Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- numeric [2025/03/17 14:15] – [Base Numbers] ken
+++ numeric [2025/05/16 19:30] (current) – [Number System] ken
@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 In the ancient world, many cultures developed or borrowed several different number systems. It is misguided to simply assume that the ancient [[Yeberi]] culture and the associated Ancient [[Hebrew]] language used the same number system that we are familiar with today.
-Yeberi culture was heavily influenced by the superpowers of the day, primarily the long series of Mesopotamian cultures including Sumer, Babylon, and Akkadia. These cultures used a base 60 "sexagesimal" number system. The second major influence was Egypt, which used a simplified version of sexagisimal based on the number 12. However, Egypt **also** used a base 10 system.
+Yeberi culture was heavily influenced by the superpowers of the day, primarily the long series of Mesopotamian cultures including Sumer, Babylon, and Akkadia. These cultures used a base 60 "sexagesimal" number system. The second major influence was Egypt, which used a simplified version of sexagisimal based on the number 12. However, Egypt **also** used a base 10 system, so it is not far fetched to think that the [[yeberi]] may have also, particularly considering that the Israelites immigrated from Egypt.
 With these influences in mind, we'll explore the numbers that appear in the ancient Hebrew texts and try to determine what these numbers meant to the original authors.
@@ Line 66: / Line 66: @@
 ^Hebrew Word^Probable Value^Note|
 |[[ahed]]|1 |
-| [[seti]], [[seni]], [[hex]], [[ter]]|2 |this is a bit tricky, we'll come back to it|
+| [[seti]], [[seni]], [[hex]], [[ter]]|2 |FIXME this is a bit tricky, we'll come back to it|
 |[[seles]]|3|
 |[[arebey]]|4|
@@ Line 75: / Line 75: @@
 |[[tesey]]|9| |
 |[[yeser]]|10 or 12|(depending on which base system was used) |
-|[[selesim]]|30|seles & [[im]]|
+| |20| |
-|[[arebeyim]]|40|arebey & [[im]] |
+|[[selesim]]|30 (or maybe 36)|seles & [[im]]|
-|[[hemesim]]|50|hemes & [[im]] |
+|[[arebeyim]]|40 (or maybe 48)|arebey & [[im]] |
-|[[sesim]]|60|ses & [[im]]|
+|[[hemesim]]|50 (or maybe 60)|hemes & [[im]] |
-|[[sebeyim]]|70|sebey & [[im]]|
+|[[sesim]]|60 (or maybe 72)|ses & [[im]]|
-|[[semenim]]|80|semen & [[im]]|
+|[[sebeyim]]|70 (or maybe 84)|sebey & [[im]]|
-|[[teseyim]]|90|teseh & [[im]]|
+|[[semenim]]|80 (or maybe 96)|semen & [[im]]|
-|[[mah]]|100| |
+|[[teseyim]]|90 (or maybe 108)|teseh & [[im]]|
-|[[alep]]|1000 or "a lot" | |
+|[[mah]]|100 (or maybe 144)|probably not 60, since that seems to be covered already |
+|[[alep]]|1000 | |
+|[[alepim]]|ten-thousand|alep & [[im]]|
 Numbers traditionally interpreted as "teens" are formed by adding two numbers.
@@ Line 89: / Line 91: @@
   *sebey yeser is typically interpreted as "17" (see Genesis 37:2)
 It should be noted that this is not the only possible interpretation of these phrases. FIXME We need to examine more examples in context.
-FIXME - analyze and compare the uses of 'mah' vs. 'sesim' to assess whether an interpretation of "sixty" for 'mah' is even remotely feasible. Then, based on those findings, assess 'alep'.
 ====Affixes as Mathematical Functions====
@@ Line 96: / Line 96: @@
 ===Multiplication===
-The use of suffixes indicates mathematical functions. As seen in the above table, the [[im]] suffix on numbers indicates multiplication (although the assumption that it is multiplication **by ten** might not be substantiated. It is probably more accurate to assume that the multiplication is **by yeser**, and to  keep in mind that 'yeser' might equal 10 but more likely equals 12.
+The use of suffixes indicates mathematical functions. As seen in the above table, the [[im]] suffix on numbers indicates multiplication (although the assumption that it is multiplication **by ten** might not be substantiated. It is more accurate (but less precise) to assume that the multiplication is **by yeser**, and to  keep in mind that 'yeser' might equal 10 or 12.)
 ===Sevenfold===
@@ Line 136: / Line 136: @@
 ====Number System====
-By now you may have noticed a pattern:
+We can now consolidate the above information into a system:
 ^Root^Root Value^With 'im'^With 'it'|
@@ Line 147: / Line 147: @@
 |[[tesey]]|9| [[teseyim]] = 90 |[[teseyit]] (or teseyi) = 1/9 |
 |[[yeser]]|10 |[[yeserim]] = 100 |[[yeserit]] = 1/10 |
+|[[mah]]|100| not used | mahit = 1/100 (theoretical) |
+|[[alep]]|1,000 |[[alepim]] = 10,000| alepit = 1/1000 (theoretical) |
+====Checking the System=====
+If this system is correct, we should theoretically be able to use the data in Numbers chapter 2 and add up the numbers in each verse to get the grand total in verse 32.
-|[[hexi]] |half | |
+The NIV lists the total number of the census as 603,550.
-|[[mah]]|100| |
-|[[alep]]|1000 or "a lot" | |
+We disagree. Based on our rendering, the number given in Numbers 2:32 is:
+//ses mah alep seles alepim hemes mah hemesim// which transliterates to "six hundred thousand, three [x] ten-thousand, five hundred fifty". Clearly there is a three with a ten-thousand in our rendering. This results in a total of 630,550.
+FIXME - cool now do all the other verse and add them!
+====More Math====
+The ancient [[yeberi]] culture had a fairly accurate understanding of the geometry of circles. 2 Chronicles 4:2 estimates pi to within an error margin of 3% by indicating that the circumference of a circle is 3x the diameter.