Study #8: GIMEL

There are 2 of many approaches to Gematria.

One is to use the Ordinal number. Hence GIMEL the 3rd letter of the Hebrew Alphabet is assigned the coded number of 3.

But GIMEL is also a word spelt with 3 letters: Gimel ( 3), Mem ( 40) and Lamed ( 30 ). Add them up and you get 73.

I have already shared what what GIMEL as 3 means.

What about 73?

1. GIMEL as 73 shares the same Gematria value with another word CHOKMAH (WISDOM). How do we link a camel ( GIMEL ) with wisdom ( CHOKMAH )? The sages say a camel’s hump is a repository of life-giving water for the camel to survive long arduous journeys in the desert. It is symbolic of a mother’s womb. Hence Wisdom in the Bible is linked to a woman e.g. Lady Wisdom in the Book of Proverbs. In ancient Israelite homes, the mother is a 24/7 multi-tasked woman who nurtures her family like the Proverbs 31 wife and mother. She is accounted “wise” as she teaches her children the fear of the Lord by her example of godly submission and recitation of the Torah by heart. She is also wise as a practical practitioner and an all-round home-maker and entrepreneur.

2. According to E.W. Bullinger ( the author of “Number in Scripture” ) the number 70 is a combination of two perfect numbers: 7 and 10. For 7×10 signifies the perfect spiritual order. In the Old Testament, Jerusalem observed 70 Sabbaths when Judah was exiled under the yoke of the Babylonian Captivity for 70 years. In the New Testament, 70 disciples were sent out by our Lord prefiguring the might of the Holy Spirit who accompanied them with signs and wonders ( Luke 10: 1, 17 ).

Father God , 70 ( perfect spiritual order ) plus 3 ( the blessings and backing of the Holy Trinity ) make GIMEL an extraordinary letter. This number presages the advent of the empowering Holy Spirit – a Spirit of Nurture ( GIMEL ) and Wisdom ( CHOKMAH ).