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Cracking the Bible Code

Cracking the Bible Code

List Price: $16.95
Your Price: $11.53
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Perhaps the most astonishing discovery of our time.
Review: So many religions: which one has a prayer of being right? Perhaps those which put their stock in the only text in the world, ancient or modern, which exhibits a statistically puzzling (one is tempted to say "impossible") feature known as ELS - the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, believed to have been revealed to Moses as a continuous string of letters _without_ intervening spaces. Although the author is careful to avoid offending devotees of other faiths, the conclusion, if ELS holds true, is inescapable.

This is a much-needed treatment of the curious phenomenon of the Torah Codes, including a fascinating history behind the uncovering of ELS involving cryptography and computing, and consideration of current attempts at debunking ELS (such as Brendan McKay) and their flaws. Ironically, the ELS effect emerges not only unscathed but even stronger from the corrections and adjustments suggested so far by critics and unconvinced scholars. The most powerful kind of testimony related in the book: converts of the once-hostile kind, such as Harold Gans and Daniel Michaelson (an ex-atheist - because of the codes).

What is going on here? How is it that an ancient text exhibits statistical weirdness only discoverable _today_ because of the advent of computers? Why would someone carve out the book of Ezekiel in 10x10 grids IN RAISED LETTERS? (I found that kind of creepy.) Satinover describes to us the intense activity in academic circles involving top scholars, and is guarded in his enthusiasm, allowing for a possible debunking of the codes. Nevertheless, from what has transpired this far, it seems that we had better start thinking about the implications - real soon.

(Links to sites relating to ELS can be found at my web site:

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Convincing
Review: The Bible Code captivate all the world. This book explains how likely authentic the code are. It like a detective story. If u want to know the scientific supports of the Bible Code, you must read it.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Don't argue with Satinover unless your IQ is > 155!
Review: The Bible Code phenomenon's bandwagon is attracting some unfortunate analysis. If you want to cut through a lot of chaff, this book does it. However, it is not without a price. Satinover's intellect is very impressive. The subjects covered will cost you some sleep!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Criticism of the book
Review: The book in question is interesting, but, unfortunately, some factual errors in it make one become cautious. For example, on page 237 it states that Max Planck developed his theory in 1912 when he was 19 years old. Not true. Max Karl Ernst Planck was born on April 23, 1858. He developed his theory in 1900, when he was 42. Then, as one of the proofs that the Bible codes are real, Dr. Satinover indicates that no such phenomenon had been found in any other book. Not true. ELS similar to those reported in the reviewed book have been found in many other texts as well, both in Hebrew and in English. For example, in a contemprary novel by Dahn Ben-Amotz titled Ziunim Ze Lo Hakol, published in 1979 in Hebrew in Israel by Metziut publishers I located a number of "encoded" ELS, one of them containing the following "encoded" words: Amir Will Kill Prime Minister Hero Rabin (page 33 in Ben-Amotz's book).

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: An Elegant, Powerful Book: Cracking The Bible Code
Review: There have been several recent books concerning the potentially life-altering phenomenon, The Bible Code. The most widely known text, by Michael Drosnin, seems to be a highly drawn upon source of information. This is unfortunate, as it is written with such narrow scope and understanding, it leaves one feeling as if he has just stepped out of a $60 million special effects picture, entertained but not enlightened, not inspired. Cracking The Bible Code by Jeffrey Satinover, on the other hand, is written with the care and skill deserving of such complex and subtle material. A wonderfully thought out book that certainly explains the codes and their mind boggling implications, but also goes a step deeper, using a devastating combination of history and hard science relating to the math behind the codes, as well as the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) and the Jews themselves. A very passionate mix. There is no doubt Satinover is sympathetic to the cause... However, unlike the aforementioned "pop" text by Drosnin, Cracking the Bible Code attempts (and succeeds) to do nothing more than this: Provide enough framework to warrant further exploration into the legitimacy of the Codes. This exploration would be intended not to "see into the future" as Drosnin strongly suggests, but rather to reveal an undeniable watermark: God's authorship. Religious or not, Jewish or not, this is powerful stuff.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A Most Thorough, Objective Analysis of The Code Phenomenon
Review: This book is simply excellent. As a Christian always seeking more biblical insight, I came away from this read with numerous and invaluable insights into (1) the history of Judaeism (which is pivotal for Jews and Christians alike); the intriguing field of quantum physics; the origins of the computer; and the role cryptology played in ending WWII. Beside the "bonus" history lesson it provides, the joy in reading "Cracking the Bible Code" comes from the author's care in avoiding subjective conclusions that could otherwise provide fodder for skeptics. Rather, Dr. Satinover merely reports the facts as he knows them, based on an impressive body of research. Of course, like any other communique, one can feel that the author does side with one point of view over the other, in the debate. So what. As I said, unlike numerous other writers on the subject, Dr. Satinover takes great pains NOT to "purport" much of anything. Again, this a just a tremendous book that I recommend to anyone and everyone. It is an exercise of the mind and the spirit. As an aside, that Michael Drosnin's book on the same subject became a New York Times Best Seller, despite its sensationalist, baseless, and shallow nature, pretty much sums up the character and intellect of our society today. I hate to reveal my cynisism, but I would not be surprised if Drosnan's book was deliberately publicized by the atheist elite who virtually control the direction of debate in our country today. To anyone who enjoys reading, please read "Cracking the Bible Code", by Jeffrey Satinover.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: THE BIBLE CODE: A Podium for Orthodox Jewish Propaganda
Review: This book was, without a doubt, the most disappointing read I have ever experienced. Never have I seen less focus on the topic from an author than I did from Dr. Satinover in THE BIBLE CODE. If the reader can get through the exceedingly boring account of Jewish history from the time of Moses to the holocaust, they will be severely disappointed with the lack of information regarding the intended subject matter, which is the hidden code in the first five books of the bible. The author covers topics from Pre-WWII quantum mechanics to the first computers, but never seems to know exactly what he's supposed to be writing about. This book is, more than anything else, a podium for a Jewish man to promote his faith and it's history while disguising it as a book on the codes contained in the first books of the bible. One of the main reasons I did not just toss the book half-way through was that I thought, somewhere down the line, that he would remember what he was supposed to be writing about. Never happened. The worst account of a very good writing topic that I have ever seen.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Interesting, if True.
Review: This is one of those books which seems very interesting, if it is true. In, "Cracking the Bible Code", the author claims that there are secret messages inplanted within the Bible, which modern science can decipher with our new computers. These messages are predictions of possible futures given to Moses, and others, by God.

