Exile גלות
The prophets count their years by it, and its root is the same as the verb for uncovering. גלות from Judges to Chronicles.
- Found in the Torah
- 87,740
- Chance alone: 89,424
- Skips 2 to 101,616
- Found in the Tanakh
- 1,698,639
- Chance alone: 1,696,164
- Skips 2 to 399,013
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Ezekiel dates his visions by it: the fifth year of king Jehoiachin's captivity, says Ezekiel 1:2, using the word as a calendar. So does 2 Kings 25:27. For the people carried off to Babylon, the exile had become the event years are numbered from. The root גלה means to uncover, and the word for going into exile is the same verb. There is more than one explanation, and the bare fact holds: a land emptied and a thing laid bare are said with the same letters. The word לגלות, seven times in the Tanakh, can be to uncover or a date in the exile, depending on the verse.
- As a whole word
- 11
- First, with any prefix
- Leviticus 18:6
The measurement
The longest sequence outside the Torah starts in 2 Chronicles 36:20, a verse about the exile to Babylon. A reader who stops there has been fooled by geometry. Long backward sequences can only start near the end of the Tanakh, and the last chapter of the Tanakh is about the exile.
| At every skip | Torah | Tanakh |
|---|---|---|
| Found | 87,740 | 1,698,639 |
| Chance alone | 89,424 | 1,696,164 |
| P (≥ found) | 1.00 | 0.03 |
| Shortest skip | 2 | 2 |
| Longest skip | 101,289 | 398,890 |
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 8,418 against 8,582 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 45:7
וַיִּשְׁלָחֵ֤נִי אֱ־לֹהִים֙ לִפְנֵיכֶ֔ם לָשׂ֥וּם לָכֶ֛ם שְׁאֵרִ֖ית בָּאָ֑רֶץ וּלְהַחֲי֣וֹת לָכֶ֔ם לִפְלֵיטָ֖ה גְּדֹלָֽה׃
And God sent me before you to give you a remnant on the earth, and to save you alive for a great deliverance.
וְעַתָּ֗ה לֹֽא־אַתֶּ֞ם שְׁלַחְתֶּ֤ם אֹתִי֙ הֵ֔נָּה כִּ֖י הָאֱ־לֹהִ֑ים וַיְשִׂימֵ֨נִֽי לְאָ֜ב לְפַרְעֹ֗ה וּלְאָדוֹן֙ לְכָל־בֵּית֔וֹ וּמֹשֵׁ֖ל בְּכָל־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
So now it was not you that sent me hither, but God; and He hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Shortest skip 2, forward from Genesis 50:15
וַיִּרְא֤וּ אֲחֵֽי־יוֹסֵף֙ כִּי־מֵ֣ת אֲבִיהֶ֔ם וַיֹּ֣אמְר֔וּ ל֥וּ יִשְׂטְמֵ֖נוּ יוֹסֵ֑ף וְהָשֵׁ֤ב יָשִׁיב֙ לָ֔נוּ אֵ֚ת כָּל־הָ֣רָעָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר גָּמַ֖לְנוּ אֹתֽוֹ׃
And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said: ‘It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will fully requite us all the evil which we did unto him.’
Short skip 51, forward from Exodus 39:28
וְאֵת֙ הַמִּצְנֶ֣פֶת שֵׁ֔שׁ וְאֶת־פַּאֲרֵ֥י הַמִּגְבָּעֹ֖ת שֵׁ֑שׁ וְאֶת־מִכְנְסֵ֥י הַבָּ֖ד שֵׁ֥שׁ מָשְׁזָֽר׃
and the mitre of fine linen, and the goodly head-tires of fine linen, and the linen breeches of fine twined linen,
וְֽאֶת־הָאַבְנֵ֞ט שֵׁ֣שׁ מָשְׁזָ֗ר וּתְכֵ֧לֶת וְאַרְגָּמָ֛ן וְתוֹלַ֥עַת שָׁנִ֖י מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה רֹקֵ֑ם כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יְקוָ֖ק אֶת־מֹשֶֽׁה׃
and the girdle of fine twined linen, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, the work of the weaver in colours; as the LORD commanded Moses.
