Hebrew numerals
Encyclopedia
The system of Hebrew numerals is a quasi-decimal alphabetic numeral system
using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet
.
In this system, there is no notation for zero
, and the numeric values for individual letters are added together. Each unit (1, 2, ..., 9) is assigned a separate letter, each tens (10, 20, ..., 90) a separate letter, and the first four hundreds (100, 200, 300, 400) a separate letter. The later hundreds (500, 600, 700, 800 and 900) are represented by the sum of two or three letters representing one of the first four hundreds. To represent numbers from 1,000 to 999,999 the same letters are reused to serve as thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands. Gematria
(Jewish numerology) uses these transformations extensively.
In Israel
today, the decimal system of Hindu-Arabic numerals
(ex. 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.) is used in almost all cases (money, age, date on the civil calendar
). The Hebrew numerals are used only in special cases, like when using the Hebrew calendar
, or numbering a list (similar to a, b, c, d, etc.), much as Roman numerals
are in the West.
Note: For ordinal numbers greater than 10, cardinal numbers are used instead.
s (numbers indicating position) greater than ten the cardinal is used.
Mathematically, this type of system requires 27 letters (1-9, 10-90, 100-900). In practice the last letter, tav (which has the value 400) is used in combination with itself and/or other letters from kof (100) onwards, to generate numbers from 500 and above. Alternatively, the 22-letter Hebrew numeral set is sometimes extended to 27 by using 5 sofeet (final) forms of the Hebrew letters.
) in everyday writing.
In the calendar, this manifests every full moon
, since all Hebrew months start on a new moon
.
Combinations which would spell out words with negative connotations are sometimes avoided by switching the order of the letters. For instance, תשמ״ד (meaning "you/it will be destroyed") might instead be written as תשד״מ.
(U+05F4 in Unicode
, and resembling a double quote mark) (sometimes erroneously referred to as merkha'ot, which is Hebrew for double quote) are inserted before (to the right of) the last (leftmost) letter to indicate that the sequence of letters represents a number rather than a word. This is used in the case where a number is represented by two or more Hebrew numerals (e.g., 28 → כ״ח).
Similarly, a single Geresh
(U+05F3 in Unicode, and resembling a single quote mark) is appended after (to the left of) a single letter to indicate that the letter represents a number rather than a (one-letter) word. This is used in the case where a number is represented by a single Hebrew numeral (e.g., 100 → ק׳).
Note that Geresh
and Gershayim
merely indicate "not a (normal) word." Context usually determines whether they indicate a number or something else (such as "acronym").
are employed in Modern Hebrew for most purposes. Hebrew numerals are used nowadays primarily for writing the days and years of the Hebrew calendar
; for references to traditional Jewish texts (particularly for Biblical chapter and verse and for Talmudic folios); for bulleted or numbered lists (similar to A, B, C, etc., in English); and in numerology (gematria
).
“Thursday, 3 Nisan 5767” (where 5767 = 5(×1000) + 400 + 300 + 60 + 7):
To see how today's date in the Hebrew calendar
is written, see, for example, the dateline at the top of the Haaretz Online home page.
5771 (2010–11) = תשע״א
5770 (2009–10) = תש"ע
5769 (2008–09) = תשס״ט
5768 (2007–08) = תשס״ח
5767 (2006–07) = תשס״ז
5766 (2005–06) = תשס״ו
5765 (2004–05) = תשס״ה
are equivalent to the Hebrew numerals up to 400. The Greek numerals
differ from the Hebrew ones from 90 upwards because in the Greek alphabet
there is no equivalent for Tsadi (צ).
Numeral system
A numeral system is a writing system for expressing numbers, that is a mathematical notation for representing numbers of a given set, using graphemes or symbols in a consistent manner....
using the letters of the Hebrew alphabet
Hebrew alphabet
The Hebrew alphabet , known variously by scholars as the Jewish script, square script, block script, or more historically, the Assyrian script, is used in the writing of the Hebrew language, as well as other Jewish languages, most notably Yiddish, Ladino, and Judeo-Arabic. There have been two...
