In this system, there was no notation for zero, and the numeric values for individual letters was added together. Each unit (1, 2, ..., 9) isassigned a separate letter, each tens (10, 20, ..., 90) a separate letter, and each hundreds (100, 200, ..., 900) a separate letter. This system requires 27 letters, so the 22-letter Hebrew alphabet is extended to 27 by using 5 sofeet forms of the Hebrew letters. The sofeet or final form of a Hebrew letter is the form used when that letter is written as the last letter of a word.
The alphabetic system operates on the additive principle in which the numeric values of the letters are added together to form the total. For example, 177 is represented as קעז which corresponds to 100 + 70 + 7 = 177.
This system can be used for converting words into numbers and is used in a form of mysticism called Gematria.
| Hebrew | Decimal | |
|---|---|---|
| Aleph | 1 | א |
| Bet | 2 | ב |
| Gimmel | 3 | ג |
| Dalet | 4 | ד |
| Hey | 5 | ה |
| Vav | 6 | ו |
| Zayin | 7 | ז |
| Het | 8 | ח |
| Tet | 9 | ט |
| Yod | 10 | י |
| Kaf | 20 | כ |
| Lamed | 30 | ל |
| Mem | 40 | מ |
| Nun | 50 | נ |
| Samekh | 60 | ס |
| Ayin | 70 | ע |
| Phei | 80 | פ |
| Tsadei | 90 | צ |
| Kuf | 100 | ק |
| Resh | 200 | ר |
| Shin | 300 | ש |
| Tav | 400 | ת |
| Kaf Sofeet | 500 | ך |
| Mem Sofeet | 600 | ם |
| NuN Sofeet | 700 | ן |
| Phei Sofeet | 800 | ף |
| Tsadei Sofeet | 900 | ץ |
Note these special forms for 15 and 16: they were introduced in order to refrain from using the "sacred" combinations that are a part of The name of God in Judaism:
| Hebrew | Decimal | |
|---|---|---|
| Teth waw (tu) | 15 | ט"ו |
| Teth zayin | 16 | ט"ז |
See also: Numeral system, Arabic numerals, Armenian numerals, Babylonian numerals, Chinese numerals, Greek numerals, Indian numerals, Mayan numerals, Roman numerals.