I Will Be – אֶֽהְיֶ֖ה - ‘Eheyeh – Aleph Hei Yod Hei

Genesis 3:14-15: “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. (15) And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus, shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.”

Hebrew and Greek are the two Biblical languages that have a numerical value associated with each letter of their alphabets.

Gematria is a numerological system that assigns a specific numerical value to letters of an alphabet, primarily the Hebrew and Greek alphabets.

In this system, every word or phrase has a total value calculated by summing the numbers associated with its individual letters.

The Standard Hebrew Calculation (Ragil)

The system typically follows a base-10 progression for the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet: 

• 1–10:          Aleph (1) through Yod (10).

• 20–90:      Kaph (20) through Tzadi (90), increasing by tens.

• 100–400: Kof (100) through Tav (400), increasing by hundreds. 

Core Concepts and Purpose

• Interconnected Meaning: The central belief is that if two words or phrases share the same numerical value, they possess a significant spiritual or conceptual connection.

• Mystical Tradition: While it originated in Ancient Greece, it became a fundamental tool in Jewish mystical traditions, specifically Kabbalah, to derive deeper, hidden meanings from biblical texts.

• Exegesis: It serves as a method of biblical interpretation (exegesis).

For instance, the Hebrew word for "ladder" (sullam) and "Sinai" both equal 130, leading scholars to link the Law given at Sinai to a "ladder" to heaven. It also connects the place where Jacob had his dream of the ladder, to Sinai.

Notable Historical Examples

• 666 (Number of the Beast): In the New Testament (Revelation 13:18), the number 666 is widely interpreted via Hebrew gematria as "Neron Caesar" (Neron Qesar), identifying the Roman Emperor Nero.

• 888 (Jesus): In Greek gematria, the name Jesus (Iēsous) sums to 888.

• 18 (Chai/Life): In modern Jewish culture, the number 18 is considered lucky because the letters for "life" (Chai—Chet and Yod) sum to 18. 

Now, to name something is to describe and define it, which is why the Hebrew Biblical names are important.  

Yet, God is infinite and undefinable and therefore cannot have a proper name.  The simple fact is that God has no name in this natural realm, only names, that is descriptions of the various behaviour patterns that can be ascribed to His influence on our lives. The chazal (sages) teach that the many names of God found in the Scriptures are not His proper name; rather, they describe the way He interacts with His creation!

You can Google the names of God and find up to fifty names of God. But these are not necessarily names but attributes and characteristics. In our Western culture a name is simply a way to identify a person on job applications, a way to let you know you are next in a waiting room, a way for the postman to put a letter mailed to you in the right box, a way for a teacher to call upon a particular student.

If a person is named George, few if any knows what George means and fewer still care what it means, they just want a way to let you know they are addressing a person called George. Webster defines a name as a word or set of words by which a person or thing is known, addressed, or referred to. In the use of the English word name in modern Western culture, God does not have a name that fits our Western English definition.

I am often chided by people who question how I can be a teacher of Hebrew and Aramaic and not call Jesus by his Hebrew or Aramaic pronunciation, or how I could insult God by calling Him Jehovah when clearly his name is YHWH.  

My usual response is to quote Shakespeare from his play Romeo and Juliet Act

2, Scene 2: “What’s in a name, a rose by any other name still smells as sweet.”  

I grew up with the name Jesus, I called upon that name for Salvation, I use that name as a term of endearment. I am sorry but the word Yeshua just doesn’t have the emotional punch that the word Jesus has.

I read something in the Talmud this morning from Pesachim 50a.  Our Torah study for this week opens with the first chapter of Exodus and the Parshah is entitled Shemot which means Names.

Moses meets God in a burning bush where he is assigned to go to Egypt and confront the Pharaoh to let God’s people leave their slavery in Egypt.  Moses asked what name he should use to identify God. God already explained that he is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob but God also says to refer to Him as ‘Eheyeh – “I will be”.  

Most translations will translate ‘Eheyeh’ as ‘I AM’, as they view it as a name as we do in the Western world. The word is in an imperfect form and is really a future tense, but it could also be used as a continuing action so a present tense is not really grammatically wrong.  

Hence “I AM”, that is the ‘SELF-EXISTING ONE’.  

Rashi describes this in both a present and future tense as: “I will be with them in this affliction and I will be with them in their future captivities.”

Genesis 46:2 - 4

In visions of the night God said to Israel, “Jacob, Jacob.” "Hineni,” he said.

“I am God, the God of your father,” He said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will turn you into a great nation there. ⁴ I Myself will go down with you to Egypt and I Myself will also most certainly bring you up.

Isaiah 55:10-11

“For as the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return therewithout having watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to sow and bread to eat, so My word will be that goes out from My mouth. It will not return to Me in vain, but will accomplish what I intend,and will succeed in what I sent it for”.

How to pronounce His Holy Name, which is not possible, is of less importance than knowing that HaShem is faithful to keep His covenant promises to us.

And so, at the appointed time, the Father sent the Messiah who is the living Word made flesh (John 1:14).  “For ADONAI will carry out His word upon the earth, bringing it to an end and finishing quickly” (Romans 9:28).