As we look towards 2025, the global real estate landscape continues to evolve, driven by e-commerce, data consumption, and shifting lifestyle trends. Below is a curated list of the top 10 real estate companies positioned to lead the market, based on their market capitalization, portfolio strength, and strategic initiatives.
Note: Financial data and stock prices are live or updated frequently and are subject to market fluctuations.
1. Prologis, Inc.(NYSE: PLD)
Key Financial Metrics
Market Capitalization: ~$115 Billion
52-Week Range: $105.10 - $135.45
Dividend Yield: 2.95%
P/E Ratio: 31.50
EPS (ttm): $3.58
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Company Overview
Prologis is the global leader in logistics real estate, focusing on high-barrier, high-growth markets. Its massive portfolio of warehouses and distribution centers is essential to the global supply chain, serving top e-commerce, retail, and transportation companies. As online shopping continues its relentless growth, Prologis is perfectly positioned to capitalize on the sustained demand for modern logistics facilities.
2. American Tower Corp.(NYSE: AMT)
Key Financial Metrics
Market Capitalization: ~$90 Billion
52-Week Range: $175.22 - $230.88
Dividend Yield: 3.30%
P/E Ratio: 29.80
EPS (ttm): $6.51
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Company Overview
American Tower is a leading global REIT and an owner/operator of wireless and broadcast communications infrastructure. With a portfolio of over 220,000 communication sites, AMT provides the critical backbone for mobile connectivity. The rollout of 5G and the increasing demand for data make its tower assets more valuable than ever, ensuring a stable and growing revenue stream.
3. Equinix, Inc.(NASDAQ: EQIX)
Key Financial Metrics
Market Capitalization: ~$75 Billion
52-Week Range: $680.50 - $835.12
Dividend Yield: 2.05%
P/E Ratio: 70.15
EPS (ttm): $10.90
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Company Overview
Equinix is the world's largest data center REIT, providing colocation space and interconnection services that power the digital economy. Its global platform connects businesses with partners and customers inside the most networked data centers. With the explosion of AI, cloud computing, and digital transformation, Equinix's role as the central nervous system of the internet is indispensable.
4. Simon Property Group(NYSE: SPG)
Key Financial Metrics
Market Capitalization: ~$50 Billion
52-Week Range: $108.75 - $152.30
Dividend Yield: 5.10%
P/E Ratio: 22.40
EPS (ttm): $6.55
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Company Overview
Simon Property Group is the largest mall operator in the US and a global leader in premier shopping, dining, entertainment, and mixed-use destinations. Despite challenges in the retail sector, SPG has focused on high-quality, high-traffic "Class A" malls and premium outlets. Its strategy of transforming properties into multi-use community hubs ensures its continued relevance and profitability.
5. Public Storage(NYSE: PSA)
Key Financial Metrics
Market Capitalization: ~$52 Billion
52-Week Range: $265.90 - $310.15
Dividend Yield: 4.05%
P/E Ratio: 25.60
EPS (ttm): $11.50
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Company Overview
Public Storage is the largest owner and operator of self-storage facilities in the world. As a REIT, it has demonstrated remarkable resilience through various economic cycles. The demand for storage is driven by life events like moving, downsizing, and business inventory needs, making it a consistently profitable and stable real estate sector. PSA's brand recognition and vast network are unmatched.
Based in Hong Kong, Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) is one of the largest and most respected property developers in Asia. The company has a significant portfolio of residential, office, and retail properties in Hong Kong and mainland China. Known for its high-quality developments and landmark projects like the International Commerce Centre (ICC) in Hong Kong, SHKP is a dominant force in the Asian real estate market.
7. Vonovia SE(ETR: VNA)
Key Financial Metrics
Market Capitalization: ~€22 Billion
52-Week Range: €18.50 - €28.90
Dividend Yield: 3.20%
P/E Ratio: N/A (Recent loss)
EPS (ttm): -€8.15
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Company Overview
Vonovia is Germany's largest residential real estate company, owning over 550,000 apartments in Germany, Austria, and Sweden. The company focuses on providing affordable and modern housing, playing a crucial societal role. Vonovia's business model is built on stable rental income and value-added services, making it a cornerstone of the European residential market, with a strong focus on sustainability and energy efficiency upgrades.
