Boid on the Etymology of Gematria

For the sake of complete clarity, the words “might become converts” translate she-yitgayeru שיתגיירו from the root GIMEL-YOD-RESH. The noun is ger (GIMEL-RESH). The verb doesn’t mean merely repenting: it means conversion to the religion of Israel. (Whether this can be identified with Judaism these days is highly dubious, but we’ll leave that for the moment).

No, the Greek word geômetria, though originally meaning land-surveying, really does mean geometry in the right context. The words isopsêphia and isopsêphisis certainly exist, but they are less common, and still have the same ambiguity. Note, however, that Wilhelm Bacher derives gematria from grammateia, a Greek word derived from grammata meaning letters, and which means writing and specially cipher-writing. I think this is certainly the right explanation. There is also a Hebrew and Aramaic word gematriyon (GIMEL-YOD-MEM-TET-RESH-YOD-VAV-NUN) meaning specifically writing in code, from the Greek grammateion. I can’t imagine why a Greek word for something used long before was borrowed into Hebrew and Aramaic. Interestingly, the word gematriya isn’t used in Syriac or Syro-Palestinian or Samaritan Aramaic, i.e. it is specifically Jewish. I don’t know why this is. So far I haven’t found out what the word used in these other dialects of Aramaic for gematriya is, and actually I don’t know what word is used in Greek for gematriya either.

I was just going to send you the fact that Jastrow also identifies gematria from grammata.