Gematria

Gematria assigns numerical values to letters and interprets words or texts by calculating and comparing their totals.

Hebrew alphabet: The writing system used for Hebrew, consisting of 22 letters. Traditional Hebrew gematria assigns numerical values to its letters.
Sefer Yetzirah: An early Jewish mystical text that describes creation through Hebrew letters and numbers. Its treatment of letters and numbers provides a foundational setting for gematria.
Hebrew Bible: The collection of sacred texts that forms the foundational scripture of Judaism. Interpretive traditions applied gematria to words and passages in these texts.
Peshat: The plain or contextual sense of a biblical passage in Jewish interpretation. It contrasts with readings that infer meaning through numerical equivalence.
Mispar hechrechi: A Hebrew gematria system assigning each letter its standard value from 1 to 400. It is the standard method behind many familiar Hebrew word-value comparisons.
Zohar: A major work of Jewish mysticism, composed primarily in medieval Spain and written in Aramaic. Its mystical interpretations frequently draw on numerical values of words.
Rabbinic literature: The writings of the rabbis, including the Mishnah, Talmuds, and midrashim. Rabbinic interpretation preserves early examples and discussions of numerical word readings.
Midrash: A mode of rabbinic interpretation that develops meanings through close reading of scripture. Gematria is one specific interpretive device used within the wider midrashic tradition.
Mispar gadol: A Hebrew gematria system assigning final letter forms values from 500 to 900. It extends the standard values by treating five final forms as distinct.
Baal ha-Turim: A biblical commentary by Jacob ben Asher known for concise interpretations and gematria. Its Torah commentary makes gematria a conspicuous tool of biblical interpretation.

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