gematria - or "numerology" - is an ancient practice of assigning numerical values to letters, words, and even phrases in the Bible. This practice was used by many Hebrew and Christian communities to bring insight into the inner meanings of biblical texts. In modern times, gematria has become a beloved tool for unlocking hidden secrets in Scripture.
Gematria is taken from two Greek words: geometrein and graphein, meaning "to measure" and "to write," respectively. During its lengthy history, many languages have developed their own systems of Gematria, such as Kaballah or Aryabhata numerology in India. The most common form of Gematria is known as Hebrew gematria; it associates each letter of the Hebrew alphabet with a numerical value from one to 400.
This numerical structure is used in various ways by students of the Bible. It can be used to uncover hidden messages within Scripture; for example, Abram's name changed to Abraham tells us something about his spiritual transformation (the numeric values for Abram and Abraham add up to the same number). It can also be used to verify authorship - the numeric values associated with names can be tallied up to see if their literal letter-by-letter spelling matches with that of any individual from that time period. Gematria can also help unlock deeper themes or ideas that may inform an interpretation of a text; since it reveals relationships between words through their numbers, it can be used as an interpretive guide across multiple books or contexts.
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