The number 36 in gematria
Significance in the sources
Abaye taught that “the world has no fewer than thirty-six righteous people in each generation who greet the Divine Presence”. He derives it from Isaiah 30:18, “Happy are all who wait for Him”, because “for Him” is לו (lo), ל 30 + ו 6 = 36 (Sanhedrin 97b; Sukkah 45b). This is the source of the later idea of the lamed-vav tzaddikim, the hidden thirty-six.
36 is also twice 18 (chai), and it is the number of Hanukkah candles lit over the eight nights (1 + 2 + … + 8, not counting the helper candle).
Hebrew words with the value 36
| Word | Strong’s gloss | Strong’s no. |
|---|---|---|
| אָהַל אהל | be clear; tent | H166, H167, H168 |
| אֵיכֹה איכה | where | H351 |
| אָלָה אלה | bewail; adjure, imprecate; imprecation; oak; these, those; these (Aramaic) | H421, H422, H423, H424, H427, H428, H429 |
| בָּדַל בדל | divide; part | H914, H915 |
| הָלָא הלא | remove, be remote | H1972 |
| לָאָה לאה | tire, be, make | H3811 |
Names with the value 36
- אהל Ohel H169
- אחיטוב Achitub H285
- אלה Elah; God H425, H426
- הודויה Hodavjah H1938
- יהודאי Jehudaite, Jew H3062
- לאה Leah H3812
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 אהל, איכה, אלה.
About the number 36
- 36 = 2 × 2 × 3 × 3.
- 36 is a triangular number: 1 + 2 + … + 8.
- 36 is a perfect square (6²).
- Its digit sum reduces to 9 (Mispar Katan Mispari).
- As a Hebrew numeral, 36 is written ל״ו. See Hebrew numerals.
English words with Ordinal value 36
achene, adze, agave, agree, asp, avid, awl, baffled, bathe, beanie, becalm, beheld, belle, biped, bite, boar, bone, bribe, brig, bum, cacti, cagy, cancan, cascade, chase, child, chip, cliff, coco, come, crack, cuff, daze, debase, decode, degas, diadem, dire, diva, dole, dopa, dram, eager, earl, eland, etch, facile, fated, feet, fete, feud, fey, fiat, field, fleece, flied, geode, glob, hair, halo and 49 more.
English Ordinal (A = 1 … Z = 26) is a modern cipher with no link to Hebrew gematria; see the English gematria calculator.