The testimony of the Lord is faithful, making wise the simple. (Psalm 19:8)

Out of the six Nobel Prizes that have been awarded this week, four have gone to Jews, including two Israeli professors. Arieh Warshel and Michael Levitt are Israel’s 11th and 12th to join its list of Nobel laureates. The Israeli Nobel Prize winners share the prize in chemistry with Holocaust survivor Martin Karplus.

Though Jews have received Nobel prizes in all six categories (Chemistry, Physics, Medicine, Literature, Economics and Peace), the majority of the Jewish laureates have been noted for their contribution to the sciences. Since the inception of the Nobel Prize in 1901, 855 individuals have been recognized for outstanding contributions; 173 recipients are Jewish.

In his book, “In Defense of Israel”, Pastor John Hagee of Christians United for Israel has a chapter called “Our debt to the Jews.” Hagee points to Genesis 12:3 as the secret to Jewish success and prosperity. “Based on the population of the Jews in proportion to the rest of the world, it’s surprising that we hear about them at all beyond a brief mention in a high-school geography class.”

John Hagee continues with a reference that has even more meaning with this week’s Nobel Prize announcements that four out of the six recipients are Jewish . He writes, “Yet throughout history, Jews have been at the center of the world’s creative, scientific, and cultural achievements. They are disproportionately high as Nobel Prize recipients, they are over represented in the field of medicine, and their contributions in the area of scientific research are staggering.”