Yael יעל
The woman with the tent peg is named for a mountain goat. The same letters in Genesis are a verb, let him go up.
- Found in the Torah
- 12,779,560
- Chance alone: 12,559,139
- Skips 2 to 152,424
- Found in the Tanakh
- 226,028,814
- Chance alone: 227,869,679
- Skips 2 to 598,520
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Blessed above women shall Jael be, sings Deborah in Judges 5:24, and the Tanakh gives no other account of this woman than the two chapters of that story. Her name is an animal, the wild goat of the high rocks in Psalm 104:18 and Job 39:1, which fits someone who lives far from the towns in a tent. The Hebrew letters also make a verb. In Genesis 44:33 Judah begs to stay behind as a bondman, and יעל there means let him go up. English readers meet her as Jael because that is the old spelling that JPS keeps; as a modern first name she is Yael. Bare, the letters stand only eight times, and six of those are hers.
- As a whole word
- 8
- First, with any prefix
- Genesis 8:20
The measurement
Every band up to skip 5,000 falls short of chance, and yet the Torah's total comes out 1.8 percent over it. The whole surplus lies past skip 5,000, where a sequence's letters are thousands apart and have nothing to do with one another.
| At every skip | Torah | Tanakh |
|---|---|---|
| Found | 12,779,560 | 226,028,814 |
| Chance alone | 12,559,139 | 227,869,679 |
| P (≥ found) | below 10⁻³⁰⁰ | 1.00 |
| Shortest skip | 2 | 2 |
| Longest skip | 152,374 | 598,480 |
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 805,895 against 810,290 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 3:5
כִּ֚י יֹדֵ֣עַ אֱ־לֹהִ֔ים כִּ֗י בְּיוֹם֙ אֲכָלְכֶ֣ם מִמֶּ֔נּוּ וְנִפְקְח֖וּ עֵֽינֵיכֶ֑ם וִהְיִיתֶם֙ כֵּֽא־לֹהִ֔ים יֹדְעֵ֖י ט֥וֹב וָרָֽע׃
for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil.’
Shortest skip 2, forward from Genesis 9:16
וְהָיְתָ֥ה הַקֶּ֖שֶׁת בֶּֽעָנָ֑ן וּרְאִיתִ֗יהָ לִזְכֹּר֙ בְּרִ֣ית עוֹלָ֔ם בֵּ֣ין אֱ־לֹהִ֔ים וּבֵין֙ כָּל־נֶ֣פֶשׁ חַיָּ֔ה בְּכָל־בָּשָׂ֖ר אֲשֶׁ֥ר עַל־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.’
Short skip 50, forward from Exodus 2:11
וַיְהִ֣י בַּיָּמִ֣ים הָהֵ֗ם וַיִּגְדַּ֤ל מֹשֶׁה֙ וַיֵּצֵ֣א אֶל־אֶחָ֔יו וַיַּ֖רְא בְּסִבְלֹתָ֑ם וַיַּרְא֙ אִ֣ישׁ מִצְרִ֔י מַכֶּ֥ה אִישׁ־עִבְרִ֖י מֵאֶחָֽיו׃
And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown up, that he went out unto his brethren, and looked on their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian smiting a Hebrew, one of his brethren.
וַיִּ֤פֶן כֹּה֙ וָכֹ֔ה וַיַּ֖רְא כִּ֣י אֵ֣ין אִ֑ישׁ וַיַּךְ֙ אֶת־הַמִּצְרִ֔י וַֽיִּטְמְנֵ֖הוּ בַּחֽוֹל׃
And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no man, he smote the Egyptian, and hid him in the sand.
Middle skip 500, forward from Genesis 8:11
וַתָּבֹ֨א אֵלָ֤יו הַיּוֹנָה֙ לְעֵ֣ת עֶ֔רֶב וְהִנֵּ֥ה עֲלֵה־זַ֖יִת טָרָ֣ף בְּפִ֑יהָ וַיֵּ֣דַע נֹ֔חַ כִּי־קַ֥לּוּ הַמַּ֖יִם מֵעַ֥ל הָאָֽרֶץ׃
And the dove came in to him at eventide; and lo in her mouth an olive-leaf freshly plucked; so Noah knew that the waters were abated from off the earth.
… יְקוָ֜ק אֶל־לִבּ֗וֹ לֹֽא־אֹ֠סִף לְקַלֵּ֨ל ע֤וֹד אֶת־הָֽאֲדָמָה֙ בַּעֲב֣וּר הָֽאָדָ֔ם כִּ֠י …
And the LORD smelled the sweet savour; and the LORD said in His heart: ‘I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
וְאֵ֨ת כָּל־נֶ֤פֶשׁ הַֽחַיָּה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אִתְּכֶ֔ם בָּע֧וֹף בַּבְּהֵמָ֛ה וּֽבְכָל־חַיַּ֥ת הָאָ֖רֶץ אִתְּכֶ֑ם מִכֹּל֙ יֹצְאֵ֣י הַתֵּבָ֔ה לְכֹ֖ל חַיַּ֥ת הָאָֽרֶץ׃
and with every living creature that is with you, the fowl, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you; of all that go out of the ark, even every beast of the earth.
