An Ashland Hebrew scholar, using an Israeli computer system, finds a 22 letter message in Isaiah 

The Associated Press - Ashland - A Hebrew scholar and a mathematician have found what they call one of the most significant discoveries in the field of Bible code research. 

Nathan Jacobi, an Ashland scientist and Hebrew teacher, found a seven-word sentence encoded in the Old Testament book of Isaiah. 

"Everybody I've shown it to thinks it's phenomenal," said Jacobi. 

The longest code to date had been 13 letters long, but the new code is 22 letters long. 

The chances of finding a sentence-length code in Hebrew text is one out of 685 billion times 1 billion, said Ed Sherman, an actuary. He owns an Ashland firm that runs insurance statistics for several Fortune 500 companies. 

Jacobi and Sherman's newest code is Shakak Meal Yeshua Shmi Az Sasu Avim, which is translated into "Gushing over Yeshua was my mighty name and the clouds rejoiced." 

Yeshua is the commonly agreed-upon Hebrew name for Jesus, Jacobi said. The code was found in Isaiah 53, a test that prophecies the coming of Jesus Christ as messiah. Scholars attribute the text toa prophet who lived six centuries before Christ was born. 

Jacobi describes his own spiritual beliefs as neither Jewish nor Christian. 

Bible codes are found by searching the Hebrew text for letters at certain intervals to form words. Sherman and Jacobi use an Israeli computer program that eliminates spaces between words, then chooses every third letter, for example, to find hidden messages. 

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