Hebrew

Hebrew is the language of the Old Testament. It is written from right to left with 22 consonants, and the vowels you see under and above the letters were added by scribes centuries after the books were written. Every letter is also a number. Hebrew had no separate digits, so the letters counted as well as spelled, the way Roman letters do in MMXXVI. Add up a word's letters and you have its value.

This page teaches the alphabet, then lets you find the value of any word in the Hebrew Bible, both as the dictionary spells it and as it is written in each verse.

  • The alphabet: 22 letters with their names, sounds, values, final forms and traditional picture-meanings.
  • Reading Hebrew: right to left, vowel points, cantillation, and Genesis 1:1 word by word, which adds up to 2701.
  • Roots and Strong's numbers: how three-letter roots grow into words and how the numbering finds a word in every verse.
  • Gematria in the Bible itself: Revelation 13:18, the acrostic Psalms and Lamentations.
  • Find a value: look up any Bible word by meaning, transliteration or Strong's number, see its dictionary value and every form as written in the verses, or type Hebrew into the calculator.
  • Aleph א: value 1. Sound: silent; a catch in the throat before a vowel. Picture: ox.
  • Bet ב: value 2. Sound: b, or v without the dot. Picture: house.
  • Gimel ג: value 3. Sound: g as in go. Picture: camel (tradition).
  • Dalet ד: value 4. Sound: d. Picture: door.
  • He ה: value 5. Sound: h. Picture: window (tradition).
  • Vav ו: value 6. Sound: v, or w in older reading. Picture: hook, peg (tradition).
  • Zayin ז: value 7. Sound: z. Picture: weapon (tradition).
  • Chet ח: value 8. Sound: ch as in loch. Picture: fence (tradition).
  • Tet ט: value 9. Sound: t. Picture: basket (tradition).
  • Yod י: value 10. Sound: y. Picture: hand.
  • Kaf כ (final form ך): value 20. Sound: k, or kh without the dot. Picture: palm of the hand.
  • Lamed ל: value 30. Sound: l. Picture: shepherd's staff (tradition).
  • Mem מ (final form ם): value 40. Sound: m. Picture: water.
  • Nun נ (final form ן): value 50. Sound: n. Picture: fish (tradition).
  • Samekh ס: value 60. Sound: s. Picture: support (tradition).
  • Ayin ע: value 70. Sound: silent; a deeper catch in the throat. Picture: eye.
  • Pe פ (final form ף): value 80. Sound: p, or f without the dot. Picture: mouth.
  • Tsade צ (final form ץ): value 90. Sound: ts. Picture: fish-hook (tradition).
  • Qof ק: value 100. Sound: k, from the back of the mouth. Picture: back of the head (tradition).
  • Resh ר: value 200. Sound: r. Picture: head.
  • Shin ש: value 300. Sound: sh, or s with the dot on the left. Picture: tooth.
  • Tav ת: value 400. Sound: t. Picture: mark.