.
In this system, there is no notation for zero
0 (number)
0 is both a numberand the numerical digit used to represent that number in numerals.It fulfills a central role in mathematics as the additive identity of the integers, real numbers, and many other algebraic structures. As a digit, 0 is used as a placeholder in place value systems...
, and the numeric values for individual letters are added together. Each unit (1, 2, ..., 9) is assigned a separate letter, each tens (10, 20, ..., 90) a separate letter, and the first four hundreds (100, 200, 300, 400) a separate letter. The later hundreds (500, 600, 700, 800 and 900) are represented by the sum of two or three letters representing one of the first four hundreds. To represent numbers from 1,000 to 999,999 the same letters are reused to serve as thousands, tens of thousands, and hundreds of thousands. Gematria
Gematria
Gematria or gimatria is a system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase, in the belief that words or phrases with identical numerical values bear some relation to each other, or bear some relation to the number itself as it may apply to a person's age, the calendar year, or the like...
(Jewish numerology) uses these transformations extensively.
In Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
today, the decimal system of Hindu-Arabic numerals
Arabic numerals
Arabic numerals or Hindu numerals or Hindu-Arabic numerals or Indo-Arabic numerals are the ten digits . They are descended from the Hindu-Arabic numeral system developed by Indian mathematicians, in which a sequence of digits such as "975" is read as a numeral...
(ex. 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.) is used in almost all cases (money, age, date on the civil calendar
Civil calendar
In any country, the civil calendar is the calendar, or possibly one of several calendars, used within that country for civil, official or administrative purposes. The civil calendar is almost always used for general purposes by people and private organizations....
). The Hebrew numerals are used only in special cases, like when using the Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
, or numbering a list (similar to a, b, c, d, etc.), much as Roman numerals
Roman numerals
The numeral system of ancient Rome, or Roman numerals, uses combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet to signify values. The numbers 1 to 10 can be expressed in Roman numerals as:...
are in the West.
Main table
| Decimal | Hebrew | Glyph | Cardinal Cardinal number (linguistics) In linguistics, cardinal numbers are number words representing a quantity . They are related to ordinal numbers - See also :... (ex. one, two, three) |
Ordinal Ordinal number (linguistics) In linguistics, ordinal numbers are the words representing the rank of a number with respect to some order, in particular order or position . Its use may refer to size, importance, chronology, etc... (ex. first, second, third) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine | Feminine | Masculine | Feminine | |||
| 0 0 (number) 0 is both a numberand the numerical digit used to represent that number in numerals.It fulfills a central role in mathematics as the additive identity of the integers, real numbers, and many other algebraic structures. As a digit, 0 is used as a placeholder in place value systems... |
N/A | efes (אֶפֶס) | N/A | |||
| 1 | Aleph Aleph * Aleph or Alef is the first letter of the Semitic abjads descended from Proto-Canaanite, Arabic alphabet, Phoenician alphabet, Hebrew alphabet, Syriac alphabet-People:*Aleph , an Italo disco artist and alias of Dave Rodgers... |
א | echad (אֶחַד) |
achat (אַחַת) |
rishon (רִאשׁוֹן) |
rishonah (רִאשׁוֹנָה) |
| 2 | Bet Bet (letter) Bet, Beth, Beh, or Vet is the second letter of many Semitic abjads, including Arabic alphabet , Aramaic, Hebrew , Phoenician and Syriac... |
ב | shnayim (שְׁנַיִם) |
shtayim (שְׁתַּיִם) |
sheni (שֵׁנִי) |
shniyah (שְׁנִיָה) |
| 3 | Gimel Gimel (letter) Gimel is the third letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew , Syriac and Arabic... |
ג | shlosha (שְׁלוֹשָׁה) |
shalosh (שָׁלוֹשׁ) |
shlishi (שְׁלִישִׁי) |
shlishit (שְׁלִישִׁית) or shlishiyah (שְׁלִישִׁיָה) |
