Page 34 - Coincidences in the Bible and in Biblical Hebrew

CHAPTER 1 THE STRUCTURE OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE
CHAPTER 1 THE STRUCTURE OF THE HEBREW LANGUAGE 13 13

To build on a previous analogy, the numerical values of the Hebrew letters may
be likened to those of the chemical elements in the periodic table of the elements
(the pure substances), where the element’s position in the table, given by its atomic

number , signifies some of the unique chemical characteristics of the element (like
its weight, though this is given in the periodic table by a separate atomic weight ).
The significance attached to the numerical values of the letters in the Hebrew

alphabet explains why the total numerical value of the root of a given Hebrew
word is also considered meaningful, and why words with different roots, which
nevertheless share the same numerical value, are expected in Gematria to be some-

how interrelated.

1.2 Letters and Their Meanings
How do we know what each letter stands for?

One of the greatest ancient Jewish sages, Rabbi Akiva (died 136 CE), is tradi-
tionally believed to have produced numerous interpretations based on the Hebrew
letters. Indeed, one of the most ancient Jewish documents about the Hebrew
letters, “Midrash D’Rabbi Akiva” (“Commentary of Rabbi Akiva”) is attributed,
as the name insinuates, to this Jewish sage (for details about Rabbi Akiva, visit
http://www.ou.org/about/judaism/rabbis/rakiva.htm).
A primary source for the meanings of Hebrew letters is the Gemara (part of
the Jewish Talmud), Masechet Shabbat (Daf 104, 1). A modern source to learn
of the history of the immense research effort that has gone into the learning and
interpretation of the Hebrew letters, mostly by Jewish scholars, is Elias Lipiner’s
monumental composition “The Metaphysics of the Hebrew Alphabet” (1989,

2003, in Hebrew). Finally, the Web site of Arachim (a charitable not-for-profit
organization) provides some good information: http://www.arachim.co.il/.
So how do we know what each Hebrew letter stands for?
According to Jewish tradition, the meaning of a letter may be studied (or
inferred) from four sources:

• The letter’s name;

• The meaning of the word in the Bible, where the letter makes its first

appearance as the first letter in the word (this rule excludes the word’s
prefix, if any; refer to Gemara, Masechet Babba Kamma, Daf 55, 71);

• The letter’s geometrical shape;
• The letter’s numerical value.