existing-projects
Purpose
Document existing projects that have already structured the Bible as knowledge graphs, so you can leverage existing work rather than building from scratch.
Key Finding
Yes, the Bible has been extensively graph-tagged. Multiple open-source projects provide:
- People and their relationships
- Places with geographic data
- Events with timelines
- Cross-references between passages
- Genealogies and family trees
Major Projects
1. Theographic Bible Metadata
Best for: Complete knowledge graph ready to import
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | github.com/robertrouse/theographic-bible-metadata |
| Format | JSON/CSV |
| License | Open source |
| Coverage | People, places, periods, passages |
What’s included:
- All named individuals with relationships
- Geographic locations with coordinates
- Time periods and events
- Passage-to-entity mappings
Use case: Direct import into Neo4j, FalkorDB, or any graph database.
2. Bible Knowledge Graph API
Best for: Query existing graph via API
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | bibleknowledgegraph.org |
| Format | REST API |
| Access | Free API |
Features:
- Search API: Look up entities based on constraints
- Entities API: View all information on each entity
- Pre-built, query-ready graph
Use case: When you just want to query, not host your own graph.
3. Viz.Bible Database
Best for: Timeline and event data
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | viz.bible/bible-data |
| Format | Structured tables |
| Focus | Visualization-ready data |
What’s included:
- People & Groups: Biographical details, alternate names, birth/death (when known), family relationships, verse references, group memberships (tribes, disciples, genealogies)
- Events: Dates, duration, predecessors, participants, locations, verses
- Periods: Higher-level groupings of events
Use case: Building timelines or visualizations.
4. Brady Stephenson’s Bible Data
Best for: Person-to-person relationships
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | github.com/BradyStephenson/bible-data |
| Format | CSV |
| License | Open source |
Tables:
BibleData-PersonLabel: Names, Hebrew/Greek, Strong’s numbers, meaningsBibleData-PersonRelationship: Relationships between individualsBibleData-PersonVerse: Every person mentioned in every verse
Use case: Memgraph’s blog post shows importing this into a graph database.
5. Scrollmapper Bible Databases
Best for: Cross-references and text
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | github.com/scrollmapper/bible_databases |
| Format | SQL databases |
| Branch | 2025 (latest schema) |
What’s included:
- Full Bible text in multiple translations
- Large cross-reference dataset from openbible.info
- Verse-to-verse relationships
Use case: When you need text + cross-references together.
6. Holy Bible Structured Datasets
Best for: Comprehensive CSV datasets
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | opendatabay.com (Bible datasets) |
| Format | CSV |
What’s included:
- Relationships: Father, son, mother, daughter, wife, husband, killer, concubine
- Events: Year, key individuals, locations, references
- Places: All locations mentioned with details
- Individuals: Chapter/verse references
Use case: Quick import into pandas, DuckDB, or spreadsheets.
7. Bible Ontology (Linked Data)
Best for: Semantic web / RDF applications
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | Mannheim Linked Data Catalog |
| Format | RDF/OWL |
What’s included:
- Formal ontology with classes and properties
- Semantic relationships between concepts
- Interlinked with other linked data sources
Use case: SPARQL queries, semantic reasoning, linked data applications.
Graph Database Options
For hosting your own Bible knowledge graph:
| Database | License | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Neo4j Community | GPL | General purpose, Cypher queries |
| FalkorDB | Apache 2.0 | Redis-compatible, fast |
| Memgraph | BSL | Real-time, streaming |
| DuckDB + DuckPGQ | MIT | Embedded, SQL-like |
| JanusGraph | Apache 2.0 | Massive scale, distributed |
| Dgraph | Apache 2.0 | GraphQL native |
Recommendation
Don’t rebuild from scratch. Use existing datasets:
- For quick start: Use Bible Knowledge Graph API - query directly
- For self-hosted: Import Theographic into FalkorDB/Neo4j
- For relationships only: Use Brady Stephenson’s data
- For timelines: Use Viz.Bible
What’s NOT Pre-Built
These would require your own extraction:
- Theological concepts (grace, salvation, covenant) - not entity-tagged
- Sermon illustrations - requires interpretation
- Thematic connections - cross-topic relationships
- Modern language summaries - requires LLM processing
This is where Lattice-style extraction could add value on top of existing structured data.
Sources
- Bible Knowledge Graph
- Theographic Bible Metadata - GitHub
- Scrollmapper Bible Databases - GitHub
- Viz.Bible Data
- Brady Stephenson Bible Data - GitHub
- Holy Bible Structured Datasets - Open Data Bay
- Bible Ontology - Linked Data Catalog
- Exploring Bible Relationships - Memgraph
- Neosemantics (n10s) - Neo4j RDF Toolkit