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You said "Wow, look at all those fives...uh, but so what"? But that's what confuses me. What's the point of noticing the numerical value of Hebrew and Greek words if the numbers aren't supposed to mean something? And when two or more words have the same numerical value, what is that supposed to tell us? If the numerical value of Hebrew words are inspired, and corespondences between words are supposed to tell us things, it would seem unlikely that the G-d who inspired it all would be telling us He's dishonest--but then, why did He give His name the same numerical value as כָּזַב?
And the lion is used as both a symbol of Christ (The Lion of Judah) and the devil (who roams the earth as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.) That isn't meant to imply there alike in anything more than the strength of the lion--I get that. But I don't get what you mean when you say "Wow, look at all those fives...uh, but so what"? Isn't gematria all about noticing things like all those fives, and deciphering what G-d means by it? I know it would seem unlikely that the G-d who inspired the Hebrew alphabet would be telling us He's dishonest by giving His name the same numerical value as כָּזַב, but shouldn't 26 mean something? And shouldn't the connection between G-d, lying, and other words that add up to 26 (taken together) mean something?
I'm new to this thread, and I didn't know your views on gematria, but I am interested in what you said. I deleted a double post, and couldn't find the one you were replying to here, so I thought that I accidentally deleted that too. While you were replying, I was reposting, and I'm sorry. But this time it wasn't entirely repetitious, and I would be interested in your thoughts on "coincidences." (And by that I mean whether there are such things, and how they play into this.) Thank you.
Thank you. I had forgotten. and I'm glad there were only two 6's (as in the 66 books of the N.T.) in that date. And I think you're right that once you accept the premise that there is that there is a perfect background numerical code for anything and everything written in the scripture the hunt is on, and the surface text tends to take a back seat. I can testify to that. But what's wrong with that premise (aside from any changes in the text made by Ezra, who I think most of us would believe was inspired)? What about those who say there are no coincidences? I would assume we all agree that G-d is omnipotent and omniscient, so aren't they right? And if they're not, how do those of us who believe in G-d's omniscience and omnipotence define "coincedence"?Actually, numerically speaking, you do not appear to be new to this thread, though you may have forgotten that you posted herein when it was originally posted. There are two posts on the first page, from 6/6/2020, with your screen name attached, (replies numbered 2 and 3). Not that I make anything out of the date, (6/6/2020, lol), but just for the record.
Clearly, according to the author of the Apocalypse, (Rev 13:18), there is some use of gematria in the scripture. However that does not necessarily mean that there is a perfect background numerical code for anything and everything written in the scripture: that's taking it way too far, at least in imo. I believe that is rather an idea some like to use as a reason for reinterpreting the plain text of the scripture, and therefore, something to be extremely cautious about. The moment you admit the premise, the hunt is on for the perfect code, and eventually the surface text almost inevitably takes a back seat. You cannot have a perfect background gematria code running through the entire LETTER of the text if some of the letters have been omitted or emended: and they certainly have been, both in the Hebrew, and in the Apostolic Greek texts.
For example the original Ashuri, (Assyrian or Babylonian), block Hebrew script from the time of Ezra was not separated, (I understand that this is arguable, and there are no doubt others of a different opinion, but this is what I have found in my own studies). The original Ashuri text was rather written in a form of scriptio continua similar to the oldest Greek Uncial texts of the Apostolic writings. The waw/vav in the original Ashuri script doubled as a word separator, and was sometimes to be read as the particle of continuance, ("and", etc.), and sometimes not to be read at all because it served merely as a word separator. This was in addition to the fact that the waw is a letter used in the formation of words, and moreover there were probably no sofits either, the five final-form letters, (some of which, like the mem, we see beginning to be introduced in the DSS). The sofits were introduced in order to separate the text because without them certain words can be confused with words that follow, (joining two words and making one word out of the two). Thus, without the waw as a word separator, the sofits became a necessary tool in the separation of the text.
What therefore happened when the text was finally completely separated as we find it today? An untold number of the letter waw/vav dropped out of the text: and in some places one may even find a waw that should not have been read, and rather more likely should have dropped out of the text, but was left in place because of interpretation, whether for the good or for the bad. In gematria this means an untold number of 6's have been removed from the original Ahsuri text from the time of Ezra, and yet, the Ashuri text is not earlier than about that time, and we see the older Paleo script also at Qumran, which we know to be more ancient than the Ashuri script changeover period about the time of the Babylonian captivity.
I am not saying that the scripture isn't "inspired", but it is the logos-reasoning and teaching that is inspired, not the letter, and yet gematria relies on the letter: add or remove one letter and the gematria has been changed.
Thank you. Maybe you and I wouldn't have such a negative reaction to the word "coincidence" if we could define what we (believers) might mean by such a word (or a better word, if you could suggest one) in the context of gematria and Torah codes. And maybe other things, like a speaker's involuntary sneezing, or his biting his tongue. If those things aren't "coincidrnces," did G-d intend the sneeze to tell us the speaker is telling the truth? Or his biting his tongue to tell us he's lying? Must everything that could mean something be intended by G-d to mean something? And if there are some things that might seem to, AND DON'T (like equidistant bible codes, and gematriot) can we call them coincidences? And if we do, how do we (believers) define that word (in this context)? Or is there a better word?
You can tell by the enunciation of ציון as Zion , was an interpretive attempt to guess an appropriate enunciation of a written צ, and not an attempt to immatate what was heard by ear, because Ch or J, is nowhere close to the Z sound.
