| The use of numeric values of Biblical words and phrases in the original languages as a possible additional source of increasing our knowledge of God’s revelation is shown to be a bankrupt endeavor. The methods used by Theomaticists are demonstrated and critiqued. The end result is a refutation of a modern revival of numerology. Biblical numerology has an ancient history. Numbers have fascinated men since their invention and Bible believers have not been immune from their mystical influences. I was introduced to the work of Ivan Panin as a young boy, and felt that there must be some validity to Bible Numerics. Years later, as an engineering student, I heard of a young man doing research in Bible Numerics. I contacted that person and met with him for several days, discussing his new method of discovering numeric features and his need for tools for further research. Shortly thereafter, I was able to obtain the text of the New Testament in Greek on computer tape, from the Battelle Memorial Institute, through the generous help of the late Dr. J. Arthur Baird. The institute had created a digital (ASCII) format of the Greek NT based on the Nestlé text. To my knowledge, the Old Testament in Hebrew had not been digitized. Over the next two years and with the help of an expert programmer, we were able to produce the following tools: 1- A Computerized Interlinear Numeric-Greek New Testament based upon the traditional numeric values of the Greek alphabet. The numeric value of each word was calculated by computer. [This work was recognized as unique and unprecedented, and featured on the CBS nationwide Radio Program, Speaking of Religion.] A short example from the Interlinear Numeric-Greek NT, from John 1:1 – 55 | 709 | 58 | 70 | 373 … | εν | αρχη | ην | ο | λογοσ … |
____________________________________________________ The traditional numeric values of the Greek alphabet are: (Upper case, Lower case = Numeric value) Α, α = 1 Β, β = 2 Γ, γ = 3 Δ, δ = 4 Ε, ε = 5* ς = 6** Ζ, ζ = 7 Η, η = 8 Θ, θ = 9 | Ι, ι = 10 Κ, κ = 20 Λ, λ = 30 Μ, μ = 40 Ν, ν = 50 Ξ, ξ = 60 Ο, ο = 70 Π, π = 80* | Ρ, ρ = 100 Σ, σ, ς = 200 Τ, τ = 300 Υ, υ = 400 Φ, φ = 500 Χ, χ = 600 Ψ, ψ = 700 Ω, ω = 800 |
* The reason that 6 & 90 do not appear in this list is because some characters in the Greek alphabet became obsolete and were deleted from the alphabet. ** Most Greek manuscripts of the Book of Revelation spell out the number of the Beast in Rev. 13:18 as “Six-hundred Sixty Six.” One known Greek manuscript (p47) records the number of the Beast using the three lower case characters χξς which represents 600+60+6. From this we can surmise that the final sigma ς sometimes took on a value of Six, even though it would place the letter out of alphabetical order. (This feature is available only when the manuscript is written in Lower Case letters. Some manuscripts are written in Upper Case, CAPITAL letters only. In that case there is no difference between Mid and Final Sigmas, e.g. ΙΗΣΟΥΣ.) Theomaticists highlight the fact that p47, a very early manuscript, uses Greek letters to represent numbers. (The 144 thousand in Rev. 14:1 is given as ρ μδ.) This fact, which is not controversial at all and is a feature of other ancient languages, is used as a justification for their numeric endeavors. At the same time, they ignore the fact that this same example shows that the letter sigma ς can have more than one numeric value. This is because they want the numeric value of Jesus (ιησους) to equal 888. If they substituted the number ‘6’ for the last ς, instead of the number ‘200,’ then the numeric value of Jesus would become 694, and that does not look as “awesome” as 888!The fact that the Lower case Sigma can have two different numeric values depending on its location in the word, places the basis of Theomatics into doubt because it is founded upon the assumption that the numeric values of the letters of the Greek alphabet are fixed and incontrovertible. ____________________________________________________ The numeric value of a word in the New Testament is determined by adding the numeric values of each letter in the word. e.g. the Numeric Value of the Greek word Logos, usually translated “Word” is
λογος = 30+70+3+70+200 = 373Two other volumes of the Interlinear Greek New Testament were also produced, each one based upon a different Random Number assignment for each Greek character; e.g. instead of a value of 1 for α, it had a value of 200. This was done to see if numeric “features” were still present with Random Values. To my knowledge, this work was not adequately investigated. 2- An Alphabetic list of every word in the Greek NT. 3- A Numeric Value list of every word in the Greek NT. 4- Tables listing every number from 1 through 21000, giving each number’s Prime Factors and all of its Multiplicative Combinations (MCs or Factors). [A small part of this document is reproduced below.] For example: The Prime Factors of 888 are: 2x2x2x3x37; The MCs of 888 are: 4,6,8,12,24,74,111,148,222,296,444. MCs are all the numbers that divide evenly into 888 without remainder. They are calculated by multiplying the Prime Factors in all possible unique combinations: e.g. 2x2=4, 2x3=6, . . . 