When Hebrew uses letters as numbers (dates, chapters, verses, page numbers, etc.), 22 is written as: כב. Kaf Bet is commonly used as an abbreviation for the word for Honor/Honorable, Kavod. Kavod also means Glory.
Because there are 22 letters in the Hebrew alphabet, in Jewish and biblical numerology, 22 is often associated with completion and the totality of God’s revealed Word. The Hebrew aleph-bet is seen as the building blocks of Scripture and of the holy tongue (lashon ha‑kodesh).
The 22 letters construct every word in the Tenach. In the beginning was the word and the 22 letters revealed every word. Since every letter is a number, I believe 22 reveals clues and insights into God's word. I believe Hashem revealed significant signs in His verses which are connected to 22.
Here are bible verses based on 22 22:
Exodus 22:22—You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child.
Leviticus 22:22—Animals blind or disabled or mutilated or having a discharge or an itch or scabs you shall not offer to the Lord or give them to the Lord as a food offering on the altar.
Numbers 22:22—But God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him.
Deuteronomy 22.22—“If a man is found lying with the wife of another man, both of them shall die, the man who lay with the woman, and the woman. So you shall purge the evil from Israel.
To shorten this blog post, I only selected a few other books in the Tenach:
Isaiah 22:22—And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
Psalm 22:22—"I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you". This verse marks a shift in the psalm from desperate suffering to a vow of praise,
Ezekiel 22:22—As silver is melted in a furnace, so you shall be melted in the midst of it, and you shall know that I am the Lord; I have poured out my wrath upon you.”
Those are all great and revealing bible verses, and there is much to be said about each.
I expected to find something of special significance in Genesis 22.22. After all, Genesis 22 is where we find the story of the "Binding of Issac."
Genesis 22.2—He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
The Hebrew name Isaac is יִצְחָק, transliterated Yitzchak. Spelling: י (yod) + צ (tsadi) + ח (chet) + ק (qof).Basic meaning: “he laughs / will laugh,” from the root צחקd “to laugh.”
Perhaps that's a clue, but 22.2 is not 22.22. In Genesis 22:22 we find only a list of five names. 5 was an immediate hint to me, since that is a number and letter that means "behold, reveal, breath."
Genesis 22:22—Chesed, Hazo, Pildash, Jidlaph, and Bethuel.
I thought perhaps their is something in that list of names that points to the Messiah, so I broke it down.
- Chesed – Kindness / mercy
- Hazo – Vision / seer
- Pildash – Meaning uncertain (no solid root).
- Jidlaph – Weeping / dripping.
- Bethuel – House of God.
I thought it interesting that one name, the name in the middle, didn't have a meaning. I knew it wasn't a coincidence, so I went another level deeper.
Pildash is spelled פִּלְדָּשׁ (pe–lamed–dalet–shin). The name’s overall meaning is debated, but you can still read basic letter-level ideas:
- פ (Pe) – “mouth,” speech, expression; numerically 80.
- ל (Lamed) – “staff,” goad; often linked with teaching, leading, urging forward; numerically 30.
- ד (Dalet) – “door,” access, entry/exit, humility or poverty (the one who needs); numerically 4.
- ש (Shin) – “tooth,” consuming, fire, sharpness, destruction or refining: numerically 300.