| 4 | Dalet Dalet Dalet is the fourth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew , Syriac and Arabic... |
ד | arba'a (אַרְבָּעָה) |
arbah (אַרְבַּע) |
revi'i (רְבִיעִי) |
revi'it (רְבִיעִית) |
| 5 | Hei He (letter) He is the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician , Aramaic, Hebrew , Syriac and Arabic . Its sound value is a voiceless glottal fricative .... |
ה | chamisha (חֲמִשָׁה) |
chamesh (חָמֵשׁ) |
chamishi (חֲמִישִׁי) |
chamishit (חֲמִישִׁית) |
| 6 | Vav Waw (letter) Waw is the sixth letter of the Northwest Semitic family of scripts, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew, Syriac, and Arabic .... |
ו | shisha (שִׁשָּׁה) |
shesh (שֵׁשׁ) |
shishi (שִׁשִּׁי) |
shishit (שִׁשִּׁית) |
| 7 | Zayin Zayin Zayin is the seventh letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician , Aramaic , Hebrew , Syriac and Perso-Arabic alphabet... |
ז | shiv'a (שִׁבְעַה) |
sheva (שֶׁבַע) |
shvi'i (שְׁבִיעִי) |
shvi'it (שְׁבִיעִית) |
| 8 | Het Heth (letter) ' or ' is the reconstructed name of the eighth letter of the Proto-Canaanite alphabet, continued in descended Semitic alphabets as Phoenician , Syriac , Hebrew ḥēth , Arabic , and Berber .Heth originally represented a voiceless fricative, either pharyngeal , or... |
ח | shmonah (שְׁמוֹנָה) |
shmoneh (שְׁמוֹנֶה) |
shmini (שְׁמִינִי) |
shminit (שְׁמִינִית) |
| 9 | Tet Teth ' is the ninth letter of many Semitic abjads , including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Tet , Syriac and Arabic ; it is 9th in abjadi order and 16th in modern Arabic order.... |
ט | tish'a (תִּשְׁעָה) |
tayshah (תֵּשַׁע) |
tshi'i (תְּשִׁיעִי) |
tshi'it (תְּשִׁיעִית) |
| 10 10 (number) 10 is an even natural number following 9 and preceding 11.-In mathematics:Ten is a composite number, its proper divisors being , and... |
Yud Yodh Yodh is the tenth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Yud , Syriac and Arabic... |
י | assara (עֲשָׂרָה) |
eser (עֶשֶׂר) |
asiri (עֲשִׂירִי) |
asirit (עֲשִׂירִית) |
| 20 20 (number) 20 is the natural number following 19 and preceding 21. A group of twenty units may also be referred to as a score.-In mathematics:*20 is the basis for vigesimal number systems.... |
Kaf Kaph Kaph is the eleventh letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Kaf , Arabic alphabet , Persian alphabet... |
כ | esrim (עֶשְׂרִים) |
|||
| 30 30 (number) 30 is the natural number following 29 and preceding 31.-In mathematics:30 is the sum of the first four squares, which makes it a square pyramidal number.It is a primorial and is the smallest Giuga number.... |
Lamed Lamedh Lamed or Lamedh is the twelfth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Lamed and Arabic alphabet . Its sound value is .The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Lambda , Latin L, and Cyrillic Л.-Origins:... |
ל | shloshim (שְׁלוֹשִׁים) |
|||
| 40 40 (number) 40 is the natural number following 39 and preceding 41.Despite being related to the word "four" , 40 is spelled "forty", and not "fourty"... |
Mem Mem Mem is the thirteenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic... |
מ | arba'im (אַרְבָּעִים) |
|||
| 50 50 (number) This article discusses the number fifty. For the year 50 CE, see 50. For other uses of 50, see 50 50 is the natural number following 49 and preceding 51.-In mathematics:... |
Nun Nun (letter) Nun is the fourteenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic alphabet . It is the third letter in Thaana , pronounced as "noonu"... |
נ | chamishim (חֲמִשִּׁים) |
|||
| 60 60 (number) 60 is the natural number following 59 and preceding 61. Being three times twenty, 60 is called "three score" in some older literature.-In mathematics:... |
Samech Samekh Samekh or Simketh is the fifteenth letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Hebrew, and Aramaic, representing . The Arabic alphabet, however, uses a letter based on Phoenician šin to represent ; however, that glyph takes Samekh's place in the traditional Abjadi order of the Arabic... |
ס | shishim (שִׁשִּׁים) |
|||
| 70 70 (number) 70 is the natural number following 69 and preceding 71.-In mathematics:Its factorization makes it a sphenic number. 70 is a Pell number and a generalized heptagonal number, one of only two numbers to be both. Also, it is the seventh pentagonal number and the fourth 13-gonal number, as well as the... |
