Naomi נעמי
Call me not Naomi, she says on coming home, and asks for a bitter name. The word for pleasant stands only in the Book of Ruth.
- Found in the Torah
- 465,917
- Chance alone: 451,282
- Skips 2 to 101,616
- Found in the Tanakh
- 7,762,362
- Chance alone: 7,833,111
- Skips 2 to 399,013
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She tries to change her own name. Coming back to Bethlehem with nothing, she tells the women in Ruth 1:20, call me not Naomi, call me Marah, for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me. Nobody does. The book goes on calling her Naomi, nineteen times, as if refusing her request, and the neighbors are still using that name in Ruth 4:17: a son is born to Naomi. The name means pleasant, from the same root as נעים. Every Naomi of the Tanakh is this one, since the name appears in no other book.
- As a whole word
- 19
- First, with any prefix
- Numbers 26:40
- Last
- Ruth 4:17
The measurement
The word stands in one short book and has 465,917 sequences in the Torah, which never mentions her. That is 3.2 percent over the formula. Its shortest, in Genesis 34:18, runs across דבריהם בעיני, a stock turn of Hebrew phrase, and stock phrases are the usual source of a short-skip sequence.
| At every skip | Torah | Tanakh |
|---|---|---|
| Found | 465,917 | 7,762,362 |
| Chance alone | 451,282 | 7,833,111 |
| P (≥ found) | 2.0 × 10⁻¹⁰⁴ | 1.00 |
| Shortest skip | 2 | 2 |
| Longest skip | 101,301 | 398,908 |
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 43,538 against 43,310 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 Genesis 34:18
וַיִּֽיטְב֥וּ דִבְרֵיהֶ֖ם בְּעֵינֵ֣י חֲמ֑וֹר וּבְעֵינֵ֖י שְׁכֶ֥ם בֶּן־חֲמֽוֹר׃
And their words pleased Hamor, and Shechem Hamor’s son.
Short skip 50, forward from Leviticus 9:10
וְאֶת־הַחֵ֨לֶב וְאֶת־הַכְּלָיֹ֜ת וְאֶת־הַיֹּתֶ֤רֶת מִן־הַכָּבֵד֙ מִן־הַ֣חַטָּ֔את הִקְטִ֖יר הַמִּזְבֵּ֑חָה כַּאֲשֶׁ֛ר צִוָּ֥ה יְקוָ֖ק אֶת־מֹשֶֽׁה׃
But the fat, and the kidneys, and the lobe of the liver of the sin-offering, he made smoke upon the altar; as the LORD commanded Moses.
וְאֶת־הַבָּשָׂ֖ר וְאֶת־הָע֑וֹר שָׂרַ֣ף בָּאֵ֔שׁ מִח֖וּץ לַֽמַּחֲנֶֽה׃
And the flesh and the skin were burnt with fire without the camp.
וַיִּשְׁחַ֖ט אֶת־הָעֹלָ֑ה וַ֠יַּמְצִאוּ בְּנֵ֨י אַהֲרֹ֤ן אֵלָיו֙ אֶת־הַדָּ֔ם וַיִּזְרְקֵ֥הוּ עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּ֖חַ סָבִֽיב׃
And he slew the burnt-offering; and Aaron’s sons delivered unto him the blood, and he dashed it against the altar round about.
וְאֶת־הָעֹלָ֗ה הִמְצִ֧יאוּ אֵלָ֛יו לִנְתָחֶ֖יהָ וְאֶת־הָרֹ֑אשׁ וַיַּקְטֵ֖ר עַל־הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃
And they delivered the burnt-offering unto him, piece by piece, and the head; and he made them smoke upon the altar.
Middle skip 500, forward from Exodus 22:24
אִם־כֶּ֣סֶף תַּלְוֶ֣ה אֶת־עַמִּ֗י אֶת־הֶֽעָנִי֙ עִמָּ֔ךְ לֹא־תִהְיֶ֥ה ל֖וֹ כְּנֹשֶׁ֑ה לֹֽא־תְשִׂימ֥וּן עָלָ֖יו נֶֽשֶׁךְ׃
If thou lend money to any of My people, even to the poor with thee, thou shalt not be to him as a creditor; neither shall ye lay upon him interest.
מִדְּבַר־שֶׁ֖קֶר תִּרְחָ֑ק וְנָקִ֤י וְצַדִּיק֙ אַֽל־תַּהֲרֹ֔ג כִּ֥י לֹא־אַצְדִּ֖יק רָשָֽׁע׃
Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not; for I will not justify the wicked.
לֹֽא־תִזְבַּ֥ח עַל־חָמֵ֖ץ דַּם־זִבְחִ֑י וְלֹֽא־יָלִ֥ין חֵֽלֶב־חַגִּ֖י עַד־בֹּֽקֶר׃
Thou shalt not offer the blood of My sacrifice with leavened bread; neither shall the fat of My feast remain all night until the morning.
וְשָׁלַחְתִּ֥י אֶת־הַצִּרְעָ֖ה לְפָנֶ֑יךָ וְגֵרְשָׁ֗ה אֶת־הַחִוִּ֧י אֶת־הַֽכְּנַעֲנִ֛י וְאֶת־הַחִתִּ֖י מִלְּפָנֶֽיךָ׃
And I will send the hornet before thee, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite, from before thee.
