It is fairly well accepted that the "jews" stole their numerical association of their letters (hebrew) from the Greeks...
Gematria, which is similar to numerology can indeed be applied to the english language but there is no set pattern of numerical attributions to the english language. Although several versions do exist. As there is not a standard attribution for the english language it is far moe common to use other languages for gematria calculations.
Gematria: The study or science and art of number and letter manipulation. This would include geometric forms such as the Tetraktys of the Decad. I {Jesus} have turned their (periods of) influence and their quadrangles and their triangles and their figures of eight , since their (periods of) influence remained turned to the left from the beginning, together with their quadrangles and their triangles and their figures of eight. (Pistis Sophia, See also; Tetraktys of the Decad. See also; Marsenes. )
Jewish Perspective:
Gematria is one of a number of methods which Kabbalists, and others I might add, employ to uncover hidden meanings in Hebrew words and expressions. Simply
Gematria is the art of calculating the numerical value of a word by adding together the
value of each letter. Once the numerical value of the word is known, words or combinations of words having the same value can be carefully scrutinized and compared. In this manner one number can become representative of several ideas, all of which are understood to be intrinsically related.
A famous example often quoted by commentators and authors addressing this specific topic is
Genesis 49:10 which reads The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until
Shiloh, and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
By
Gematria the words until Shiloh
yvoh Shiloh (
Yod [10] +
Bet [2] +
Alef [1] +
Shin [300] +
Yod [10] +
Lamed [30] +
Heh [5] = 358),
align with the Hebrew word for Messiah
Mashiach (
Mem [40] +
Shin [300] +
Yod [10] +
Chet [8] = 358]).
Hence, according to Kabbalah, there is a direct connection between the terms until Shiloh and Messiah. Associated here is the
Gematria of
Numbers 21:9 which reads And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the Serpent of brass, he lived.
The serpent of brass is called
Nachash (
Nun [50] +
Chet [8] +
Shin [300] = 358). So there is a connection between Messiah, until
Shiloh, and the Serpent of brass.
Using this set of
Gematria associations, Christian Kabbalists later assumed that the brazen serpent raised by Moses in the desert was a prefiguration of the Christian Saviour on the Cross. There are however other meanings such as the
Nachash.
Using
Gematria, Kabbalists arrive at many remarkable Holy Names or the names of Angels, revealing the mysteries of the world of the
Merkavah (the fiery Chariot Throne and the Angels).
An example is that the
Gematria of the entire verse of
Song of Songs 6:16: I have gone down into the nut garden, is equivalent to a verse in the
Midrash (a Sacred Biblical Commentary) which reads That is the depth of the chariot (
Merkavah).
There is really no limit to what can be yielded by employing this simple
Gematria method explained above, but over the years the application of this system became more and more complex, and many more ways of practising this art were devised. I certainly cannot go into all of them in this short missive, but I should mention that there are two schools of thought in Kabbalah regarding the use of
Gematria. One favours it, the other uses it very rarely, however both of them used it, hence
Gematria is a key system in the Letter-number Mysticism of Kabbalah.
As said,
Gematria became more and more complicated over the centuries. However, generally the most important types of
Gematriot are:
1. The numerical value of one wore is equal to another word. This is the method explained above.
Another example is the word
Gevurah [Severity] (
Gimel [3] +
Bet [2] +
Vav [6] +
Resh [200] +
Heh [5] = 216). The
Gematria of this word is equal to the word
Aryeh [Lion] (
Alef [1] +
Resh [200] +
Yod [10] +
Heh [5] = 216). A connection is therefore recognized between the ideas of Severity and Lion in Hebrew.
2. The reduction of numbers to single units. For example the value of
Shin (300) is reduced to 3 or
Kaf (20) to 2.
3. The squared number is calculated by squaring the numerical values of each letter in a word. for example the Tetragrammaton
YHVH squared equals (
Yod) 102 (
Heh) 52 (
Vav) 62 (
Heh ) 52 which equals 186. This is in turn equated with the word
Makom [Place] (
Mem [40] +
Kof [100] +
Vav [6] +
Mem [40] = 186).