Ayin Ayin ' or ' is the sixteenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic . It is the twenty-first letter in the new Persian alphabet... |
ע | shiv'im (שִׁבְעִים) |
|||
| 80 80 (number) 80 is the natural number following 79 and preceding 81.- In mathematics :The sum of Euler's totient function φ over the first sixteen integers is 80.... |
Pei Pe (letter) Pe is the seventeenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Pei and Persian, Arabic .... |
פ | shmonim (שְׁמוֹנִים) |
|||
| 90 90 (number) 90 is the natural number preceded by 89 and followed by 91.- In mathematics :*Because 90 is the sum of its unitary divisors , it is a unitary perfect number, and because it is equal to the sum of a subset of its divisors, it is a semiperfect number. 90 is a pronic number. But it is also a... |
Tsadi Tsade ' is the eighteenth letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew ' and Arabic ' . Its oldest sound value is probably , although there is a variety of pronunciation in different modern Semitic languages and their dialects... |
צ | tish'im (תִּשְׁעִים) |
|||
| 100 100 (number) 100 is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101.-In mathematics:One hundred is the square of 10... |
Kuf | ק | me'a (מֵאָה) |
|||
| 200 200 (number) 200 is the natural number following 199 and preceding 201.The number appears in the Padovan sequence, preceded by 86, 114, 151 .... |
Resh Resh Resh is the twentieth letter of many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic alphabet . Its sound value is one of a number of rhotic consonants: usually or , but also or in Hebrew.... |
ר | matayim (מָאתַיִם) |
|||
| 300 300 (number) 300 is the natural number following 299 and preceding 301.- Mathematical properties :It is a triangular number and the sum of a pair of twin primes , as well as the sum of ten consecutive primes... |
Shin Shin (letter) Shin literally means "Sharp" ; It is the twenty-first letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician , Aramaic/Hebrew , and Arabic .... |
ש | shlosh meot (שְׁלוֹשׁ מֵאוֹת) |
|||
| 400 400 (number) 400 is the natural number following 399 and preceding 401. - Mathematical properties :400 is the square of 20.A circle is divided into 400 grads, which is equal to 360 degrees and 2π radians... |
Tav Taw (letter) Taw, Tav or Taf is the twenty-second and last letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Taw and Arabic alphabet .Its original sound value is .... |
ת | arba meot (אַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת) |
|||
| 500 500 (number) 500 is the natural number following 499 and preceding 501.- Other fields :Five hundred is also*many NASCAR races often use the number 500 at the end of their race names 500 (five hundred) is the natural number following 499 and preceding 501.- Other fields :Five hundred is also*many NASCAR races... |
Tav Kuf or Chaf Sofit Kaph Kaph is the eleventh letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Kaf , Arabic alphabet , Persian alphabet... |
ת"ק or ך | chamesh meot (חֲמֵשׁ מֵאוֹת) |
|||
| 600 600 (number) For the year 600, see 600 BC or 600 AD.600 is the natural number following 599 and preceding 601.-Mathematical properties:Six hundred is a composite number, an abundant number, a pronic number and a Harshad number.-In other fields:... |
Tav Resh or Mem Sofit Mem Mem is the thirteenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic... |
ת"ר or ם | shesh meot (שֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת) |
|||
| 700 700 (number) 700 is the natural number following 699 and preceding 701.It is the sum of four consecutive primes... |
Tav Shin or Nun Sofit Nun (letter) Nun is the fourteenth letter of many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew and Arabic alphabet . It is the third letter in Thaana , pronounced as "noonu"... |
ת"ש or ן | shva meot (שְׁבַע מֵאוֹת) |
|||
| 800 800 (number) 800 is the natural number following 799 and preceding 801.It is the sum of four consecutive primes... |