8. Welltower Inc.(NYSE: WELL)
Key Financial Metrics
Market Capitalization: ~$50 Billion
52-Week Range: $75.10 - $92.45
Dividend Yield: 2.70%
P/E Ratio: 135.50
EPS (ttm): $0.67
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Company Overview
Welltower is a leading REIT specializing in healthcare infrastructure. Its portfolio consists of senior housing, post-acute care facilities, and outpatient medical properties. With an aging global population, particularly in North America and the UK, the demand for specialized healthcare real estate is set to soar. Welltower's strategic partnerships with top healthcare providers position it for long-term, demographic-driven growth.
Australia-based Goodman Group is a global integrated property group that owns, develops, and manages industrial and business space. Like Prologis, Goodman is a major player in the logistics sector, with a strong presence in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Americas. The company's focus on high-quality assets in key urban infill locations makes its portfolio highly attractive to e-commerce and logistics customers.
10. SEGRO plc(LON: SGRO)
Key Financial Metrics
Market Capitalization: ~£10.5 Billion
52-Week Range: £700 - £890
Dividend Yield: 3.10%
P/E Ratio: N/A (Recent loss)
EPS (ttm): -£0.95
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Company Overview
SEGRO is a leading UK-based REIT and a prominent owner, manager, and developer of modern warehouses and industrial property across Europe. The company's portfolio is strategically located around major cities and key transport hubs. SEGRO specializes in big-box warehousing for regional distribution and urban warehousing for last-mile delivery, making it a critical partner for retailers and logistics operators in the digital age.
Are you looking to travel to some of the world's most popular, richest and most visited cities in the world. The following cities might prepare you and change your vacation plans. These cities receives more than 10 million visitors yearly and are considered to be visited in a life's time.
1 - Bangkok
The Thai capital became the first Asian city to top the MasterCard Global Destination Cities Index, edging out London, the previous No. 1, with 15.98 international visitors who generated an estimated US$14.4 billion. International visitor numbers rose a vigorous 9.8 percent in 2012. Bangkok's top five feeder cities are Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur and Seoul. Pictured: Royal State Barge cruises past the Grand Palace.
2 - London
London was last year's No. 1 and still remains the top destination in Europe with 15.96 international visitors. Its revenue from these visitors (US$16.3 billion) was ahead of Bangkok's by nearly $2 billion. The top five feeder cities to London are Dublin, New York, Stockholm, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Pictured: Houses of Parliament and London Eye.
3 - Paris
Paris was the only city in the top 10 to lose international visitors since the last index was published. Its top five feeder cities are London, New York, Tokyo, Rome and Frankfurt. Pictured: Champs-Elysees at night
4 - Singapore
The Southeast Asian city-state sits at the crossroads of the Asia-Pacific region and has an active commercial sector, fantastic food scene and a world-leading airline. Pictured: a 'bumboat' cruising past the Merlion statue on the harbor.
5 - New York
The only city in the Americas in the top 10 for international travelers, New York also topped the Global Destination Cities Index in terms of revenue generated from them (US$18.6 billion). Top sources of international travelers were London, Toronto, Sao Paolo, Paris and Buenos Aires. Pictured: the Manhattan skyline and Empire State Building.
6 - Istanbul
The Global Destination Cities Index cites the location of Turkey's largest city, at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, as a big reason for its popularity as a destination. If its growth in air travel connectivity continues at current rates, the report predicts it will enter the top five destinations by 2016. Pictured: Aya Sophia Mosque.
7 - Dubai
The only Middle East destination in the top 10, Dubai had 9.89 million international visitors, nearly twice as many as the next most popular destination in the Middle East and Africa, Riyadh, and nearly four times as many as the third, Johannesburg. Along with Bangkok, it had the second largest year-on-year growth in the index, 10.9 percent. Pictured: Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building at 2,723 feet (829.84 meters).
8 - Kuala Lumpur
The index's authors say that Malaysian capital is an important link between Asia and the Middle East. Its top five international feeder cities were Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok, Melbourne and Manila. Pictured: Petronas Towers dominate the skyline.
