>Summer is a busy time for me. It is the time of the year when I read books, articles, and other literature that may not fit my schedule during the academic year. This is one of the reasons I have not posted on a regular basis this summer. Summer is also a time to get away and relax for a few days.
Several days ago, when I took a few days off for vacation, I posted a puzzle that contained the names of several books of the Bible. The puzzle consisted of a long paragraph with the names of sixteen books of the Bible hidden in it.
Several people made an attempt at solving the puzzle and many succeeded by discovering the hidden names of all sixteen books of the Bible. Some of the people who found all sixteen books had to make more than one attempt at solving the puzzle.
A few days ago I received an email from my sister-in-law with another puzzle. This puzzle is larger than the previous one and contains several additional names of biblical books in it. Since I am going on vacation again, I decided to post the new puzzle and invite you to make an attempt at solving it.
After I return from vacation I will send you the answer, if you request it. If you want to make an effort to solve the puzzle or if you want to receive the answer with all the names of the books that appear in the puzzle, send me an email at claude@claudemariottini.com.
The paragraph below contains the names of several books of the Bible (more than sixteen). Can you find them?
This is a most remarkable puzzle. It was found by a gentleman in an airplane seat pocket on a flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu, keeping him occupied for hours trying to solve the puzzle. He enjoyed it so much, he passed it on to some friends. My friend Robert Smith from Illinois worked on this puzzle while fishing with his friends Sam Ueller and Xiang Joh. No one caught anything. My friend Emilio Vasquez raced home to work on this puzzle. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by the puzzle she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving that she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that will be really easy to spot. That is a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam. Especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers I get, I am forced to admit it usually takes a minister or a scholar to see some of them at the worst. Research has shown that something in our genes is responsible for the difficulty we have in seeing the books of the Bible in this paragraph. During a recent fundraising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new record for sales. A local paper, The San Francisco Chronicle, surveyed more than two hundred patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. While vacationing in Granada, Nielson Humana humbly said after finishing the puzzle, “The books are all right here in plain view but hidden from sight.” Those able to find all of them will hear great lamentations from those who have to be shown. One revelation that may help is that books like Timothy and Thessalonians may occur in the puzzle without their numbers. Also, keep in mind, that punctuation and spaces in the middle are normal. A chipper attitude will help you compete really well against those who claim to know the answers. Remember, there is no need for a mad exodus; because there really are several books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found.
Have fun and tell me how many books of the Bible you found in the paragraph above and list them in the order they appear in the puzzle. Email your answer to claude@claudemariottini.com.
Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
Dr. Claude Mariottini - Professor of Old Testament 