Tav Tav or Pei Sofit Pe (letter) Pe is the seventeenth letter in many Semitic abjads, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew Pei and Persian, Arabic .... |
ת"ת or ף | shmone meot (שְׁמוֹנֶה מֵאוֹת) |
|||
| 900 900 (number) For the year 900, see 900 BC or 900 AD.900 is the natural number following 899 and preceding 901. It is the square of 30 and the sum of Euler's totient function for the first 54 integers... |
Tav Tav Kuf or Tsadi Sofit Tsade ' is the eighteenth letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Phoenician, Aramaic, Hebrew ' and Arabic ' . Its oldest sound value is probably , although there is a variety of pronunciation in different modern Semitic languages and their dialects... |
תת"ק or ץ | tsha meot (תְּשַׁע מֵאוֹת) |
|||
| 11 11 (number) 11 is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12.Eleven is the first number which cannot be counted with a human's eight fingers and two thumbs additively. In English, it is the smallest positive integer requiring three syllables and the largest prime number with a single-morpheme name... : achad asar/achat esre, 12 12 (number) 12 is the natural number following 11 and preceding 13.The word "twelve" is the largest number with a single-morpheme name in English. Etymology suggests that "twelve" arises from the Germanic compound twalif "two-leftover", so a literal translation would yield "two remaining [after having ten... : shneim asar/shteim esre, 13 13 (number) 13 is the natural number after 12 and before 14. It is the smallest number with eight letters in its name spelled out in English. It is also the first of the teens – the numbers 13 through 19 – the ages of teenagers.... : shlosha asar/shlosh esre, 14 14 (number) 14 is the natural number following 13 and preceding 15.In speech, the numbers 14 and 40 are often confused. When carefully enunciated, they differ in which syllable is stressed: 14 vs 40... : arba'a asar/arba esre, 15 15 (number) 15 is the natural number following 14 and preceding 16. In English, it is the smallest natural number with seven letters in its spelled name.... : chamisha asar/chamesh esre, 16 16 (number) 16 is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and .... : shisha asar/shesh esre, 17 17 (number) 17 is the natural number following 16 and preceding 18. It is prime.In spoken English, the numbers 17 and 70 are sometimes confused because they sound similar. When carefully enunciated, they differ in which syllable is stressed: 17 vs 70... : shiv'a asar/shva esre, 18 18 (number) 18 is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19.In speech, the numbers 18 and 80 are sometimes confused. When carefully enunciated, they differ in which syllable is stressed: 18 vs 80 . However, in dates such as 1864, or when contrasting numbers in the teens, such as 17, 18, 19, the stress... : shmona asar/shmone esre, 19 19 (number) 19 is the natural number following 18 and preceding 20. It is a prime number.In English speech, the numbers 19 and 90 are often confused. When carefully enunciated, they differ in which syllable is stressed: 19 vs 90... : tish'a asar/tsha esre |
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| 1000: elef, 2000 2000 (number) 2000 is the natural number following 1999 and preceding 2001.Two thousand is the highest number expressible using only two unmodified characters in roman numerals .Two thousand is also:... : alpaim, 10 000 10000 (number) 10000 is the natural number following 9999 and preceding 10001.-Name:Many languages have a specific word for this number: In English it is myriad, in Ancient Greek , in Aramaic , in Hebrew רבבה , in Chinese , in Japanese [man], in Korean [man], and in Thai หมื่น [meun]... : aseret alafim/revava, 100 000 100000 (number) One hundred thousand is the natural number following 99999 and preceding 100001. In scientific notation, it is written as 105.In South Asia, one hundred thousand is called a lakh... : mea elef, 1 000 000: miliyon, 1 000 000 000 1000000000 (number) 1,000,000,000 is the natural number following 999,999,999 and preceding 1,000,000,001.In scientific notation, it is written as 109.... : miliyard |
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Note: For ordinal numbers greater than 10, cardinal numbers are used instead.
