Editing Gematria (section)

==History==
{{further|Numbers in Egyptian mythology|Biblical numerology}}
The first documented use of gematria is from an Assyrian inscription dating to the 8th century BCE, commissioned by [[Sargon II]]. In this inscription, Sargon II states: "the king built the wall of Khorsabad 16,283 cubits long to correspond with the numerical value of his name."<ref>Daniel Luckenbill, ''Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia'', vol. 2, University of Chicago Press, 1927, pp. 43, 65.</ref>

The practice of using alphabetic letters to represent numbers developed in the Greek city of [[Miletus]], and is thus known as the Milesian system.<ref name=Halsey>{{cite encyclopedia |editor-last=Halsey |editor-first=W. |year=1967 |title=Numerals and systems of numeration |encyclopedia=Collier's Encyclopedia}}</ref> Early examples include vase graffiti dating to the 6th century BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jeffrey |first=L. |title=The Local Scripts of Archaic Greece |place=Oxford |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1961}}</ref> Aristotle wrote that the [[Pythagoreanism|Pythgoraean tradition]], founded in the 6th century BCE by [[Pythagoras of Samos]], practiced [[isopsephy]],<ref name=Acevedo>{{cite book |last=Acevedo |first=J. |year=2020 |title=Alphanumeric Cosmology from Greek Into Arabic: The Idea of Stoicheia Through the Medieval Mediterranean |place=Germany |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |page=50 |isbn=978-3-16-159245-4}}</ref> the Greek predecessor of gematria. Pythagoras was a contemporary of the philosophers [[Anaximander]], [[Anaximenes of Miletus|Anaximenes]], and the historian [[Hecataeus of Miletus|Hecataeus]], all of whom lived in Miletus, across the sea from [[Samos]].<ref>{{citation|last=Riedweg|first=Christoph|date=2005|orig-date=2002|title=Pythagoras: His Life, Teachings, and Influence|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A8ixyQJA7_MC&q=Pythagoras|location=Ithaca, New York|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=978-0-8014-7452-1}}</ref> The Milesian system was in common use by the reign of [[Alexander the Great]] (336–323 BCE) and was adopted by other cultures during the subsequent [[Hellenistic period]].<ref name=Halsey/> It was officially adopted in Egypt during the reign of [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus]] (284–246 BCE).<ref name=Halsey/>

In early biblical texts, numbers were written out in full using Hebrew [[number word]]s. The first evidence of the use of Hebrew letters as numerals appears during the late Hellenistic period, in 78 BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last=Rosenstock |first=B. |year=2017 |title=Transfinite Life: Oskar Goldberg and the Vitalist Imagination |publisher=Indiana University Press |page=61 |isbn=978-0-253-02997-3}}</ref> Scholars have identified gematria in the [[Hebrew Bible]],<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.academia.edu/24144116  |title=The Original Version of the Priestly Creation Account and the Religious Significance of the Number Eight in the Bible |last =Knohl|first=Israel|access-date=September 18, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Knohl  |first=Israel|date=2012|title=Sacred Architecture: The Numerical Dimensions of Biblical Poems |journal=Vetus Testamentum |volume=62|issue=#2|pages=189–19 7|doi=10.1163/156853312x629199|issn=0042-4935}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hurowitz |first= Victor|date=2012|title=Proverbs: Introduction and Commentary  |journal=Miqra LeYisrael|volume=1-2}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |first=Stephen |last=Lieberman |title=A Mesopotamian Background for the So-Called Aggadic 'Measures' of Biblical Hermeneutics? |journal=Hebrew Union College Annual |year=1987 |pages=157–225}}</ref> the canon of which was fixed during the [[Hasmonean dynasty]] (c. 140 BCE to 37 BCE),<ref name=Davies66>{{cite book |last=Davies |first=Philip R. |editor1-last=McDonald |editor1-first=Lee Martin |editor2-last=Sanders |editor2-first=James A. |chapter=The Jewish Scriptural Canon in Cultural Perspective |title=The Canon Debate |publisher=Baker Academic |year=2001 |isbn=978-1-4412-4163-4 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kxW-AgAAQBAJ&pg=PT66 |page=PT66 |quote=With many other scholars, I conclude that the fixing of a canonical list was almost certainly the achievement of the Hasmonean dynasty. }}</ref> though some scholars argue it was not fixed until the second century CE or even later.<ref name=Neusner>McDonald & Sanders, ''The Canon Debate'', 2002, p. 5, cited are Neusner's ''Judaism and Christianity in the Age of Constantine'', pp. 128–145, and ''Midrash in Context: Exegesis in Formative Judaism'', pp. 1–22.</ref> The Hasmonean king of Judea, [[Alexander Jannaeus]] (died 76 BCE) had coins inscribed in Aramaic with the [[Phoenician alphabet]], marking the 20th and 25th years of his reign using the letters K and KE ({{lang|he|rtl=yes|למלכא אלכסנדרוס שנת כ}} and {{lang|he|rtl=yes|למלכא אלכסנדרוס שנת כה}}).<ref>{{cite book | last=Rosenstock | first=B. | title=Transfinite Life: Oskar Goldberg and the Vitalist Imagination | publisher=Indiana University Press | series=New Jewish Philosophy and Thought | year=2017 | isbn=978-0-253-03016-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XC48DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 | access-date=2024-08-16 | page=60}}</ref>