The author, to his credit, takes along time to explain the statistics behind his arguments and describes interesting analogies which make his case stronger. For example, if you found a coin in the middle of the street, you would probably assume it fell out of someone's pocket. If you found five coins stacked, one on top of each other in the same location, you would probably assume someone did it deliberately.

The author gives you the odds of each events above, and then relates it to the messages he states are found in the code. The author also puts the Hebrew text in his book so, if you read Hebrew, you will be able to see what he is talking about. As such, it seems to be an honest and straight foward attempt to explain interesting patterns found within the Bible.

I loved it. I hoped that it is true. But, sometimes, we can be mislead by our hopes. It certainly is not the author's job but I wondered why God would hide those things, instead of saying them straight out. Also, because I don't speak Hebrew, I didn't understand the Hebrew text, so I ended up having to take alot of the book on faith, even with the statistics. I wanted to know if these "codes" were found in other parts of the bible, not just the five first books limited which were discussed here.

Finally, I was disappointed by the manipulation of some of the text. I can't explain it well here, but basically the "codebreakers" would change the length of the text to find messsages. That is, they would make the text 85 letters long in one example, and 120 letters long in another. The author explains why they did this, but it still seems to take away from the book. Perhaps, he ddin't do this section well?

Whatever the case, this book made me think. Probably the highest compliment and I give anything, or anybody. If you are interested in thinking too, you will enjoy this book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Interesting, if True.
Review: This is one of those books which seems very interesting, if it is true. In, "Cracking the Bible Code", the author claims that there are secret messages inplanted within the Bible, which modern science can decipher with our new computers. These messages are predictions of possible futures given to Moses, and others, by God.

The author, to his credit, takes along time to explain the statistics behind his arguments and describes interesting analogies which make his case stronger. For example, if you found a coin in the middle of the street, you would probably assume it fell out of someone's pocket. If you found five coins stacked, one on top of each other in the same location, you would probably assume someone did it deliberately.

The author gives you the odds of each events above, and then relates it to the messages he states are found in the code. The author also puts the Hebrew text in his book so, if you read Hebrew, you will be able to see what he is talking about. As such, it seems to be an honest and straight foward attempt to explain interesting patterns found within the Bible.

I loved it. I hoped that it is true. But, sometimes, we can be mislead by our hopes. It certainly is not the author's job but I wondered why God would hide those things, instead of saying them straight out. Also, because I don't speak Hebrew, I didn't understand the Hebrew text, so I ended up having to take alot of the book on faith, even with the statistics. I wanted to know if these "codes" were found in other parts of the bible, not just the five first books limited which were discussed here.

Finally, I was disappointed by the manipulation of some of the text. I can't explain it well here, but basically the "codebreakers" would change the length of the text to find messsages. That is, they would make the text 85 letters long in one example, and 120 letters long in another. The author explains why they did this, but it still seems to take away from the book. Perhaps, he ddin't do this section well?

Whatever the case, this book made me think. Probably the highest compliment and I give anything, or anybody. If you are interested in thinking too, you will enjoy this book.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Looking for Mr. Goodcode
Review: Very interesting. Very readable. Very human. To his credit, Satinover says that the validity of the codes is not what anchors his belief in divine inspiration of the Torah. I like the book and have been learning more and more about the codes. I gave the book a five because I averaged two things: a "10" for the way the book is written (and therefore reads)and a "0" for the validity of the codes. Mark twain said it best: "There are lies, damned lies and statistics." The incredible odds cited ("p-values")imply that there is only one conclusion: that the things found encrypted in the Torah could only have been encoded by G-d. There is another explanation. The statistics cited are not relevant. The researchers have not asked the right question. The analogy is: I parked next to a car today and noticed that licensce plate was XLT 557. What are the chances that I would park next to the car with that plate? Obviously, since my state (I'm guessing) has 8,000,000 private cars, the chance is 1 in 8-million. But I'm asking the wrong question. The correct question is what is the chance that today I will park next to a car with a license plate that is 1 of 8,000,000. The answer to that (the correct) question is 1 out of 1, ie, certainty. What initially seemed like an incredible situation is in fact pretty dull. There are many other complicated refutations of the codes that can be examined. What is still interesting, though, is how the Jews calculated the lunar month, and also (not covered in Satinover's book) the proscriptions regarding hygiene and sanitation in the Torah that were good "advice" to avoid infection, passing on disease, etc. In the end, I would not say don't read this, just keep in mind that the codes are by no means as "proven" as some would like to believe.


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