Hebrew Gematria -

Finding numerical relationships between
words and phrases

Within the earliest Jewish traditions, groups of Jewish scholars counted
the number of times each letter appeared in the Scriptures (as well as
the number of words, verses, paragraphs, etc.). These textual specialists
were called Soferim (counters). The Soferim ensured that every
Torah scroll (and the other books of the Tanakh) were identical,
noting any unusual words and spellings and replicating them exactly
through their scribal arts. Many Jews believe that Ezra the Scribe
instituted many of the practices of the Soferim.

In the medieval mystical text called Sefer Yitzirah: The Book of Creation,
the letters of the Alphabet are described as the stones used to build a house.
They are called the “twenty two letters of foundation.” This doctrine highlights
the belief in the essential relationship between letters, words and the creative
process.

According to most practitioners, there are several methods used to
calculate the numerical value for individual words and phrases. When
converted to a number, words/phrases can then be compared to other
words/phrases and similarities drawn. I list the most common Hebrew
gematria methods below.

The Standard Method

Each letter of the Hebrew alphabet is given an assigned number, beginning
with one for Aleph, two for Bet, and so on. The tenth letter, Yod, is numerically
equivalent to 10, and successive letters equal 20, 30, 40, and so on. The letter
Kaf near the end of the alphabet, equals 100, and the last letter, Tav, equals 400.
This method is sometimes called “Ragil.” Using this method, you simply add up
each letter of a given word
(or phrase) to determine its numerical value:




Examples:
The value of the word shalom (Shin, Lamed, Vav, Mem) is 300+30+6+40 = 376.
The value of the Name YHVH (Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey) is 10+5+6+5 = 26.

Note: In the Mispar Mussafi method, the value of a word (or phrase) is the
standard gematria value plus the number of letters in the word (or phrase).
For example, the value of the word shalom (Shin, Lamed, Vav, Mem) is
300+30+6+40+4 or 380, and the value of the Name YHVH
(Yod, Hey, Vav, Hey) is 10+5+6+5+4 or 30.