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Cracking the Bible Code
The discovery that precise, descriptions of earth-shaking events seem to be encoded into the first five books of the Bible has captured the world's attention. No one in ancient times could have had such knowledge, but if no individual put the codes there, who did? If the codes are proven to be genuine, they would be tantamount to scientific proof of the existence of God. Cracking the Bible Code is the first accurate account of the codes-a story far more stunning than has yet been told. Dr. Satinover traces the fascinating tradition of the codes, counters sensational and inaccurate representations, explains the controversy over their authenticity, and clarifies their implications for our view of God, faith, and fate. Sweeping from ancient history to cutting-edge science, this is must reading for anyone who seeks to make sense of the codes and their meaning for humankind.
368 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 18, 2016
Target audience: Common people, anyone interested to evade in the mysticism surrounding the Torah; I don’t think any serious scholar can be interested in the content of this book. The book advances the existence of a code in the first five books of the Bible (the Torah).
About the author: According to Wikipedia, Jeffrey Burke Satinover is an American Orthodox Jew, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and physicist. He is known for books on a number of controversial topics in physics and neuroscience, and on religion, but especially for his writing and public-policy efforts relating to homosexuality, same-sex marriage and the ex-gay movement.
Structure of the book: Around 308 pages, divided in 14 chapters, an epilogue and 3 appendixes.
Overview: Simply said, this book, like all the other books about bible codes, are a waste of time. Despite the fact that the author says that his work was done in a scientific manner and he discovered something equal to the Holy Grail, the concept of a Bible code in itself is simply insulting common sense. Are authors that desperate for money nowadays? All of these books on so-called Bible codes that all just happen to "predict" events after they happen, or just "happen" to find words that support the fallacies of the bumper crop of megaselling would-be Bible interpreters, are laughable. This book in particular jumps around not only from year to year, but from century to century and millenium to millenium. An obscure sage will be mentioned for a few paragraphs, then forgotten, only to reappear chapters later presented with a level of familiarity that would lead you to believe he's the main character in the book. It appears to me that the author felt like it was imperative that he include every scintilla of information he had unearthed in his research, no matter how trivial to the big scheme of the story each tidbit may have been. Moreover, the book has even some factual errors: on page 237 it states that Max Planck developed his theory in 1912 when he was 19 years old. Wrong. Max Karl Ernst Planck was born on April 23, 1858. He developed his theory in 1900, when he was 42. Then, as a Jew, the author praises the mystical nature of the Torah and suggests that this is a proof it was inspired by God. By doing this he dismisses the New Testament and the foundation of Christianity. For example, II Peter 1:20 says in part, "no prophesy of scripture is of any private interpretation," Psalm 119:130 says, "The unfolding of Thy words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple," "I have more insight than all my teachers, for Thy testimonies are my meditation" (Psalm 119:99), "The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7). I can only say that humans persist in looking for some special message "just for me" and tossing out anything they find inconvenient. I am sorry but anyone who runs around proclaiming "My god is bigger than your god and I have the right to kill anyone who disagrees" is getting it wrong.
Strong points: The subject is fascinating and stimulates imagination. Despite the subject treated, I think anyone can read it.
Weaknesses: The subject is also too commercial and cheesy. To me, the books about Bible codes are desperate attempts to take our money. After all, if God loves us all, why bother inserting codes and other craps in the holy texts? To be found only by a few? Honestly, at the end of the book you feel like a big waste of time. Nothing certain, only cheap speculations after cheap speculations. No essence, only junk.
_______________
★★★ Follow us on Goodreads
★★★ Visit our website www.reasonandreligion.org
About the author: According to Wikipedia, Jeffrey Burke Satinover is an American Orthodox Jew, psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and physicist. He is known for books on a number of controversial topics in physics and neuroscience, and on religion, but especially for his writing and public-policy efforts relating to homosexuality, same-sex marriage and the ex-gay movement.
Structure of the book: Around 308 pages, divided in 14 chapters, an epilogue and 3 appendixes.
