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xiphias[This isn't a humor post, or a political post. This is a history/theology geeking post. Just so's y'all know what to expect.]
First off, as you all know, the Number of the Beast is "616", not "666" -- the whole "666" thing is a transcription error. The earliest versions of the Book of Revelations have "616".
Second, as you all know, in Hebrew, every letter also has an associated numerical value, and Hebrew numerology is based around the numerical values of words.
As an aside, I find it interesting that, historically, the following letters had two sounds:
Bet, B and V (no English equivalent of which I know)
Gimmel, G and J (the English letter "g" maintains both sounds)
Dalet, D and djz as in the French "gendarme" (no English equivalent that I know of)
Kof, K and Kh
Pay, P and Ph
Shin, S and Sh
Tav, T and Th
So, a fair number of the Hebrew two-sound letters made it into English. . .
Anyway, that's not what I'm posting about.
The Book of Revelations is clear that "616" refers to a person's name. So you need to find a name, or name and title, which adds up to 616.
How about קסר נרו ? That's 50+200+6 + 100+60+200 = 616. What are the English equivalents of those letters? NRV QSR. Of course, that "V" may be a "W", a "U" or an "O", and we need to add vowels.
NRO QSR. NeRO CaeSaR.
Hard to argue with that one. Emperor Nero pretty much deserved the title of "the Beast", and, for that matter, was the Emperor when the Book of Revelations was written.
So, my point is to just plain relax about the Book of Revelations. We KNOW what the "number of the Beast" is, and who it refers to, and why. It's not a great End-Times Mystery or anything.
First off, as you all know, the Number of the Beast is "616", not "666" -- the whole "666" thing is a transcription error. The earliest versions of the Book of Revelations have "616".
Second, as you all know, in Hebrew, every letter also has an associated numerical value, and Hebrew numerology is based around the numerical values of words.
| Hebrew Letter | Value | Name | English Approximation of Sound |
| א | 1 | Aleph | Silent |
| ב | 2 | Bet | B or V |
| ג | 3 | Gimmel | G (historically, also could sound as j) |
| ד | 4 | Dalet | D (historically, could also sound as djz) |
| ה | 5 | Hay | H |
| ו | 6 | Vav | V, or oo, or oh (historically, sounded as "w", "oo", or "oh", and was called "waw") |
| ז | 7 | Zayin | Z |
| ח | 8 | Chet | kh (as in "Bach") |
| ט | 9 | Tet | T |
| י | 10 | Yod | Y |
| כ | 20 | Kaf | K or kh |
| ל | 30 | Lamed | L |
| מ | 40 | Mem | M |
| נ | 50 | Nun | N |
| ס | 60 | Samekh | S |
| ע | 70 | Ayin | Silent, basically |
| פ | 80 | Pay | P or F |
| צ | 90 | Tzade | ts, as in "pizza" |
| ק | 100 | Kuf | K or Q (a little more gutteral than K) |
| ר | 200 | Resh | R, more or less |
| ש | 300 | Shin | Sh or S |
| ת | 400 | Tav | T, T or S in some dialects, T or Th historically |
As an aside, I find it interesting that, historically, the following letters had two sounds:
Bet, B and V (no English equivalent of which I know)
Gimmel, G and J (the English letter "g" maintains both sounds)
Dalet, D and djz as in the French "gendarme" (no English equivalent that I know of)
Kof, K and Kh
Pay, P and Ph
Shin, S and Sh
Tav, T and Th
So, a fair number of the Hebrew two-sound letters made it into English. . .
Anyway, that's not what I'm posting about.
The Book of Revelations is clear that "616" refers to a person's name. So you need to find a name, or name and title, which adds up to 616.
How about קסר נרו ? That's 50+200+6 + 100+60+200 = 616. What are the English equivalents of those letters? NRV QSR. Of course, that "V" may be a "W", a "U" or an "O", and we need to add vowels.
NRO QSR. NeRO CaeSaR.
Hard to argue with that one. Emperor Nero pretty much deserved the title of "the Beast", and, for that matter, was the Emperor when the Book of Revelations was written.
So, my point is to just plain relax about the Book of Revelations. We KNOW what the "number of the Beast" is, and who it refers to, and why. It's not a great End-Times Mystery or anything.