Examples That Show The Issue With Gematria
Introduction
Gematria, similarly to codes such as A1Z26 turns a word into a number. It works as follows: the first letter is worth one, the second two, and so on until the 10th letter. At the 10th letter, letters begin increasing in increments of 10 (10th is 10, 11th is 20th, etc.). This lasts until the 20th letter; at that point, the value increases by 100. It’s important to note that each letter doesn’t represent a digit. Rather you add up the value of the letters to reach a total value. For example, consider the name Jack.
J is the tenth letter of the alphabet, so its value is 10
A is the first letter of the alphabet, so its value is 1
C is the third letter of the alphabet, so its value is 3
K is the 11th letter of the alphabet, but its value isn’t 11, it’s the second letter after the tenth so its value is 20.
Add together 10+1+3+20 and you’ll get 34. That’s the value of Jack.
It’s undeniable that Gematria is real and was used historically. We see examples of this in archeology. In Pompeii, we find graffiti that reads “I love the woman whose number is 545” and “I love the woman whose number is 51”. In Ephesus, we find inscriptions that read similar phrases such as “The beauty of the woman whose number is 1,475 is remembered”1
Where The Issue Comes In
Gematria can be used legitimately when it is within the intention of the author. For example, interpreting 666 as a representation of Nero due to Gematria is likely the proper reading of Revelation (As I explained in this article). However, Gematria is very hard to prove legitimate connections through. It’s very easy to make connections that don’t exist. For example, Stridor of Sardis in his Epigram XII.6 explains:
“The numerical value of the letters in πρωκτὸς (anus) and χρυσὸς (gold) is the same. I once found this out by calculating casually.”
This creates a hermeneutic wild card. Because it’s so possible to make nonexistent connections that seem intentional through Gematria it allows people to read their own ideas into a text. The following 5 examples show this.
The Examples
Donald Trump: Messiah Or Clown-Demon?
For the first example, I wanna take you back to when I was in 8th grade, while the 2020 election was coming up. The school I went to was mostly conservative, essentially acting as an echo chamber where ideas could get past without much scrutiny. This led to an interesting argument in favor of Donald Trump:
If you write out Donald Trump in Hebrew you get the same value as Mashiach Ben Dovid! Proving Donald Trump is clearly the Messiah. This argument wasn’t exclusive to my school. Twitter user @jacobkornbluh wrote on May 31st 2018:
“There you have it folks --> "Donald Trump in Gematria (Hebrew numerology) equals 424, which is the same as Moshiach ben David (Messiah from the house of David)."2
This specific Gematria is especially dubious. It takes an English name and puts it into Hebrew which gives extra leeway with the math. דנלד טרמפּ can become דונלד תרומפּ if needed to force a connection. If your math gives you 423, add in an Aleph which doesn’t have a sound.
Serious people have pushed this idea. Trump aides Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman presented the idea directly to the President as revealed by a recording released during a court case on misused finances3.
Philigos for the publication of Jewish Thought, Mosiac gives incite into why forcing such connections is so silly.
“Besides “messiah son of David,” Donald Trump’s value of 424 also gives us me’umad ra (40+70+40+4+200+70), “a bad candidate” and shed-lets (300+4+30+90), “clown-demon.”4
` What we see is a clear issue with using unchained Gematria. One can choose to acknowledge whatever connections they want. Thus Gematria becomes a trick to prove whatever political beliefs one wants. A Trumpist will make the connection that Donald Trump is the Messiah. A never-trumper could make the connection that Donald Trump is a clown demon. But they’re both equally arbitrary.
Circumcision or Death on the T
A major issue for early Christians was how to deal with the “old law”. The Epistle Of Barnabas, a pseudo-graphical 1st-century Christian text which nearly made its way into the Bible attempts to address this issue by reinterpreting the old law.
Specifically by circumcision, the Barnabas author uses Gematria to redefine the practice. Barnabas brings a quote from a mix of Genesis 17:23 and 14:14
“And Abraham circumcised the three hundred and eighteen men from his house”
As we’ve shown, when one begins to read gematria into places where it doesn’t exist numbers can be used to mean anything. Barnabas uses the 300 and 18 to show that Jesus' death on the cross is the true circumcision.
He explains that 18 is the value of the Eta and the Iota, the first two letters of Jesus' name. 300 is a Tau, which is the shape of a crucifix. Barnabas explains
“Therefore he reveals Jesus in the two letters and the cross in the one, He knows the one who placed the implanted gift of his teaching in us. No one has learned a more genuine word from me but I know that you are worthy.” (Barnabas 9.8-9)5
What we see once again is unchecked Gematria allows one to read whatever interpretation they want into the text
Burnett, D Clint (2020) Studying the New Testament through Inscriptions: An Introduction, Hendrickson Academic
The Times Of Israel (2020) In recording, Parnas and Fruman compare Trump to messiah
Philologos (2016), The Gematria of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump
Brannan, R. (2017). Epistle Of Barnabas. In The Apostolic Fathers A New Translation (pp. 141–168). essay, Lexham Classics.