Numeric Values of Letters
Hebrew letters are used to denote numbers, nowadays used only in specific contexts, e.g. denoting dates in the Hebrew calendar, denoting grades of school in Israel, other listings (e.g. שלב א׳, שלב ב׳ – "phase a, phase b"), commonly in Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) in a practice known as gematria, and often in religious contexts.
| א | 1 | י | 10 | ק | 100 | ||
| ב | 2 | כ | 20 | ר | 200 | ||
| ג | 3 | ל | 30 | ש | 300 | ||
| ד | 4 | מ | 40 | ת | 400 | ||
| ה | 5 | נ | 50 | ך | 500 | ||
| ו | 6 | ס | 60 | ם | 600 | ||
| ז | 7 | ע | 70 | ן | 700 | ||
| ח | 8 | פ | 80 | ף | 800 | ||
| ט | 9 | צ | 90 | ץ | 900 |
The numbers 500, 600, 700, 800 and 900 are commonly represented by the juxtapositions ק״ת, ר״ת, ש״ת, ת״ת, and ק״תת respectively. Adding a geresh ("׳") to a letter multiplies its value by one thousand, for example, the year 5769 is portrayed as ה׳תשס״ט, where ה represents 5000, and תשס״ט represents 769.
Read more about this topic: Hebrew Alphabet
Famous quotes containing the words values and/or letters:
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—R.D. (Ronald David)
“How do we know, then, when a code’s been cracked? ... when we are right? ... when do we know if we have even received a message? Why, naturally, when, upon one set of substitutions, sense emerges like the outline under a rubbing; when a single tentative construal leads to several; when all the sullen letters of the code cry TEAM! after YEA! has been, by several hands, uncovered.”
—William Gass (b. 1924)