Overview: Simply said, this book, like all the other books about bible codes, are a waste of time. Despite the fact that the author says that his work was done in a scientific manner and he discovered something equal to the Holy Grail, the concept of a Bible code in itself is simply insulting common sense. Are authors that desperate for money nowadays? All of these books on so-called Bible codes that all just happen to "predict" events after they happen, or just "happen" to find words that support the fallacies of the bumper crop of megaselling would-be Bible interpreters, are laughable. This book in particular jumps around not only from year to year, but from century to century and millenium to millenium. An obscure sage will be mentioned for a few paragraphs, then forgotten, only to reappear chapters later presented with a level of familiarity that would lead you to believe he's the main character in the book. It appears to me that the author felt like it was imperative that he include every scintilla of information he had unearthed in his research, no matter how trivial to the big scheme of the story each tidbit may have been. Moreover, the book has even some factual errors: on page 237 it states that Max Planck developed his theory in 1912 when he was 19 years old. Wrong. Max Karl Ernst Planck was born on April 23, 1858. He developed his theory in 1900, when he was 42. Then, as a Jew, the author praises the mystical nature of the Torah and suggests that this is a proof it was inspired by God. By doing this he dismisses the New Testament and the foundation of Christianity. For example, II Peter 1:20 says in part, "no prophesy of scripture is of any private interpretation," Psalm 119:130 says, "The unfolding of Thy words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple," "I have more insight than all my teachers, for Thy testimonies are my meditation" (Psalm 119:99), "The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple" (Psalm 19:7). I can only say that humans persist in looking for some special message "just for me" and tossing out anything they find inconvenient. I am sorry but anyone who runs around proclaiming "My god is bigger than your god and I have the right to kill anyone who disagrees" is getting it wrong.
Strong points: The subject is fascinating and stimulates imagination. Despite the subject treated, I think anyone can read it.
Weaknesses: The subject is also too commercial and cheesy. To me, the books about Bible codes are desperate attempts to take our money. After all, if God loves us all, why bother inserting codes and other craps in the holy texts? To be found only by a few? Honestly, at the end of the book you feel like a big waste of time. Nothing certain, only cheap speculations after cheap speculations. No essence, only junk.
_______________
★★★ Follow us on Goodreads
★★★ Visit our website www.reasonandreligion.org
March 26, 2023
This is the second time I've read this. The subject is interesting and the author does a fairly good job at showing the history of Bible code research. Most people who have read the Bible have at least noted that numbers seem to have some symbolic meaning in the Bible and that could be called a kind of code. ELS (equal letter distance) code research was apparently started by Kabbalists. It is the theory that important information was coded into the Torah (the first five books of the Bible) by skipping letters at regular intervals. The fact that Satinover actually goes over the history makes this a more substantive book than anything by Michael Drosnin. The author actually expressly denies that the codes could be used as an oracle. He only says that the codes serve as a watermark to indicate divine authorship.
The discussion is intriguing. ELS research and Gematria (the number value of Greek and Hebrew letters and words having some spiritual meaning) is something that I've studied a bit, and I do concur something is going on there. I only become suspicious and skeptical when people put too much stock into these methods of reading the Bible. It is apparent to me that if the Bible was divinely inspired, it must have a wealth of meaning that can be gathered by various methods and in various ways.
The discussion is intriguing. ELS research and Gematria (the number value of Greek and Hebrew letters and words having some spiritual meaning) is something that I've studied a bit, and I do concur something is going on there. I only become suspicious and skeptical when people put too much stock into these methods of reading the Bible. It is apparent to me that if the Bible was divinely inspired, it must have a wealth of meaning that can be gathered by various methods and in various ways.
June 11, 2019
It is impossible to summarize this book in a few paragraphs.
The book discusses the knowledge handed down the generations that rabbis obtained from the Bible centuries before the computer. For example, the age of the earth (creation of the universe, not the preparation of the earth for man) was known to be more than 15 B years. Modern scientists have determined the age to be more than 15 B years.
The book is filled with examples like this (calculation of the lunar cycle, etc.) of the distant past.
But it also uses the codes to find information on AIDS, diabetes, Sadat's assassination, the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein, CNN... and it only scratches the surface of the information available through the codes.
It describes tests run to check the accuracy of the Bible codes against the names of people in the past millenium and shows that the codes have listed details of people living centuries after the Torah was written.
It tells of the Mossad using the codes to determine the date of the anticipated SCUD attacks during the Gulf War.
It is worth reading just for this information. The accuracy of these codes will amaze you.
But it also describes the development of cryptography and the computer and explains in detail how these codes are found. It describes in detail how the best mathematicians in the world have tried to disprove the code, but they have all come to the conclusion that these codes actually exist.
And it describes the amazing effect of quantum mechanics on computers, on Bible codes, and in every day life. For example, it describes how the weakness of a code is that the writer of the message does not know if the message has been intercepted and interpreted by someone who should not have access to this information.
But an understanding of quantum mechanics shows that it is possible, if the message is intercepted and decoded by the wrong person, for the writer of the message to realize instantly and change codes... because of the action of particles. For example, if paired electrons are separated and one is sent into space, when a change is made to the one on earth, the one is space makes the identical change.
The book describes successful experiments when two particles occupy the same space at the same time.
It also describes successful experiments where a particle will behave according to the intent of the researcher... it is difficult to do justice to the range of topics in this book using a few paragraphs. There is so much more in this book.
If you have an open mind, if you are interested in Mathematics and probability, or in physics and quantum mechanics, or in what the Bible really reveals about everything, this is a book that is worth reading.
The author does not tell you to believe that the Bible codes exist. He ran experiments to disprove the Bible codes... but could not. He simply lists research, describes methods of decoding, and valid scientific test procedures and lets you decide for yourself.
The book discusses the knowledge handed down the generations that rabbis obtained from the Bible centuries before the computer. For example, the age of the earth (creation of the universe, not the preparation of the earth for man) was known to be more than 15 B years. Modern scientists have determined the age to be more than 15 B years.
The book is filled with examples like this (calculation of the lunar cycle, etc.) of the distant past.
But it also uses the codes to find information on AIDS, diabetes, Sadat's assassination, the Gulf War, Saddam Hussein, CNN... and it only scratches the surface of the information available through the codes.
It describes tests run to check the accuracy of the Bible codes against the names of people in the past millenium and shows that the codes have listed details of people living centuries after the Torah was written.
It tells of the Mossad using the codes to determine the date of the anticipated SCUD attacks during the Gulf War.
It is worth reading just for this information. The accuracy of these codes will amaze you.
But it also describes the development of cryptography and the computer and explains in detail how these codes are found. It describes in detail how the best mathematicians in the world have tried to disprove the code, but they have all come to the conclusion that these codes actually exist.
And it describes the amazing effect of quantum mechanics on computers, on Bible codes, and in every day life. For example, it describes how the weakness of a code is that the writer of the message does not know if the message has been intercepted and interpreted by someone who should not have access to this information.
But an understanding of quantum mechanics shows that it is possible, if the message is intercepted and decoded by the wrong person, for the writer of the message to realize instantly and change codes... because of the action of particles. For example, if paired electrons are separated and one is sent into space, when a change is made to the one on earth, the one is space makes the identical change.
The book describes successful experiments when two particles occupy the same space at the same time.
It also describes successful experiments where a particle will behave according to the intent of the researcher... it is difficult to do justice to the range of topics in this book using a few paragraphs. There is so much more in this book.
If you have an open mind, if you are interested in Mathematics and probability, or in physics and quantum mechanics, or in what the Bible really reveals about everything, this is a book that is worth reading.
The author does not tell you to believe that the Bible codes exist. He ran experiments to disprove the Bible codes... but could not. He simply lists research, describes methods of decoding, and valid scientific test procedures and lets you decide for yourself.
