gematria

American  

[guh-mey-tree-uh] / gəˈmeɪ tri ə /

noun

1. a cabbalistic system of interpretation of the Scriptures by substituting for a particular word another word whose letters give the same numerical sum.

---

Etymology

Origin of gematria

1685–95; < Hebrew gēmaṭriyā < Greek geōmetría geometry

Explanation

Gematria is the assignment of a number to a letter, word, or phrase, often for a religious or spiritual purpose. It is used especially in the context of Judaism. Gematria comes from the Hebrew word gematriya, a borrowing from the same Greek word that gave us geometry. Though it originated in ancient Assyria and Greece, it became a pillar of Jewish tradition used to interpret the Tanakh (Hebrew scriptures). In ancient Hebrew, there were no separate symbols for numbers, so people used letters to represent numerical values. The numerical values of the letters in a word were added up, and rabbis identified "numerical synonyms" believed to share a spiritual essence. Gematria remains a central element of the mystical tradition known as Kabbalah.

Example Sentences

The Negative48 spinoff focuses on deciphering meaning using a takeoff of gematria, an ancient Hebrew tradition of assigning numeric values to letters.

From Washington Post • Sep. 26, 2022

It’s the only literary form for which every letter and number is routinely scrutinized for esoteric messages, using methods ranging from gematria to theomatics to Koranic symmetry to Equidistant Letter Sequences.

From The New Yorker • Feb. 9, 2015

“I’m not going to get too into gematria this evening, but believe me, numbers mean a lot, especially if you’re Jewish,” Mr. Zorn said from the stage, referring to a system of Jewish numerology.

From New York Times • Mar. 20, 2014

If we were angling for another appearance in Pseuds Corner - and this is the Guardian, after all - we'd point out that even their gematria values are almost identical: Xavi 56, pass 55.

From The Guardian • Mar. 11, 2011

The method of allegorical interpretation here used is that species known as gematria, in which the numerical equivalence of letters composing a word is employed as a key to mystic meaning.

From A Source Book for Ancient Church History by Ayer, Joseph Cullen