Hebrew numerals
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The system of Hebrew numerals is a quasi-decimal alphabetic numeral system using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
In this system, there is no notation for zero, and the numeric values for individual letters are added together. Each unit (1, 2, ..., 9) is assigned a separate letter, each tens (10, 20, ..., 90) a separate letter, and each hundreds (100, 200, ..., 900) a separate letter. Gematria (Jewish numerology) uses these transformations extensively.
Main Table
| Decimal | Hebrew | Glyph |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aleph | א |
| 2 | Bet | ב |
| 3 | Gimel | ג |
| 4 | Dalet | ד |
| 5 | Hey | ה |
| 6 | Vav | ו |
| 7 | Zayin | ז |
| 8 | Het | ח |
| 9 | Tet | ט |
| 10 | Yod | י |
| 20 | Kaph | כ |
| 30 | Lamed | ל |
| 40 | Mem | מ |
| 50 | Nun | נ |
| 60 | Samekh | ס |
| 70 | Ayin | ע |
| 80 | Pe | פ |
| 90 | Tsadik | צ |
| 100 | Qoph | ק |
| 200 | Resh | ר |
| 300 | Shin | ש |
| 400 | Tav | ת |
| 500 | Tav Kof or Kaf Sofit | ת"ק or ך |
| 600 | Tav Resh or Mem Sofit | ת"ר or ם |
| 700 | Tav Shin or Nun Sofit | ת"ש or ן |
| 800 | Tav Tav or Pe Sofit | ת"ת or ף |
| 900 | Tav Tav Kof or Tsadik Sofit | תת"ק or ץ |
Calculations
The Hebrew numeric system operates on the additive principle in which the numeric values of the letters are added together to form the total. For example, 177 is represented as קעז which corresponds to 100 + 70 + 7 = 177.Mathematically, this system requires 27 letters. The last letter, tav (which has the value 400) is used in combination with itself and/or other letters from kof (100) onwards, to generate numbers from 500 and above. Alternatively, the 22-letter Hebrew alphabet is sometimes extended to 27 by using 5 sofeet (final) forms of the Hebrew letters.
Key exceptions
The numbers 15 and 16 are represented as טו (9+6) and טז (9+7) respectively, instead of יה and יו. This is done in order to refrain from using the sacred combinations that are a part of the name of God in Judaism.Gershayim
Gereshayim (similar to a double quote mark) are inserted before the last (leftmost) letter to indicate that the sequence of letters represents a number rather than a word. This is only for multiple Hebrew-numeric digits ( e.g. 15 = ט"ו).A single geresh (similar to a single quote mark) is used in the same manner to indicate that the letter is actually a number. This differs in that it is only for single Hebrew-numeric digit (decimals 1 through 400 above), and it follows the letter (e.g. 9 = 'ט).
Decimals
Modern Hebrew uses the standard decimal system for most purposes. The Hebrew numeral system is nowadays used mainly for specifying the days and years of the Hebrew calendar, for bulleted or numbered lists (instead of A, B, C, D ...), and in numerology (gematria).Thousand and date formats
Thousands are counted separately, and the thousand count precedes the rest of the number (to the right, since Hebrew is read from right to left). There are no special marks to signify that the 'count' is starting over with thousands, which theoretically can lead to ambiguity. When specifying years of the Hebrew calendar in the present millennium, writers usually omit the 'thousands' (which is presently 5 [ה]). The current Israeli coinage includes the thousands.Date examples
"(The) 4th (day of the month of) Adar, (in the year) 5764"
- Should be written:
- ד' אדר ה' תשס"ד (where 5764 = 5*1000 + 400 + 300 + 60 + 4).
- General and common usage:
- ד' אדר תשס"ד (leaving out the thousand multiplier only)
- American usage sometimes may be written:
- אדר 4 תשס"ד (leaving out the thousand multiplier and substituting the number four in European syntax)
- Should be written:
- ט"ו אדר ה' תשס"ד (where 5764 = 5*1000 + 400 + 300 + 60 + 9 + 5).
- General and common usage:
- ט"ו אדר תשס"ד (leaving out the thousand multiplier only)
- American usage sometimes may be written:
- אדר 15 תשס"ד (leaving out the thousand multiplier and substituting the number four in European syntax)
Recent years
5767 = תשס"ז5766 = תשס"ו
5765 = תשס"ה
5764 = תשס"ד
Similar systems
The Abjad numerals are equivalent to the Hebrew numerals up to 400. The Greek numerals differ from the Hebrew ones from 90 upwards because in the Greek alphabet there is no equivalent for Tsadik (צ).
External links
- http://www.inner.org/gematria/gemchart.htm
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