Emet אמת
The word for truth takes the first letter of the alef-bet, the middle one and the last, an observation the rabbis made long before computers.
- Found in the Torah
- 20,106,720
- Chance alone: 19,987,946
- Skips 2 to 152,424
- Found in the Tanakh
- 248,752,682
- Chance alone: 249,910,340
- Skips 2 to 598,520
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Three letters, and they stand in a telling place: א opens the alef-bet, ת ends it, and מ sits in the middle. The rabbis noticed this. Genesis Rabbah 81 and the Jerusalem Talmud, Sanhedrin 1:1, call אמת the seal of the Holy One, and Resh Lakish gives the reason in both: א at the head of the letters, מ in their middle, ת at their end. As an ordinary word it first stands bare in Genesis 24:48, when Abraham's servant thanks God for leading him in the right way, the דרך אמת. It means firm, reliable, a thing you can lean on, and the same root gives amen. Psalms holds the most bare cases. All three letters are among the commonest in the Torah, so the count below is very large and means little until it is read beside its chance figure.
- As a whole word
- 58
- First, with any prefix
- Genesis 24:48
The measurement
P looks dramatic here and means very little. A rise of 0.6 percent on a count of 20,106,720 gives a tiny P, because the formula treats overlapping sequences as independent, and they are not. For a figure this size the shuffled Torahs are the fairer test, and they put it nowhere special.
| At every skip | Torah | Tanakh |
|---|---|---|
| Found | 20,106,720 | 248,752,682 |
| Chance alone | 19,987,946 | 249,910,340 |
| P (≥ found) | 1.7 × 10⁻¹⁵⁵ | 1.00 |
| Shortest skip | 2 | 2 |
| Longest skip | 152,404 | 598,492 |
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 1,275,285 against 1,289,581 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, forward from Genesis 15:10
וַיִּֽקַּֽח־ל֣וֹ אֶת־כָּל־אֵ֗לֶּה וַיְבַתֵּ֤ר אֹתָם֙ בַּתָּ֔וֶךְ וַיִּתֵּ֥ן אִישׁ־בִּתְר֖וֹ לִקְרַ֣את רֵעֵ֑הוּ וְאֶת־הַצִפֹּ֖ר לֹ֥א בָתָֽר׃
And he took him all these, and divided them in the midst, and laid each half over against the other; but the birds divided he not.
Shortest skip 2, forward from Genesis 19:24
וַֽיקוָ֗ק הִמְטִ֧יר עַל־סְדֹ֛ם וְעַל־עֲמֹרָ֖ה גָּפְרִ֣ית וָאֵ֑שׁ מֵאֵ֥ת יְקוָ֖ק מִן־הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃
Then the LORD caused to rain upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven;
Short skip 50, forward from Exodus 3:15
… אֶל־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵל֒ יְקוָ֞ק אֱ־לֹהֵ֣י אֲבֹתֵיכֶ֗ם אֱ־לֹהֵ֨י אַבְרָהָ֜ם אֱ־לֹהֵ֥י יִצְחָ֛ק וֵא־לֹהֵ֥י יַעֲקֹ֖ב שְׁלָחַ֣נִי אֲלֵיכֶ֑ם זֶה־שְּׁמִ֣י לְעֹלָ֔ם וְזֶ֥ה זִכְרִ֖י לְדֹ֥ר דֹּֽר׃
And God said moreover unto Moses: ‘Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel: The LORD, the 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.
… וְאָמַרְתָּ֤ אֲלֵהֶם֙ יְקוָ֞ק אֱ־לֹהֵ֤י אֲבֹֽתֵיכֶם֙ נִרְאָ֣ה אֵלַ֔י אֱ־לֹהֵ֧י אַבְרָהָ֛ם …
Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, hath appeared unto me, saying: I have surely remembered you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt.
Middle skip 500, forward from Genesis 3:18
וְק֥וֹץ וְדַרְדַּ֖ר תַּצְמִ֣יחַֽ לָ֑ךְ וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ אֶת־עֵ֥שֶׂב הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field.
וְהֶ֨בֶל הֵבִ֥יא גַם־ה֛וּא מִבְּכֹר֥וֹת צֹאנ֖וֹ וּמֵֽחֶלְבֵהֶ֑ן וַיִּ֣שַׁע יְקוָ֔ק אֶל־הֶ֖בֶל וְאֶל־מִנְחָתֽוֹ׃
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering;
וַיֹּ֧אמֶר ל֣וֹ יְקוָ֗ק לָכֵן֙ כָּל־הֹרֵ֣ג קַ֔יִן שִׁבְעָתַ֖יִם יֻקָּ֑ם וַיָּ֨שֶׂם יְקוָ֤ק לְקַ֨יִן֙ א֔וֹת לְבִלְתִּ֥י הַכּוֹת־אֹת֖וֹ כָּל־מֹצְאֽוֹ׃
And the LORD said unto him: ‘Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold.’ And the LORD set a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should smite him.