2x3x37=222 etc. The Bible numericist’s goal is to find Common Factors that exist in the Numeric Values of two or more words or phrases. His hope is that if there is an obscure Biblical word or phrase, he will find its correct meaning by matching its numeric value with a Common Multiplicative Combination (or Factor) of another well known word or phrase. Furthermore, for the numericist, the alleged existence of these numerical structures in Scripture is “scientific proof” of its Inspiration by God. A shroud of mystery surrounds the work of those who are “discovering” numeric features. I will attempt to uncover the mystery. The numeric value of each word in the Greek New Testament has been calculated by computer and is displayed in the Numeric-Greek Interlinear. In the past, numericists used the numeric values of single words to try and arrive at the correct reading of the original text of the Greek New Testament. This was the original goal of Ivan Panin. In fact he published a Greek-Numeric New Testament and an English translation of it, using this method. ______________________________________________  I suspect that it is not an accident of history that the most influential person in Bible numerics in modern times lived through the era (1855-1942) when men began to realize that Mathematics and Geometry are human inventions. Having studied at Harvard University, (A.B. Lit. 1882) I believe that Ivan Panin was trying to add an aura of respectability to the Bible and to Mathematics by trying to associate them with each other. (His systematic approach far surpassed the numeric techniques used in previous ages.) He was a contemporary of the influential Harvard professor Benjamin Peirce (1809-1880) and his son the philosopher Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914), for both of whom mathematics was the infallible mode of access into the mind of God, which is a completely unbiblical notion. Panin hoped that by demonstrating the mathematical “foundations” of the Scriptures, leaders in academia might be won over to its message.
The idea that numbers have God as their source (Platonism) is ancient. But it took on a life of its own when Descartes (1596-1650) cited the apocryphal book Wisdom of Solomon as justification for the grotesque belief that numbers are eternal entities. The citation is found in 11:21, “thou hast ordered all things in measure, and number, and weight.” Simultaneously, the error was further entrenched by Galileo’s (1564-1642) audacious insinuation that it was impossible to know God and His acts in creation without an intimate knowledge of mathematics and geometry. The prestige of these and other prominent men since their time has added an aura of invincibility to mathematics in the minds of those unfamiliar with the nature of numbers. This monstrosity of human “wisdom,” in conjunction with modern technical achievements, continues to threaten the church’s autonomy and its monopoly on Truth. ______________________________________________ But the modern Theomaticist goes a step beyond and introduces a new twist to an old craft. Instead of trying to find patterns in the Bible using the values of single words, the modern numericist sums up the numeric values of two or more words, and using the Table of MCs, tries to find matching Common Factors for different phrases. The process is compromised right at the start because the beginning and end of a phrase is left to the discretion of the numericist. He decides where to begin and end each phrase, how many words to include in the phrase, and even to remove (and add) words or characters occurring within the phrase, because he deems certain words unnecessary to the meaning of the phrase. He feels free to ignore certain words in the text, such as articles, prepositions, etc., which he feels are unimportant and even meaningless. Stilted phrases, almost meaningless groupings abound even though the Theomaticist assures us that he has chosen the words “exactly as they appear in the text.” Since there is always a bit of subtlety in every sentence, this might seem reasonable at first sight. After all, it is still understandable when one says, The Water is wet or Water is wet. The meaning of both sentences is close enough under most circumstances, but they are not identical. The numericist feels free to drop or add the article The, (i.e. its equivalent in Greek) and attempt to find Numeric Features in the sentence with or without the article.An example will help to clarify the procedure: Lets us say that the theomaticist has calculated that a phrase has a numeric value of 2082. The Prime Factors of 2082 are 2x3x347 (see list below). Its Multiplicative Combinations (MCs or Factors) are 6, 694 & 1041.Only these six numbers divide evenly into 2082: 2, 3, 6, 347, 694 & 1041. [The small values, such as 2, 3 & 6 are not considered to be statistically significant.] This is disappointing to the numericist because he has so few factors with which to compare values from other phrases. What does he do? On the table of Prime Factors and their MCs (see below) he looks up and down the list to find a number which varies a few or more digits from 2082, but which has MANY MORE MCs. Even more perversely, he may go