וַֽיַּעֲשׂ֛וּ אֶת־צִ֥יץ נֵֽזֶר־הַקֹּ֖דֶשׁ זָהָ֣ב טָה֑וֹר וַיִּכְתְּב֣וּ עָלָ֗יו מִכְתַּב֙ פִּתּוּחֵ֣י חוֹתָ֔ם קֹ֖דֶשׁ לַיקוָֽק׃
And they made the plate of the holy crown of pure gold, and wrote upon it a writing, like the engravings of a signet: HOLY TO THE LORD.
וַיִּתְּנ֤וּ עָלָיו֙ פְּתִ֣יל תְּכֵ֔לֶת לָתֵ֥ת עַל־הַמִּצְנֶ֖פֶת מִלְמָ֑עְלָה כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יְקוָ֖ק אֶת־מֹשֶֽׁה׃
And they tied unto it a thread of blue, to fasten it upon the mitre above; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Middle skip 500, backward from Leviticus 25:49
אוֹ־דֹד֞וֹ א֤וֹ בֶן־דֹּדוֹ֙ יִגְאָלֶ֔נּוּ אֽוֹ־מִשְּׁאֵ֧ר בְּשָׂר֛וֹ מִמִּשְׁפַּחְתּ֖וֹ יִגְאָלֶ֑נּוּ אֽוֹ־הִשִּׂ֥יגָה יָד֖וֹ וְנִגְאָֽל׃
or his uncle, or his uncle’s son, may redeem him, or any that is nigh of kin unto him of his family may redeem him; or if he be waxen rich, he may redeem himself.
אֲנִ֗י יְקוָק֙ אֱ־לֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁר־הוֹצֵ֥אתִי אֶתְכֶ֖ם מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם לָתֵ֤ת לָכֶם֙ אֶת־אֶ֣רֶץ כְּנַ֔עַן לִהְי֥וֹת לָכֶ֖ם לֵא־לֹהִֽים׃
I am the LORD your God, who brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, to be your God.
… הַיּוֹבֵ֑ל וְיָצָא֙ בַּיֹּבֵ֔ל וְשָׁ֖ב לַאֲחֻזָּתֽוֹ׃
But if he have not sufficient means to get it back for himself, then that which he hath sold shall remain in the hand of him that hath bought it until the year of jubilee; and in the jubilee it shall go out, and he shall return unto his possession.
וַעֲשִׂיתֶם֙ אֶת־חֻקֹּתַ֔י וְאֶת־מִשְׁפָּטַ֥י תִּשְׁמְר֖וּ וַעֲשִׂיתֶ֣ם אֹתָ֑ם וִֽישַׁבְתֶּ֥ם עַל־הָאָ֖רֶץ לָבֶֽטַח׃
Wherefore ye shall do My statutes, and keep Mine ordinances and do them; and ye shall dwell in the land in safety.
Wide skip 5,000, forward from Deuteronomy 4:7
כִּ֚י מִי־ג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל אֲשֶׁר־ל֥וֹ אֱ־לֹהִ֖ים קְרֹבִ֣ים אֵלָ֑יו כַּיקוָ֣ק אֱ־לֹהֵ֔ינוּ בְּכָּל־קָרְאֵ֖נוּ אֵלָֽיו׃
For what great nation is there, that hath God so nigh unto them, as the LORD our God is whensoever we call upon Him?
… אֶל־הָאָ֜רֶץ אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֧ע לַאֲבֹתֶ֛יךָ לְאַבְרָהָ֛ם לְיִצְחָ֥ק וּֽלְיַעֲקֹ֖ב לָ֣תֶת לָ֑ךְ …
And it shall be, when the LORD thy God shall bring thee into the land which He swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee—great and goodly cities, which thou didst not build,
וּֽבְאַהֲרֹ֗ן הִתְאַנַּ֧ף יְקוָ֛ק מְאֹ֖ד לְהַשְׁמִיד֑וֹ וָֽאֶתְפַּלֵּ֛ל גַּם־בְּעַ֥ד אַהֲרֹ֖ן בָּעֵ֥ת הַהִֽוא׃
Moreover the LORD was very angry with Aaron to have destroyed him; and I prayed for Aaron also the same time.