9 - Hong Kong
The index's authors cite Hong Kong among China's important "origin cities" and it continues to be a destination as well. Pictured: Star Ferry crossing Hong Kong Harbour.
10 - Barcelona
Spain may be suffering through economic woes, but Barcelona remains a big draw, especially for travelers from farther north in Europe; top feeder cities were London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Munich. Pictured: Cathedral of the Holy Cross and Saint Eulalia.
10 Controversies That Could Change How We View The Bible
There’s probably no other book that sparks as much continuing controversy as the Bible. It pits believers against nonbelievers and biblical scholars against themselves. One of the biggest controversies is whether the Bible can be used as a historical document. Even so, as much as everyone claims to debate the Word of God on principle, sometimes the true stakes over which they’re fighting are nothing more than self-interest, such as careers and money.
NO.10 Mummy Masks
Are we reading the correct version of the Bible? Do we have the right to find out if we are?
Those are two of the controversies surrounding the destruction of papyrus mummy masks to find scraps of the Bible and other ancient documents. If you watch the video above (starting at 24:22 minutes), you’ll see Christian apologist Josh McDowell demonstrate the process we’re about to discuss.
Until recently, the earliest known copies of the gospels were from the second century AD. But we may be able to retrieve earlier fragments of biblical text from used sheets of papyrus that were fashioned into mummy masks with paint and glue for ordinary people in ancient times. Papyrus was so expensive back then that people used discarded sheets with writing—old business agreements, personal letters, and the occasional fragment of gospel text. By looking at dates on some of the retrieved documents, scientists can approximate the age of the undated documents. They also use carbon-14 dating and handwriting analysis.
In this case, the controversy surrounds a piece of the Gospel of Mark that supposedly dates to the first century, potentially the earliest known copy. This would show us what changes scribes made to the gospel over time.
Although each mask may yield as many as 25 texts, the masks are destroyed in the process, which some people feel is an unacceptable trade-off. However, Craig Evans, a professor of New Testament studies, defended the process in an interview with LiveScience. “We’re not talking about the destruction of any museum-quality piece,” he said.
Actually, no one’s talking much at all. The owners of these masks—whether private collectors, universities, or museums—have insisted that those involved sign nondisclosure agreements to keep them quiet. Someone leaked the information about the Gospel of Mark in 2012.
There’s also controversy over how the papyrus is extracted from these masks. If you watch the video above, McDowell seems almost giddy about soaking the masks in a mixture of Palmolive dishwashing liquid and water to dissolve the paint and glue, wringing them out with his unwashed hands, and using a tweezers to pull apart the papyrus sheets. He doesn’t care if these valuable papyri rip because the masks are privately owned. He also refers to these documents as a “career maker,” which some may consider to be an inappropriate way to approach the Word of God.
NO. 9 The Law$uit Over Biblical Archaeology
We’ve already talked about the controversial television special The Lost Tomb of Jesus, which was directed by Canadian filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, executive-produced by James Cameron, and broadcast on the Discovery Channel and Vision TV in 2007. The special suggested that there was a tomb in Israel that contained the remains of the biblical Jesus and His family, possibly including a son named Judah.
Obviously, those claims set off an intense religious debate, including accusations of profiteering against Jacobovici and Cameron. Many people believe that Jesus was resurrected, so it would be impossible to find His bones. Many also believe He never married or had children.
But even negative publicity can juice viewership and profits, so it’s not always unwelcome for filmmakers who tackle controversial subjects. In this case, Jacobovici eventually sued archaeologist Joseph Zias, a retired Israel Antiquities Authority official, for $1 million in damages for libel.
As part of his barrage of critical blog posts and emails, Zias had a habit of spelling Jacobovici’s first name with a dollar sign instead of an S. But what may have pushed Jacobovici over the edge was National Geographic dropping another of his projects, literally changing at least one way we might view the Bible. Jacobovici claimed he lost over $2 million in revenue as a result of Zias’s actions.
