The Gematria Ciphers of the Bible

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A gematria cipher is a set manner of assigning numbers to letters of the alphabet so that words can represent values.

Biblical Gematria used four main gematria ciphers:

• The Biblical Gematria Cipher: this is the main cipher used in the Tanakh, and also the Gospels. The main difference to the Standard cipher is that it assigns 3 to ש (shin) and 4 to ת (tav) which it places close to the front of the alphabet.

ב Beth = 2, א Aleph = 1, ג Gimel = 3, ש Shin = 3, ד Daleth = 4, ד Tav = 4,

ה Heh = 5, ו Waw = 6, ז Zayin = 7, ח Cheth = 8, ט Teth = 9, י Yod = 10, כ Kaph

= 20, ל Lamed = 30, מ Mem = 40, נ Nun = 50, ס Samekh = 60, ע Ayin = 70, פ

Peh = 80, צ Tsade = 90, ק Qoph = 100, ר Resh = 200.

• The Reversal Cipher: this is the main Biblical Gematria cipher assigned in reverse order.

Beth = 200, Aleph = 100, Gimel = 90, Shin = 90, Daleth = 80, Tav = 80,

Heh = 70, Waw = 60, Zayin = 50, Cheth = 40, Teth = 30, Yod = 20, Kaph =

10, Lamed = 9, Mem = 8, Nun = 7, Samekh = 6, Ayin = 5, Peh = 4, Tsade =

3, Qoph = 1, Resh = 2.

For example, the Notariqon of Genesis 1:1 would be הוהאאבב, and the Reversal Cipher-word would be עסעקקרר, which sums to 800.

• The Genesis Order cipher: is a simple numerical sequence for the Hebrew letters between 1 and 20, in this order, from right to left:

ב א ג ש ד ת ה ו ז ח ט י כ ל מ נ ס ע פ צ ק ר

Each of the letters are described in turn in this order in the chapters of Genesis 1-2.

The sum of all the letters in this cipher is 217, which is לא (“God”) 31 × 7:

1 + 2 + 3 + 3 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 + 14 + 15 +

16 + 17 + 18 + 19 + 20 = 217.

• The Standard Cipher: this is the most well-known Hebrew cipher, and it's used in the Talmud and in various Kabbalistic works to exegete the Tanakh. This cipher tends to be used by writers after the Babylonian exile in writings that expand upon the text.

א Aleph = 1, ב Beth = 2, ג Gimel = 3, ד Daleth = 4, ה Heh = 5, ו Waw = 6, ז Zayin = 7, ח Cheth = 8,

ט Teth = 9, י Yod = 10, כ Kaph = 20, ל Lamed = 30, מ Mem = 40, נ Nun = 50, ס Samekh = 60,

ע Ayin = 70, פ Peh = 80, צ Tsade = 90, ק Qoph = 100, ר Resh = 200, ש Shin = 300, ת Tav = 400.

Biblical gematria was transposed over to the Greek alphabet to be used in the New Testament.

β Beta = Beth (2)
α Alpha = Aleph (1)
γ Gamma = Gimel (3)
τ Tau = Shin (3)
δ Delta = Daleth (4)
υ Upsilon = Tav (4)
ε Epsilon = Heh (5)
Ϝ Digamma = Waw (6)
ζ Zeta = Zayin (7)
η Eta = Cheth (8)
θ Theta = Teth (9)
ι Iota = Yod (10)

κ Kappa = Kaph (20)
φ Phi = Kaph (20)
λ Lamda = Lamed (30)
μ Mu = Mem (40)
χ Chi = Mem (40)
ν Nu = Nun (50)
ψ Psi = Nun (50)
ξ Xi = Samekh (60)
ο Omicron = Ayin (70)
π Pi = Peh (80)
ω Omega = Peh (80)

ϙ Koppa = Tsade (90)
ϡ Sampi = Tsade (90)
ρ Rho = Qoph (100)
ς Sigma/Stigma = Resh (200).

• The English Gematria cipher: is the Biblical Gematria cipher transliterated to the Latin alphabet:

A=1, B=2, C=8, D=4, E=5, F=80, G=3, H=5, I=10, J=10, K=20, L=30, M=40, N=50, O=70, P=80, Q=100, R=200, S=60, T=9, U=6, V=6, W=6, X=60, Y=10, Z=7, and includes the digraphs: Sh=3, Th=4, Ch=8, Ph=80, Ts or Tz=90.

This transliteration is useful for working with Aleister Crowley's gematria, particular the 'Holy Books' series.

Using the correct numerical ciphers with occult and biblical texts is the first step towards reading their extra context.

Biblical Gematria was a practice with rules and conventions, so your next step is to learn what they are.

This is what makes Behold! The Art and Practice of Gematria unique amongst textbooks on the subject. It includes a thorough compilation of the rules and conventions of the biblical practice, so the logic of calculations can be checked. It really is a complete manual to the practice of gematria.

The Gematria Ciphers of the Bible

Early Hebrew and Greek numerical ciphers that were used in the Bible are slightly different from their classical counterparts.