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Gematria uses the numeric values of the letters with which words are spelled in order to gain information about the meaning of the words. For example, the midrash on Genesis 14:14 claims that 318 house-born supporters accompanied Abraham when he went to free Lot. The midrash suggests that this is a reference to Eliezer (אליעזר), whose name is written with letters which sum to just 318 (200 + 7 + 70 + 10 + 30 + 1 = 318). Various forms of gematria were widely used in Kabbalah. In Mesopotamian cultic commentaries and in some other cuneiform sources we have use of means more complex than simple gematria. For example, on the third line of the tablet K 170+ we find: (The Moon-god) Sîn is (the) master of decisions; (the cuneiform sign) EN is bēl, ‘master,’ 30 times 30 (is) 15; to wear a crown (on) the fifteenth day.’ In other words, Sîn is the god of the moon, his name is frequently written with the number 30. He is accorded the epithet ‘master of decisions,’ which is written EN EŠ.BAR in the text and pronounced bēl purussê in Akkadian. EŠ is 30, the cuneiform character used to write the Sumerian spelling for the word ‘decision’ is the same used to write the number 30, since the word for 30 in Sumerian is eš. 30 times one half (= 30/60) is 15, therefore the moon god wears a crown on the 15th day. The crescent of the moon is viewed as the god’s crown, and he dons his crown on the fifteenth of the month.
Sources (list of abbreviations)
Midrash, Genesis Rabbah
K 170+
Bibliography
| Lieberman 1987, 167-176 | Lieberman, Stephen J. “A Mesopotamian Background for the So-Called Aggadic 'Measures' of Biblical Hermeneutics?.” Hebrew Union College Annual 58 (1987) 157-225. |
Amar Annus
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