Gematria Calculator › Atbach
Atbach Cipher Calculator
Atbach is an arithmetic cipher: letters are paired so that their numerical values complete each other to 10, 100 and 1000.
The Atbach table
| א ↔ ט | ב ↔ ח | ג ↔ ז | ד ↔ ו |
| י ↔ צ | כ ↔ פ | ל ↔ ע | מ ↔ ס |
| ק ↔ ץ | ר ↔ ף | ש ↔ ן | ת ↔ ם |
| ה ↔ נ ↔ ך |
How it works
- Completing 10: Aleph↔Tet (1+9), Bet↔Chet, Gimel↔Zayin, Dalet↔Vav.
- Completing 100: Yod↔Tzadi (10+90), Kaf↔Peh, Lamed↔Ayin, Mem↔Samech.
- Completing 1000 with the final letters: Kuf↔final Tzadi (100+900), Resh↔final Peh, Shin↔final Nun, Tav↔final Mem.
- The middle letters Heh (5), Nun (50) and final Kaf (500) are exchanged with each other.
- In the main search engine the final-letter pairs apply only at the end of a word; in this Atbach calculator they apply anywhere.
Sources
- The Talmud (Sukkah 52b) cites "the Atbach of Rabbi Chiya", in which "sahada" (witness) is read as "manun".
- Rashi there explains the pairs: Aleph-Tet, Bet-Chet, Gimel-Zayin, Dalet-Vav.
- Rabbeinu Gershom (Bava Batra 116a) decodes one expression by combining Atbach and Albam.
Examples from the sources
סהדה ← מנון
Sukkah 52b; Proverbs 29:21
Questions
Why are Heh, Nun and final Kaf exchanged with each other?
Their values are 5, 50 and 500 – the midpoints of tens, hundreds and thousands – so they have no completing partner.
Who used Atbach?
The Talmud (Sukkah 52b) attributes it to Rabbi Chiya, and Rashi lists the pairs.