How does a gematria calculator work?

Gematria is a technique of Jewish numerology that assigns numerical value to words and names. It can be used to interpret the meaning behind certain words, sentences, and even entire books. A gematria calculator is a tool which allows you to quickly calculate the numerical values of words or phrases. This can be particularly handy when it comes to studying texts such as the Hebrew Bible and religious documents that contain numerological codes.

So how does a gematria calculator work? In order to calculate the numerical value of a word or phrase, you need to first break it down into its individual characters or letters. Each letter is then assigned a specific numerical value. The numerical value of each character is determined according to the alphabetical order in which they appear in the language being studied (for example, Hebrew). There are specific tables listing this information which can be used if you're unsure of what each letter's assigned number is.

Once all of the characters have been assigned their corresponding numeric values, you will simply add them all up together for your total. For example: if your word was 'Shalom' (Hebrew for 'peace'), according to an online gematria calculator, it would come out as 300 - since the letters add up to 3 + 30 + 200 = 300.