Shabbat שבת
Three letters that are a verb in Genesis, a day in Exodus, and, with one more letter, the infinitive to dwell.
- Found in the Torah
- 7,435,373
- Chance alone: 7,504,297
- Skips 2 to 152,424
- Found in the Tanakh
- 99,632,036
- Chance alone: 100,202,594
- Skips 2 to 598,520
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The first time these letters stand alone, in Genesis 2:3, they are a verb: He rested. There is no day called Shabbat yet. The noun waits until the manna falls, when Moses tells the people in Exodus 16:23 that tomorrow is a שבת kept to the Lord. Then the same three letters take on a third life. Add a ל and you have לשבת, to dwell, most of whose 41 appearances have nothing to do with rest; the root there is a different one. An equidistant search cannot tell these apart. It finds the letters ש, ב, ת and no more, so everything that a reader knows about the day stays with the reader.
- As a whole word
- 40
- First, with any prefix
- Genesis 2:3
The measurement
With 7,435,373 sequences in a text of 304,850 letters, a three-letter term is closer to a census of its letters than to a search. The count sits 0.9 percent under the formula, and neither family of shuffles is troubled by it.
| At every skip | Torah | Tanakh |
|---|---|---|
| Found | 7,435,373 | 99,632,036 |
| Chance alone | 7,504,297 | 100,202,594 |
| P (≥ found) | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Shortest skip | 2 | 2 |
| Longest skip | 152,293 | 598,426 |
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 486,312 against 484,162 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 12:15
וַיִּרְא֤וּ אֹתָהּ֙ שָׂרֵ֣י פַרְעֹ֔ה וַיְהַֽלְל֥וּ אֹתָ֖הּ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֑ה וַתֻּקַּ֥ח הָאִשָּׁ֖ה בֵּ֥ית פַּרְעֹֽה׃
And the princes of Pharaoh saw her, and praised her to Pharaoh; and the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house.
Shortest skip 2, forward from Genesis 15:2
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אַבְרָ֗ם אֲדֹנָ֤י יֱקוִק֙ מַה־תִּתֶּן־לִ֔י וְאָנֹכִ֖י הוֹלֵ֣ךְ עֲרִירִ֑י וּבֶן־מֶ֣שֶׁק בֵּיתִ֔י ה֖וּא דַּמֶּ֥שֶׂק אֱלִיעֶֽזֶר׃
And Abram said: ‘O Lord GOD, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go hence childless, and he that shall be possessor of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?’
Short skip 50, forward from Exodus 2:17
וַיָּבֹ֥אוּ הָרֹעִ֖ים וַיְגָרְשׁ֑וּם וַיָּ֤קָם מֹשֶׁה֙ וַיּ֣וֹשִׁעָ֔ן וַיַּ֖שְׁקְ אֶת־צֹאנָֽם׃
And the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.
וַתָּבֹ֕אנָה אֶל־רְעוּאֵ֖ל אֲבִיהֶ֑ן וַיֹּ֕אמֶר מַדּ֛וּעַ מִהַרְתֶּ֥ן בֹּ֖א הַיּֽוֹם׃
And when they came to Reuel their father, he said: ‘How is it that ye are come so soon to-day?’
וַתֹּאמַ֕רְןָ אִ֣ישׁ מִצְרִ֔י הִצִּילָ֖נוּ מִיַּ֣ד הָרֹעִ֑ים וְגַם־דָּלֹ֤ה דָלָה֙ לָ֔נוּ וַיַּ֖שְׁקְ אֶת־הַצֹּֽאן׃
And they said: ‘An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and moreover he drew water for us, and watered the flock.’
Middle skip 500, forward from Leviticus 6:10
לֹ֤א תֵאָפֶה֙ חָמֵ֔ץ חֶלְקָ֛ם נָתַ֥תִּי אֹתָ֖הּ מֵאִשָּׁ֑י קֹ֤דֶשׁ קָֽדָשִׁים֙ הִ֔וא כַּחַטָּ֖את וְכָאָשָֽׁם׃
It shall not be baked with leaven. I have given it as their portion of My offerings made by fire; it is most holy, as the sin-offering, and as the guilt-offering.
וּכְלִי־חֶ֛רֶשׂ אֲשֶׁ֥ר תְּבֻשַּׁל־בּ֖וֹ יִשָּׁבֵ֑ר וְאִם־בִּכְלִ֤י נְחֹ֨שֶׁת֙ בֻּשָּׁ֔לָה וּמֹרַ֥ק וְשֻׁטַּ֖ף בַּמָּֽיִם׃
But the earthen vessel wherein it is sodden shall be broken; and if it be sodden in a brazen vessel, it shall be scoured, and rinsed in water.