Many biblical scholars took sides, some agreeing that Zias went too far, others claiming that the two men should debate each other, not stifle free speech by facing off in court. In 2015, a Jerusalem court awarded $260,000 in damages to Jacobovici. After the decision, the filmmaker wrote on his website:
As a journalist, I’m committed to the principle of free debate in a democratic society. But free speech ends where libel begins, and Zias crossed every red line of a civilized debate. He accused me, among other things, of “forgery”, “planting archaeology”, “pimping the Bible” and “inventing Holocaust stories”. He also accused me of being in intimate contact with various criminal elements around the world. All these are horrible, made up lies that he circulated on the Internet and sent to various universities, publishers and broadcasters.
NO. 8 The Ophel Inscription
An ongoing debate among biblical scholars is whether the Old Testament was written in real time or centuries after the events were supposed to have happened. Until 2008, it was usually believed that the Hebrew Bible was written in the sixth century BC because there was no evidence of Hebrew writing before that time.
Then a pottery shard from the 10th century BC inscribed with Hebrew writing was discovered at Khirbet Qeiyafa in Israel. “It indicates that the Kingdom of Israel already existed in the 10th century BCE and that at least some of the biblical texts were written hundreds of years before the dates presented in current research,” said Professor Gershon Galil, who deciphered the ancient text, to LiveScience.
Routinely, the two major camps in biblical archaeology duke it out as to whether each new find proves that the Bible is a historical document or not. Even so, this pottery shard wasn’t enough to confirm that the Old Testament was written in real time.
Then in 2013, the “Ophel Inscription” was found on a fragment of a clay jug near the Temple Mount (in the Ophel area) in Jerusalem. Touching off another dispute between the two camps, they couldn’t even agree on the language of the inscription, let alone what it said. But the fragment did appear to date to the 10th century BC. Although some scholars believed the writing was from a Near Eastern language other than Hebrew, Galil interpreted the writing as ancient Hebrew that classified wine stored in the container. He believes it refers to cheap wine given to slave laborers.
However, the cheap wine is not important. If Galil is correct, the Ophel Inscription suggests that Jerusalem was already an important city in the 10th century BC, with a class structure and a complex administrative system. Also, it suggests that writing was widespread at that time.
“Scribes that could write administrative texts could also write literary and historiographic texts,” Galil told The Times of Israel. Although it’s controversial, some scholars believe that if Jerusalem was populated by Hebrew speakers and writers in the 10th century BC, then scribes were probably recording the events of the Old Testament in real time, which would make the Bible more of a historically accurate book. A few more inscriptions from the 10th century BC have been found since then.
NO. 7 God’s Wife
Based on certain archaeological finds and references in the Hebrew Bible, some archaeologists and biblical scholars believe that God had a wife, Asherah, and that ancient Israelites worshiped both of them. Historian Raphael Patai first proposed this theory in 1967.
Then in 2012, researcher Francesca Stavrakopoulou reintroduced the idea, citing evidence from ancient artifacts and texts. According to Stavrakopoulou, Asherah’s statue was worshiped in Jerusalem in Yahweh’s temple. The Book of Kings talks about women at the temple weaving ritual garments for Asherah.
“Asherah was not entirely edited out of the Bible by its male editors,” J. Edward Wright, president of The Arizona Center for Judaic Studies, told Discovery News. “Traces of her remain, and based on those traces, archaeological evidence and references to her in texts from nations bordering Israel and Judah, we can reconstruct her role in the religions of the Southern Levant.” Wright adds that Asherah’s name has often been translated as “Sacred Tree” in English-language Bibles. This was done to concentrate worship on Yahweh only.
However, the biblical references weren’t enough to establish that Asherah was Yahweh’s wife. Figurines, amulets, and other ancient texts helped. At Kuntillet Ajrud in the Sinai Desert, archaeologists discovered pottery with an eighth-century inscription requesting a blessing from “Yahweh and his Asherah.” More inscriptions like that have been uncovered, which Stavrakopoulou and others believe is strong evidence that Asherah was Yahweh’s wife.
Most biblical scholars concede that the ancient Israelites of the Old Testament worshiped many gods, but they still think that characterizing Asherah as God’s wife is too much of a leap of logic.