Wide skip 5,000, forward from Deuteronomy 9:5
… הָאֵ֗לֶּה יְקוָ֤ק אֱ־לֹהֶ֨יךָ֙ מוֹרִישָׁ֣ם מִפָּנֶ֔יךָ וּלְמַ֜עַן הָקִ֣ים אֶת־הַדָּבָ֗ר אֲשֶׁ֨ר …
Not for thy righteousness, or for the uprightness of thy heart, dost thou go in to possess their land; but for the wickedness of these nations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee, and that He may establish the word which the LORD swore unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac…
… אֹתָ֖ם אֶת־אֱ־לֹהֵיהֶ֑ם עַל־הֶהָרִ֤ים הָֽרָמִים֙ וְעַל־הַגְּבָע֔וֹת וְתַ֖חַת כָּל־עֵ֥ץ רַעֲנָן׃
Ye shall surely destroy all the places, wherein the nations that ye are to dispossess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every leafy tree.
… לֵאמֹ֗ר קָֽרְבָ֣ה שְׁנַֽת־הַשֶּׁבַע֮ שְׁנַ֣ת הַשְּׁמִטָּה֒ וְרָעָ֣ה עֵֽינְךָ֗ בְּאָחִ֨יךָ֙ הָֽאֶבְי֔וֹן …
Beware that there be not a base thought in thy heart, saying: ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand’; and thine eye be evil against thy needy brother, and thou give him nought; and he cry unto the LORD against thee, and it be sin in thee.
עַל־כֵּ֛ן אָנֹכִ֥י מְצַוְּךָ֖ לֵאמֹ֑ר שָׁלֹ֥שׁ עָרִ֖ים תַּבְדִּ֥יל לָֽךְ׃
Wherefore I command thee, saying: ‘Thou shalt separate three cities for thee.’
Outside the Torah
Shortest skip 2, forward from 2 Kings 23:18
וַיֹּ֨אמֶר֙ הַנִּ֣יחוּ ל֔וֹ אִ֖ישׁ אַל־יָנַ֣ע עַצְמֹתָ֑יו וַֽיְמַלְּטוּ֙ עַצְמֹתָ֔יו אֵ֚ת עַצְמ֣וֹת הַנָּבִ֔יא אֲשֶׁר־בָּ֖א מִשֹּׁמְרֽוֹן׃
And he said: ‘Let him be; let no man move his bones.’ So they let his bones alone, with the bones of the prophet that came out of Samaria.
Middle skip 500, forward from Joshua 2:4
וַתִּקַּ֧ח הָֽאִשָּׁ֛ה אֶת־שְׁנֵ֥י הָאֲנָשִׁ֖ים וַֽתִּצְפְּנ֑וֹ וַתֹּ֣אמֶר כֵּ֗ן בָּ֤אוּ אֵלַי֙ הָֽאֲנָשִׁ֔ים וְלֹ֥א יָדַ֖עְתִּי מֵאַ֥יִן הֵֽמָּה׃
And the woman took the two men, and hid them; and she said: ‘Yea, the men came unto me, but I knew not whence they were;
… אֱ־לֹֽהֵיכֶ֔ם ה֤וּא אֱ־לֹהִים֙ בַּשָּׁמַ֣יִם מִמַּ֔עַל וְעַל־הָאָ֖רֶץ מִתָּֽחַת׃
And as soon as we had heard it, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more spirit in any man, because of you; for the LORD your God, He is God in heaven above, and on earth beneath.
וְהָיָ֡ה כֹּ֣ל אֲשֶׁר־יֵצֵא֩ מִדַּלְתֵ֨י בֵיתֵ֧ךְ הַח֛וּצָה דָּמ֥וֹ בְרֹאשׁ֖וֹ …
And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head, and we will be guiltless; and whosoever shall be with thee in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand be upon him.
… אֵ֣ת אֲר֤וֹן בְּרִית־יְקוָק֙ אֱ־לֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם וְהַכֹּֽהֲנִים֙ הַלְוִיִּ֔ם נֹשְׂאִ֖ים אֹת֑וֹ וְאַתֶּ֗ם …
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.
By skip range, shuffled texts and book
| Skips, Torah | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 10 | 70 | 79.9 |
| 11 to 100 | 744 | 799 |
| 101 to 1,000 | 7,959 | 7,951 |
| 1,001 to 5,000 | 34,765 | 34,480 |
| 5,001 to 101,616 | 422,379 | 407,972 |
Shuffled Torahs
The Torah's own count at skips 2 to 1,000 is 8,773. Each family below rebuilt the text 100 times (seed 5787). What each family keeps.
| Control family | Runs at or above 8,773 | Median run | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter shuffle | 73/100 | 8,837 | 8,570 to 9,117 |
| Words within each verse | 53/100 | 8,780 | 8,557 to 9,006 |
Where the sequences start
| Torah | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis | 125,036 | 115,569 |
| Exodus | 90,325 | 94,048 |
| Leviticus | 66,501 | 66,312 |
| Numbers | 113,983 | 94,068 |
| Deuteronomy | 70,072 | 81,286 |
| Tanakh | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| Torah | 1,980,567 | 1,994,854 |
| Prophets | 3,342,385 | 3,623,816 |
| Writings | 2,439,410 | 2,214,442 |
Run this search yourself
Change the skips, set נעמי beside another word, and run the controls on your own question.
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