Hermeneutics, rabbinic

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Hermeneutics, rabbinic. The systems of biblical interpretation employed in rabbinic Judaism. The three best-known sets of rules are the seven rules of Hillel, the thirteen rules of R. Ishmael, and the thirty-two rules of R. Eliezer b. Yose ha-Gelili. In addition, Nahum of Gurrizo developed a system based on the assumption that the marking on every letter has a specific meaning, and this idea was subsequently developed by R. Akiva. Later, kabbalists interpreted scripture on the basis of gematria or the numerical values of words.