… אֱ־לֹהֶיךָ֮ בּוֹ֒ אַתָּ֨ה וּבִנְךָ֤ וּבִתֶּ֨ךָ֙ וְעַבְדְּךָ֣ וַאֲמָתֶ֔ךָ וְהַלֵּוִ֖י אֲשֶׁ֣ר …
but thou shalt eat them before the LORD thy God in the place which the LORD thy God shall choose, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy maid-servant, and the Levite that is within thy gates…
Outside the Torah
Shortest skip 2, forward from Judges 14:15
… וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ לְאֵֽשֶׁת־שִׁמְשׁוֹן֙ פַּתִּ֣י אֶת־אִישֵׁ֗ךְ וְיַגֶּד־לָ֨נוּ֙ אֶת־הַ֣חִידָ֔ה פֶּן־נִשְׂרֹ֥ף אוֹתָ֛ךְ וְאֶת־בֵּ֥ית אָבִ֖יךְ …
And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they said unto Samson’s wife: ‘Entice thy husband, that he may declare unto us the riddle, lest we burn thee and thy father’s house with fire; have ye called us hither to impoverish us?’
Middle skip 500, forward from 1 Samuel 30:19
וְלֹ֣א נֶעְדַּר־לָ֠הֶם מִן־הַקָּטֹ֨ן וְעַד־הַגָּד֜וֹל וְעַד־בָּנִ֤ים וּבָנוֹת֙ וּמִשָּׁלָ֔ל וְעַ֛ד כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר לָקְח֖וּ לָהֶ֑ם הַכֹּ֖ל הֵשִׁ֥יב דָּוִֽד׃
And there was nothing lacking to them, neither small nor great, neither sons nor daughters, neither spoil, nor any thing that they had taken to them; David brought back all.
וַיָּבֹ֤א דָוִד֙ אֶל־צִ֣קְלַ֔ג וַיְשַׁלַּ֧ח מֵֽהַשָּׁלָ֛ל לְזִקְנֵ֥י יְהוּדָ֖ה לְרֵעֵ֣הוּ לֵאמֹ֑ר הִנֵּ֤ה לָכֶם֙ בְּרָכָ֔ה מִשְּׁלַ֖ל אֹיְבֵ֥י יְקוָֽק׃
And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying: ‘Behold a present for you of the spoil of the enemies of the LORD’;
… כִּ֥י יָרֵ֖א מְאֹ֑ד וַיִּקַּ֤ח שָׁאוּל֙ אֶת־הַחֶ֔רֶב וַיִּפֹּ֖ל עָלֶֽיהָ׃
Then said Saul to his armour-bearer: ‘Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through, and make a mock of me.’ But his armour-bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took his sword, and fell upon it.
… שָׁ֑ן וַיָּבֹ֣אוּ יָבֵ֔שָׁה וַיִּשְׂרְפ֥וּ אֹתָ֖ם שָֽׁם׃
all the valiant men arose, and went all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth-shan; and they came to Jabesh, and burnt them there.
By skip range, shuffled texts and book
| Skips, Torah | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 10 | 19 | 15.8 |
| 11 to 100 | 179 | 158 |
| 101 to 1,000 | 1,522 | 1,575 |
| 1,001 to 5,000 | 6,698 | 6,832 |
| 5,001 to 101,616 | 79,322 | 80,842 |
Shuffled Torahs
The Torah's own count at skips 2 to 1,000 is 1,720. Each family below rebuilt the text 100 times (seed 5787). What each family keeps.
| Control family | Runs at or above 1,720 | Median run | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter shuffle | 73/100 | 1,744 | 1,646 to 1,901 |
| Words within each verse | 59/100 | 1,728 | 1,604 to 1,841 |
Where the sequences start
| Torah | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis | 23,649 | 22,901 |
| Exodus | 14,985 | 18,636 |
| Leviticus | 15,684 | 13,140 |
| Numbers | 16,701 | 18,640 |
| Deuteronomy | 16,721 | 16,107 |
| Tanakh | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| Torah | 355,778 | 431,961 |
| Prophets | 858,685 | 784,693 |
| Writings | 484,176 | 479,510 |
Run this search yourself
Change the skips, set גלות beside another word, and run the controls on your own question.
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