Makom is also a Divine Name.
4. Adding up the value of all letters preceding a letter in an alphabetical numerical series. For example, the letter
Dalet is the fourth letter of the Hebrew letter-numbers (alphabet), and the use of this type of
Gematria in this case, requires one to add the values of the letters preceding
Dalet, thus 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 = 10.
5. Then there is the method of
Gematria termed
Millui meaning filling or spellings. In this method the values of the letters comprising the names of the individual letters are calculated. In Hebrew each letter is a word, and is spelled as follows:
Alef
Alef-
Lamed-
Peh [
Feh]
Bet Bet-
Yod-
Tav
Gimel
Gimel-
Mem-
Lamed)
Dalet
Dalet-
Lamed-
Tav
Heh can be spelled:
Heh-
Alef
Heh-
Heh
Heh-
Yod
Vav can be spelled:
Vav-Alef-Vav
Vav-Yod-Vav
Vav-Vav
Zayin
Zayin-Yod-Nun
Chet
Chet-Yod-Tav
Tet
Tet-Yod-Tav
Yod
Yod-Vav-Dalet
Kaf
Kaf-Feh
Lamed
Lamed-Mem-Dalet
Mem
Mem-Mem
Nun
Nun-Vav-Nun
Samech
Samech-Mem-Kaf [
Chaf]
Ayin
Ayin-Yod-Nun
Peh
Peh-Heh
Tzadi
Tzadi-Dalet-Yod
Kof
Kof-Vav-Peh [
Feh]
Resh
Resh-Yod-Shin
Shin
Shin-Yod-Nun
Tav
Tav-Vav
Using this type of
Gematria the value of
Alef (
Alef [1] +
Lamed [30] +
Feh [80]) = 111;
Bet (
Bet [2] +
Yod [10] +
Tav [400]) = 412, etcetera.
These
Millui or fillings are very important in the construction and permutation of Divine Names. Take for example the earlier mentioned
YHVH, in which the letter-numbers
Heh and
Vav have different fillings, that is different spellings. As indicated already, the letter
Heh can be spelled
Heh-Alef,
Heh-Heh or
Heh-Yod, and
Vav can be spelled
Vav-Alef-Vav,
Vav-Yod-Vav or
Vav-Vav. So with these letters one can use three different kinds of fillings, traditionally called:
Millui de-Alfin (
Alef filling);
Millui de-Hein (
Heh filling); and
Millui de-Yodin (
Yod filling).
Applying these to the Ineffable Name,
YHVH, the Sacred Tetragrammaton can be varied accordingly to give the so-called Forty-Five Letter Name of God, Fifty-Two Letter Name of God, Sixty-Three Letter Name of God, and Seventy-Two Letter Name of God.
In fact each of these names correspond to one of the Four Worlds of Kabbalah, respectively the worlds of
Assiah,
Yetzirah,
Briah and
Atzilut. This is done in the following manner:
Yod-Vav-Dalet Heh-heh Vav-vav Heh-heh comprises the Fifty-Two Letter Name of God, and in
Gematria the word
Ben (
Bet [2] +
Nun [50] = 52).
The word
Ben (son) is thus representative of the Fifty-Two Letter Name of God.
Yod-Vav-Dalet Heh-Alef Vav-Alef-Vav Heh-Alef comprises the Forty-Five Letter Name of God, which corresponds in
Gematria to the word
Adam (
Alef [1] +
Dalet [4] +
Mem [40] = 45).
The word
Adam (man) therefore symbolizes the Forty-Five Letter Name of God.
Yod-Vav-Dalet Heh-Yod Vav-Alef-Vav Heh-Yod comprises the Sixty-Three Letter Name of God.
Yod-Vav-Dalet Heh-Yod Vav-Yod-Vav Heh-Yod comprises the Seventy-Two Letter Name of God, which according to some is related to what is called the Name of Seventy-Two Names.
Of course I have barely touched on this topic, and there are still a few
Gematria techniques which I have not listed at all. This is purely because I am address more extensive details in this short message, but I hope I have been able to shed some light on this intriguing topic.