Hebrew numerals

The Hebrew font number represents numeric values ​​in a decimal addition system dar. as basis serves the Hebrew alphabet. Here, a numerical value of the units, tens and hundreds of the letter is assigned.

In the Hebrew Bible, numbers are always advertised as number words. In ancient Hebrew inscriptions of the 1st millennium BC hieratic numerals or tally marks were used. An assignment of numerical values ​​to the Hebrew letters can not be detected in pre-Christian times. In Greece, but the use of the Greek Scriptures number after the Milesian principle is attested since Hellenistic times, which is why the research today assumes that all alphabetic number representations in Europe and the Middle East represent adaptations of the Greek model.

In modern Hebrew Hebrew numbering no sign, but Indian numerals are used. The representation of numbers with Hebrew letters can be found in ancient texts, however, still in the numbering of the grade levels in the school and in the reporting of data on the Jewish calendar.

Representation

The numbers are represented simply by the juxtaposition of the letters with the corresponding numerical values ​​, beginning with the most letters in the writing direction from right to left. Thus, as illustrated, for example, 345 as שמה.

( ת - for four hundred) For numbers above 500, the letter Tav is written as often additionally. There is no sign for zero. If a decimal value is zero, no characters are written, for example, writes the number 600 as תר.

There is also an interpretation of the Hebrew Final letters (a special letter variant, which is used at the end of a word ) for the "missing" numbers 500 to 900 (for example ם for תר ), but this is not widespread. The traditional notation uses only the normal letters.

Numbers greater than 999 can be written in separate groups, the values ​​of the groups of 1000, are multiplied by one million and beyond. The number 1,234,567 thus enrolls א רלד תקסז. However, there are problems in this illustration, when a group has the value zero. In this case, how to add " thousands " to uniquely represent words.

Standing figures in Hebrew alone, but in a text, they are a Geresch (') or two Gerschajim ( " ) in order to avoid confusion with normal letters and words. Here, a Geresch is appended to one-digit number representations. In multi-digit number representations two Gerschajim be inserted at the last position (for example, ב ' for 2 and רמ"ו for 246).

The final numbers 15 and 16 are generally not presented as יה and יו for 10 5 and 10 6, but as טו and טז for 9 6 and 9 7, to avoid similarities with the names of God ( יהוה YHWH ). This rule is also used in non-religious contexts attention. Has an emerging after the regular order word has a negative meaning, the letters can be written in a different order. Likewise, the order can be changed if this results in a word with a positive meaning.

Gematria

Since the numbers as shown Whatever combinations of letters that can be understood as a word or part of a word, play Hebrew number representations in the gematria a major role. In this technique, which is mainly used in the Kabbalah, aspects of word meaning can be inferred from the numerical value and made ​​relations between different words from the ratio of their respective numerical values.