Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Gematria?

Gematria is the 3,200-year-old practice of assigning numbers to Hebrew letters in order to calculate the numerical value of Hebrew words and phrases. For example, the Hebrew word for “life,” Chai, has a total numerical value of 18. This is because the values of the two Hebrew letters that spell Chai add up to 18 (Chet equals 8 and Yud equals 10).

2. What is the purpose of Gematria?

The purpose of Gematria is to convert Hebrew words and phrases into numbers thus allowing text of identical numerical value to be compared. When two words or phrases have the same numerical value, it reveals a hidden relationship between them that teaches us deeper meanings and associations. Only by converting text into numbers can these hidden, deeper meanings be uncovered.

3. When did Gematria begin?

The earliest reference to Gematria appears in the Book of Genesis: 14:14, when Abraham’s disciple, Eliezer, is referred to as “318 disciples.” The Talmud, the authoritative Jewish book of law, explains that 318 is the numerical value of the name “Eliezer.”

4. Why bother converting words and phrases into numbers?

Even without converting Hebrew text into numbers, the stories of the Bible are fascinating and meaningful. In fact, the Hebrew language itself is unique in that the words contain extra meanings, both visible and hidden. For example, the Hebrew word for “sadness,” Etzev, when read backwards spells “greed,” Betza. This can be interpreted as an attempt by the Hebrew language to warn us that sadness is a consequence of greed. And the word for “happiness,” Simcha, read backwards spells “The Bible,” Ha-Chumash. This suggests that the Bible is a source of happiness. By converting Hebrew text into numbers, however, even deeper levels of meaning are revealed. Gematria is the tool that allows us to uncover hidden wisdom. 

5. The subtitle of the book is: “Decoded Messages from God,” but isn’t it possible that the messages are not divine in origin but are only a numerical coincidence? 

Over the last seven years, I have converted nearly 1 percent of the Bible into numbers, uncovering tens of thousands of powerful and profound messages. Because of the consistency and complexity of the results, it seems clear that these messages were embedded intentionally by a divine intelligence and are not the result of mere numerical coincidence. 

6. Does Gematria work with other languages?

According to the Talmud, Gematria works only with Hebrew and Greek. Without a knowledge of Greek, I can only say definitively that it works with Hebrew. However, when words such as “Karma,” a word from the Hindu religion, or “quantum” are written in Hebrew (pronounced the same as in English but spelled with Hebrew letters), profound, meaningful, and metaphoric messages continue to be revealed.

7. Can Gematria be applied to secular as well as religious topics?

Absolutely. By using the techniques I’ve devised and introduced in my book, divine messages can now be revealed regarding secular topics such as the environment, science, quantum theory, the treatment of women, and success. 

8. If Gematria has been around for over 3,000 years, what makes your work new?

My work, when applied to either biblical or modern Hebrew, reveals hidden messages within both. I also have identified the hidden meaning of specific numbers, for example, all Hebrew words and phrases with a numerical value of 911 refer to the events of September 11, 2001. While all of my work is original, it remains consistent with classical biblical commentary. Gematria should be used as an additional tool; it does not replace the previous 2,500 years of biblical commentary.