directly to a number that contains the “Hit” value that he is looking for! He manipulates the original phrase so that its numeric value decreases or increases. He removes a letter or two or a word or two, from the phrase, which he arbitrarily calls “meaningless or unnecessary,” and ends up with a phrase, of say, Numeric Value 2080. (The value could be much higher or lower, as long as it “produces” the “hit” value that he is after.) Now, the Prime Factors of 2080 are 2x2x2x2x2x5x13 (see below); and its MCs are: 4, 8, 10, 16, 20, 26, 32, 40, 52, 65, 80, 104, 130, 160, 208, 260, 416, 520 & 1040. These are Twenty-One NEW Factors (2 is common to both), giving a Total of Twenty-Seven Factors with which to work, whereas before he had only 6 factors. The possibilities for finding a “hit” that could be “related” to other phrases has increased dramatically. In fact the possibilities of a “hit” have multiplied by over 4 times. Let’s say the numericist is not satisfied with these choices. All he needs to do is add a letter or two or more from a word before or after the phrase found in the Bible, and now the numeric value of the phrase is 2088, just 6 points above the original value . . . (continued after Table of Numbers) _______________________________________________ If the numericist is having difficulty finding a matching MC (“feature” or “hit”) for a phrase which he feels “should” be there, and if the original Greek text of a sentence is inflexible and does not allow for adding or subtracting of an “unnecessary” word, the numericist arbitrarily assigns a numeric value to the phrase, and justifies it by inventing the idea of “neighborhood” or “clustering.” By simply adding to or subtracting from the phrase’s numeric value, he shifts the numeric value of the phrase up or down to a new “neighbor” value. In this way the numeric value of the phrase acquires a “feature” which it did not originally exhibit. The theomaticist Forces a numeric value upon a phrase to make it “fit” a presumed value. “Clustering,” (which was called “neighborhood” by Panin), is touted as positive support for the validity of Theomatics, when in fact it is powerful evidence that numerics does NOT work. The Theomaticist’s own statistics show that most of the “phrases” do NOT produce “hits.” A 1998 publication called “The Original Code in the Bible” was recently (Nov. 2010) examined. A Manual count was done of all the features presented in the book and classified according to category of “hit.” Several examples of the Stilted Phrases and incomplete thoughts on which the “hits” are based were noted. Even after the heroic contortions in manipulating phrases, the Theomaticist’s own results show that over Two out of Three features are NOT “hits.” A PDF file of the results of this brief study can be seen here.  | | Below is a partial list of numbers, their Prime Factors, and their Multiplicative Combinations (MCs): 2080= 2x2x2x2x2x5x13 MCs> 4, 8, 10, 16, 20, 26, 32, 40, 52, 65, 80, 104, 130, 160, 208, 260, 416, 520, 1040 2081= 2081 (a prime number) 2082= 2x3x347 MCs> 6, 694, 1041 2083= 2083 (a prime number) 2084= 2x2x521 MCs> 4, 1042 2085= 3x5x139 MCs> 15, 417, 695 2086= 2x7x149 MCs> 14, 298, 1043 2087= 2087 (a prime number) 2088= 2x2x2x3x3x29 MCs> 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 58, 72, 87, 116, 174, 232, 261, 348, 522, 696, 1044 2089= 2089 (a prime number) | | |
. . . The Prime Factors of 2088 are 2x2x2x3x3x29; (see above) and its MCs are: 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 18, 24, 36, 58, 72, 87, 116, 174, 232, 261, 348, 522, 696 & 1044. These are another Seventeen NEW Factors which the numericist is more than happy to juggle for features. (2, 3, 4, 6 & 8 are common factors). Adding up all the Unique MCs for just these Three combinations of phrases with values of 2080, 2082 and 2088, we come up with FORTY-FOUR Different Factors that can be used to “discover numeric features” or “numeric relationships.” A much larger value than the 6 numbers that were originally available. If we disregard all values less than 100 as being statistically insignificant, we still end up with 19 unique numbers that can be used to “discover” numeric features. Compared to the original 3 significant Factors, now there are over 6 times as many Factors that are greater than 100 with which to work. One does not have to be a statistician to realize that this is not a valid method in probability. The numericist makes a similar effort using words from another phrase which he deems has a similar meaning to the first phrase. If he “discovers” one Common Factor between two sets of Factors, then he declares that he has found a “Numeric Feature.” The example given was for a phrase with a relatively low value of 2082 for its numeric value. It can be shown that the greater the numeric value of the phrase, the greater the number of MCs and the greater the possibility of “hitting” upon the “right” value that “proves” to the numericist that there is a pattern there. The presence of this pattern “proves” to him that the Bible was inspired by God and assures him of the real meaning of the phrases. In addition to the flawed mathematical techniques on which Theomatics is based, there