“We have to be cautious about trying to draw too much information about something like ‘religion’ from material culture,” Michael Press, an expert in Philistine culture and religion, told Haaretz. “Archaeologists have a very difficult job in reconstructing the world of ideas, how people thought, from material remains. There is a gigantic interpretive leap from concrete remains to abstract theory. And at best we only get glimpses of that sort of world of ideas and imagination.”
Other critics aren’t so diplomatic. Andy Rau on the BibleGateway Blog says there’s no evidence in the Bible that God had a wife. To claim otherwise, he believes, is to offer a conspiracy theory where much of the Bible was falsified after the fact.
NO. 6 The Location Of The Trial Of Jesus
Although it’s one of the more important scenes in the Bible, archaeologists can’t agree on where the trial of Jesus took place. During an expansion of the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem near the turn of the 21st century, archaeologists believed they had discovered the sewage system and foundation walls of the ancient palace of Herod the Great. Many believe the trial of Jesus was held there before He was crucified. At that time, Herod was the King of Judea appointed by Rome. The supposed remains of his palace were found under an abandoned prison next to the modern museum.
The New Testament gospels appear to give conflicting accounts of the location of Jesus’s trial. In the Gospel of John, the trial is said to have occurred on a stone pavement close to a gate. That matches with Herod’s palace. But the gospels also use the Latin word “praetorium” to describe where Pontius Pilate examined Jesus. While some scholars believe that Pilate would have stayed in Herod’s palace, others say that a praetorium was a general’s tent in a Roman military camp.
Even though the debate isn’t settled, the prison is open to the public for tours. “There is, of course, no inscription stating [the trial] happened [at the prison site where Herod’s palace was unearthed], but everything—archaeological, historical and gospel accounts—all falls into place and makes sense,” archaeology professor Shimon Gibson told The Washington Post.
NO. 5 The Hushed-Up Pillar
In 2013, Israeli tour guide Binyamin Tropper happened upon an important historical artifact, a rare carved stone known as a “proto-aeolic capital” that was still attached to its base. This pillar appeared to be a monument at the entrance of a major archaeological site from the ninth or eighth century BC at Ein Joweizeh in the rural West Bank, close to Jerusalem. The site may be associated with a biblical Jewish king from that era and possibly provide evidence that certain stories in the Old Testament are true.
Eager to see the site excavated, Tropper told his boss, Yaron Rosenthal, about it. Rosenthal then notified the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). According to The Jewish Press, he got a surprising reply from an unnamed IAA official: “Yaron, please, you found it, but we know about it. Now forget the whole thing and keep your mouth shut.”
Rosenthal learned that the IAA had known about the pillar for 18 months. He was unhappy that the site was neither being excavated nor protected from damage. Even more concerning, it was on the Palestinian side of a security fence dividing South Jerusalem from the Palestinian Authority’s Bethlehem County. Rather than abide by the IAA’s wishes, Tropper decided to announce the find in the Hebrew press.
The pillar identifies the entrance to a 160-meter (525 ft) spring tunnel system, which may have been used to provide water for a palace or large farm from biblical times. But the politics of the situation makes an excavation difficult. The Jews see their significant archaeological discoveries as a way to prove their historical connection to the land. But the Palestinians prefer to deny ancient Jewish history in order to weaken modern Jewish control of the area. So the Palestinians would probably be reluctant to see a dig on land that they want to control. Currently, the land is privately owned by a Palestinian.
NO. 4 New Testament Forgeries And Lies
Forged, a book by biblical scholar Bart Ehrman, was published in 2011 to a storm of controversy. Ehrman charged that about half of the New Testament was forged by people who had a religious agenda in the ancient world but couldn’t make it work under their own names. “There was competition among different groups of Christians about what to believe and each of these groups wanted to have authority to back up their views,” he said in an interview with CNN. “If you were a nobody, you wouldn’t sign your own name to your treatise. You would sign Peter or John.”
