Cracking the Bible Code

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Summary: A detailed, and thorough book
Review: Dr. Satinover must be commended on assembling all the background and technical information on this topic that a lay reader could possibly want. In fact, some of the technical explanations of probability theory made for fairly boring reading. Having made this criticism, I would hasten to add that this should not deter anyone, with an honest interest in this topic, from reading this book. It is the best explanation of the Bible Code phenomenon I have so far come across, both in print and on-line. The historical account of jewish belief in a hidden code in the Torah adds a unique dimension to this book, and seems to add credibility to the "modern" discovery of the Bible Codes. Hopefully, after reading this book, you will conclude that the existence of the codes is not something to be immediately dismissed out of hand, but likewise is not a sensationalistic new crystal ball. There was one critical piece of information I found in this book. Dr. Satinover does not avoid the challenge of critics who have found "codes" hidden in for example Moby Dick. He very carefully examines these challenges, and draws a distinction between such random results, and the results obtained in the Torah. Probability theory shows the huge significant difference between the chances of such random codes occurring, and what appears to be the extremely high odds against the number and length of the Torah codes. I also appreciated that Dr. Satinover made it clear that the Torah codes cannot be used for fortune telling. If you are open minded about this topic, and looking for information to help you evaluate the Bible code phenomenon, this is the jackpot.

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Summary: Cracking the Bible Code is unexpectedly educational.
Review: Dr. Satinover's book Cracking the Bible Code offers unexpected educational bonuses. Satinover engagingly explains advanced concepts like fuzzy logic, fractals and probability theory in ways that even a plain vanilla gentile with a soft degree from a state university can understand. After managing this extraordinary achievement, he clearly shows how they all relate to the controversial ELS Bible codes phenomenon. Another bonus - there are fascinating insights into the work of the NSA. Satinover serves up more real meat on the most secret of the secret government agencies than I've been able to locate in many years of surfing the 'net. To some, applying advanced cryptological analysis to the sacred Torah can be an emotionally charged event, bordering on blasphemy. Satinover convincingly explains that those scholars who are pioneering in this work approach it with an intoxicating mix of intellectual rigor and religious awe. The reader is ultimately enlarged by Satinover's unsentimental description of their unflinching intellect and profound faith. Mid-book, Satinover occasionally strays to fits robe renting over how the rest of the world has wronged respected Torah scholars throughout the ages. It's all sadly accurate of course, but it seems that this lecturing is a moral surtax levied on non-Jews in exchange for continuing with this extremely engaging book. The breast beating felt like an editorial add-on, which interrupted the natural flow and purpose of the book. Don't let this put you off. There were also fascinating glimpses into the arcane world of today's top mathmaticians and statisticians.It's comforting to know they squabble and have egos and predjudices just like us mortals. Inspirational. honest and with enough hard headed rigor to demonstrate that that the ELS-Torah phenomenon deserves respect -- Cracking the Bible Code is a wonderful read, right down to the technical appendix. And when's the last time you heard THAT from a plain vanilla gentile with a soft degree from a state university? Bryan Murray [e-mail]

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Summary: Excellent reading - better than the Times cross-word puzzle!
Review: Excellent presentation of complicated material. With 'Cracking the Bible Code" and the wonderful and inspiring "The Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years" by Richard G. Patton, this has been a momentous year! Winter has been kind to us this year!

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Summary: You either go, "aha!", or "ahem,." Fantastic read either way
Review: Few critics of the so-called "Bible Codes" have actually taken the trouble to understand what they're criticizing: most attacks are generic, and are far more readily cobbled together by not reading this book, than by considering it as it deserves. Ok, maybe the codes are a crock, as the author admits--and illustrates why, in a fashion that makes you go, "ahem!"

Or maybe not, in which case, "aha!" In any case, "Cracking the Bible Code" is tremendous fun to read--intellectually challenging, extremely well-written, a gem. As a bonus, you get to absorb an amazing amount of little-known history--everything from Kabbalah to Cryptology. Fans of the X-Files: you'll love it!

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Summary: Cracking the Bible Code
Review: Finally, a book that takes you where the first flurry of "code" books should have. The author takes you back through the outstanding history of the codes. Going much farther through history than many just "jumping in" on this phenomenon ever thought possible. The book holds many suprises and shares much information that many should know. This book takes you on an amazing journey through time, and unlocks facts that have surrounded the codes for centuries. Tired of the hyped up books surrounding the codes? This is THE book to own, to reafirm your faith, and give you a clearer view of just how astounding these are. The author guides you through an incredible journey with an understandable ( It can get a bit complicated, but he is a reliable tourguide )and intelligent approach.

