Thirty Books of the Bible

[Suzana]

I found this puzzle in my documents recently (I have absolutely no recollection how I came by it), for anyone who likes this sort of thing or wants a bit of light relief; (I could only find 27 so far):

THIRTY BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
A Puzzle - Just For Fun
There are thirty books of the Bible in this paragraph. 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. He enjoyed it so much, he passed it on to some friends. One friend from Illinois worked on this while fishing from his john boat. Another friend studied it while playing his banjo. Elaine Taylor, a columnist friend, was so intrigued by it she mentioned it in her weekly newspaper column. Another friend judges the job of solving this puzzle so involving, she brews a cup of tea to help her nerves. There will be some names that are really easy to spot. That's a fact. Some people, however, will soon find themselves in a jam, especially since the book names are not necessarily capitalized. Truthfully, from answers we get, we are forced to admit it usually takes a minister or 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 in this paragraph. During a recent fund raising event, which featured this puzzle, the Alpha Delta Phi lemonade booth set a new sales record. The local paper, The Chronicle, surveyed over 200 patrons who reported that this puzzle was one of the most difficult they had ever seen. As Daniel Humana humbly puts it, "the books are all right here in plain view 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 Samuel may occur 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. There really are 30 books of the Bible lurking somewhere in this paragraph waiting to be found. Good Luck!

[Paidion]

Suzana, I usually don't do this kind of puzzle, but somehow I got drawn in. I found 28, and I am beginning to think there are only 28.

Do you have a solution source?

If you want, when everyone who wishes to, has tried the puzzle, I can post my 28 by quoting the paragraph and bolding the books.

[Suzana]

Hi Paidion,

I had another look today & found one more name...(it does somehow draw one in, doesn't it )...and since I didn't have a source, I googled it (I was beginning to fear they may have used some ancient translation spelling), and found it online, together with the solution, and there really ARE thirty books!

Thanks for the offer of posting your list, but it may be easier & save you work if I just post the link, & anyone interested can then look it up (when they've given up).

here is the link

[Paidion]

Thanks, Suzana. I don't suppose you and I missed the same two, but the two I missed were "Amos" and "Kings". How about you?

[Suzana]

I missed Esther and Titus. It's funny how we can be so sure there just isn't anything more there to be found - maybe a good lesson, that others who are seeing differently to us are not necessarily mistaken?

[Paidion]

Good observation!

And more and more, I've learned it experientially as I've grown older, although I still argue "as if" they were mistaken.

When I was in my twenties, I thought I had pretty well wrapped up all theological matters and put them into the bag of certainty.

I soon learned how wrong I was about many things, and since that time I've been learning more and more, and yet becoming less and less certain about what I "know". But because I have opened up my mind to learning, I have come to some conclusions which appear heterodox, or even heresy, to the "regular" Christians. But I am still open to learning together with others. All praise to God for His enabling grace!

[mikew]

thanks. that was fun.

it helps to have it on computer too.