Ehrman says that forgers lied for what they believed was the greater good. It was also a way for ancient Christian leaders to win their religious feuds with each other. In his book, Ehrman gives examples of Paul’s writing in the New Testament that vary in style: short sentences in some parts, longer sentences that don’t appear to be his style in others. Some of the passages even contradict each other. Finally, Ehrman claims that the apostles Peter and John were illiterate fishermen, so they couldn’t have written any of the New Testament.
It didn’t take long for other biblical scholars to tear Ehrman’s conclusions apart. One of them, Ben Witherington, refers to Ehrman’s book as “Gullible Travels,” complaining that people will believe anything, no matter how outrageous.
Witherington says that, except for 2 Peter, every book in the New Testament was written by a member of a small group of educated Christians, each of whom could write well and some of whom had witnessed the events described in the New Testament. They had close connections to Jesus and Paul.
According to Witherington, scribes were essential to correctly transcribing documents and making the prose more eloquent in ancient times. It was common for people like Paul to dictate their words to a scribe. However, Witherington admitted that forgeries were common at that time. Nevertheless, he doesn’t agree that Peter and John had to be illiterate just because they were fishermen. Witherington believes that fishermen had to write and sign contracts as part of their work.
Ehrman insists that he’s not trying to harm the Bible’s reputation. He just wants people to understand that the New Testament isn’t the Word of God. For him, it’s a human document written by people who lied about their identities.
NO. 3 The Bible’s View Of Homosexuality
In 2012, an anonymous group published the Queen James Bible (QJB), editing eight verses of the popular King James Version (KJV) in an attempt to make it impossible to interpret the Bible in a homophobic way. Steve Golden from Answers in Genesis believes the editors of the QJB “have only made a mockery of a beloved Bible translation.”
For example, in Leviticus 18:22, the QJB adds five words (shown here in italics) to the KJV: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind in the temple of Molech: it is an abomination.” This rewritten passage now condemns having sex with male prostitutes in particular temples, a type of pagan idolatry, rather than denouncing certain sex acts.
In general, Golden argues that pro-gay advocates have misinterpreted the Hebrew word for “ritually unclean” as relating to pagan idolatry only when it is used to condemn “something that is morally (ethically) repugnant in God’s sight, such as homosexuality ([as in] Proverbs 6:16).”
Golden also mentions two other chapters in Leviticus that specify sinful behavior, such as bestiality, child sacrifice, and incest. He then argues that the editors of the QJV must be consistent in applying their changes to these chapters as well, which would make bestiality, child sacrifice, and incest acceptable unless pagan idolatry were involved. So his conclusion is that homosexuality must be a sin whether or not it involves pagan idolatry.
Golden takes aim at other biblical scholars with Romans 1:26–27, which talks about men and women who “exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.” Here, he argues that the apostle Paul condemned both homosexuals and those who approve of them. However, John Shelby Spong, a retired bishop of the Episcopal Church, says in an interview posted on YouTube (shown in the video above) that he believes Paul was a repressed homosexual, whose self-loathing explains why he so forcefully opposed homosexuality.
In another view, David Field, former Vice-Principal of Oak Hill Theological College, believes those verses are aimed at heterosexuals who engage in homosexual intercourse that is unnatural for them. With many people now believing that we can’t choose our sexual orientation, Field says that homosexuals would not be condemned under those verses because “same-sex intercourse [is] the most natural thing in the world for them.”
NO. 2 Exodus And Abortion
In the religious debate over abortion, people often argue over the meaning of Exodus 21:22–25. In the Douay-Rheims version of the Bible, it says: “If men quarrel, and one strike a woman with child, and she miscarry indeed, but live herself: he shall be answerable for so much damage as the woman’s husband shall require, and as arbiters shall award. But if her death ensue thereupon, he shall render life for life. Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
Pro-choice advocates interpret “miscarry” to mean that the unborn child doesn’t have the same life status as the adult woman. If the baby dies as a result of a miscarriage, then the man responsible is only fined, as with a misdemeanor. But if the woman dies as a result of being hit, then the man has committed a capital offense punishable by death.
