What is gematria?

Answer

The practice of gematria (pronounced gə ‘may tree ə) is a method of assigning a numerical value to each letter of a word, name, or expression to determine the hidden meaning of the word. The term gematria originates from Hebrew, but, as per The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, it “is possibly a corruption of the Greek word γεωμετρία (‘geometry’).”

Gematria is a type of biblical numerology. In ancient Judaism and early Christianity, gematria was used to give numbers religious or spiritual significance. Jewish rabbis frequently employed gematria to interpret the Old Testament. For instance, the enigmatic “Shiloh comes” in Genesis 49:10 (NKJV) was believed to symbolize the coming Messiah because, in Hebrew, the letters of Shiloh comes and Messiah have the same total numerical value of 358.

In another instance of gematria in practice, some rabbis point out that Eliezer «And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? », (Genesis 15:2), the name of Abraham’s esteemed servant, has a numerical value of 318, indicating that this individual’s value equaled that of all Abraham’s servants combined, as Abraham had 318 servants «And when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his trained servants, born in his own house, three hundred and eighteen, and pursued them unto Dan. », (Genesis 14:14). Taking it a step further, the pseudepigraphical Epistle of Barnabas suggests (through a complex process of gematria) that these 318 servants of Abraham symbolize Christ’s crucifixion. Naturally, in gematria, interpretations of words and hidden meanings heavily rely on how the numbers are interpreted and arranged.

The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary states that it was common for the Hebrew- and Greek-speaking people of the Bible to calculate the total numerical value of the letters used to spell a person’s name and regard that sum as “the number of (that) person’s name” (as in Revelation 13:17-18). This tradition is straightforward to comprehend, as the letters in ancient Hebrew and Greek alphabets also served as numbers. To modern Bible readers, this method may appear like attempting to decode a cipher. Nevertheless, in biblical times, the process was intuitive. Most individuals were already familiar with the numerical value of each letter. During New Testament eras, gematria was utilized to craft jokes, pastimes, and enigmas linked to individuals’ names and the titles of notable personalities.

The typical Jew would have recognized that the Hebrew letters in the name David sum up to 14—a number that held messianic importance in biblical numerology. The Messiah was anticipated to be the “Son of David,” destined to reign on David’s throne (Matthew 22:41-42;Luke 1:32-33). Matthew’s Gospel emphasizes this significance by organizing Jesus’ genealogy into three sets of 14 generations each, as seen in Matthew 1:17.

Many early Christians would have automatically computed the total numerical value of the letters in the name Jesus (in Greek) and reached 888. Some viewed this number as significant because 8 surpasses 7—the number symbolizing perfection. A concept akin to gematria appears to be implied in Revelation 13:18, which states, “This requires wisdom. Let the person who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.”

The second-century church father Irenaeus illustrated the challenges of employing gematria with precision, highlighting that 666 was the sum of various names, including Euanthas, Lateinos, and Teitan. Irenaeus’ observations underscore the complexities involved in such numerical interpretations.

aeus’ conclusion: “It is therefore more certain, and less hazardous, to await the fulfillment of the prophecy, than to be making surmises, and casting about for any names that may present themselves, inasmuch as many names can be found possessing the number mentioned; and the same question will, after all, remain unsolved” Against Heresies, 5:30:3. Ignoring the advice of Irenaeus, others throughout history have continued to use gematria to assign the role of Antichrist to various emperors, presidents, popes, and other world figures.

The Bible neither confirms nor denies hidden meanings in numbers. Since gematria depends heavily on human ingenuity, alternate spellings, and subjective word groupings, it should not be relied upon for serious scriptural interpretation.

Over time, most traditional Christian and Jewish groups have distanced themselves from the practice of gematria, primarily due to the long-standing association of numerology with black magic and occult systems. Today, gematria remains in force in kabbalah and various mystical religions.