Wide skip 5,000, forward from Genesis 4:23
… עָדָ֤ה וְצִלָּה֙ שְׁמַ֣עַן קוֹלִ֔י נְשֵׁ֣י לֶ֔מֶךְ הַאְזֵ֖נָּה אִמְרָתִ֑י כִּ֣י …
And Lamech said unto his wives: Adah and Zillah, hear my voice; Ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech; For I have slain a man for wounding me, And a young man for bruising me;
עֹ֖ד כָּל־יְמֵ֣י הָאָ֑רֶץ זֶ֡רַע וְ֠קָצִיר וְקֹ֨ר וָחֹ֜ם וְקַ֧יִץ וָחֹ֛רֶף וְי֥וֹם וָלַ֖יְלָה לֹ֥א יִשְׁבֹּֽתוּ׃
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.’
וַיֵּ֨לֶךְ֙ לְמַסָּעָ֔יו מִנֶּ֖גֶב וְעַד־בֵּֽית־אֵ֑ל עַד־הַמָּק֗וֹם אֲשֶׁר־הָ֨יָה שָׁ֤ם אהלהאָֽהֳלוֹ֙ בַּתְּחִלָּ֔ה בֵּ֥ין בֵּֽית־אֵ֖ל וּבֵ֥ין הָעָֽי׃
And he went on his journeys from the South even to Beth-el, unto the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between Beth-el and Ai;
Outside the Torah
Shortest skip 2, forward from Joshua 1:10
וַיְצַ֣ו יְהוֹשֻׁ֔עַ אֶת־שֹׁטְרֵ֥י הָעָ֖ם לֵאמֹֽר׃
Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying:
Middle skip 500, forward from Judges 5:5
הָרִ֥ים נָזְל֖וּ מִפְּנֵ֣י יְקוָ֑ק זֶ֣ה סִינַ֔י מִפְּנֵ֕י יְקוָ֖ק אֱ־לֹהֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃
The mountains quaked at the presence of the LORD, Even yon Sinai at the presence of the LORD, the God of Israel.
וְשָׂרַ֤י בְּיִשָּׂשכָר֙ עִם־דְּבֹרָ֔ה וְיִשָּׂשכָר֙ כֵּ֣ן בָּרָ֔ק בָּעֵ֖מֶק שֻׁלַּ֣ח בְּרַגְלָ֑יו בִּפְלַגּ֣וֹת רְאוּבֵ֔ן גְּדֹלִ֖ים חִקְקֵי־לֵֽב׃
And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; As was Issachar, so was Barak; Into the valley they rushed forth at his feet. Among the divisions of Reuben There were great resolves of heart.
יָדָהּ֙ לַיָּתֵ֣ד תִּשְׁלַ֔חְנָה וִֽימִינָ֖הּ לְהַלְמ֣וּת עֲמֵלִ֑ים וְהָלְמָ֤ה סִֽיסְרָא֙ מָחֲקָ֣ה רֹאשׁ֔וֹ וּמָחֲצָ֥ה וְחָלְפָ֖ה רַקָּתֽוֹ׃
Her hand she put to the tent-pin, And her right hand to the workmen’s hammer; And with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote through his head, Yea, she pierced and struck through his temples.
By skip range, shuffled texts and book
| Skips, Torah | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| 2 to 10 | 1,378 | 1,483 |
| 11 to 100 | 14,503 | 14,826 |
| 101 to 1,000 | 146,505 | 147,779 |
| 1,001 to 5,000 | 643,509 | 646,201 |
| 5,001 to 152,424 | 11,973,665 | 11,748,849 |
Shuffled Torahs
The Torah's own count at skips 2 to 1,000 is 162,386. Each family below rebuilt the text 100 times (seed 5787). What each family keeps.
| Control family | Runs at or above 162,386 | Median run | Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letter shuffle | 100/100 | 164,122 | 163,355 to 165,551 |
| Words within each verse | 4/100 | 161,973 | 161,097 to 162,632 |
Where the sequences start
| Torah | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| Genesis | 3,728,560 | 3,216,268 |
| Exodus | 2,666,003 | 2,617,335 |
| Leviticus | 1,650,183 | 1,845,454 |
| Numbers | 2,540,557 | 2,617,912 |
| Deuteronomy | 2,194,257 | 2,262,169 |
| Tanakh | Found | Chance alone |
|---|---|---|
| Torah | 51,782,539 | 58,031,441 |
| Prophets | 105,033,249 | 105,418,866 |
| Writings | 69,213,026 | 64,419,372 |
Run this search yourself
Change the skips, set יעל beside another word, and run the controls on your own question.
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