Let's Learn Together - Interpretation of Texts & Alpha-Numeric Codes

Back • Return Home

Interpretation of Texts & Alpha-Numeric Codes

"Hermeneutics" is the study of texts with the aim of fully understanding their meaning.

To project our own interpretation onto a work is known as "eisegesis", while finding the meaning(s) actually intended by the author(s) is referred to as "exegesis".

A tool that is often used within exegesis is a "concordance". Similar to the "index" in the back of many books, a concordance is simply a list that shows every instance of a particular word or phrase within a work. By looking at how it is used within each context, we can allow the text to define itself.

This is important! Some seemingly familiar words and phrases can take on meanings that are more reflective of that author's way of speaking, rather than how we might personally define them.

The only time that a concordance might not be all that useful is when a term does not have enough context to fully decipher its meaning. A term that only appears once throughout an entire work is called a "hapax legomenon". In these cases, we must take a different approach...

Hermeneutics is also done by taking into account the historical and cultural context of a work. For example, we can try looking at similar works from the same time period, and if possible, arising from within the same general location. By comparing how these works are both similar to and different from one another, we can get a deeper understanding of both.

This would include looking at the language(s) that a work was originally written in. Sometimes, things are "lost in translation". It is important to keep in mind that there isn't always a one-to-one correspondence between the meaning of words within two languages, even when it is a "loanword" from one of those languages directly into the other!

Within the context of a single language, the meaning of a word or phrase can also change over time. This is called the "etymology" of that word. Sometimes words are associated with one another because they seem alike on their surface (e.g.: one might have a similar pronunciation to the other). This is called a "folk etymology". Similarity does not necessarily mean that they have a common root! We sometimes have to dig deeper into how each of those words or phrases came to be...

Languages often arise out of one another and are interconnected in various ways. This section of a larger diagram by Stand Still, Stay Silent is a beautiful example:

Something that is often neglected within the interpretation of texts is the fact that the script of many languages doubled as a system of numerals. The familiar "Hindu-Arabic numerals" (i.e.: the symbols 0-9) did not come into existence until sometime between 1 AD and 400 AD.

Here is a table that shows this number system for Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic (all of which follow a similar pattern):

Greek Isopsephy	Hebrew Gematria	Arabic Abjad	Hindu-Arabic Numerals
Α α alpha	א aleph	ا 'alif	1
Β β beta	ב bet	ب bā'	2
Γ γ gamma	ג gimel	ج jīm	3
Δ δ delta	ד daleth	د dāl	4
Ε ε epsilon	ה heh	ه hā'	5
Ϝ ϝ / Ϛ ϛ digamma / stigma	ו vav	و wāw	6
Ζ ζ zeta	ז zayin	ز zāy / zayn	7
Η η eta	ח het	ح ḥā'	8
Θ θ theta	ט tet	ط ṭā'	9

Ι ι iota	י yud	ي yā'	10
Κ κ kappa	כ kaf	ك kāf	20
Λ λ lambda	ל lamed	ل lām	30
Μ μ mu	מ mem	م mīm	40
Ν ν nu	נ nun	ن nūn	50
Ξ ξ xi	ס samech	س sīn	60
Ο ο omicron	ע ayin	ع 'ayn	70
Π π pi	פ peh	ف fā'	80
Ϙ ϙ koppa	צ tzady	ص ṣād	90

Ρ ρ rho	ק koof	ق qāf	100
Σ σ sigma	ר reish	ر rā'	200
Τ τ tau	ש shin	ش shīn	300
Υ υ upsilon	ת taf	ت tā'	400
Φ φ phi	ך final kaf	ث thā'	500
Χ χ chi	ם final mem	خ khā'	600
Ψ ψ psi	ן final nun	ذ dhāl	700
Ω ω omega	ף final peh	ض ḍād	800
Ϡ ϡ sampi	ץ final tzady	ظ ẓā'	900
		غ ghayn	1000

Some might dismiss this outright as "numerology", but it should not be cast aside carelessly. It is a very important part of many ancient texts. Because basic arithmetic was often as natural as the use of language itself, these systems were often used (intentionally and unintentionally) to convey information to the reader on two "levels" simultaneously, one mathematical and one literal. To give a few examples...

• A word might have been chosen, not necessarily for its meaning, but because it equals the same amount as another word when you add up the letters of each. These numerical correspondences can then be used to make allusions to other words within the same work, or to mathematical information outside of it. No matter how deeply we analyze the literal and figurative meanings of a text, these numerical patterns might not be evident at all, especially if it has been translated into another language!

• Words might be used to encode specific mathematical information as a way to aid in memorization, but could seem like gibberish if we were to read it literally. For example, Sanskrit has a similar system called "Katapayadi" that was used to memorize long numbers and complex patterns by turning them into prose that did not always seem to be related in meaning upon first glance. Interestingly, it could also form rich associations by connecting words to musical scales through numbers!

[Similar mnemonic systems actually exist in both modern day English and Japanese. Although, they are much more common in the latter than the former.]

• A number might act as a constraint for creative writing. For example, some Greek poets would try to make verses where every line added up to the same amount.

• By applying certain mathematical operations to a word, other words could be derived from it. This would allow for a kind of error-detection. For example, if we know that every line within a short passage was originally intended to add up to a specific amount, then we would know that something about that passage was changed if it didn't. This could help us to keep the meaning of the message intact, no matter how many times it was transcribed or transmitted. [In computing, we would call this a "checksum".]

This is just a small sampling of the ways in which these systems were used. Again, this information is important in attempting to understand the full meaning of some works (including those that many would consider "holy scripture")...

Thank you for reading! ♥