Pro-life advocates often disagree with the use of the word “miscarry” in this version of the Bible. Even so, they argue that the baby’s death was accidental, unlike abortion which is the intentional taking of a life. They also claim that even an accidental death in this case is evil or the man wouldn’t be fined. Furthermore, the death penalty isn’t meted out for accidental death in the Bible as shown in Exodus 21:13–14 and 20–21, Numbers 35:10–34, and Deuteronomy 19:1–13.
John Piper, chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary, points out that the New International Version of the Bible translates that passage as “she gives birth prematurely” instead of “she miscarry indeed,” which suggests that the baby was born alive. In this case, the man pays a fine if the mother or child is injured, but he’s put to death if the mother or child dies. Piper says there’s a Hebrew word for “miscarry” which wasn’t used in this passage.
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach agrees with the pro-choice advocates. He says that, according to the Jewish interpretation of that Exodus passage, the fetus does not have the same status of life as the adult woman. Therefore, he believes that taking the life of an unborn child is not murder. He acknowledges that the Jewish interpretation of Exodus is different than the Catholic one.
NO. 1 Joshua’s Conquest Of Jericho
An oasis in the desert of the West Bank, Jericho is believed to be the earliest city in the world that was continuously inhabited. At various times, at least 23 civilizations have made Jericho their home. As told in the Book of Joshua in the Bible, Joshua led the Israelites to Jericho, the heart of the Promised Land. But when he arrived, he had to conquer the Canaanites with his army in a bloody battle reminiscent of the goriest Hollywood action movie.
According to the Bible, on the seventh day, Joshua circled the outside walls of the city seven times with the powerful Ark of the Covenant, the chest which contained the stone tablets inscribed with the Ten Commandments. Then God caused the walls of the city to crumble, and Joshua and his men stormed in, killing everyone except Rahab and her family. Rahab was the prostitute who had helped Joshua’s spies.
So far, archaeological digs don’t support the biblical story of Joshua attacking Jericho. It appears that no one was living in Jericho at the time of Joshua, and no walls existed, either. (Some researchers believe there is evidence for Joshua’s conquest, just at a different time in history.)
However, it seems more likely that the Israelites slipped into the sparsely inhabited hill country more gradually as described in the Book of Judges. For some believers, that’s a relief. They can’t reconcile their loving, merciful God with the God who condoned such widespread slaughter.
It does open another interesting question, though. What if the ancient Israelites and the Canaanites of the Bible were once part of the same tribe, which appears to be supported by DNA analysis? According to biblical archaeologist Eric Cline, modern DNA testing may show that today’s Jews and Palestinians, who are locked in a violent conflict of their own, are distant brothers or cousins from that tribe. The inability to confirm the biblical story of Joshua’s conquest of Jericho may have far greater implications than whether the Bible is an accurate historical document.
Language is perhaps the most important function of the human body – it
allows us to get sustenance as a child, it allows us to get virtually
anything we want as an adult, and it allows us many hours of
entertainment through literature, radio, music, and films. This list
(in order of least to most spoken) summarizes the most important
languages in use today.
NUMBER 10: French
Number of speakers: 129 million
Often called the most romantic language in the world, French is
spoken in tons of countries, including Belgium, Canada, Rwanda,
Cameroon, and Haiti. Oh, and France too. We’re actually very lucky that
French is so popular, because without it, we might have been stuck with
Dutch Toast, Dutch Fries, and Dutch kissing (ew!).
To say “hello” in French, say “Bonjour” (bone-JOOR).
NUMBER 9: Malay-Indonesian
Number of speakers: 159 million
Malay-Indonesian is spoken – surprise – in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Actually, we kinda fudged the numbers on this one because there are many
dialects of Malay, the most popular of which is Indonesian. But they’re
all pretty much based on the same root language, which makes it the
ninth most-spoken in the world.
Indonesia is a fascinating place; a nation made up of over 13,000
islands it is the sixth most populated country in the world. Malaysia
borders on two of the larger parts of Indonesia (including the island of
Borneo), and is mostly known for its capital city of Kuala Lumpur.
To say “hello” in Indonesian, say “Selamat pagi” (se-LA-maht PA-gee).