are serious philosophical difficulties which it cannot surmount. I- Theomatics is based upon an erroneous assumption. The assumption is that the Numeric value of a WORD can stand in place of– or is in some way related to– the MEANING of that word. In other words, a WORD is confused with the MEANING that the word denotes or connotes. It is not difficult to show that the meaning of a Word is NOT in the combination of its letters nor in the sound that is associated with that group of letters. The meaning of a word is a thought evoked in the mind of the hearer. For example: There are at least as many words for “water” as there are languages. “Nero” in Greek, “Choor” in Armenian and “My” in Arabic, all mean “water.” They are completely different Words with completely different alphabets and pronunciations, but they all MEAN the same thing. Speakers of each language have chosen to refer to “water” using, what in the final analysis is, an arbitrary set of symbols and sounds. … it is meanings and not sounds that constitute the essence of language. Hunter Mead; Types and Problems of Philosophy; p165 | | Numerical terms such as One or Two are names that have been created to refer to concepts that in fact
DO NOT EXIST. Linguistic terms (words) are names that have been created to evoke thoughts which are indispensible in communication. Numbers are names for Quantities.
Words are names for Qualities.
The two are not interchangeable. | | |
To calculate the numeric value of a Word and assume that one has found the number which represents the Meaning of that word is the colossal error upon which Theomatics is based. II- Words cannot be converted into numbers and then be expected to reveal more knowledge than is already there IN THE WORDS. Numbers by themselves carry No meaning, meaning that is needed to convey information from person to person. A “sentence” such as 281 38 415 1 66 84 131 6 is meaningless. It cannot be called a sentence, because sentences must have words in them, because only words carry meaning. Numbers are tools like hammers and computers, and their substitution in place of words is illogical and unfruitful. Words are too rich an entity to be reduced to numbers and still retain their integrity. Words and sentences have subtle meanings that numbers can NEVER convey.III- By converting words into numbers, one does not add more meaning & information to the Revelation that is already given, but meaning is removed from the words. Theomatics is an attempt to derive more information from the Biblical text, but the problem is that by reducing words to numbers, one is ‘distilling’ the “fluid” but then Discarding the desirable nectar (the meanings of the words) and retaining the useless vapor (the numbers). Converting words to numbers REDUCES Revelation and does Not increase it. The numericist is diverting people’s attention away from the meanings of the words in Scripture, and looking into numbers for meanings which they cannot convey. The inescapable conclusion is that the use of numerics and/or Theomatics up to this point has been Anti-revelation. IV- The numericist has NO CHOICE but to start with MeaningFULL Words, determine relationships between phrases using these meanings, and finally, allegedly derive a numerical relationship between these phrases. But the relationship of the words was ALREADY KNOWN before any numerical conversions were done. If numerics was a legitimate method at arriving at a fuller understanding, then the Numbers should be able to tell us what a Phrase or Sentence means! But of course that is an impossibility. V- Numericists do not take into account the fact that the same word can have very different meanings depending on the context. To give only one numeric value to a word is to turn a blind eye to the actual meaning of the word in its context. Solely due to this fact, Bible numerics cannot be taken seriously. VI- Theomaticists try to assure us that the numeric values that are associated with the meanings of words are based upon and derived from the text of the Bible, and insist that the text itself must determine the “meaning” of a number. But how can one decide if a given number stands for a certain “meaning” when there are numerous unrelated words in the original text which have the identical numeric value? For example, the numeric value of 888 for “Jesus” is regarded as unique and of ominous significance, but it is not disclosed to the reader that there are at least 14 other words in the Greek New Testament with a numeric value of 888, each of which has nothing in common with “Jesus” or with each other! Theomaticists see significance in the numbers: 111 (7 different words have this value), 153 (6 different words), 37 (3 different words), 273 (7 different words), 666 (17 different words) and on and on. If a common numeric factor between the numeric values of two or more words or phrases is a sign of a close relationship between the meanings of those words, then surely the actual numeric value of a word should be the most important numeric property of a word. Then it would not be unreasonable to expect that each word should have a unique numeric value, thus assuring us of a clear relationship between the meaning