Chesed חסד
JPS cannot settle on one English word for חסד, and Psalm 136 repeats it as a refrain in all twenty-six of its verses.
- Found in the Torah
- 160,597
- Chance alone: 151,980
- Skips 2 to 152,424
- Found in the Tanakh
- 2,897,212
- Chance alone: 2,849,057
- Skips 2 to 598,520
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Translators have never agreed on this one. JPS gives mercy in Exodus 34:7, kindness in Genesis 24:12, affection in Jeremiah 31:3, and more besides. The word names loyal love between people who already owe each other something, and it goes beyond what is owed. Abraham's servant asks for it at the well. Ruth is praised for it in Ruth 3:10. Psalm 136 uses it as a refrain, כי לעולם חסדו, in all twenty-six of its verses, and in verse 3 the scribe wrote לעולם short, לעלם, which a search of consonants has to allow for. There is a second, rare sense too. In Leviticus 20:17 the same three letters mean a shameful thing, and a reader of the verse has no doubt which is meant.
- As a whole word
- 79
- First, with any prefix
- Genesis 21:23
The measurement
Here the two control families part ways. The real count at skips 2 to 1,000, 2,175, is above all 100 letter shuffles, whose highest run is 2,082. Against word shuffles within verses it is ordinary: 14 of 100 reach it. On a short word, the family that keeps real Hebrew is the one to believe.
| At every skip | Torah | Tanakh |
|---|---|---|
| Found | 160,597 | 2,897,212 |
| Chance alone | 151,980 | 2,849,057 |
| P (≥ found) | 1.3 × 10⁻¹⁰⁶ | 2.5 × 10⁻¹⁷⁸ |
| Shortest skip | 2 | 2 |
| Longest skip | 152,037 | 598,310 |
Counted forward and backward on the written text, with final letters treated as ordinary ones. At the laboratory's opening setting, skips 2 to 5,000, the Torah gives 10,294 against 9,805 by chance. How these figures are made.
The sequences, letter by letter
Each letter is shown in the verse it happens to stand in, nothing more. Tap one to read it in the Tanakh, with the rest of the sequence marked.
In the Torah
Shortest skip 2, backward from Exodus 26:12
וְסֶ֨רַח֙ הָעֹדֵ֔ף בִּירִיעֹ֖ת הָאֹ֑הֶל חֲצִ֤י הַיְרִיעָה֙ הָעֹדֶ֔פֶת תִּסְרַ֕ח עַ֖ל אֲחֹרֵ֥י הַמִּשְׁכָּֽן׃
And as for the overhanging part that remaineth of the curtains of the tent, the half curtain that remaineth over shall hang over the back of the tabernacle.
וְעָשִׂ֛יתָ קַרְסֵ֥י נְחֹ֖שֶׁת חֲמִשִּׁ֑ים וְהֵבֵאתָ֤ אֶת־הַקְּרָסִים֙ בַּלֻּ֣לָאֹ֔ת וְחִבַּרְתָּ֥ אֶת־הָאֹ֖הֶל וְהָיָ֥ה אֶחָֽד׃
And thou shalt make fifty clasps of brass, and put the clasps into the loops, and couple the tent together, that it may be one.
Short skip 50, backward from Leviticus 3:14
וְהִקְרִ֤יב מִמֶּ֨נּוּ֙ קָרְבָּנ֔וֹ אִשֶּׁ֖ה לַֽיקוָ֑ק אֶת־הַחֵ֨לֶב֙ הַֽמְכַסֶּ֣ה אֶת־הַקֶּ֔רֶב וְאֵת֙ כָּל־הַחֵ֔לֶב אֲשֶׁ֖ר עַל־הַקֶּֽרֶב׃
And he shall present thereof his offering, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD: the fat that covereth the inwards, and all the fat that is upon the inwards,
וְסָמַ֤ךְ אֶת־יָדוֹ֙ עַל־רֹאשׁ֔וֹ וְשָׁחַ֣ט אֹת֔וֹ לִפְנֵ֖י אֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד וְ֠זָרְקוּ בְּנֵ֨י אַהֲרֹ֧ן אֶת־דָּמ֛וֹ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ סָבִֽיב׃
And he shall lay his hand upon the head of it, and kill it before the tent of meeting; and the sons of Aaron shall dash the blood thereof against the altar round about.
Middle skip 500, forward from Genesis 37:4
וַיִּרְא֣וּ אֶחָ֗יו כִּֽי־אֹת֞וֹ אָהַ֤ב אֲבִיהֶם֙ מִכָּל־אֶחָ֔יו וַֽיִּשְׂנְא֖וּ אֹת֑וֹ וְלֹ֥א יָכְל֖וּ דַּבְּר֥וֹ לְשָׁלֹֽם׃
And when his brethren saw that their father loved him more than all his brethren, they hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him.
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר יִשְׂרָאֵ֜ל אֶל־יוֹסֵ֗ף הֲל֤וֹא אַחֶ֨יךָ֙ רֹעִ֣ים בִּשְׁכֶ֔ם לְכָ֖ה וְאֶשְׁלָחֲךָ֣ אֲלֵיהֶ֑ם וַיֹּ֥אמֶר ל֖וֹ הִנֵּֽנִי׃
And Israel said unto Joseph: ‘Do not thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem? come, and I will send thee unto them.’ And he said to him: ‘Here am I.’
