Sefer ha-Bahir § 94 -- the seventy-two names and the twelve tribes

Sefer ha-Bahir · The Book of Brilliance · Anonymous (attributed to Rabbi Neḥunya ben ha-Kanah)

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About Sefer ha-Bahir § 94 -- the seventy-two names and the twelve tribes

Sefer ha-Bahir § 94 (Rabbi Amorai) reads the uncontainable God into a hidden numerical order. "The heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You" (1 Kings 8:27) teaches that the Holy One has seventy-two names, "fixed in the tribes": their names set six to a stone on the two stones of the high priest's ephod (Exodus 28:10), and the twelve "stones of remembrance" (Joshua 4:9) -- twelve stones that are seventy-two (twelve times six), matching the seventy-two names. He began with twelve because the Holy One has twelve leaders (manhigim), each with six powers -- seventy-two, corresponding to the seventy-two "tongues," the seventy-two nations and languages of the earth.

The same seventy-two-fold Name that the next section (§ 95) unfolds from the three verses of Exodus 14:19-21 -- here mapped onto the twelve tribes below and the seventy-two nations of the world. This is a provisional scholarly draft, released openly for correction; the standard modern English translation (Kaplan, 1979) remains under copyright.

Sefer ha-Bahir 94 -- the seventy-two names and the twelve tribes

Sefer ha-Bahir · The Book of Brilliance

ספר הבהיר · צד

canonical late 12th c., Provence (ascribed to the 1st c. tanna) Hebrew Anonymous (attributed to Rabbi Nehunya ben ha-Kanah) tr. Hekhal Targum Project (machine-assisted draft; pending scholarly review)

The uncontainable God, read into a hidden order of numbers. “The heavens cannot contain You” teaches that the Holy One has seventy-two names, fixed in the twelve tribes — six names to a stone, twelve stones that are seventy-two — twelve leaders each with six powers, matching the seventy-two nations and tongues of the earth. The same seventy-two-fold Name the next section unfolds from Exodus 14:19-21.

A provisional scholarly draft, released openly for correction and not yet reviewed by a credentialed editor. The Hebrew is reproduced verbatim from the Hebrew Wikisource transcription; the standard modern English translation (Kaplan, 1979) is under copyright.

ישב ר’ אמוראי ודרש מאי דכתיב (מ”א ח’ כז) הנה השמים ושמי השמים לא יכלכלוך, מלמד שע”ב שמות יש לו להקב”ה וכולם קבעם בשבטים דכתיב (שמות כ”ח י) ששה משמותם על האבן האחת ואת שמות הששה הנותרים על האבן השנית כתולדותם, וכתיב (יהושע ד’ ט) ושתים עשרה אבנים הקים וגו’, מה אלה אבני זכרון אף אלה אבני זכרון, ושתים עשרה אבנים הם ע”ב כנגד ע”ב שמות של הקב”ה, ומאי טעמא התחיל בשתים עשרה, ללמדך שי”ב מנהיגים יש לו להקב”ה ובכל אחד ואחד ששה כוחות’ ומאי נינהו, ע”ב לשונות:
Rabbi Amorai sat and expounded: what is written (1 Kings 8:27), ‘behold, the heavens and the heaven of heavens cannot contain You’? [This] teaches that the Holy One has seventy-two names, and He fixed them all in the tribes (shevatim), as it is written (Exodus 28:10), ‘six of their names on the one stone, and the names of the six that remain on the second stone, according to their generations’; and it is written (Joshua 4:9), ‘and twelve stones he set up,’ and so on. As these are stones of remembrance (avnei zikaron), so these are stones of remembrance; and the twelve stones are seventy-two, corresponding to the seventy-two names of the Holy One. And what is the reason that he began with twelve? To teach you that the Holy One has twelve leaders (manhigim), and in each and every one, six powers (kochot); and what are they? Seventy-two tongues (leshonot).
Provisional draft (pending scholarly review)
An orientation

This edition sets the verbatim Hebrew beside a fresh English rendering and a critical apparatus: a running commentary on the passage, notes on the controlled vocabulary and the rendering chosen for each term, and cross-references to the lexicon and to related sections. It is a provisional scholarly draft, released openly for correction and not yet reviewed by a credentialed editor.

Apparatus
Tradition
jewish-mysticism
Language
Hebrew
Period
late 12th c., Provence (ascribed to the 1st c. tanna)
Attribution
Anonymous (attributed to Rabbi Neḥunya ben ha-Kanah)
Translator
Hekhal Targum Project (machine-assisted draft; pending scholarly review)
License
Underlying Bahir text public domain by age; digital Hebrew transcription from Hebrew Wikisource (CC-BY-SA) via Sefaria, credited; English rendering and apparatus CC-BY-SA-4.0
Provenance
The Sefer ha-Bahir is a late-12th-century work, in the public domain by age. The Hebrew is reproduced verbatim from the Hebrew Wikisource transcription (CC-BY-SA), retrieved via Sefaria and credited accordingly. This English rendering and its apparatus are a provisional scholarly draft, released openly for correction and not yet reviewed by a credentialed editor. The standard modern English translation (Kaplan, 1979) remains under copyright.

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Anonymous (attributed to Rabbi Neḥunya ben ha-Kanah). "Sefer ha-Bahir § 94 -- the seventy-two names and the twelve tribes." Hekhal: An Open Reference for Esoteric Tradition. Last modified May 2, 2026. https://hekhal.org/texts/sefer-ha-bahir-94-targum.
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