Staff מטה
Staff — in Hebrew מטה — staff, rod; also tribe. Staff appears 137,600 times as an equidistant letter sequence in the Torah at skips 2–5,000, 2.4% more than chance alone would give (about 134,370; probability 8.5 × 10⁻¹⁹).
- Found in the Torah
- 137,600
- Chance alone
- 134,370
- P (≥ found)
- 8.5 × 10⁻¹⁹
- Shortest skip
- 2
Skips 2–5,000, both directions, final letters folded, the written text — the laboratory's own defaults.
In the Torah
At skips 2–5,000, מטה appears 137,600 times in the Torah — 2.4% more than the 134,370 chance alone would give; the probability of 137,600 or more by chance alone is 8.5 × 10⁻¹⁹.
The shortest skip at which מטה appears in the Torah is 2 — the first at Genesis 19:19, reading forward.
At every skip the Torah allows (2–152,424), מטה is found 2,468,608 times; chance alone would give about 2,082,681.
A three-letter spelling is common at these skips: in a text of 304,850 letters chance alone produces about 134,370 of it, so a large count is expected.
- Genesis 18,443
- Exodus 29,444
- Leviticus 38,474
- Numbers 31,299
- Deuteronomy 19,940
The shortest skips
הִנֵּה־נָא מָצָא עַבְדְּךָ חֵן בְּעֵינֶיךָ וַתַּגְדֵּל חַסְדְּךָ אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתָ עִמָּדִי לְהַחֲיוֹת אֶת־נַפְשִׁי וְאָנֹכִי לֹא אוּכַל לְהִמָּלֵט הָהָרָה פֶּן־תִּדְבָּקַנִי הָרָעָה וָמַֽתִּי
behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shown unto me in saving my life; and I cannot escape to the mountain, lest the evil overtake me, and I die.
skip 2, width 2 — the matrix is as wide as the skip, so the sequence reads down one column. letter 23,341Open in the laboratory →
וְיִֽתֶּן־לְךָ הָאֱלֹהִים מִטַּל הַשָּׁמַיִם וּמִשְׁמַנֵּי הָאָרֶץ וְרֹב דָּגָן וְתִירֹֽשׁ
So God give thee of the dew of heaven, And of the fat places of the earth, And plenty of corn and wine.
skip 2, width 2 — the matrix is as wide as the skip, so the sequence reads down one column. letter 37,491Open in the laboratory →
אֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם לְפָנֶיךָ הִוא בְּמֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ הוֹשֵׁב אֶת־אָבִיךָ וְאֶת־אַחֶיךָ יֵשְׁבוּ בְּאֶרֶץ גֹּשֶׁן וְאִם־יָדַעְתָּ וְיֶשׁ־בָּם אַנְשֵׁי־חַיִל וְשַׂמְתָּם שָׂרֵי מִקְנֶה עַל־אֲשֶׁר־לִֽי
the land of Egypt is before thee; in the best of the land make thy father and thy brethren to dwell; in the land of Goshen let them dwell. And if thou knowest any able men among them, then make them rulers over my cattle.’
skip 2, width 2 — the matrix is as wide as the skip, so the sequence reads down one column. letter 72,199Open in the laboratory →
וַיּוֹשֵׁב יוֹסֵף אֶת־אָבִיו וְאֶת־אֶחָיו וַיִּתֵּן לָהֶם אֲחֻזָּה בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם בְּמֵיטַב הָאָרֶץ בְּאֶרֶץ רַעְמְסֵס כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוָּה פַרְעֹֽה
And Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as Pharaoh had commanded.
skip 2, width 2 — the matrix is as wide as the skip, so the sequence reads down one column. letter 72,512Open in the laboratory →
וּמִלֵּאתָ בוֹ מִלֻּאַת אֶבֶן אַרְבָּעָה טוּרִים אָבֶן טוּר אֹדֶם פִּטְדָה וּבָרֶקֶת הַטּוּר הָאֶחָֽד
And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, four rows of stones: a row of carnelian, topaz, and smaragd shall be the first row;
skip 2, width 2 — the matrix is as wide as the skip, so the sequence reads down one column. letter 119,154Open in the laboratory →
Across the Tanakh
The whole Tanakh holds 439,283 sequences of מטה at skips 2–5,000 — about what chance alone gives (about 442,249).
