The 8 Gematria Ciphers of the Torah – A Guide
Read the full guide to the eight Hebrew gematria ciphers
1. Atbash: The Mirror Gematria Cipher
How it works: Atbash is the best-known Hebrew letter-substitution system. It works like a mirror: the first letter of the alphabet is exchanged with the last (Aleph with Tav), the second with the second-to-last (Bet with Shin), and so on through the whole alphabet.
Ancient roots: Atbash appears in the Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 104a), and it is already used inside the Bible itself: the prophet Jeremiah writes "Sheshach" (ששך) for "Bavel" (בבל – Babylon) (Jeremiah 25:26), and "Lev Kamai" (לב קמי) for "Kasdim" (כשדים – the Chaldeans) (Jeremiah 51:1).
In the software: A standard gematria calculator only adds up numbers. Here the search engine applies the Atbash exchange to your word and scans the whole Tanakh for the places where it appears – one of the ancient biblical codes that the Sages themselves used.
2. Albam: The Halved Alphabet
How it works: The 22 letters are divided into two halves of 11. The first letter of the first half (Aleph) is exchanged with the first letter of the second half (Lamed), Bet with Mem, Gimel with Nun, and so on.
Ancient roots: In the Baraita of the 32 Rules of Rabbi Eliezer son of Rabbi Yose HaGelili, Albam is brought as an example of Rule 29, "Gematria": "Tav'el" (טבאל) in Isaiah 7:6 is read in Albam as "Remalya" (רמלא). Albam also appears in the Talmud (Shabbat 104a).
In the software: People exploring Hebrew gematria often know only the numerical value. A search in Albam finds the words that are connected to yours through this exchange – connections that a numerical value alone cannot show.
3. Atbach: Completing the Number
How it works: Atbach is an arithmetic gematria cipher. Letters are paired so that their values complete each other: to 10 (Aleph–Tet, Bet–Chet, Gimel–Zayin, Dalet–Vav), to 100 (Yod–Tzadi, Kaf–Peh, Lamed–Ayin, Mem–Samech), and to 1000 with the final letters (Kuf–final Tzadi, Resh–final Peh, Shin–final Nun, Tav–final Mem). The three middle letters – Heh (5), Nun (50) and final Kaf (500) – are exchanged with each other.
Ancient roots: The Talmud (Sukkah 52b) cites "the Atbach of Rabbi Chiya", in which "sahadah" (סהדה) is read as "manun" (מנון). Rashi there explains the system.
In the software: For those who come to gematria through Jewish numerology, Atbach shows how the Sages used numbers: not only adding values, but finding the letter that completes another. The engine finds where these exchanges appear in the text.
4. Ayak Bachar: Letters with the Same Root Value
How it works: Letters are grouped by their units digit. Aleph (1), Yod (10) and Kuf (100) form one group; Bet (2), Kaf (20) and Resh (200) form another; and so on. Any letter can be exchanged with another letter of its group.
Ancient roots: The system is listed among the ancient alphabets in a manuscript quoted by the Chida (Petach Einayim), and is widely used in Kabbalistic literature. It is closely related to Mispar Katan (small gematria), which reduces each letter to the same root value.
In the software: This is especially useful when you want to calculate name gematria. Type a name, and the engine finds the words in the Torah that match it letter by letter through these groups.
5. Ahvi: The Interchangeable Letters
How it works: The four letters Aleph, Heh, Vav and Yod (אהו"י) can be exchanged with each other.
Ancient roots: These letters are the "soft" letters of Hebrew, which often replace one another in the spelling of the same word. Commentators use this principle to explain variant spellings and hidden meanings in the verses.
In the software: If you are looking for hidden codes in the Bible, Ahvi reveals words that differ from yours only in these letters – a subtle layer that is easy to miss when reading.
6. Avgad: Neighbouring Letters
How it works: Each letter is paired with its neighbour: Aleph with Bet, Gimel with Dalet, Heh with Vav, and so on through the alphabet.
Ancient roots: Avgad appears in the list of ancient alphabets quoted by the Chida (Petach Einayim), where it is attributed to the Men of the Great Assembly.
In the software: Together with the other ciphers, Avgad adds another layer to Torah codes research: the engine shows every place where your word appears through this pairing, with the exact letter exchange.
7. Achas Beta: The Talmudic Triads
How it works: The alphabet is divided into groups of three: Aleph–Chet–Samech, Bet–Tet–Ayin, Gimel–Yod–Peh, Dalet–Kaf–Tzadi, Heh–Lamed–Kuf, Vav–Mem–Resh, and Zayin–Nun–Shin. Each letter can be exchanged with the others in its group.
Ancient roots: Achas Beta is expounded in the Talmud's main discussion of the alphabets (Shabbat 104a), and the Chida's list attributes it to Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi (Rabbeinu HaKadosh).
In the software: As Bible codes software that runs in your browser, the site lets you search with Achas Beta alone or together with the other seven ciphers, and shows the verse and the exchange for every result.
8. Motzaot HaPeh: The Places of Articulation
How it works: Letters are grouped by where they are pronounced in the mouth: the throat (Aleph, Heh, Chet, Ayin), the lips (Bet, Vav, Mem, Peh), the palate (Gimel, Yod, Kaf, Kuf), the tongue (Dalet, Tet, Lamed, Nun, Tav) and the teeth (Zayin, Samech, Shin, Resh, Tzadi). Letters of the same group can be exchanged.
Ancient roots: This classification comes from Sefer Yetzirah. Rashi uses it to explain the word "rachil" (רכיל, Leviticus 19:16): Kaf and Gimel come from the same place in the mouth, so "rachil" is related to "ragil".
In the software: This is not a random Bible code generator: the engine searches the real text of the Tanakh for words connected to yours by sound, and shows every verse where they appear.