of a word and its numeric value. But in reality, that is not the case. Words of very diverse meanings, but having the identical numeric value are abundant in the Bible. This guarantees that it is impossible to relate numeric values to word meanings. And since that is the foundation on which Theomatics is established, we can say without fear of contradiction that Theomatics is built upon a foundation of sinking sand. Other writers have tried to assign meanings to the numbers that occur in the Bible, such as 1, 3, 7, 12, 24, 40, etc. But no two writers are ever in full agreement, they often contradict each other, ascribe multiple “meanings” to one number, and they even designate two opposing concepts to the same number. These are insurmountable difficulties which makes it impossible to arrive at the “meaning” of any word in the Bible based on its numeric value. VII- Words that have the same meaning but which occur in the Old and New Testaments have different numeric values. This is the case even for personal names and titles such as “God” and “fish.” (“God” in Hebrew is 86, in Greek it is 284. “Fish” in Hebrew is 17, in Greek it is 153.) Of course this is to be expected because of the differences between the Hebrew and Greek languages. At the same time, it is incontrovertible proof that numeric values of words have no relationship to their meanings. VIII- It is completely unjustifiable and meaningless to sum up the numeric values of words of diverse meanings, then assign a new numeric value to the “phrase.” It is linguistic and mathematical delusion to believe that one can “add” the Meanings of two or more words! Finally… IX- Theomaticists are constantly teasing their readers with expectations of New revealed knowledge and greater insight into the Scriptures, but are unable to do so, because it is not possible to do so through the magic of numerics. No “NEW! Best kept secret” has been discovered through Theomatics.Conclusion: Christians should not give any credence to Bible numerics, Theomatics or any similar method that alleges to derive new and hidden information from the Scriptures. Two articles, from two different perspectives critical of Numerics/Theomatics are available for download. 1- The results of the best statistical analysis of Theomatics can be seen here. 2- Another article written by a prominent theologian is available here. a In the case of Numerics, Words are converted into Numbers, with the assumption that these numbers will help us to Extract additional information from the words. This we now know is a futile endeavor. Numerics has not given us ANY new insight into Biblical Doctrines. Meanings of Words CANNOT be converted into numbers and be expected to retain their integrity. Similarly, the attempt to describe natural phenomena in Mathematical terms, we now know, does Not help us to know the Real nature of things. Reality CANNOT be reduced to numbers, because Mathematics is not connected to anything real. It is an inadequate tool invented by fallible humans, to try and organize and make sense of an unimaginably complex creation. Mathematics cannot be asked to do the impossible. The real world cannot be reduced to numbers, just as the Bible cannot be reduced to numerics. The parallel between Bible Numerics and the attempt at a Mathematical representation of reality in Numeric form is stunning. • The Theomaticist tries to represent the Meanings of Words in Scripture in Numeric Form. He is engaged in Bible Numerics. • The scientist tries to represent the thoughts in his mind, which have arisen from observing nature, in Numeric Form. He is engaged in Nature Numerics. •• The numericist begins with words that are available to him in a book. He does not have to invent or create his words, they have been given to him. His task of numeracy is much simplified. •• The scientist’s task is more difficult. He first has to invent his words (convert his ideas into words)– there are no words (or numbers) in nature– and then transform these words into numbers. ••• Numericist: Words > Numbers
••• Scientist: Experience > Words > Numbers Their occupations are similar: 1- They are both trying to Represent Ideas using Numbers. 2- Neither one can arrive at any Truth whatsoever because their goals are unattainable. Those who give credence to Bible Numerics are under the incorrect assumption that Numbers have some magical properties that will help them to discover Secreted information in the Scriptures. In the case of Mathematics, most people are under the incorrect impression that Mathematical representations of Nature are TRUE and EXACT representations of reality. This Invalid conclusion must be completely erased from the minds of people. Until then the purported conflict between “Science” and “Faith” will continue to be used by ignorant and insidious men to mislead, confuse and deceive the uninformed. *********** Recommendations in dealing with the issue of Theomatics, or any ‘Science-versus-Faith’ issue. Those who are trying to find “scientific” support for Biblical Inspiration or other similar issues, first need to understand THE NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE and THE NATURE OF TRUTH. ^^^ RETURN TO TOP ^^^ | |