Speaking and writing
Cardinal and ordinal numbers must agree in gender (masculine or feminine; mixed groups are treated as masculine) with the noun they are describing. If there is no such noun (e.g. a telephone number or a house number in a street address), the feminine form is used. Ordinal numbers must also agree in number and definite status like other adjectives. The cardinal number precedes the noun (ex. shlosha yeladim), except for the number one which succeeds it (ex. yeled echad). The number two is special - shnayim (m.) and shtayim (f.) become shney (m.) and shtey (f.) when followed by the noun they count. For ordinal numberOrdinal number
In set theory, an ordinal number, or just ordinal, is the order type of a well-ordered set. They are usually identified with hereditarily transitive sets. Ordinals are an extension of the natural numbers different from integers and from cardinals...
s (numbers indicating position) greater than ten the cardinal is used.
Calculations
The Hebrew numeric system operates on the additive principle in which the numeric values of the letters are added together to form the total. For example, 177 is represented as קעז which corresponds to 100 + 70 + 7 = 177.Mathematically, this type of system requires 27 letters (1-9, 10-90, 100-900). In practice the last letter, tav (which has the value 400) is used in combination with itself and/or other letters from kof (100) onwards, to generate numbers from 500 and above. Alternatively, the 22-letter Hebrew numeral set is sometimes extended to 27 by using 5 sofeet (final) forms of the Hebrew letters.
Key exceptions
By convention, the numbers 15 and 16 are represented as ט״ו (9 + 6) and ט״ז (9 + 7), respectively. This is done in order to refrain from using the two-letter combinations י–ה (10 + 5) and י–ו (10 + 6) (which are alternate written forms for the Name of GodTetragrammaton
The term Tetragrammaton refers to the name of the God of Israel YHWH used in the Hebrew Bible.-Hebrew Bible:...
) in everyday writing.
In the calendar, this manifests every full moon
Full moon
Full moon lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun.Lunar eclipses can only occur at...
, since all Hebrew months start on a new moon
New moon
In astronomical terminology, the new moon is the lunar phase that occurs when the Moon, in its monthly orbital motion around Earth, lies between Earth and the Sun, and is therefore in conjunction with the Sun as seen from Earth...
.
Combinations which would spell out words with negative connotations are sometimes avoided by switching the order of the letters. For instance, תשמ״ד (meaning "you/it will be destroyed") might instead be written as תשד״מ.
Gershayim
GershayimGershayim
Gershayim , also occasionally grashayim , names two distinct typographical marks in the Hebrew language. The name literally means "double geresh".-Punctuation mark:...
(U+05F4 in Unicode
Unicode
Unicode is a computing industry standard for the consistent encoding, representation and handling of text expressed in most of the world's writing systems...
, and resembling a double quote mark) (sometimes erroneously referred to as merkha'ot, which is Hebrew for double quote) are inserted before (to the right of) the last (leftmost) letter to indicate that the sequence of letters represents a number rather than a word. This is used in the case where a number is represented by two or more Hebrew numerals (e.g., 28 → כ״ח).
Similarly, a single Geresh
Geresh
Geresh is a sign in Hebrew writing. It has two meanings.#An apostrophe-like sign placed after a letter :...
(U+05F3 in Unicode, and resembling a single quote mark) is appended after (to the left of) a single letter to indicate that the letter represents a number rather than a (one-letter) word. This is used in the case where a number is represented by a single Hebrew numeral (e.g., 100 → ק׳).
Note that Geresh
Geresh
Geresh is a sign in Hebrew writing. It has two meanings.#An apostrophe-like sign placed after a letter :...
and Gershayim
Gershayim
Gershayim , also occasionally grashayim , names two distinct typographical marks in the Hebrew language. The name literally means "double geresh".-Punctuation mark:...
merely indicate "not a (normal) word." Context usually determines whether they indicate a number or something else (such as "acronym").
Decimals
In print, Hindu-Arabic numeralsHindu-Arabic numeral system
The Hindu–Arabic numeral system or Hindu numeral system is a positional decimal numeral system developed between the 1st and 5th centuries by Indian mathematicians, adopted by Persian and Arab mathematicians , and spread to the western world...
are employed in Modern Hebrew for most purposes. Hebrew numerals are used nowadays primarily for writing the days and years of the Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
; for references to traditional Jewish texts (particularly for Biblical chapter and verse and for Talmudic folios); for bulleted or numbered lists (similar to A, B, C, etc., in English); and in numerology (gematria
Gematria
Gematria or gimatria is a system of assigning numerical value to a word or phrase, in the belief that words or phrases with identical numerical values bear some relation to each other, or bear some relation to the number itself as it may apply to a person's age, the calendar year, or the like...
).
Thousands and date formats
Thousands are counted separately, and the thousands count precedes the rest of the number (to the right, since Hebrew is read from right to left). There are no special marks to signify that the “count” is starting over with thousands, which can theoretically lead to ambiguity, although a single quote mark is sometimes used after the letter. When specifying years of the Hebrew calendar in the present millennium, writers usually omit the thousands (which is presently 5 [ה]), but if they do not this is accepted to mean 5 * 1000, with no ambiguity. The current Israeli coinage includes the thousands.Date examples
“Monday, 15 Adar 5764” (where 5764 = 5(×1000) + 400 + 300 + 60 + 4, and 15 = 9 + 6):- In full (with thousands): “Monday, 15(th) of Adar, 5764”
- יום שני ט״ו באדר ה׳תשס״ד
- Common usage (omitting thousands): “Monday, 15(th) of Adar, (5)764”
- יום שני ט״ו באדר תשס״ד
“Thursday, 3 Nisan 5767” (where 5767 = 5(×1000) + 400 + 300 + 60 + 7):
- In full (with thousands): “Thursday, 3(rd) of Nisan, 5767”
- יום חמישי ג׳ בניסן ה׳תשס״ז
- Common usage (omitting thousands): “Thursday, 3(rd) of Nisan, (5)767”
- יום חמישי ג׳ בניסן תשס״ז
To see how today's date in the Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
is written, see, for example, the dateline at the top of the Haaretz Online home page.
Recent years
5772 (2011–12) = תשע״ב5771 (2010–11) = תשע״א
5770 (2009–10) = תש"ע
5769 (2008–09) = תשס״ט
5768 (2007–08) = תשס״ח
5767 (2006–07) = תשס״ז
5766 (2005–06) = תשס״ו
5765 (2004–05) = תשס״ה
Similar systems
The Abjad numeralsAbjad numerals
The Abjad numerals are a decimal numeral system in which the 28 letters of the Arabic alphabet are assigned numerical values. They have been used in the Arabic-speaking world since before the 8th century Arabic numerals...
are equivalent to the Hebrew numerals up to 400. The Greek numerals
Greek numerals
Greek numerals are a system of representing numbers using letters of the Greek alphabet. They are also known by the names Ionian numerals, Milesian numerals , Alexandrian numerals, or alphabetic numerals...
differ from the Hebrew ones from 90 upwards because in the Greek alphabet
Greek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
there is no equivalent for Tsadi (צ).
External links
, ,- http://www.inner.org/gematria/gemchart.htm