Aaron B Cohen

THE BREASTPLATE OF THE HIGH PRIEST

Aaron B Cohen, BA

The breastplate, the first mentioned and seemingly most significant of the holy garments worn by the High Priest of the Levitical priesthood, was a remarkable and beautiful adornment. It was finely crafted in brightly coloured threads of gold, blue, purple and scarlet and fine twined, bleached linen, having twelve precious gemstones set in gold filigree, and bearing the engraved names of the twelve tribes of Israel in four rows of three.

It was a perfect square, a span in length and a span in breadth (circa 9 x 9 inches), the material being doubled (i.e. the material originally being circa 9 x 18 inches) to form a pouch in which the Urim and Thummin were kept. So it was both decorative and with purpose. But its purpose is much more than we read in the text for hidden beneath this object of great value and beauty is a mathematical matrix of equal magnificence and ingenuity, defying the laws of probability or chance occurrence. Let there be no doubt that the same perfect design and precision that lay behind the making of the breastplate also went into the construction of this mathematical object, made not of man but by the divine inspiration of God.

Lists of the twelve tribes of Israel occur throughout the Bible from Genesis to Revelation in various permutations of fourteen possible names but we are not given precise details relating to the names of the tribes whose names were engraved on the stones of the breastplate. However, with the exclusion of Levi (the Levitical priesthood being set apart), and Joseph who was separated from his brethren (but including his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim), we have the list of the twelve tribes of Israel as detailed in the book of Numbers, chapter 1.

The breastplate is described as having four rows of three and, therefore, the logical list of the twelve names of the tribes on the breastplate, not in the order of their camps but in the order of the birth of their forebears in accordance with the making of the ephod (Exodus 28:15:‘And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it ...’ and Exodus 28:10: ‘Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth’.), and also in the order of the first appearance of their names in the Bible, is as follows, reading from right to left as with written Hebrew.

TRIBAL NAMES ON THE BREASTPLATE

By transposing the gematria or numerical value of the names (each letter of the Hebrew alphabet has a corresponding numerical value) we obtain the numerical matrix below.

Let us now consider the mathematics:

The total sum of all twelve name values is 3700. Bear in mind that the breastplate was a perfect square and this figure is equal to the perfect square of 10 times 37. Ten is associated with the Ten Commandments and also with the dimensions of the Holy of Holies which measured 10 x 10 x 10 cubits. The significance of 10 then can be said to be one of Holiness. But of much greater interest is the highest prime factor of 3700, the number 37, for this is the most sublime of all numbers, the number of God. Much could be said here about the number 37 but in order not to digress too far from the purpose of this article this discussion is limited to the more salient points. The number 37 can be said to represent the ‘key to wisdom’. Why the ‘key to wisdom’? Well, if it is a key it means it can be turned or used to open something. When 37 is ‘turned’ it becomes 73, which is the exact numerical value of the Hebrew word chokmah, which means wisdom. The gematria of the very first verse of the Holy Bible, Genesis 1:1 ‘In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.’ is equal to 37 x 73. This verse is the key to wisdom if we accept that in the beginning God really did create the heaven and the earth and that what follows this verse is truth. Interestingly, the product of the digits of these two prime factors of the Genesis 1:1 verse total 2701, i.e. 3 x 7 x 7 x 3, is equal to 441, the gematria of emeth, the Hebrew word for truth. Can it be coincidence that the highest prime factor of 2701 is 73, the value of wisdom and that the highest prime factor of its reflection, 1072, is 67, the value of binah which means understanding? Thus we are taught from this very first verse that wisdom comes through reading through the Holy Bible but true understanding only comes when we go back over it, by studying and reflecting or meditating upon the word. The number 37 is a concatenation of the digits 3 and 7, represented respectively in the Hebrew numbering system by the letters gimmel and zayin. Is it again coincidence that the gematria value of the word gimmel is 73, the value of chokmah or wisdom, and that of zayin is 67 the gematria of binah or understanding? I must reiterate that here we are talking about the very first verse of the Holy Bible, 1 of a total of 31,102.

And is it yet again coincidence that the following names or titles in Greek gematria of Jesus, Christ, Godhead (Theotes), Son of Man, and of course Jesus Christ by amalgamation, exhibit numerical values which are all multiples of 37? The highest prime factor, in other words the highest number that itself cannot be further divided but itself divides the number, of all these name values is 37! We have already reached the realms of incalculable improbability but these few facts concerning 37 are just the tip of one gigantic iceberg. Hidden in and beneath the text of the Holy Bible is a wealth of treasure waiting to be discovered by those who would seek it. This is where real enlightenment comes.