November 1, 2016
I can't disagree with reviewer Catalin Negru more. I found Cracking the Bible Code to be totally engrossing. I believe the God of the Holy Bible to be perfectly capable of authorship of codes "hidden" within His own inspired word. Just because someone can't grasp the concept doesn't make it questionable or unbelievable. With God all things are possible, even elaborate coded information that DOES tell (ahead of discovery) things no one could have known when they were written by God's penmen thousands of years ahead of time.
Don't fall into the immature trap of thinking that Bible Codes are some kind of game where the future can be discovered. That is NOT at all what Bible codes are about. The Bible is not a ouija board. One who understands the concept of Bible codes realizes that what is hidden makes the point that a supernatural mind was behind the code only AFTER the event happens and the details are then confirmed, not before.
And concerning the probability factor element that Negru disparages: that in itself is about as close to proof as one could get in terms of evidence of a supernatural mind behind the codes. Regarding chance, odds, and probability, read pages 31 & 32 for what I consider to be an excellent example by Satinover for a general reader to understand.
It was the Prologue which was the magnet that drew me into exploring the book's contents. There are sections of the book which get quite complicated to follow (for me at least), but that doesn't make me think of the book as something foolish, or put the author on a self-credited pedestal as finding something significant in the Old Testament just because he is Jewish. That's nonsense and totally uncalled for, and I hope it doesn't dissuade anyone from reading a VERY interesting book.
Don't fall into the immature trap of thinking that Bible Codes are some kind of game where the future can be discovered. That is NOT at all what Bible codes are about. The Bible is not a ouija board. One who understands the concept of Bible codes realizes that what is hidden makes the point that a supernatural mind was behind the code only AFTER the event happens and the details are then confirmed, not before.
And concerning the probability factor element that Negru disparages: that in itself is about as close to proof as one could get in terms of evidence of a supernatural mind behind the codes. Regarding chance, odds, and probability, read pages 31 & 32 for what I consider to be an excellent example by Satinover for a general reader to understand.
It was the Prologue which was the magnet that drew me into exploring the book's contents. There are sections of the book which get quite complicated to follow (for me at least), but that doesn't make me think of the book as something foolish, or put the author on a self-credited pedestal as finding something significant in the Old Testament just because he is Jewish. That's nonsense and totally uncalled for, and I hope it doesn't dissuade anyone from reading a VERY interesting book.
March 22, 2020
As unbelievable as it sounds, modern/current events are encoded into the Torah, it is yet true. This is one of the most fascinating books iv ever read, and the storyline is as amazing as the information. It is by no means fiction with world history and science corroborating it's claims. I would pay people to read this book, and still what they would receive from the reading is of continual value.
June 21, 2017
An outstanding read. It shows that the Bible is reliable, dependable and ageless. It also proves the hand of God in it.
February 9, 2018
This book had a lot more math in it than I anticipated so a lot of it I didn't get much out of. Someone math whiz or cryptology nerd might like it better. I did enjoy some of the ancillary information, however. Very interesting concept.
September 7, 2025
Fascinating. I will never read the Torah without wondering what else is there. I wish that my mind could grasp the math associated with this concept.
September 4, 2024
A MORE DETAILED EXPOSITION OF THE "BIBLE CODE" AND ITS METHODOLOGY
Dr. Jeffrey Satinover is a psychiatrist who has also written books such as 'The Empty Self: C. G. Jung & the Gnostic Transformation of Modern Identity,' 'Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth,' 'The Quantum Brain: The Search for Freedom and the Next Generation of Man,' etc.