וְכָל־מִנְחָ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֤ר תֵּֽאָפֶה֙ בַּתַּנּ֔וּר וְכָל־נַעֲשָׂ֥ה בַמַּרְחֶ֖שֶׁת וְעַֽל־מַחֲבַ֑ת לַכֹּהֵ֛ן הַמַּקְרִ֥יב אֹתָ֖הּ ל֥וֹ תִֽהְיֶֽה׃
And every meal-offering that is baked in the oven, and all that is dressed in the stewing-pan, and on the griddle, shall be the priest’s that offereth it.
Wide skip 5,000, forward from Genesis 17:24
וְאַ֨בְרָהָ֔ם בֶּן־תִּשְׁעִ֥ים וָתֵ֖שַׁע שָׁנָ֑ה בְּהִמֹּל֖וֹ בְּשַׂ֥ר עָרְלָתֽוֹ׃
And Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin.
כִּֽי־עָצֹ֤ר עָצַר֙ יְקוָ֔ק בְּעַ֥ד כָּל־רֶ֖חֶם לְבֵ֣ית אֲבִימֶ֑לֶךְ עַל־דְּבַ֥ר שָׂרָ֖ה אֵ֥שֶׁת אַבְרָהָֽם׃
For the LORD had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because of Sarah Abraham’s wife.
וַתְּכַ֖ל לְהַשְׁקֹת֑וֹ וַתֹּ֗אמֶר גַּ֤ם לִגְמַלֶּ֨יךָ֙ אֶשְׁאָ֔ב עַ֥ד אִם־כִּלּ֖וּ לִשְׁתֹּֽת׃
And when she had done giving him drink, she said: ‘I will draw for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.’
Outside the Torah
Shortest skip 2, forward from Joshua 6:26
וַיַּשְׁבַּ֣ע יְהוֹשֻׁ֔עַ בָּעֵ֥ת הַהִ֖יא לֵאמֹ֑ר אָר֨וּר הָאִ֜ישׁ …
And Joshua charged the people with an oath at that time, saying: ‘Cursed be the man before the LORD, that riseth up and buildeth this city, even Jericho; with the loss of his first-born shall he lay the foundation thereof, and with the loss of his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.’
Middle skip 500, forward from Judges 9:52
וַיָּבֹ֤א אֲבִימֶ֨לֶךְ֙ עַד־הַמִּגְדָּ֔ל וַיִּלָּ֖חֶם בּ֑וֹ וַיִּגַּ֛שׁ עַד־פֶּ֥תַח הַמִּגְדָּ֖ל לְשָׂרְפ֥וֹ בָאֵֽשׁ׃
And Abimelech came unto the tower, and fought against it, and went close unto the door of the tower to burn it with fire.
וַיָּ֣מָת יָאִ֔יר וַיִּקָּבֵ֖ר בְּקָמֽוֹן׃
And Jair died, and was buried in Kamon.
וְאַתֶּם֙ עֲזַבְתֶּ֣ם אוֹתִ֔י וַתַּעַבְד֖וּ אֱ־לֹהִ֣ים אֲחֵרִ֑ים לָכֵ֥ן לֹֽא־אוֹסִ֖יף לְהוֹשִׁ֥יעַ אֶתְכֶֽם׃
Yet ye have forsaken Me, and served other gods; wherefore I will save you no more.
By skip range, shuffled texts and book
| Skips, Torah | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 10 | 926 | 886 |
| 11 to 100 | 8,835 | 8,859 |
| 101 to 1,000 | 88,370 | 88,301 |
| 1,001 to 5,000 | 388,181 | 386,116 |
| 5,001 to 152,424 | 6,949,061 | 7,020,135 |
Shuffled Torahs
The Torah's own count at skips 2 to 1,000 is 98,131. Each family below rebuilt the text 100 times (seed 5787). What each family keeps.
| Control family | Runs at or above 98,131 | Median run | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter shuffle | 31/100 | 98,013 | 97,184 to 98,838 |
| Words within each verse | 80/100 | 98,426 | 97,684 to 99,051 |
Where the sequences start
| Torah | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis | 1,700,144 | 1,921,775 |
| Exodus | 1,650,388 | 1,563,902 |
| Leviticus | 1,076,162 | 1,102,690 |
| Numbers | 1,703,120 | 1,564,247 |
| Deuteronomy | 1,305,559 | 1,351,684 |
| Tanakh | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| Torah | 26,523,561 | 25,518,537 |
| Prophets | 45,367,465 | 46,356,513 |
| Writings | 27,741,010 | 28,327,543 |
Run this search yourself
Change the skips, set שבת beside another word, and run the controls on your own question.
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