Gematria (Hebrew: גימטריה, gēmaṭriyā) is a numerology system that assigns numerical values to words or phrases, based on the belief that items with identical values share a meaningful connection—whether to each other, a person’s age, a calendar year, or other significant numbers. The term "gematria" likely stems from the Greek geōmetriā ("geometry"), a translation of the Hebrew gēmaṭriyā, though some scholars suggest influence from grammateia ("writing" or "script"). Both Greek terms may have shaped its evolution.
First appearing in English in the 17th century through translations of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s works, gematria is deeply rooted in Jewish tradition, especially within Kabbalah. A classic example is the Hebrew word Chai ("life"), made of two letters totaling 18, which has made 18 a "lucky number" in Jewish culture—often reflected in gifts given in multiples of $18.
Gematria has two main forms: the "revealed" form, widely used in Rabbinic literature for interpreting texts, and the "mystical" form, a Kabbalistic practice exploring deeper spiritual meanings. It’s commonly applied to words, Biblical verses (psukim), Talmudic sayings, prayers, and names. While Hebrew and Aramaic are primary, systems like Alphanumeric Qabbala (AQ) extend its use to English and digits.
The Alphanumeric Qabbala (AQ) system assigns values 0-9 to digits 0-9 and 10-35 to letters A-Z (A=10, B=11, ..., Z=35), creating a continuous sequence of 36 characters. Notable examples include “Jesus” = 119 (J=19, E=14, S=28, U=30, S=28), “X” = 33, and “To be, or not to be, that is the Question” = 666. AQ reveals intriguing connections, such as “Emmanuel” = “Nazarene” = 156, or “And God said: Let there be light, and there was light” = 777. Explore AQ and other systems on our Ciphers page.
Our English Gematria Calculator brings this ancient practice to life, letting you explore systems like Ordinal, Reduction, and Alphanumeric Qabbala (AQ). Try it now on our Gematria Calculator or see the systems on our Ciphers page.