The number 248 in gematria
Significance in the sources
Rabbi Simlai taught that 613 commandments were given to Moses: “365 prohibitions corresponding to the days of the solar year, and 248 positive commandments corresponding to the number of a person’s limbs” (Makkot 23b). The Mishnah lists the 248 limbs, bone by bone (Mishnah Oholot 1:8).
אברהם (Avraham) is א 1 + ב 2 + ר 200 + ה 5 + ם 40 = 248. The Talmud links the two: after the covenant, Abraham was given mastery over all 248 limbs (Nedarim 32b). רחם (rechem, “womb”) is also 248.
Hebrew words with the value 248
| Word | Strong’s gloss | Strong’s no. |
|---|---|---|
| בְּרוֹם ברום | damask | H1264 |
| חָמַר חמר | boil, ferment, glow; wine, fermenting; wine; bubbling, wave, mire; bitumen (Aramaic) | H2560, H2561, H2562, H2563, H2564 |
| חָרַם חרם | seclude, devote to religious uses, be blunt as to the nose; net, doomed object, extermination | H2763, H2764 |
| מְגֵרָה מגרה | saw | H4050 |
| מָחָר מחר | deferred, morrow, tomorrow | H4279 |
| מָרַח מרח | soften, apply | H4799 |
| רִגְמָה רגמה | pile, throng | H7277 |
| רָחַם רחם | fondle, love, compassionate; compassion, womb, cherishing; womb; pity; kind of vulture (Aramaic) | H7355, H7356, H7358, H7359, H7360 |
| רֹמַח רמח | lance, thrown, point | H7420 |
Names with the value 248
- אברהם Abraham H85
- אוריאל Uriel H222
- חרם Chorem; Charim H2765, H2766
- רחם Racham H7357
Words and glosses: Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary via the Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon (CC BY 4.0). Values are for the consonants only; vowel points are ignored. Check any of them in the calculator, for example ברום, חמר, חרם.
About the number 248
- 248 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 31.
- Its digit sum reduces to 5 (Mispar Katan Mispari).
- As a Hebrew numeral, 248 is written רמ״ח. See Hebrew numerals.
English words with Ordinal value 248
extemporaneousness, superstitiously, trustworthiness.
English Ordinal (A = 1 … Z = 26) is a modern cipher with no link to Hebrew gematria; see the English gematria calculator.