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Summary: Decoding the Bible Code
Review: Here's why the Bible code is a crock:

The authors of all these types of books try to make it look like an extraordinary phenomenon that a computer could scan a Hebrew book of the Bible and find sequences of letters in close proximity that spell out major historic events (and therefore presumeably major future events as well). Let's look at the real odds:

First, the decoders give the computer a list of key words for a specific historic event. They make the list as large as they can dream up, but the computer only has to find two or three words from the list for it to be considered a phenomenal find. Second, the computer starts it search by scanning the Hebrew text, skipping every other letter. If it doesn't find a few matches to the key words in close proximity, it scans every third letter, then every fourth, going as high as it needs to go, up to skipping more than a hundred letters. Third, if the computer still doesn't find matches to the key words, it starts all over, starting with the second letter in the Hebrew book and repeating all the same skips it tried from the first letter. Fourth, if the decoders still don't find what they're looking for, they simply move to another book of the Torah or they try a different event with a different list of words. Fifth, the Hebrew Torah is written in consonants only; so, B-R-D can mean BIRD or BOARD or BORED or BARED or BREAD or BRED or BREED or BARED or ABOARD or ABROAD, etc. All the vowels are wild cards; so every string of letters has a huge range of possibilities.

Given that each book of the Torah contains tens of thousands of consonants with an infinite number of wild cards to go between them and thousands of ways of trying to skip through this pile of letters, the truth is that it's inconceivable that the decoders couldn't find a hidden message for any event, no matter how small. The only thing that's truly amazing is that sometimes they DON'T find a match for their keywords!

Finally, consider this: if a single letter had ever been dropped near the beginning of any book of the Torah, the entire code would be scrambled for that book, since everything depends on the relative placement of letters. In spite of how precisely the books have been transcribed over the years, there are variances of a letter or two here or there.

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Summary: Worth reading, even if your a follower of Jesus the Christ.
Review: I have to say that I was intrigued with such a book as this. The author wrote in an easy-to-read manner and his sources are extensive. Here are my two cents about the Bible codes. As a follower of Jesus the Christ, I'm not surprised in the least that something like this is there for the finding. Will the world accept it? No. Why? Because they do not accept the plain text let alone the hidden text. I believe that this find is for the people of Israel. Time is short and I know that this is the "unsealing" spoken of by Daniel the prophet in Daniel 12:4. The universe is vast and full of wonders, why should His written words be anything less. It's all for the searcher only. Still, it all requires faith, which too many take as meaning without evidence. But the Bible says in Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Blind faith is not faith and if I needed proof that the Bible is the Word of God, then I'd need to learn all I could first about the history of the Bible, and then about the Hebrew language, and search all this out for myself. But the Bible has long since proven itself to me, in English. Proof is irrelevant, you must first have faith, just like the police do when they find a dead body that a crime might have been committed. There is evidence. The Bible in YOUR language has enough information to find out Who God is and what's going on. Hence, this book is just what anyone needs to start their journey to view the proof of God, but the end is...you must still have faith, just ask Him for it.

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Summary: Awesome!
Review: I picked up a number of these bible code books after reading "Conquest of Paradise", a fictional account of the end times and the prophecies from the Bible. This is far superior to any other that I've read. "Cracking the Bible Code" is concise and elegantly written. You won't find the hype associated with other books, just facts and rational reasoning. This is a must read for both Bible scholar and skeptic alike. It provides tremendous amounts of research, great discussion, relevant stories, and ample references. It's far better than the original "Bible Code" by Michael Drosnin. I suggest readers avoid that and pick up "Conquest of Paradise" and "Cracking the Bible Code" instead. Both books will have a profound effect on your worldview long after you've read them.

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Summary: Intriguing and Thought-Provoking
Review: I picked up this book as a Bible study, a simple scholasticexercise. But the stories of the rabbis and other Jews who lived,breathed and sometimes died over their Torah has gripped my heart. This book goes into such things as Rabbi Weismandel, whose deal to bribe Nazis for the lives of Jews went bad, and he ended up tearfully bidding his wife and children goodbye as he jumped the train on its way to Auschwitz and they went on to certain death. It was he who brought the code to modern-day light, where military cryptographers and mathematicians trying to break German war codes became interested and eventually applied it to the first computer for cracking. More than announcing, "Here is the amazing code," this book brings to life the amazing people behind the discovery.

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Summary: This could have been much more interesting
Review: I read the book in a Dutch version, it was brought under my attention by someone else. I think that there is a lot more interesting facts in there, but all that is talked about is some things that happen in Israel. What about the rest of the world? I dont think that these are the only things worth mentioning, where is the sequel?