… אַל־תִּשְׁלְחוּ־ב֑וֹ לְמַ֗עַן הַצִּ֤יל אֹתוֹ֙ מִיָּדָ֔ם לַהֲשִׁיב֖וֹ אֶל־אָבִֽיו׃
And Reuben said unto them: ‘Shed no blood; cast him into this pit that is in the wilderness, but lay no hand upon him’—that he might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father.
Wide skip 5,000, backward from Numbers 13:18
וּרְאִיתֶ֥ם אֶת־הָאָ֖רֶץ מַה־הִ֑וא וְאֶת־הָעָם֙ הַיֹּשֵׁ֣ב עָלֶ֔יהָ הֶחָזָ֥ק הוּא֙ הֲרָפֶ֔ה הַמְעַ֥ט ה֖וּא אִם־רָֽב׃
and see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they are strong or weak, whether they are few or many;
וְיֵ֞שׁ אֲשֶׁר־יִהְיֶ֤ה הֶֽעָנָן֙ מֵעֶ֣רֶב עַד־בֹּ֔קֶר וְנַעֲלָ֧ה הֶֽעָנָ֛ן בַּבֹּ֖קֶר וְנָסָ֑עוּ א֚וֹ יוֹמָ֣ם וָלַ֔יְלָה וְנַעֲלָ֥ה הֶעָנָ֖ן וְנָסָֽעוּ׃
And sometimes the cloud was from evening until morning; and when the cloud was taken up in the morning, they journeyed; or if it continued by day and by night, when the cloud was taken up, they journeyed.
… שְׁלֹשִׁ֣ים וּמֵאָה֮ מִשְׁקָלָהּ֒ מִזְרָ֤ק אֶחָד֙ כֶּ֔סֶף שִׁבְעִ֥ים שֶׁ֖קֶל בְּשֶׁ֣קֶל …
his offering was one silver dish, the weight thereof was a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver basin of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a meal-offering;
Outside the Torah
Shortest skip 2, forward from Psalm 58:3
אַף־בְּלֵב֮ עוֹלֹ֪ת תִּפְעָ֫ל֥וּן בָּאָ֡רֶץ חֲמַ֥ס יְ֝דֵיכֶ֗ם תְּפַלֵּֽסֽוּן׃
Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; Ye weigh out in the earth the violence of your hands.
Middle skip 500, forward from 2 Kings 4:41
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר֙ וּקְחוּ־קֶ֔מַח וַיַּשְׁלֵ֖ךְ אֶל־הַסִּ֑יר וַיֹּ֗אמֶר צַ֤ק לָעָם֙ וְיֹאכֵ֔לוּ וְלֹ֥א הָיָ֛ה דָּבָ֥ר רָ֖ע בַּסִּֽיר׃
But he said: ‘Then bring meal.’ And he cast it into the pot; and he said: ‘Pour out for the people, that they may eat.’ And there was no harm in the pot.
… וַיֵּלֶךְ֩ וַיִּקַּ֨ח בְּיָד֜וֹ עֶ֣שֶׂר כִּכְּרֵי־כֶ֗סֶף וְשֵׁ֤שֶׁת אֲלָפִים֙ זָהָ֔ב וְעֶ֖שֶׂר …
And the king of Aram said: ‘Go now, and I will send a letter unto the king of Israel.’ And he departed, and took with him ten talents of silver, and six thousand pieces of gold, and ten changes of raiment.
הֲלֹ֡א טוֹב֩ אבנהאֲמָנָ֨ה וּפַרְפַּ֜ר נַהֲר֣וֹת דַּמֶּ֗שֶׂק מִכֹּל֙ מֵימֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל הֲלֹֽא־אֶרְחַ֥ץ בָּהֶ֖ם וְטָהָ֑רְתִּי וַיִּ֖פֶן וַיֵּ֥לֶךְ בְּחֵמָֽה׃
Are not Amanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean?’ So he turned, and went away in a rage.
By skip range, shuffled texts and book
| Skips, Torah | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 10 | 21 | 17.9 |
| 11 to 100 | 213 | 179 |
| 101 to 1,000 | 1,941 | 1,788 |
| 1,001 to 5,000 | 8,119 | 7,820 |
| 5,001 to 152,424 | 150,303 | 142,174 |
Shuffled Torahs
The Torah's own count at skips 2 to 1,000 is 2,175. Each family below rebuilt the text 100 times (seed 5787). What each family keeps.
| Control family | Runs at or above 2,175 | Median run | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter shuffle | 0/100 | 1,980 | 1,896 to 2,082 |
| Words within each verse | 14/100 | 2,128 | 2,030 to 2,226 |
Where the sequences start
| Torah | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis | 39,472 | 38,920 |
| Exodus | 35,444 | 31,673 |
| Leviticus | 24,502 | 22,332 |
| Numbers | 38,696 | 31,680 |
| Deuteronomy | 22,483 | 27,375 |
| Tanakh | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| Torah | 695,877 | 725,568 |
| Prophets | 1,219,538 | 1,318,053 |
| Writings | 981,797 | 805,436 |
Run this search yourself
Change the skips, set חסד beside another word, and run the controls on your own question.
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