Gematria is a
Jewish form of numerology in which the letters of the
Hebrew alphabet are substituted with corresponding
numbers. The first ten letters are given number
values that increase consecutively from 1 to 10. The
next eight letters are given number values that
increase by a factor of ten from 20 to 90. The final
four letters are given number values that increase by
a factor of one hundred from 100 to 400. In Hebrew,
gematria is often used as an alternative to Arabic
Numerals when recording numbers. Hebrew dates are
generally written using gematria.
In addition to its use as a number system, gematria
can also be used as a form of bibliomancy in order to
obtain a more spiritual understanding of Biblical
texts. While many scoff at using this "cute word
play" as a means of explaining the Bible, many
Kabbalists -- Jewish mystics who find great power in
the spirituality of words -- see it as a valid form
of Biblical interpretation. An example of Biblical
exegesis using gematria can be found in the fifth of
the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:12) where the
Children of Israel are instructed to "honor thy
father and mother". How does one honor his
parents? By examining the gematria of the Hebrew word
for honor, כבד (kabed) we find that it has
the value of 26 ([כ=20, ב=2,
ד=4, [20+2+4=26). The gematria of the
thematically similar word for love אהבה
(ahavah), is 13 ([א=1, ה=5, ב=2,
ה=5, [1+5+2+5=13). Because the
gematria of כבד (kabed) is double
that of אהבה (ahavah), it was
concluded that one honors his parents by showing them
a double portion of love.