How can I verify what Wikipedia's Eliyahu Rips article used to say?

Each snapshot on this page links the Wikipedia revision it came from, so you can open their own history and compare. We also keep our own copy of the text, which stays readable if the article changes again.

How Wikipedia rewrote the Eliyahu Rips article

Q: How has Wikipedia's Eliyahu Rips article changed?

Wikipedia's first sentence called it "israeli mathematician known for his research in algebra and the controversial bible codes". Today it says "israeli mathematician of latvian origin known for his research in geometric group theory". We saved the article's opening at 6 moments between 2005 and 2025, and every claim links the exact revision.

The opening as it read in 2005

Eliyahu Rips is an Israeli mathematician known for his research in algebra and the controversial Bible codes .¹ Rips grew up in Latvia (then part of Soviet Union ). He was the first high school student from Latvia to participate in the International Mathematical Olympiad . In 1969 , Rips (who was a student at the University of Latvia at that time) attempted self-immolation in a protest against Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia . After that, he was incarcerated by Soviet government but, under a pressure from Western mathematicians, he was allowed to emigrate to Israel in 1972 . After finishing his Ph.D., Rips joined the Department of Mathematics at Hebrew University , Jerusalem .² He became well known for his research in group theory .³ Rips received the Erdős prize from the Israel Mathematical Society in 1979 and was a plenary speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1994 .⁴ In 1994 , Rips, together with Doron Witztum and Yoav Rosenberg, published an article in the journal Statistical Science which claimed that they have discovered encoded messages in the Hebrew text of the book of Genesis , a part of Bible . In 1997 , their discovery was then described in a popular book The Bible Code by journalist Michael Drosnin . Since then, Bible codes have been a subject of much controversy. Other scientists have been mostly skeptical and have pointed out flaws in the study by Rips and his colleagues.⁵

This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 17851143.

The opening as it stood in 2010 6 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Eliyahu Rips , also Ilya Rips ( ; Russian: Илья Рипс ; born 1948 ) is a Latvian born Israeli mathematician known for his research in geometric group theory . He became known to the public following his coauthoring a paper on the Bible codes . Rips grew up in Latvia (then part of Soviet Union ). He was the first high school student from Latvia to participate in the International Mathematical Olympiad . On 9 April 1969, Rips (who was a 20-year old graduate student at the University of Latvia at that time) attempted self-immolation in a protest against the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia . After that, he was incarcerated by the Soviet government for two years but, under pressure from Western mathematicians, was allowed to emigrate to Israel in 1972 . After recovering from his wounds and finishing his Ph.D., Rips joined the Department of Mathematics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem . Rips received the Erdős prize from the Israel Mathematical Society in 1979 and was a sectional speaker at the International Congress of Mathematicians in 1994 . Rips' (mostly unpublished) work on group actions on R {\displaystyle \mathbb {R} } -trees has been widely influential. The Rips machine , in the hands of Rips and his student Zlil Sela , has proven to be effective in obtaining classification results such as a solution to the isomorphism problem for hyperbolic groups .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 362601519.

The opening as it stood in 2015 8 passages from the previous snapshot no longer appear

Eliyahu Rips , also Ilya Rips ( ; Russian: Илья Рипс ; ; born 12 December 1948) is a Latvian -born Israeli mathematician known for his research in geometric group theory . He became known to the general public following his coauthoring a paper on what is popularly known as Bible code , the supposed coded messaging in the Hebrew text of the Torah .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 668860659.

The opening as it stood in 2020

Eliyahu Rips ( ; Russian: Илья Рипс ; ; born 12 December 1948) is an Israeli mathematician of Latvian origin known for his research in geometric group theory . He became known to the general public following his coauthoring a paper on what is popularly known as Bible code , the supposed coded messaging in the Hebrew text of the Torah .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 948528940.

The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023

Israeli mathematician of Latvian origin (born 1948) Eliyahu Rips ( ; Russian: Илья Рипс ; ; born 12 December 1948) is an Israeli mathematician of Latvian origin known for his research in geometric group theory . He became known to the general public following his co-authoring a paper on what is popularly known as Bible code , the supposed coded messaging in the Hebrew text of the Torah .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1167328681.

The opening as it stood in 2025

Israeli mathematician of Latvian origin (1948–2024) Eliyahu Rips ( Hebrew : אליהו ריפס ; Russian : Илья Рипс ; Latvian : Iļja Ripss ; 12 December 1948 – 19 July 2024) was an Israeli mathematician of Latvian origin known for his research in geometric group theory . He became known to the general public following his co-authoring a paper on what is popularly known as Bible code , the supposed coded messaging in the Hebrew text of the Torah .

Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1291846138. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.

What Wikipedia says this is