The Hebrew Numeral System: Gender, Structure, and Sacred Precision

The Hebrew numeral system stands out in the ancient linguistic world for its grammatical complexity and semantic precision. Unlike Indo-European systems that separate numerals from morphology, Biblical Hebrew weaves numbers tightly into the grammatical fabric of the sentence through gender, number, and syntactic state.

At its core, the system divides numbers by value—units, tens, hundreds, thousands, and beyond—but these values are also inflected by gender (masculine/feminine), state (absolute/construct), and sometimes even by suffix pronouns. For example, in Genesis 31:37, the word שׁנינו (“us two”) combines the dual numeral for “two” with a first-person plural pronominal suffix, expressing a uniquely Hebrew blend of number and relationship.

Genesis 31:37

כִּי־מִשַּׁשְׁתָּ אֵת כָּל־כֵּלַי מַה־מָּצָאתָ מִכֹּל כְּלֵי־בֵיתֶךָ שִׂים כֹּה נֶגֶד אַחַי וְאַחֶיךָ וְיוֹכִיחוּ בֵּין שְׁנֵינוּ׃

“For you have searched all my belongings—what have you found of all your household goods? Place it here before my kinsmen and yours, and let them decide between us two.”

Hebrew cardinal numbers vary not only by quantity but also by gender and syntax. The masculine and feminine forms differ significantly: for instance, “three” is שְׁלוֹשָׁה (masculine) and שָׁלוֹשׁ (feminine). Ordinals, meanwhile, are gendered but never occur in the construct state, and are formed from verbal roots using the Piʿel or Qal passive patterns.

Beyond Ten: Combining Masculine/Feminine and Suffixes

Hebrew forms numbers beyond ten by combining unit + ten structures, such as אַחַד עָשָׂר (eleven, masculine) or שְׁלוֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה (thirteen, feminine). Thousands and millions take the absolute form—e.g., אֶלֶף (1,000), עֲשֶׂרֶת אֲלָפִים (10,000), and מִילְיוֹן (1,000,000, modern).

Pronominal suffixes may also attach to numbers to indicate duality or possession, as seen earlier in שְׁנֵינוּ (“we two”), showcasing Hebrew’s unique morphological capacity to blend numeral, person, and relationship in one word.

Thus, the Hebrew numeral system is not merely arithmetic—it is expressive, relational, and theological. Each number in Scripture may carry weight beyond quantity, tied to symbolic tradition and contextual meaning.

The following comprehensive table presents Hebrew numerals from 0 to 900, showing both cardinal and ordinal forms in masculine and feminine, alongside their corresponding Hebrew letters and glyphs. The table is styled for optimal readability in the WordPress TwentyTen theme using high-contrast headers and alternating row shading for clarity.