- Genesis 18,443
- Exodus 29,444
- Leviticus 38,474
- Numbers 31,299
- Deuteronomy 20,764
- Joshua 13,019
- Judges 9,441
- Samuel 21,130
- Kings 30,213
- Isaiah 24,756
- Jeremiah 30,100
- Ezekiel 28,851
- The Twelve 23,662
- Psalms 30,113
- Proverbs 10,844
- Job 9,753
- Song of Songs 1,869
- Ruth 1,732
- Lamentations 2,211
- Ecclesiastes 7,920
- Esther 4,936
- Daniel 6,976
- Ezra–Nehemiah 14,830
- Chronicles 28,503
Outside the Torah
וַיֵּצֵא הַגּוֹרָל לְמִשְׁפְּחֹת הַקְּהָתִי וַיְהִי לִבְנֵי אַהֲרֹן הַכֹּהֵן מִן־הַלְוִיִּם מִמַּטֵּה יְהוּדָה וּמִמַּטֵּה הַשִּׁמְעֹנִי וּמִמַּטֵּה בִנְיָמִן בַּגּוֹרָל עָרִים שְׁלֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵֽה
And the lot came out for the families of the Kohathites; and the children of Aaron the priest, who were of the Levites, had by lot out of the tribe of Judah, and out of the tribe of the Simeonites, and out of the tribe of Benjamin, thirteen cities.
skip 2, width 2 — the matrix is as wide as the skip, so the sequence reads down one column. letter 336,357Open in the laboratory →
וַיַּחְמֹל שָׁאוּל וְהָעָם עַל־אֲגָג וְעַל־מֵיטַב הַצֹּאן וְהַבָּקָר וְהַמִּשְׁנִים וְעַל־הַכָּרִים וְעַל־כָּל־הַטּוֹב וְלֹא אָבוּ הַחֲרִימָם וְכָל־הַמְּלָאכָה נְמִבְזָה וְנָמֵס אֹתָהּ הֶחֱרִֽימוּ
But Saul and the people spared Agag, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, even the young of the second birth, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them; but every thing that was of no account and feeble, that they destroyed utterly.
skip 2, width 2 — the matrix is as wide as the skip, so the sequence reads down one column. letter 406,226Open in the laboratory →
וַיֹּאמֶר שָׁאוּל מֵעֲמָלֵקִי הֱבִיאוּם אֲשֶׁר חָמַל הָעָם עַל־מֵיטַב הַצֹּאן וְהַבָּקָר לְמַעַן זְבֹחַ לַיהוָה אֱלֹהֶיךָ וְאֶת־הַיּוֹתֵר הֶחֱרַֽמְנוּ
And Saul said: ‘They have brought them from the Amalekites; for the people spared the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the LORD thy God; and the rest we have utterly destroyed.’
skip 2, width 2 — the matrix is as wide as the skip, so the sequence reads down one column. letter 406,607Open in the laboratory →
The spelling
מטה — the Tanakh's own spelling: staff, rod; also tribe. Searched as מטה, 3 letters, with a standard gematria value of 54.
As a plain word it stands 83 times in the Tanakh, first at Exodus 4:2. Every word of the Tanakh in the Word Index →
The same letters also spell: Mate.
Questions
Does Staff appear in the Torah codes?
At skips 2–5,000, מטה appears 137,600 times in the Torah — 2.4% more than the 134,370 chance alone would give; the probability of 137,600 or more by chance alone is 8.5 × 10⁻¹⁹.
What is the shortest skip for Staff in the Torah?
Skip 2, reading forward from Genesis 19:19 — the shortest of 137,600 sequences at skips 2–5,000, where chance alone would give about 134,370.
What is the gematria of Staff in Hebrew?
Staff is spelled מטה — 3 letters searched, with a standard gematria value of 54.
How many times is Staff found in the whole Tanakh?
The whole Tanakh holds 439,283 sequences of מטה at skips 2–5,000 — about what chance alone gives (about 442,249).
Search it yourself
The laboratory runs the same search live in your browser — every sequence, the matrix around it, and the chance figure (about 134,370 here) beside the count.