NUMBER 8: Portuguese
Number of speakers: 191 million
Think of Portuguese as the little language that could. In the 12th
Century, Portugal won its independence from Spain and expanded all over
the world with the help of its famous explorers like Vasco da Gama and
Prince Henry the Navigator. (Good thing Henry became a navigator . . .
could you imagine if a guy named “Prince Henry the Navigator” became a
florist?) Because Portugal got in so early on the exploring game, the
language established itself all over the world, especially in Brazil
(where it’s the national language), Macau, Angola, Venezuela, and
Mozambique.
To say “hello” in Portuguese, say “Bom dia” (bohn DEE-ah).
NUMBER 7: Bengali
Number of speakers: 211 million
In Bangladesh, a country of 120+ million people, just about everybody
speaks Bengali. And because Bangladesh is virtually surrounded by India
(where the population is growing so fast, just breathing the air can
get you pregnant), the number of Bengali speakers in the world is much
higher than most people would expect.
To say “hello” in Bengali, say “Ei Je” (EYE-jay).
NUMBER 6: Arabic
Number of speakers: 246 million
Arabic, one of the world’s oldest languages, is spoken in the Middle
East, with speakers found in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait,
Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, and Egypt. Furthermore, because Arabic is
the language of the Koran, millions of Moslems in other countries speak
Arabic as well. So many people have a working knowledge of Arabic, in
fact, that in 1974 it was made the sixth official language of the United
Nations.
To say “hello” in Arabic, say “Al salaam a’alaykum” (Ahl sah-LAHM ah ah-LAY-koom).
NUMBER 5: Russian
Number of speakers: 277 million
Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and Yakov Smirnoff are among the
millions of Russian speakers out there. Sure, we used to think of them
as our Commie enemies. Now we think of them as our Commie friends. One
of the six languages in the UN, Russian is spoken not only in the Mother
Country, but also in Belarus, Kazakhstan, and the U.S. (to name just a
few places).
To say “hello” in Russian, say “Zdravstvuite” (ZDRAST-vet-yah).
NUMBER 4: Spanish
Number of speakers: 392 million
Aside from all of those kids who take it in high school, Spanish is
spoken in just about every South American and Central American country,
not to mention Spain, Cuba, and the U.S.
There is a particular interest
in Spanish in the U.S., as many English words are borrowed from the
language, including: tornado, bonanza, patio, quesadilla, enchilada, and
taco grande supreme.
To say “hello” in Spanish, say “Hola” (OH-la).
NUMBER 3: Hindustani
Number of speakers: 497 million
Hindustani is the primary language of India’s crowded population, and
it encompasses a huge number of dialects (of which the most commonly
spoken is Hindi). While many predict that the population of India will
soon surpass that of China, the prominence of English in India prevents
Hindustani from surpassing the most popular language in the world. If
you’re interested in learning a little Hindi, there’s a very easy way:
rent an Indian movie. The film industry in India is the most prolific in
the world, making thousands of action/romance/musicals every year.
To say “hello” in Hindustani, say “Namaste” (Nah-MAH-stay).
NUMBER 2: English
Number of speakers: 508 million
While English doesn’t have the most speakers, it is the official
language of more countries than any other language. Its speakers hail
from all around the world, including New Zealand, the U.S., Australia,
England, Zimbabwe, the Caribbean, Hong Kong, South Africa, and Canada.
We’d tell you more about English, but you probably feel pretty
comfortable with the language already. Let’s just move on to the most
popular language in the world.
To say “hello” in English, say “What’s up, freak?” (watz-UP-freek).
NUMBER 1: Mandarin
Number of speakers: 1 billion+
Surprise, surprise, the most widely spoken language on the planet is
based in the most populated country on the planet. Beating second-place
English by a 2 to 1 ratio, but don’t let that lull you into thinking
that Mandarin is easy to learn.
Speaking Mandarin can be really tough,
because each word can be pronounced in four ways (or “tones”), and a
beginner will invariably have trouble distinguishing one tone from
another. But if over a billion people could do it, so could you. Try
saying hello!
To say “hello” in Mandarin, say “Ni hao” (Nee HaOW). (“Hao” is
pronounced as one syllable, but the tone requires that you let your
voice drop midway, and then raise it again at the end.)