Some old [[Mishna|Mishnaic texts]] may preserve very early usage of this number system, but no surviving written documents exist, and some scholars believe these texts were passed down orally and during the early stages before the [[Bar Kokhba revolt|Bar Kochba rebellion]] were never written.<ref>[https://www.academia.edu/44771101/The_Invention_of_the_Ban_against_Writing_Oral_Torah_in_the_Babylonian_Talmud_forthcoming_in_AJS_Review The invention of the ban against writing oral Torah] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220113093043/https://www.academia.edu/44771101/The_Invention_of_the_Ban_against_Writing_Oral_Torah_in_the_Babylonian_Talmud_forthcoming_in_AJS_Review |date=2022-01-13 }}, Yair Furstenberg, AJS Review, submitted 2022</ref> Gematria is not known to be found in the Dead Sea scrolls, a vast body of texts from 100 BCE{{Snd}}100 CE, or in any of the documents found from the Bar-Kochba revolt circa 150 CE.

According to [[Proclus]] in his commentary on the ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'' of [[Plato]] written in the 5th century, the author [[Theodorus of Asine|Theodorus Asaeus]] from a century earlier interpreted the word "soul" (ψυχή) based on gematria and an inspection of the graphical aspects of the letters that make up the word. According to Proclus, Theodorus learned these methods from the writings of [[Numenius of Apamea]] and [[Amelius]]. Proclus rejects these methods by appealing to the arguments against them put forth by the Neoplatonic philosopher [[Iamblichus]]. The first argument was that some letters have the same numerical value but opposite meaning. His second argument was that the form of letters changes over the years, and so their graphical qualities cannot hold any deeper meaning. Finally, he puts forth the third argument that when one uses all sorts of methods as addition, subtraction, division, multiplication, and even ratios, the infinite ways in which these can be combined allow virtually any number to be produced to suit any purpose.<ref>Tzahi Weiss, Sefer Yeṣirah and its Contexts, Pennsylvania 2018, 26–28.</ref>

Some scholars propose that at least two cases of gematria appear in the New Testament. According to one theory, the reference to the miraculous "catch of 153 fish" in John 21:11 is an application of gematria derived from the name of the spring called 'EGLaIM in Ezekiel 47:10.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ezekiel 47 / Hebrew – English Bible / Mechon-Mamre |url=https://mechon-mamre.org/p/pt/pt1247.htm |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=mechon-mamre.org}}</ref><ref>Richard Bauckham, "The 153 Fish and the Unity of the Fourth Gospel", Neotestamentica 2002.</ref><ref>Mark Kiley, "Three More Fish Stories (John 21:11)", Journal of Biblical Literature 2008</ref> The appearance of this gematria in John 21:11 has been connected to one of the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]], namely 4Q252, which also applies the same gematria of 153 derived from Ezekiel 47 to state that Noah arrived at Mount Ararat on the 153rd day after the beginning of the flood.<ref>George Brooke. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament. Fortress Press 2005, pp286-97</ref> Some historians see gematria behind the reference to the [[number of the beast|number of the name of the Beast]] in [[Revelation]] as 666, which corresponds to the numerical value of the Hebrew transliteration of the Greek name "Neron Kaisar", referring to the 1st century Roman emperor who persecuted the early Christians.<ref>Craig Koester, ''Revelation: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary'', Yale University Press, 2014, pg. 598</ref> Another possible influence on the use of 666 in Revelation goes back to reference to Solomon's intake of 666 talents of gold in 1 Kings 10:14.<ref>Bodner & Strawn, "Solomon and 666 (Revelation 13.18)", New Testament Studies (2020), pp. 299–312.</ref>

Gematria makes several appearances in various Christian and Jewish texts written in the first centuries of the common era. One appearance of gematria in the early Christian period is in the [[Epistle of Barnabas]] 9:6–7, which dates to sometime between 70 and 132 CE. There, the 318 servants of [[Abraham]] in [[Book of Genesis|Genesis]] 14:14 is used to indicate that Abraham looked forward to the coming of Jesus as the numerical value of some of the letters in the Greek name for Jesus and the 't' representing a symbol for the cross also equaled 318. Another example is a Christian interpolation in the [[Sibylline Oracles]], where the symbolic significance of the value of [[888 (number)|888]] (equal to the numerical value of ''Iesous'', the Latinized rendering of the Greek version of Jesus' name) is asserted.<ref name="rus">This and several other examples of the appearance of gematria are given in D.S. Russell. "Countdown: Arithmetic and Anagram in Early Biblical Interpretation". Expository Times 1993.</ref> Irenaeus also heavily criticized the interpretation of letters by the Gnostic [[Marcus (Marcosian)|Marcus]]. Because of their association with Gnosticism and the criticisms of Irenaeus and [[Hippolytus of Rome]] and [[Epiphanius of Salamis]], this form of interpretation never became popular in Christianity<ref>Tzahi Weiss, Sefer Yeṣirah and its Contexts, Pennsylvania 2018, 21–26, 28.</ref>—though it does appear in at least some texts.<ref>Tzahi Weiss, Sefer Yeṣirah and its Contexts, Pennsylvania 2018, 28–29.</ref> Another two examples can be found in [[3 Baruch]], a text that may have either been composed by a Jew or a Christian sometime between the 1st and 3rd centuries. In the first example, a snake is stated to consume a cubit of ocean every day, but is unable to ever finish consuming it, because the oceans are also refilled by 360 rivers. The number 360 is given because the numerical value of the Greek word for snake, ''δράκων'', when transliterated to Hebrew ({{Lang|he|דרקון}}) is 360. In a second example, the number of giants stated to have died during the Deluge is 409,000. The Greek word for 'deluge', ''κατακλυσμός'', has a numerical value of 409 when transliterated in Hebrew characters, thus leading the author of 3 Baruch to use it for the number of perished giants.<ref>Gideon Bohak. Greek-Hebrew Gematria in 3 Baruch and in Revelation. Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha 1990.</ref>

Gematria is often used in [[Rabbinic literature]]. One example is that the numerical value of  "''The Satan"'' ({{Lang|he|השטן}}) in Hebrew is 364, and so it was said that the Satan had authority to prosecute Israel for 364 days before his reign ended on the [[Day of Atonement]], an idea which appears in Yoma 20a and Peskita 7a.<ref name="rus" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=trugman |date=2013-05-05 |title=Small Vessels |url=https://thetrugmans.com/small-vessels/ |access-date=2022-08-22 |website=Ohr Chadash |language=en-US}}</ref> Yoma 20a states: "Rami bar Ḥama said: The numerological value of the letters that constitute the word HaSatan is three hundred and sixty four: Heh has a value of five, sin has a value of three hundred, tet has a value of nine, and nun has a value of fifty. Three hundred and sixty-four days of the solar year, which is three hundred and sixty-five days long, Satan has license to prosecute."<ref>The given text of Yoma 20a is from the William Davidson translation.</ref> Genesis 14:14 states that Abraham took 318 of his servants to help him rescue some of his kinsmen, which was taken in Peskita 70b to be a reference to Eleazar, whose name has a numerical value of 318.

The total value of the letters of the Islamic [[Basmala]], i.e. the phrase ''Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim'' ("In the name of [[God in Islam|God]], [[Rahman (Islamic term)|the Most Gracious]], [[Rahim|the Most Merciful]]"), according to the standard  [[Abjadi order|Abjadi]] system of [[Isopsephy|numerology]], is [[786 (number)|786]].<ref name="ox">Shah & Haleem (eds.), ''The Oxford Handbook of Qur'anic Studies'', Oxford University Press, 2020, pp581, 587–88</ref> This number has therefore acquired a significance in [[folk Islam]] and [[Witchcraft in the Middle East|Near Eastern folk magic]] and also appears in many instances of pop-culture, such as its appearance in the 2006 song '786 All is War' by the band [[Fun-Da-Mental]].<ref name="ox" /> A recommendation of reciting the basmala 786 times in sequence is recorded in [[Al-Buni]]. Sündermann (2006) reports that a contemporary "[[Faith healing|spiritual healer]]" from Syria recommends the recitation of the basmala 786 times over a cup of water, which is then to be ingested as medicine.<ref>Katja Sündermann, ''Spirituelle Heiler im modernen Syrien: Berufsbild und Selbstverständnis – Wissen und Praxis'', Hans Schiler, 2006, [https://books.google.com/books?id=qNE3N6vbBPsC&pg=PA371  p. 371] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221031011250/https://books.google.ch/books?id=qNE3N6vbBPsC&pg=PA371&lpg=PA371 |date=2022-10-31 }}.</ref> The use of gematria is still pervasive in many parts of Asia and Africa.<ref>Kravel-Tovi & D. Moore, ''Taking Stock: Cultures of Enumeration in Contemporary Jewish Life, The Modern Jewish Experience'' (Indiana University Press, 2016), 32, 71; Holt, ''Culture and Politics in Indonesia'' (Equinox Publishing, 2007), 81; Leslie & Young, ''Paths to Asian Medical Knowledge, Comparative Studies of Health Systems and Medical Care'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992), 261.</ref>