Tevet טבת
The month Esther went to the palace. In Genesis 6:2 the same three letters describe the daughters of men: fair.
- Found in the Torah
- 856,807
- Chance alone: 868,083
- Skips 2 to 152,424
- Found in the Tanakh
- 10,791,930
- Chance alone: 10,864,263
- Skips 2 to 598,520
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So Esther was taken unto king Ahasuerus, says Esther 2:16, in the tenth month, which is the month Tebeth. It is the only time the Tanakh names this month. Yet the word has stood bare three times before that, and it means something else. In Genesis 6:2 the sons of nobles saw the daughters of men that they were fair, כי טבת הנה, the feminine plural of good. The fast of the tenth of Tevet remembers a day with no month's name on it: 2 Kings 25:1 records the start of the siege of Jerusalem in the tenth month, on the tenth day.
- As a whole word
- 4
- First, with any prefix
- Genesis 6:2
- Last
- Esther 2:16
The measurement
ט is scarce, so these three letters stop at 856,807 in the Torah, 1.3 percent under the formula. The shortest sequence stands in טוב תתי, it is better that I give, Laban's words in Genesis 29:19, where the letters come from the same word for good as the Tevet of Genesis 6:2.
| At every skip | Torah | Tanakh |
|---|---|---|
| Found | 856,807 | 10,791,930 |
| Chance alone | 868,083 | 10,864,263 |
| P (≥ found) | 1.00 | 1.00 |
| Shortest skip | 2 | 2 |
| Longest skip | 152,035 | 598,100 |
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 57,335 against 56,007 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 29:19
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר לָבָ֗ן ט֚וֹב תִּתִּ֣י אֹתָ֣הּ לָ֔ךְ מִתִּתִּ֥י אֹתָ֖הּ לְאִ֣ישׁ אַחֵ֑ר שְׁבָ֖ה עִמָּדִֽי׃
And Laban said: ‘It is better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man; abide with me.’
Shortest skip 2, forward from Genesis 40:16
וַיַּ֥רְא שַׂר־הָאֹפִ֖ים כִּ֣י ט֣וֹב פָּתָ֑ר וַיֹּ֨אמֶר֙ אֶל־יוֹסֵ֔ף אַף־אֲנִי֙ בַּחֲלוֹמִ֔י וְהִנֵּ֗ה שְׁלֹשָׁ֛ה סַלֵּ֥י חֹרִ֖י עַל־רֹאשִֽׁי׃
When the chief baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto Joseph: ‘I also saw in my dream, and, behold, three baskets of white bread were on my head;
Short skip 50, forward from Exodus 7:12
וַיַּשְׁלִ֨יכוּ֙ אִ֣ישׁ מַטֵּ֔הוּ וַיִּהְי֖וּ לְתַנִּינִ֑ם וַיִּבְלַ֥ע מַטֵּֽה־אַהֲרֹ֖ן אֶת־מַטֹּתָֽם׃
For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents; but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
וַיֹּ֤אמֶר יְקוָק֙ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֔ה כָּבֵ֖ד לֵ֣ב פַּרְעֹ֑ה מֵאֵ֖ן לְשַׁלַּ֥ח הָעָֽם׃
And the LORD said unto Moses: ‘Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn, he refuseth to let the people go.
לֵ֣ךְ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֞ה בַּבֹּ֗קֶר הִנֵּה֙ יֹצֵ֣א הַמַּ֔יְמָה וְנִצַּבְתָּ֥ לִקְרָאת֖וֹ עַל־שְׂפַ֣ת הַיְאֹ֑ר וְהַמַּטֶּ֛ה אֲשֶׁר־נֶהְפַּ֥ךְ לְנָחָ֖שׁ תִּקַּ֥ח בְּיָדֶֽךָ׃
Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thy hand.
Middle skip 500, forward from Leviticus 16:30
כִּֽי־בַיּ֥וֹם הַזֶּ֛ה יְכַפֵּ֥ר עֲלֵיכֶ֖ם לְטַהֵ֣ר אֶתְכֶ֑ם מִכֹּל֙ חַטֹּ֣אתֵיכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֥י יְקוָ֖ק תִּטְהָֽרוּ׃
For on this day shall atonement be made for you, to cleanse you; from all your sins shall ye be clean before the LORD.
… הֵ֣ם זֹבְחִים֮ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י הַשָּׂדֶה֒ וֶֽהֱבִיאֻ֣ם לַֽיקוָ֗ק אֶל־פֶּ֛תַח אֹ֥הֶל מוֹעֵ֖ד …
To the end that the children of Israel may bring their sacrifices, which they sacrifice in the open field, even that they may bring them unto the LORD, unto the door of the tent of meeting, unto the priest, and sacrifice them for sacrifices of peace-offerings unto the LORD.
… מִבְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וּמִן־הַגֵּר֙ הַגָּ֣ר בְּתוֹכָ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֨ר יָצ֜וּד צֵ֥יד חַיָּ֛ה …
And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, that taketh in hunting any beast or fowl that may be eaten, he shall pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust.
Wide skip 5,000, forward from Numbers 7:76
שְׂעִיר־עִזִּ֥ים אֶחָ֖ד לְחַטָּֽאת׃
one male of the goats for a sin-offering;
וַיְהִ֛י בִּנְסֹ֥עַ הָאָרֹ֖ן וַיֹּ֣אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֑ה קוּמָ֣ה יְקוָ֗ק וְיָפֻ֨צוּ֙ אֹֽיְבֶ֔יךָ וְיָנֻ֥סוּ מְשַׂנְאֶ֖יךָ מִפָּנֶֽיךָ׃
And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said: ‘Rise up, O LORD, and let Thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate Thee flee before Thee.’
וַיֹּ֥אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֖ה אֶל־יְקוָ֑ק וְשָׁמְע֣וּ מִצְרַ֔יִם כִּֽי־הֶעֱלִ֧יתָ בְכֹחֲךָ֛ אֶת־הָעָ֥ם הַזֶּ֖ה מִקִּרְבּֽוֹ׃
And Moses said unto the LORD: ‘When the Egyptians shall hear—for Thou broughtest up this people in Thy might from among them—
Outside the Torah
Shortest skip 2, forward from Judges 11:25
וְעַתָּ֗ה הֲט֥וֹב טוֹב֙ אַתָּ֔ה מִבָּלָ֥ק בֶּן־צִפּ֖וֹר מֶ֣לֶךְ מוֹאָ֑ב הֲר֥וֹב רָב֙ עִם־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אִם־נִלְחֹ֥ם נִלְחַ֖ם בָּֽם׃
And now art thou any thing better than Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab? did he ever strive against Israel, or did he ever fight against them?
Middle skip 500, forward from Joshua 21:9
וַֽיִּתְּנ֗וּ מִמַּטֵּה֙ בְּנֵ֣י יְהוּדָ֔ה וּמִמַּטֵּ֖ה בְּנֵ֣י שִׁמְע֑וֹן אֵ֚ת הֶֽעָרִ֣ים הָאֵ֔לֶּה אֲשֶׁר־יִקְרָ֥א אֶתְהֶ֖ן בְּשֵֽׁם׃
And they gave out of the tribe of the children of Judah, and out of the tribe of the children of Simeon, these cities which are here mentioned by name.
וּלְמִשְׁפְּח֤וֹת בְּנֵֽי־קְהָת֙ הַלְוִיִּ֔ם הַנּוֹתָרִ֖ים מִבְּנֵ֣י קְהָ֑ת וַֽיְהִי֙ עָרֵ֣י גֽוֹרָלָ֔ם מִמַּטֵּ֖ה אֶפְרָֽיִם׃
And the families of the children of Kohath, the Levites, even the rest of the children of Kohath, they had the cities of their lot out of the tribe of Ephraim.
וּמִמַּטֵּ֣ה אָשֵׁ֔ר אֶת־מִשְׁאָ֖ל וְאֶת־מִגְרָשֶׁ֑הָ אֶת־עַבְדּ֖וֹן וְאֶת־מִגְרָשֶֽׁהָ׃
And out of the tribe of Asher, Mishal with the open land about it, Abdon with the open land about it;
By skip range, shuffled texts and book
| Skips, Torah | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 10 | 85 | 103 |
| 11 to 100 | 1,111 | 1,025 |
| 101 to 1,000 | 10,166 | 10,214 |
| 1,001 to 5,000 | 45,973 | 44,665 |
| 5,001 to 152,424 | 799,472 | 812,076 |
Shuffled Torahs
The Torah's own count at skips 2 to 1,000 is 11,362. Each family below rebuilt the text 100 times (seed 5787). What each family keeps.
| Control family | Runs at or above 11,362 | Median run | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter shuffle | 40/100 | 11,343 | 11,120 to 11,615 |
| Words within each verse | 70/100 | 11,418 | 11,184 to 11,706 |
Where the sequences start
| Torah | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis | 146,529 | 222,307 |
| Exodus | 162,710 | 180,909 |
| Leviticus | 230,911 | 127,557 |
| Numbers | 190,331 | 180,949 |
| Deuteronomy | 126,326 | 156,360 |
| Tanakh | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| Torah | 3,064,589 | 2,766,796 |
| Prophets | 4,311,217 | 5,026,111 |
| Writings | 3,416,124 | 3,071,356 |
Run this search yourself
Change the skips, set טבת beside another word, and run the controls on your own question.
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