In ancient times, people looked up at the night sky and marveled at the infinite twinkles which whirled like a wheel around the pole star at its axis. This wheel was visualized as belonging to a great Chariot that was ridden by God. Sometimes this merkabah (Chariot) transported God about the heavens and the earth within roiling clouds that flashed and thundered.
The Merkabah (also known as the Seven Palaces) was also a schematic diagram of God's creation. It was split into four sections which corresponded to the Holy Name of YHVH (Yod, Heh, Vav, Heh). During the bronze age, it was split into three sections to correspond with the early Name of God YHV.
The diagram to the right is colour coded. The letter Yod is found on the blue section. The first Heh is on the yellow sections. The letter Vav is on the pink section and the final Heh is on the green section. By calculating the total of the letters for each section of the Merkabah we arrive at four "gate" values:
Yod = 220, Heh = 217, Vav = 480, Heh = 93. When the Merkabah was split into three sections, the two Heh's of the Name were one large section that totaled to 310. The value of all these gates and that of the Holy Name itself are part of the gematria calculation of Genesis 1:1.
The Holy Name on the Merkabah represented all the letters of the alphabet except the letter Beth, which was the House of God. When the letter Beth is written large it has the value of 2000. God in Hebrew is אל and has the value of 31. The value of the two Heh's are multiples of 31:
Heh = 217 = 31 x 7
Final Heh = 93 = 31 x 3
Also, please note that:
220 + 480 = 700
With the reversal cipher, YHVH = 220, and when iterated with the reversal cipher it is 480, and on the Merkabah the sum of all the seven Palaces (the circles) is 217. If we add up the sum of all the letters of the alphabet except the letter Beth it gives us the sum of 800.
אגשדתהוזחטיכלמנסעפצקר = 800 (b.g)
This value is part of Genesis 1:1 also. Given that the first verse is only comprise of seven hebrew words and twenty eight letters, you are probably wondering how it managed to fit so many values into the first line. Genesis 1:1 is actually a sophisticated combination of sums and scribal techniques, using gematria with different ciphers, notariqon, and the iteration of the words.
Calculations from Genesis 1:1
בראשית ברא אלהים את השמים ואת הארץ
"In the Beginning created Elohim the Heavens and the Earth."
Abbreviations for the ciphers below are:(b.g) : Biblical Gematria, (r.c) Reversal Cipher. Please see this page for more information on the biblical ciphers.
The notariqon of Genesis 1:1 also sums to 800 with the reversal cipher:
ב + ב + א + א + ה + ו + ה = 800 (r.c)
The first hebrew word of Genesis is בראשית (Bereshit). It means "in the beginning" and it has the gematria value of 220, which is the gate of the Yod from the holy name and the value of YHVH with the reversal cipher.
When Bereshit is multiplied:
ב × ר × א × ש × י × ת = 48000 (b.g)
and when it is iterated:
ב בר ברא בראש בראשי בראשית = 2000 (r.c)
The other three nouns from Genesis 1:1 sum to 480, which is the gate of the Vav ו and the number of minutes in eight hours:
אלהים (86) + השמים (98) + הארץ (296) = 480 (b.g)
When these three nouns are iterated:
א אל אלה אלהי אלהים + ה הש השם השמי השמים + ה הא האר הארץ = 930
When the word for “heavens” is iterated:
ה הש השם השמי השמים = 217 (b.g)
All together, the nouns of Genesis 1:1 sum to 700:
בראשית (220) + אלהים (86) + השמים (98) + הארץ (296) = 700 (b.g)
Please see my work Behold! The Art and Practice of Gematria for more information about the history and practice of gematria from biblical to modern times. I have also written a companion work about the history and origins of the Merkabah and its use in Bereshit 1-2. Please consult Chariot: An essay on Bereshit and the Merkabah for more information.
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