He points out in the first chapter of this 1997 book, "A flood of books discussing a simplified variant of the codes from a Christian perspective have become instant best-sellers in the Evangelical community... Two such volumes leave the reader with the impression that the Israelis' research confirms that Jesus is the Messiah and each has sold over 100,000 copies within three months... The [Bible] codes cannot legitimately be used to make any such claim, or other similar ones, as we will see. And the most highly qualified researchers emphasize that the codes should never be used to address the beliefs of others." (Pg. 8)
He admits, "To be fair, I myself can't be 100 percent certain about the results. I admit that I WANT the codes to be what they seem to be. I happen to want there to be a God, because I am not at all sanguine about the alternative." (Pg. 16)
He notes as background, "Michael Ber Weissmandl... undertook his own investigation of the phenomenon and became convinced it was genuine. Becoming a prominent rabbi himself, he maintained a lifelong interest in the codes, writing out the entire 304,805-letter sequence of the Torah on 10-by-10 grids. (In this way, words that occur at equally spaced letter intervals would stand out more easily.)" (Pg. 5) He adds, "Depending on the row width of the grid (the number of columns), the embedded 'Aarons' may or may not line up neatly in a horizontal, diagonal, or vertical row." (Pg. 35)
He states, "what distinguishes the Bible Code from the usual kinds of codes used in intelligence work is that the codes in the Torah do not appear to convey a hidden message. Instead, they seem to be a purely statistical phenomena: noteworthy because they appear in situations where the odds AGAINST their appearance are so great." (Pg. 126) He also notes, "the correct line length---the dimensions of the original two-dimensional array---be discovered. Two words that are close at the one line-length might not be at another." (Pg. 147)
This book will be of definite value to anyone studying the Bible Codes.
Dr. Jeffrey Satinover is a psychiatrist who has also written books such as 'The Empty Self: C. G. Jung & the Gnostic Transformation of Modern Identity,' 'Homosexuality and the Politics of Truth,' 'The Quantum Brain: The Search for Freedom and the Next Generation of Man,' etc.
He points out in the first chapter of this 1997 book, "A flood of books discussing a simplified variant of the codes from a Christian perspective have become instant best-sellers in the Evangelical community... Two such volumes leave the reader with the impression that the Israelis' research confirms that Jesus is the Messiah and each has sold over 100,000 copies within three months... The [Bible] codes cannot legitimately be used to make any such claim, or other similar ones, as we will see. And the most highly qualified researchers emphasize that the codes should never be used to address the beliefs of others." (Pg. 8)
He admits, "To be fair, I myself can't be 100 percent certain about the results. I admit that I WANT the codes to be what they seem to be. I happen to want there to be a God, because I am not at all sanguine about the alternative." (Pg. 16)
He notes as background, "Michael Ber Weissmandl... undertook his own investigation of the phenomenon and became convinced it was genuine. Becoming a prominent rabbi himself, he maintained a lifelong interest in the codes, writing out the entire 304,805-letter sequence of the Torah on 10-by-10 grids. (In this way, words that occur at equally spaced letter intervals would stand out more easily.)" (Pg. 5) He adds, "Depending on the row width of the grid (the number of columns), the embedded 'Aarons' may or may not line up neatly in a horizontal, diagonal, or vertical row." (Pg. 35)
He states, "what distinguishes the Bible Code from the usual kinds of codes used in intelligence work is that the codes in the Torah do not appear to convey a hidden message. Instead, they seem to be a purely statistical phenomena: noteworthy because they appear in situations where the odds AGAINST their appearance are so great." (Pg. 126) He also notes, "the correct line length---the dimensions of the original two-dimensional array---be discovered. Two words that are close at the one line-length might not be at another." (Pg. 147)
This book will be of definite value to anyone studying the Bible Codes.
July 29, 2011
Interesting in concept, and it goes into great detail to try to prove its points, but I found it unconvincing overall. Some of the examples have got to be nothing but pure coincidence.... some seem contrived, and some seem kind of plausible. The main objection I have to the basis of the book is that they're doing numerological analysis on translations of the original texts. If such a code exists, then only the most definitive editions of original language manuscripts makes any sense. Methinks that the Bible has enough merits of its own to warrant reading it, and doesn't need Nostradamus-like microscopy to make sense of it.
May 21, 2012
I don't think the Bible Code actually exists, but I found the discussion of Jewish religion, history and mysticism absolutely mesmerizing. Otherwise, it's pretty embarassing to be found reading a book about the Old Testament being a magical crossword puzzle that predicts the future.
October 2, 2008
Fascinating and then to much of a stretch as it seems to turn religion and prophecy into an excersize in the practice of probability.
May 31, 2012
i still think the bible code is bullshit
February 11, 2013
Very interesting
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews