Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Daniel Wagner" <dan.wagner AT netzero.net>]

Good question. A lot of (mostly older?) works talk about textual corruption 
in numbers within the Biblical text itself which acclaimedly resulted from 
misreadings in a single-letter numerical system, and which they assume to 
have been in vogue from a very early date. This system apparently changed to 
the word-for-numeral system as used currently in our MT. I'm sure some must 
have investigated this issue more than me, and i hope they will respond. 

However, my opinion, based primarily on comments i recall from some of my 
professors, is that this theory is false, and that numbers (in the text 
itself) were always represented by complete words similar to what we have 
today. So the alphabetic system (as used for chapters, verses, etc.) is 
actually late. Numbers and uncommon proper names are, of course, some of the 
easiest things to be lost in textual transmission (since they have little 
contextual protection to maintain their semantic stability as most other 
words have), so it is no surprise that various theories might have arisen in 
the past to try to explain some of the anomalies which exist (either 
extraordinary and weird numbers, e.g. 50,070 men killed in Bethshemesh, 1Sam. 
6:19; or inconsistencies such as Sam-Kings vs. Chronicles). I assume it would 
be difficult to put a date on most of those numeric corruptions in order to 
establish a date (assuming the theory were true).

Dan Wagner

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Fernando Arias <fernando.arias AT lycos.com>
To: Biblical Hebrew <b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Monday, May 14, 2001 8:20 PM
Subject: Hebrew alphabetic system of numeration


> Dear members,
> I read that the use of the Hebrew alphabet for numbers is first found in 
> coins of the Maccabean period(second century B.C.E.) after the Jews adopted 
> the Greek system of using letters as numerals. Is there any evidence of an 
> earlier date? Is there any evidence during the Babylonian captivity?
> Regards,
> Fernando. 
> 



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