There has been much said and posted with regard to the Codes in the Torah, and of course, Drosnin's book, The Bible Code, has been highly promoted and discussed also. The vast majority of what has been said has been of such uneven, mixed, or ill-educated quality, as to make it nearly impossible to sort the sense from the nonsense. (Those interested in hearing my discussion of the Codes, and of Drosnin's book, can listen to them by checking the RealAudio archives for Art Bell's "Coast-to-Coast" radio interview program for the segments aired on June 9, 1997, and July 8, 1997. Check http://www.coasttocoastam.com/guest/tenen-stan/6379   for current information about the availability of these interviews. )

Therefore, I am very pleased to recommend the new book by Jeffrey Satinover, M.D., Cracking the Bible Code (William Morrow), which has just been published in hardcover (in Fall 1997). I have read it through, and I have shared it with friends. This is without a doubt the best presentation of the Codes in Torah available to a general readership. Dr. Satinover includes background history of codes, some personal biography, and an excellent and highly readable treatment and assessment of the Codes themselves. In all regards, Dr. Satinover's presentation is fair-minded, scientifically and academically competent.

My only quibble is with Dr. Satinover's personal conclusions, which, as an honest presenter, he forthrightly and clearly states. Dr. Satinover tells us that he believes that the Codes themselves are content-free – in other words, there's no message. (There is no predictive quality to the name-date correlations. They can only be noticed after the fact.) Instead, they serve as a "watermark" that attests to the Divine authorship of the Torah. This is certainly a legitimate opinion, and it is certainly justified by the current evidence. In my personal opinion, however, it is not likely to be entirely correct. I believe it is more likely that the Codes do contain real and important content, but that the content most assuredly is not Nostradamus-like predictions, and it is not even literal. Instead, the Codes appear to me to be due to the fact that the Torah was literally woven of its letters. (Computers and statistical analysis are not required to see "stripes" woven in a rug, for example.) My understanding of the evidence suggests that they are primarily of a geometric nature, and related to the construction of the Temple, the Temple furniture, priestly garments, Levite dances, and meditational exercises – as those who have perused elsewhere on this website have no doubt already noticed.

The bottom line is, if you want the facts on the codes, if you want to understand the codes, if you want an honest and competent assessment, and if you want to enjoy reading about it, pick up a copy of Dr. Jeffrey Satinover's Cracking the Bible Code.

Stan Tenen
October, 1997