There exists much rabbinic argument as to exactly which tribes were engraved on the breastplate and in which order but the truth is contained in the mathematics. The figure 3700, the matrix total, is the exact value of the Greek words spoken by the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4:25: ‘Messias cometh, which is called Christ’. Complimentary to this theme is the fact that the Hebrew word khoshen, translated as ‘breastplate’ (or ‘breastpiece’ in some bibles) but more probably meaning ‘pocket’ or ‘bag’ and used only in connection with this covering on the breast of the High Priest, has exactly the same numerical value as the Hebrew word Moshiach meaning Messiah. Thus the breastplate may also be regarded as a spiritual proclamation of the coming Messiah, of extreme relevance and significance in relationship to the mathematics of this particular matrix.

If we consider the matrix as a checkerboard, there is perfect mathematical symmetry in that the sum of the figures on the black squares is exactly equal to the sum of the figures on the white squares.

It has been stated that the sum of the whole matrix is 3,700 or 10 squared times its highest prime factor 37. On the basis that multiples of 37 only occur every 37th number we should not expect any of the twelve figures themselves to divide by 37 since 12/37 only gives a probability of 0.324. However, there is one which does and this is the very first figure 259, the gematria or numerical value of Reuben, the first born. The number 259 is equal to 7 x 37.

By pairing values together, the are sixty-six different combinations or possibilities and, in a random set of twelve numbers we would only expect 66/37, a probability of 1.783, occurrences of pair combinations that are divisible by 37. There are actually four pair combinations that are exact multiples of 37, more than double what might be expected from a random set. However, the really striking and amazing thing is that the figures in each pair are not scattered on the matrix as again one might expect but are all adjacent to one another. This is quite incredible. We can see on the matrix how these single or paired figures which are multiples of 37 fit together like a jigsaw, making a perfect square of 3 x 3 cells.

259 = 7 x 37

466 + 570 = 1036 = 28 x 37

30 + 7 = 1 x 37

54 + 501 = 555 = 15 x 37

830 + 95 = 925 = 25 x 37

Only the bottom or fourth row is not touched by a single figure or paired combination which is a multiple of the enigmatic 37. The row total is 888, the exact numerical value of JESUS in Greek gematria.

162 + 395 + 331 = 888 = 24 x 37

This fourth row begins with the name Benjamin which means ‘Son of my right hand’, an extraordinary and beautiful touch.

Numbers 23:10, the last verse of Balaam’s first oracle, more often than not is interpreted as a rhetorical question but there can be little doubt that it is also a riddle: ‘Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel?’ Counting the dust of Jacob simply means, as far as the riddle is concerned, counting the gematria of the names of the tribes, just as in Revelation 13:18 where counting the number of the Beast results in the number 666. The fourth part or fourth row of this tribal matrix is the value of JESUS. The fourth part of the whole matrix as a total figure 3700 equals 925, the value of the fourth coupling of two on the matrix. This figure is the value of JESUS CHRIST in English or French when the Hebrew/Greek alphanumeric system of units, tens, hundreds is applied to the English or French alphabets. The verse above concludes ‘Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!’

In every single instance of the possible combinations of 1, 2, 3, … and so on up to 12 numbers there is an abundance of occurrences of multiples of 37 above the expected rate in each group. This is a really quite remarkable feature even in factor analyses where there exists an overall abundance of the factor in question. The sum of all the possible combinations that divide exactly by 37 is 236800 or 10 squared (a numerical symbol of holiness) times 2368, the gematria of JESUS CHRIST in the Greek. Just to recap on this: the whole matrix is 10 squared times its highest prime factor 37, and the sum of all the combinations which are multiples of its highest prime factor is 10 squared times 2368 JESUS CHRIST, the latter figure being equal to 8 squared times 37. The 10 squared or 100th figure in table 1 below is 2368!

Jesus said ‘I am the first and the last’ a theme which pervades Bible numerics, the breastplate matrix being no exception. Summing the logical first combination value in each of the 12 groups, and again summing the last combination in each group, the difference of these totals is 2368, the exact gematria of JESUS CHRIST. The last figure in group 7 is 2368.

There are in all 127 combinations of multiples of 37 and 127 is the gematria of ‘KING OF GLORY’ in Hebrew. Some of these combination values are repeated as can be seen in the list of these in ascending order (table 2). Is it a coincidence that 37 squared (1369) occurs only once and this is the 37th in the series? Or that 2368 (Jesus Christ) occurs only once and this is the 91st? The Hebrew words Adonai YHWH (Lord GOD or Jehovah), Ha-Elohim (GOD) and Amen each compute to 91, the 13th triangular number. In Deuteronomy 6:4 ‘Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:’, the Hebrew word ‘echad’ meaning one computes to 13. The number 91 therefore incorporates the idea of the Trinity. The Greek gematria of Jesus 888, this number being one digit repeated three times, also conveys this idea albeit in a different manner. There are three occurrences of 888, which occur at positions 12, 13, and 14 in the list. The sum of these is 39, the value of ‘one LORD’ in the Shema, i.e. the verse above. The positions of the two occurrences of 925, Jesus Christ, are 15 and 16, which total 31, the Hebrew gematria of El (GOD).

