RE: Numerology

Pim van Meurs (entheta@eskimo.com)
Mon, 3 Aug 1998 05:19:04 -0700

So if the current Hebrew system had not become fixed until 200BCE does this mean that the transcript you are using was from a later date ? And if it was a later transcription then what prevented the authors from using numerology ? And more importantly, which one of the many existing manuscripts is likely to be the 'correct' one ? The website speculates about the dates, I have seen data suggesting earlier dates. Certainly the use of numerology, perhaps not in its present day form, appears to go back further.

And of course there is the disclaimer at the end: "Of course this evidence doesn't preclude the possibility that the Jews already knew about gematria from the Babylonians, or that they were doing it on some other basis (e.g. assigning 1-22 to the letters). Certainly new data could turn up to reverse the order, but that's always the way it is with history! "

So my question is: What is the origin of the texts you refer to, what transcription date ? And based on what transcript ?

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From: Vernon Jenkins[SMTP:vernon.jenkins@virgin.net]
Sent: Sunday, August 02, 1998 3:07 PM
To: evolution@calvin.edu
Subject: Re:Numerology

Cliff and Pim,

You are wondering about the dates I have suggested for the introductions
of the Hebrew and Greek systems of alphabetic numeration - c200BC and
c600BC, respectively. May I therefore direct your attention to the
following web address where the relevant history is discussed:

http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/BA/SNHIG.html

Vernon