Gematria

By Deane Barker • •

This is a pseudo-scientific practice of assigning numbers to letters, and then manipulating those numbers to reveal supposed secret codes or messages embedded in texts.

The most popular instance of this is the so-called “Bible Code,” which was published in 1997. It purported to find secret messages in the Hebrew Bible which the author claimed were embedded by extraterrestrials.

Why I Looked It Up

I knew of the concept, and had a vague understanding of the Bible code. However, I saw a clip from an interview with a Trump supporter which drifted into a conspiracy using terms associated with COVID-19, which is where I heard the word “gematria” for the first time. I wasn’t sure what it was.

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