The ordinal positions of the seven tribal names on the matrix which constitute 2368, Jesus Christ, sum to 73. These names form a contiguous block, which breaks down into two smaller contiguous blocks having the values 1480 CHRIST and 888 JESUS.

5,4,9,5,8,3,0,5,0,1,3,3,1,3,9,5,1,6,2 = 73 (Check here with Sum Calculator)

888 JESUS

1480 CHRIST

The alternate addition/subtraction of each of the seven name values results in 386, the Hebrew value of YESHUA or Jesus. When the seven name values are each reversed and then added the resultant figure is 1234 which is the gematria of the Hebrew words ‘THE MESSIAH OF ISRAEL’. The digit sum of the numbers constituting Jesus Christ sum to 73, the value of WISDOM. The last definition of Wisdom given in Chambers 20th Century Dictionary, 1977, is Jesus Christ. Embedded in the ‘Jesus Christ’ (2368) block is another contiguous block 925 (830 + 95), the gematria of JESUS CHRIST in English and French. I would be extremely indebted and very grateful if any reader whose mother tongue is not English, French, Greek or Hebrew would be kind enough to forward their alphabet, together with the spelling of Jesus Christ. I am particularly interested in those languages where the names Jesus or Jesus Christ compute to a multiple of 37 but those which do not are still of great importance. Thank you.

SQUARES ON THE MATRIX: Geometric and mathematical design showing a clear allusion to the deity of Jesus Christ. The breastplate matrix of twelve cells allows a total of 20 different squares to be formed in 3 sizes as follows:

We should not expect any of the totals of the values of these squares to be an exact multiple of the highest prime factor of the matrix, 37, since 20/37 only gives a probability of 0.54. However, there are altogether 3, there being one in each of the possible sizes, i.e. uniform distribution.

1 x 1

2 x 2

3 x 3

With the obvious exception of the first (1 x 1), the average cell value on each square is not a whole integer. However, in the grand total of all 3 squares the average cell value is an exact number, 296, the highest common factor of the numerical values of JESUS (3 x 296) and of CHRIST (5 x 296) in the Greek. Attention is thus drawn to the total of all three as opposed to individual square totals. This value 4144 is equal to 37 (the highest prime factor of the whole matrix, and of 'JESUS' and of 'CHRIST') times 112, the exact numerical value of the Hebrew name JEHOVAH-ELOHIM, i.e. Lord GOD. At the same time it is also a multiple of the value for the Greek word Theotes meaning GODHEAD (7 x 592).

The table below shows the number of times each individual cell is used in the formation of the three squares. It can be observed that this operation breaks the breastplate matrix into three distinct contiguous blocks.

The figure below highlights the residual values when the name values are divided by 37, i.e. nv mod 37 = rv.

74 = JESUS

TOTAL in Mod 37 = 222

37 + 37 + 37 + 37 + 37 + 37 = 222

The sum of the residual values of the names that make ‘Christ’ is 74; the value of Jesus computed using the positional values of the letters in the English alphabet. Likewise, the sum of the residual values of the names that make Jesus is also 74. The sum of these seven values is 148, the value of the Hebrew Pesach or Passover. The first and the last values, 17 and 35, total 52, the value of Elakbaw, a name meaning ‘God will hide’. This figure is twice the value of YHWH.

The highly improbable data, and there’s much more, contained in this matrix is nothing less than astonishing, especially concerning the name of Jesus Christ.

When Aaron the High Priest put on the breastplate he bore the names of the children of Israel on his heart (Ex 28:29). Was he spiritually aware that he was also bearing the name of the Messiah of Israel, Jesus Christ, on his heart? The breastplate of judgment or decision of the Old Testament spiritually equates to the breastplate of righteousness of the New. As believers we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, so let us put on the breastplate of righteousness (Ephesians 6:14) and bear the name of JESUS upon our hearts.

The breastplate of the Old Covenant was for making decisions. If you dear reader have not yet made a decision for CHRIST you are urged to do it now, before it is too late. JESUS IS COMING SOON!

Tables:

Table 1:

Breastplate name value combinations, which are multiples of the highest prime factor of the matrix (37) in group (number of elements) order and logic progression.

Group: