The Mathers table of Hebrew and "Chaldee" (Aramaic) letters is a tabular display of the pronunciation, appearance, numerical values, transliteration, names, and symbolism of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet appearing in The Kabbalah Unveiled,1 a late 19th century English translation of Kabbala Denudata by S.L. MacGregor Mathers, itself a Latin translation by Christian Knorr von Rosenroth of the Zohar, a primary Kabbalistic text.
Overview
This table has been used as a primary reference for a basic understanding of the Hebrew alphabet as it applies to the Kabbalah, generally outside of traditional Jewish mysticism, by many modern Hermeticists and students of the occult, including members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn2 and other magical organizations deriving from it. It has been reproduced and adapted in many books published from the early 20th century to the present.a
The Table
| Number | Sound or Power | Hebrew and Chaldee Letter | Numerical Value | Roman Character Expressed | Name | Signification of Names | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-final | Final | Non-final | Final | |||||
| 1. | a (soft breathing) | א | 1b | A | Aleph | Ox | ||
| 2. | b, bh (v) | ב | 2b | B | Beth | House | ||
| 3. | g (hard), gh | ג | 3b | G | Gimel | Camel | ||
| 4. | d, dh (flat th) | ד | 4b | D | Daleth | Door | ||
| 5. | h (rough breathing) | ה | 5b | H | He | Window | ||
| 6. | v, u, o | ו | 6b | V | Vau | Peg, nail | ||
| 7. | z, dz | ז | 7b | Z | Zayin | Weapon, sword | ||
| 8. | ch (guttural) | ח | 8b | Ch | Cheth | Enclosure, fence | ||
| 9. | t (strong) | ט | 9b | T | Teth | Serpent | ||
| 10. | i, y (as in yes) | י | 10b | I | Yod | Hand | ||
| 11. | k, kh | כ | ך | 20 | 500 | K | Caph | Palm of the hand |
| 12. | l | ל | 30 | L | Lamed | Ox-goad | ||
| 13. | m | מ | ם | 40 | 600 | M | Mem | Water |
| 14. | n | נ | ן | 50 | 700 | N | Nun | Fish |
| 15. | s | ס | 60 | S | Samekh | Prop, support | ||
| 16. | o, aa, ng (gutt.) | ע | 70 | O | Ayin | Eye | ||
| 17. | p, ph | פ | ף | 80 | 800 | P | Pe | Mouth |
| 18. | ts, tz, j | צ | ץ | 90 | 900 | Tz | Tzaddi | Fishing-hook |
| 19. | q, qh (guttur.) | ק | 100c | Q | Qoph | Back of the head | ||
| 20. | r | ר | 200c | R | Resh | Head | ||
| 21. | sh, s | ש | 300c | Sh | Shin | Tooth | ||
| 22. | th, t | ת | 400c | Th | Tau | Sign of the cross | ||
Notes
Notes
- A non-exhaustive list of books that reproduce the Mathers table either substantially or exactly:
- Bernstein, Henrietta (April 1984). Cabalah Primer: Introduction to the English/Hebrew Cabalah. Camarillo, CA: Devorss. ISBN 0-87516-526-5.
- Bonner, John (March 2002). Qabalah: A Magical Primer. Boston: Red Wheel/Weiser. ISBN 1-57863-211-0.
- Jones, Charles Stansfeld (Frater Achad) (April 2005). Q.B.L. or The Bride's Reception: Being A Qabalistic Treatise on the Nature and Use of the Tree of Life. York Beach, ME: Red Wheel/Weiser. ISBN 1-57863-331-1.
- Mathers, S.L. MacGregor (2005). The Kabbalah: The Essential Texts From The Zohar. New York: Barnes & Noble Books. ISBN 0-7607-6977-X.
- Regardie, Israel (1989). The Golden Dawn: A Complete Course in Practical Ceremonial Magic (Sixth ed.). St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 0-87542-663-8.
- Zalewski, Pat (1993). The Kabbalah of the Golden Dawn (First ed.). St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications. ISBN 0-87542-873-8.
- Thousands are denoted by a larger letter; thus an Aleph that is larger than the surrounding letters represents 1,000, not 1.
- The finals are not always considered as bearing an n-creased numerical value.
References
References
- Mathers, S.L. MacGregor (1887). The Kabbalah Unveiled. London: Redway. p. 3. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
- Westcott, W. Wynn (1890). Numbers. London: Theosophical Publishing Society. p. 37. Retrieved 22 February 2023.