Wide skip 5,000, forward from Genesis 1:11
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱ־לֹהִ֗ים תַּֽדְשֵׁ֤א הָאָ֨רֶץ֙ דֶּ֔שֶׁא עֵ֚שֶׂב מַזְרִ֣יעַ …
And God said: ‘Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding seed, and fruit-tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth.’ And it was so.
זֶ֣ה סֵ֔פֶר תּוֹלְדֹ֖ת אָדָ֑ם בְּי֗וֹם בְּרֹ֤א אֱ־לֹהִים֙ אָדָ֔ם בִּדְמ֥וּת אֱ־לֹהִ֖ים עָשָׂ֥ה אֹתֽוֹ׃
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made He him;
אַךְ־בָּשָׂ֕ר בְּנַפְשׁ֥וֹ דָמ֖וֹ לֹ֥א תֹאכֵֽלוּ׃
Only flesh with the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat.
Outside the Torah
Shortest skip 2, forward from Joshua 3:3
… בְּרִית־יְקוָק֙ אֱ־לֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם וְהַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙ הַלְוִיִּ֔ם נֹשְׂאִ֖ים אֹת֑וֹ וְאַתֶּ֗ם תִּסְעוּ֙ מִמְּק֣וֹמְכֶ֔ם וַהֲלַכְתֶּ֖ם …
and they commanded the people, saying: ‘When ye see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
Middle skip 500, forward from Judges 2:14
וַיִּֽחַר־אַ֤ף יְקוָק֙ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וַֽיִּתְּנֵם֙ בְּיַד־שֹׁסִ֔ים וַיָּשֹׁ֖סּוּ אוֹתָ֑ם וַֽיִּמְכְּרֵ֞ם בְּיַ֤ד אֽוֹיְבֵיהֶם֙ מִסָּבִ֔יב וְלֹֽא־יָכְל֣וּ ע֔וֹד לַעֲמֹ֖ד לִפְנֵ֥י אוֹיְבֵיהֶֽם׃
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and He delivered them into the hands of spoilers that spoiled them, and He gave them over into the hands of their enemies round about, so that they could not any longer stand before their enemies.
וַיִּֽחַר־אַ֥ף יְקוָ֖ק בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל וַיֹּ֗אמֶר יַעַן֩ אֲשֶׁ֨ר עָבְר֜וּ הַגּ֣וֹי הַזֶּ֗ה אֶת־בְּרִיתִי֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר צִוִּ֣יתִי אֶת־אֲבוֹתָ֔ם וְלֹ֥א שָׁמְע֖וּ לְקוֹלִֽי׃
And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel; and He said: ‘Because this nation have transgressed My covenant which I commanded their fathers, and have not hearkened unto My voice;
וַיִּקְח֨וּ אֶת־בְּנוֹתֵיהֶ֤ם לָהֶם֙ לְנָשִׁ֔ים וְאֶת־בְּנוֹתֵיהֶ֖ם נָתְנ֣וּ לִבְנֵיהֶ֑ם וַיַּעַבְד֖וּ אֶת־אֱ־לֹהֵיהֶֽם׃
and they took their daughters to be their wives, and gave their own daughters to their sons, and served their gods.
By skip range, shuffled texts and book
| Skips, Torah | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 10 | 2,090 | 2,360 |
| 11 to 100 | 22,899 | 23,596 |
| 101 to 1,000 | 231,550 | 235,192 |
| 1,001 to 5,000 | 1,018,746 | 1,028,433 |
| 5,001 to 152,424 | 18,831,435 | 18,698,365 |
Shuffled Torahs
The Torah's own count at skips 2 to 1,000 is 256,539. Each family below rebuilt the text 100 times (seed 5787). What each family keeps.
| Control family | Runs at or above 256,539 | Median run | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter shuffle | 100/100 | 261,190 | 260,021 to 262,227 |
| Words within each verse | 23/100 | 256,207 | 255,197 to 257,705 |
Where the sequences start
| Torah | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis | 5,514,794 | 5,118,711 |
| Exodus | 3,914,698 | 4,165,505 |
| Leviticus | 3,062,221 | 2,937,051 |
| Numbers | 3,952,834 | 4,166,423 |
| Deuteronomy | 3,662,173 | 3,600,256 |
| Tanakh | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| Torah | 69,846,602 | 63,644,523 |
| Prophets | 118,672,615 | 115,615,490 |
| Writings | 60,233,465 | 70,650,327 |
Run this search yourself
Change the skips, set אמת beside another word, and run the controls on your own question.
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