Cabbalize

/ˈkæbəlaɪz/ verb

Definition

To practice or apply Cabbalistic interpretation; to analyze text or ideas using Cabbalistic methods of finding hidden meanings.

Etymology

From cabbala plus the verb-forming suffix '-ize,' following the English pattern of converting nouns into verbs meaning 'to practice' or 'to make use of that noun's concepts.'

Kelly Says

When medieval scholars would 'cabbalize' a biblical passage, they weren't just reading it—they were doing something closer to cryptography, assigning numerical values to letters (gematria) and rearranging them to find secret messages that they believed the original authors had encoded.

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