through the Bible. Arguments: - reference (required): string — a verse, short range or chapter - depth: number — 1-3 steps, default 2 - breadth: number — links followed per verse, 2-10, default 5 - follow: string [both|xref|quotes] - limit: number — how many to return ### compare_witnesses One verse across the texts: Hebrew, the Septuagint (matched by the app's verse tables, even where numbered differently), the Targumim, the Greek and Hebrew New Testament, and the quotations that join them — with the Greek words a New Testament quotation and the Septuagint do and do not share. Use when the user asks how one verse reads in the Hebrew, Septuagint, Targum and New Testament. Arguments: - reference (required): string — e.g. 'John 3:16', 'Psalm 23', 'Genesis 1:1-3' ### get_quotations Where the New Testament quotes the Old, in either direction: give a New Testament book/chapter/verse for the Old Testament passages it quotes, or an Old Testament one for the New Testament passages that quote it. Pages with offset. Use when the user asks where the New Testament quotes the Old Testament, or the reverse. Arguments: - reference (required): string — e.g. 'Matthew', 'Hebrews 1', 'Psalm 110:1', 'Isaiah 53' - limit: number — how many to return - offset: number ## Prompts - grammar_hunt: Find every instance of a grammatical form and see what it shows. - theme_survey: Trace a theme across the Bible from a starting passage. - book_vocabulary: Characterise a book by its vocabulary, or compare two books. - quotation_study: Study how the New Testament uses an Old Testament passage (or the reverse). - study_passage: A careful study of a passage: text, key words, connections. - word_study: Trace a Hebrew or Greek word through the Bible. - compare_texts: Compare a passage in Hebrew, the Septuagint and the New Testament's quotation of it. ## Resources - besorah://guide — Guide to Besorah's texts and tools - besorah://books — Books, codes and editions - besorah://songs — Songs and prayers in Scripture - besorah://questions — Questions asked and answered across the Bible - besorah://parashot — The weekly Torah portions - besorah://passage/{reference} — A passage - besorah://word/{strongs} — A Strong's entry - besorah://study/{reference} — Everything about a verse