Mispar Hechrachi
Mispar hechrachi means “the necessary” or absolute number, and it is what people mean by gematria unless they say otherwise. Each letter has its value as a Hebrew numeral: units, tens, then hundreds up to 400. Final forms (ך ם ן ף ץ) have the same value as the ordinary letter.
Letter values
| Letter | Name | Standard value |
|---|---|---|
| א | Alef | 1 |
| ב | Bet | 2 |
| ג | Gimel | 3 |
| ד | Dalet | 4 |
| ה | He | 5 |
| ו | Vav | 6 |
| ז | Zayin | 7 |
| ח | Chet | 8 |
| ט | Tet | 9 |
| י | Yod | 10 |
| כ | Kaf | 20 |
| ל | Lamed | 30 |
| מ | Mem | 40 |
| נ | Nun | 50 |
| ס | Samekh | 60 |
| ע | Ayin | 70 |
| פ | Pe | 80 |
| צ | Tsadi | 90 |
| ק | Qof | 100 |
| ר | Resh | 200 |
| ש | Shin | 300 |
| ת | Tav | 400 |
| ך | Kaf (final) | 20 |
| ם | Mem (final) | 40 |
| ן | Nun (final) | 50 |
| ף | Pe (final) | 80 |
| ץ | Tsadi (final) | 90 |
Worked examples
חי — chai, “alive”
ח 8 + י 10 = 18
אמת — emet, “truth”
א 1 + מ 40 + ת 400 = 441
יהוה — the Tetragrammaton
י 10 + ה 5 + ו 6 + ה 5 = 26
השטן — ha-Satan, as counted in Yoma 20a
ה 5 + ש 300 + ט 9 + ן 50 = 364
Every gematria in the Talmud that we quote in our introduction uses this method. When you see a single “gematria value” quoted for a Hebrew word, it is almost always this one.
Things that change the total
- Spelling. דוד (David) is 14, but the later full spelling דויד is 24.
- Vowel points have no value and are ignored. So are punctuation and cantillation marks.
- Final letters count the same as ordinary letters here. For the system in which they count 500–900, see Mispar Gadol.