To which Biblical figure does this encoded passage refer, and how does the code itself illustrate the sentence?

Ugd uc00 s000uwba 000absva cdi.

Hint #1: The zeros are zeros, not capital o’s.
Hint #2: In the first word only, “u” denotes “t”

(In reply to Partial Solution (Spoiler) by Dej Mar)

You've solved part one.  Moses is indeed the biblical figure referred to by the encoded passage.

As to your question about the "m" in him ("Is this an error?), I can't speak for Diana, but it depends on your point of view.

As you noticed, the alphabet is divided into two parts for this encryption method (just as the sea was divided by Moses).  The letters a through m make up the first group, while n through z make up the second.

To decipher each word, first examine each letter and determine whether it is a member of group one or group two.  If it is a member of group one (a through m) then move up one letter for word one, two letters for word two, three letters for word three, and so on.  The zeroes in the encrypted message are placeholders for hypothetical letters before "a".  Moving up two letters from "00" in the second word results in the letter "a" as you have already determined. (Presumably, an alternate placeholder would have been used for letters falling in group two with hypothetical counterparts beyond "z".)

Here's the tricky part that seems to have caused you to scratch your head.  Letters in the first group always code for letters in the first group and letters in the second code for letters in the second.  Diana could have used the letter "h" in the fifth word to code for the letter "m" in "him" -- and you wouldn't have had a problem.  Actually, she could have used "h", "i", "j", "k", "l", or "m" as would all have resulted in "m".  To get to a letter in group two, you must start from a letter in group two.

Posted by Mindrod on 2006-04-17 00:12:53