What makes this so
important is that these patterns are so strong
that
if any letter had been miscopied, added, or omitted, it could be
uniquely replaced by reference to the pattern of the other letters alone.
The 7-turn spiral pattern and the “AABA” pattern of the letters whose Base-3 positions are mirror images, when combined, enable us to “repair” any lost or miscopied letter.
For example, if one of the Tavs were missing, we would notice
that Tav-Vav pairings were defective when compared to
the regular “AABA” pattern of all of the other pairs of letters with
mirror image Base-3 counts. There are three He's (011) and one Mem
(110). The same is true for the three Resh's (201) and the one
Lamed (102), etc. If we believe that the pattern is not likely to
be broken, then the “AABA” pattern of the other Base-3 pairs tells us
to expect to find the same pattern for the Tavs
(210).
If this is true, then if we find that there are two Tavs, we
know that there must actually be a total of three Tavs in the
first verse of Genesis. If we do not find three then there must be one
missing. Further we know that, if the pattern of the other letter pairs
holds, there must be one pairing of Tav (210) with another Tav
AND there must be one pairing of a Tav (210) with the one Vav
(012) which also must be in the first verse. If instead of a
questionable Tav, we have the expected (from the pattern of the
other letters) three Tavs and we do not see a Vav, then
we know that a Vav must be missing. The symmetry of the spiral
pattern even suggests where we should replace the (hypothetically)
missing Vav to return the first verse to its intended reading.
If any letter had been miscopied, it could be detected because it would
not have a Base-3 twin and it would not be one of the letters whose
Base-3 counts are symmetrical. (A symmetrical letter can only be paired
with a twin of itself.) Likewise, there would likely be other letters
that almost formed the regular “AABA” pattern but with a letter
seemingly missing. The odd letter, the missing letter, the “AABA”
pattern and the toroidal/spiral pattern all combine to enable us
to“repair” the text if it has been damaged and needs its letters
“re-paired” with each other. (Pun intended.)
There are some situations were the patterns that we have found in the
letter sequence of first verse of Genesis will not enable us to
unambiguously correct errors. Usually only one letter can be corrected,
because if there are two or more errors the first verse is not long
enough to express a pattern strong enough to be trusted and
explicit. When more of the text can be examined and these patterns can
be refined from a much longer sequence of letters it should be possible
to correct more potential errors. On average we estimate that each
verse allows for the correction of one letter. Thus the greater the
number of verses, the more potential errors can be corrected. This
assumes that the patterns continue in a coherent fashion. There is
independent evidence from researchers at UCLA and Hebrew University
that there are letter level patterns throughout the Hebrew Bible.
Meru’s findings suggest how and why these patterns arise and what they
may mean.
The presence of error-correcting patterns is by itself significant.
There is no meaning to correcting a meaningless pattern.
These patterns strongly imply that the Hebrew Bible has significant
meaning encoded in the sequence of letters that make up the texts.
Kabbalists have always claimed that this was so, but it has been hard
to prove. Even statistical evidence of letter patterns does not
really help because statistics do NOT provide meaning.
The patterns we have found are likely statistically verifiable, but
that is not the most significant finding. Statistical patterns
can be due to meaningful or meaningless causes. The patterns Meru
Foundation has found are meaningful in themselves regardless of
statistical tests. The patterns in Genesis generate an elegant model of
Continuous Creation that helps to explain and explicate many
Kabbalistic teachings that have eluded understanding and it generates
the letters of the Hebrew alphabet in a way the confirms the
traditional claim that they are natural, universal, and applicable as a
bridge between physics and consciousness.
Read the related article, Genesis and the Sepher Yetzirah, which uses principles developed in the above essay.
Contents of this page are ©1997, 2010 Stan Tenen,
and licensed to Meru Foundation,
524 San Anselmo Ave. #214, San Anselmo, CA 94960.
Email inquiries to: meru@meru.org