Biblical Linguistics MCP

A production-quality Biblical Linguistic Research Agent exposed as a standalone MCP (Model Context Protocol) server in Python. Provides Hebrew & Greek word study, full morphological parsing, cross-references, LXX alignment, and more — all from free, open-licensed data sources.

Usable by any MCP-compatible client: Claude Desktop, Claude Code, OpenClaw, custom agents, etc.

Quick Start

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/your-org/biblical-linguistics-mcp.git
cd biblical-linguistics-mcp

# Create virtual environment
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # or .venv\Scripts\activate on Windows

# Install dependencies
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Bootstrap the database (downloads open datasets + builds SQLite DB)
python scripts/bootstrap.py

# Run the MCP server (stdio mode for Claude Desktop / Claude Code)
python -m biblical_linguistics_mcp --transport stdio

# Or run in SSE mode for network access
python -m biblical_linguistics_mcp --transport sse --port 8080

Configuration

Option	CLI Flag	Env Var	Default
Transport mode	--transport stdio|sse	—	stdio
SSE port	--port 8080	—	8080
SSE host	--host 0.0.0.0	—	0.0.0.0
Database path	--db /path/to/db	BIBLICAL_LINGUISTICS_DB	data/biblical_linguistics.db
Log level	--log-level DEBUG	—	INFO

MCP Integration Examples

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "biblical-linguistics": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "biblical_linguistics_mcp", "--transport", "stdio"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/biblical-linguistics-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

# Add as MCP server
claude mcp add biblical-linguistics -- python -m biblical_linguistics_mcp --transport stdio

Custom MCP Client (SSE)

from mcp import ClientSession
from mcp.client.sse import sse_client

async with sse_client("http://localhost:8080/sse") as (read, write):
    async with ClientSession(read, write) as session:
        await session.initialize()
        result = await session.call_tool("parse_verse", {"reference": "John 1:1"})
        print(result)

Tool Reference

Tool	Description	Key Parameters
parse_verse	All words with full morphology for a verse	reference (str)
lookup_word	Full lexical entry by Strong's number	strongs (str), include_occurrences (bool)
reverse_lookup	English word → Hebrew/Greek lexemes	english_word (str), testament (OT/NT)
search_by_root	Find verses sharing a lexeme/root	strongs (str), book (str), testament (str)
cross_reference_tsk	TSK cross-references for a verse	reference (str)
cross_reference_thematic	Topical/thematic related passages	reference (str) or topic (str)
lxx_alignment	LXX Greek ↔ Hebrew alignment	reference (str), direction (str)
word_frequency	Frequency and distribution stats	strongs (str)
compare_translations	Verse across KJV, ASV, WEB	reference (str), versions (list)

Example: parse_verse

// Request
{"reference": "John 1:1"}

// Response (abbreviated)
{
  "reference": "John 1:1",
  "testament": "NT",
  "text_kjv": "In the beginning was the Word...",
  "words": [
    {
      "position": 1,
      "text": "Ἐν",
      "morphology": {"part_of_speech": "preposition"}
    },
    {
      "position": 2,
      "text": "ἀρχῇ",
      "strongs": "G746",
      "gloss": "beginning, ruler",
      "morphology": {
        "part_of_speech": "noun",
        "case_form": "dative",
        "number": "singular",
        "gender": "feminine"
      }
    }
  ]
}

Resource Reference

URI Pattern	Description
bible://books	All Bible books with metadata
bible://lexicon/hebrew/{strongs}	Hebrew lexical entry
bible://lexicon/greek/{strongs}	Greek lexical entry
bible://verse/{reference}	Verse text in available translations
bible://morphology-codes	Hebrew & Greek morphology code reference

Prompt Reference

Prompt	Description	Arguments
word_study	Comprehensive word study report	strongs (required), depth (brief/full)
passage_exegesis	Exegetical analysis of a passage	reference (required)
trace_theme	Trace theme across both testaments	topic (required)
lxx_quotation_analysis	Analyze NT quotation of OT via LXX	nt_reference, ot_reference

Data Sources & Licensing

All data is free and open-licensed:

Dataset	License	Use
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (OSHB)	CC BY 4.0	Hebrew text + morphology
Dodson Greek Lexicon	CC BY-SA 3.0	Greek lexical data
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon	CC BY 4.0	Hebrew lexical data
Strong's Concordance	Public Domain	Numbering system, definitions
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge	Public Domain	Cross-references
King James Version	Public Domain	English Bible text
American Standard Version	Public Domain	English Bible text
World English Bible	Public Domain	English Bible text
scrollmapper/bible_databases	Public Domain	Structured Bible data

Development

# Install dev dependencies
pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests
pytest

# Run with coverage
pytest --cov=biblical_linguistics_mcp --cov-report=term-missing

# Re-download data sources
python scripts/download_sources.py --force

# Re-bootstrap database
python scripts/bootstrap.py

Project Structure

src/biblical_linguistics_mcp/
├── __main__.py          # CLI entry point
├── server.py            # MCP server (tools, resources, prompts)
├── db/                  # SQLite schema, connection, queries
├── morphology/          # Hebrew & Greek morphology parsers
├── lexicon/             # Hebrew & Greek lexicon access
├── crossref/            # TSK, thematic, root search, LXX
├── references/          # Bible reference parser
└── tools/               # MCP tool implementations

Requirements

• Python 3.11+
• No paid APIs or API keys required
• ~100 MB disk space for the full database

License

MIT