Jeremiah: 25, 51 An ancient cipher code called atbash

In the security field, the following are general terms.

A code substitutes words for other words.
A cipher changes letters to other letters.

There are known codes and ciphers in the Bible dating to 500-600 B.C.

More: Albam : An ancient cipher code

More: Parables and secret codes used and explained by Jesus

The traditional Hebrew alphabet, with 22 letters. Hebrew letters

Note that Hebrew does not have vowels, just consonants. It is written from right to left. Some letters have different final forms, not shown here.

More: Hebrew alphabet

The Hebrew atbash is a reciprocal substitution cipher where the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet are exchanged in a substitution cipher (shown with gray dotted line). Atbash using Hebrew

By tradition, the "writing on the wall" in Daniel 5 was in an atbash cipher. Daniel thus had to read the writing in two steps. First, decode the writing to Hebrew and then interpret the decoded words.

Details are left as a future topic.

Here is a code wheel for the atbash cipher. Cipher: Hebrew Code Wheel

Note that in wrapping back on itself there are two places on the wheel for each letter, one on the inside and one on the outside.

Here is the Hebrew alphabet rearranged to make it easer to work with the atbash cipher. Cipher: Hebrew letters

Note that the two letters at each end of the alphabet are used to form the name of the cipher. אתבש - Atbash

So 1 as "alef", 22 as "tav", 2 as "bet", and 21 as "shin" are used to create the name "atbash".

Here is the English version of the atbash cipher, using the same right-to-left ordering (since the code transposition does not depend on how the cipher is displayed here).

Here is the English code wheel version of the atbash cipher. Cipher: English atbash code wheel

Note again that in wrapping back on itself there are two places on the wheel for each letter, one on the inside and one on the outside.

In this case, the word "SAVANNAH" would be encoded as "HZEZMMZS" and the cipher would be called "AZBY" instead of "atbash".

S -- H A -- Z V -- E A -- Z N -- M N -- M A -- Z H -- S

An encoding of the Atbash cipher in the Bible is in the book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah, the "Weeping prophet", is in Jerusalem in the time of Nebuchadnezzar - while during hist later ministry, Daniel is in Babylon.

What is Sheshach? No record of a city or region by that name has never been found.

Jeremiah 51:41 How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations! [kjv]

If the word "Sheshach" is translated using an atbash cipher, the resulting term is "Babel" (in Hebrew, of course).

Jeremiah 25:26

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KJV: And all the kings of the north, far and near, one with another, and all the kingdoms of the world, which are upon the face of the earth: and the king of Sheshach shall drink after them.

Hebrew: ואת כל מלכי הצפון הקרבים והרחקים איש אל אחיו ואת כל הממלכות הארץ אשר על פני האדמה ומלך ששך ישתה אחריהם׃

Greek: και παντας βασιλεις απο απηλιωτου τους πορρω και τους εγγυς εκαστον προς τον αδελφον αυτου και πασας τας βασιλειας τας επι προσωπου της γης

Latin: et cunctis regibus aquilonis de prope et de longe unicuique contra fratrem suum et omnibus regnis terrae quae super faciem eius sunt et rex Sesach bibet post eos

Wycliffe: of niy and of fer, to ech man ayens his brothir; and to alle the rewmes of erthe, that ben on the face therof; and kyng Sesac schal drynke after hem.

Slavonic: и вся цари от восточия, дальния и ближния, коегождо ко брату его, и вся царства, яже на лицы земли, и царь Сесах испиет последи их.

Note that the LXX (Septuagint) Septuagint Greek appears not to attempt a translation.

The term "Sheshach", along with "Babel", appears again in verse 41.

Jeremiah 51:41

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KJV: How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!

Hebrew: איך נלכדה ששך ותתפש תהלת כל הארץ איך היתה לשמה בבל בגוים׃

Greek: πως εαλω και εθηρευθη το καυχημα πασης της γης πως εγενετο βαβυλων εις αφανισμον εν τοις εθνεσιν

Latin: quomodo capta est Sesach et conprehensa est inclita universae terrae quomodo facta est in stuporem Babylon inter gentes

Slavonic: Како взяся Сесах, и ята слава всея земли? Како бысть во удивление Вавилон во языцех?

Note how the LXX Greek uses «εαλω» for "Sheshach".

Did they have some knowledge about the encryption? Was it a translation of the Hebrew word? Was it something else? Might it have been an actual name of a city at the time?

Here is Sheshach in Hebrew, using the final form of the letter "כ" as "ך". ששך - Sheshach

Now use the above atbash table for the Hebrew for each letter.

Here is Babel in Hebrew. בבל - Babel

So "Sheshach" would be the atbash encoded word for "Babel". The obscure and hidden nature of the prophecy of Jeremiah is reminiscent of the prophecy of the Oracle of Delphi in response to the Greek Croesus, King of Lydia, rich from the gold at Sardus (one of the seven churches in Revelation).

Confirmation bias is present in the prophecy of the Oracle of Delphi in response to the Greek Croesus, King of Lydia, rich from the gold at Sardus (mentioned in the book of Revelation in the Bible as one of the seven churches of ancient times).

Croesus, King of Lydia, wanted to know if he should go to war against Persia under Cyrus the Great (conqueror of Babylon, the morning after Daniel interpreted the handwriting on the wall). The Oracle of Delphi told Croesus that "if he went to war, a great empire would be destroyed". Like many humans, Croesus heard what he wanted to hear. He went to war, and his great empire was destroyed (as well as himself). Herodotus.

The ancient Greek word " Κροῖσος" ≈ "Croesus".

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More: Confirmation bias

What does the KJV (King James Version) of the Bible mean by "midst of them"?

Jeremiah 51:1

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KJV: Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;

Hebrew: כה אמר יהוה הנני מעיר על בבל ואל ישבי לב קמי רוח משחית׃

Greek: ταδε λεγει κυριος ιδου εγω εξεγειρω επι βαβυλωνα και επι τους κατοικουντας χαλδαιους ανεμον καυσωνα διαφθειροντα

Latin: haec dicit Dominus ecce ego suscitabo super Babylonem et super habitatores eius qui cor suum levaverunt contra me quasi ventum pestilentem

Slavonic: Тако глаголет Господь: се, Аз воздвигну на Вавилон и на живущыя Халдеи ветр зноен губителный:

The Hebrew words "לב קמי" as "leb kamai" can mean "midst of". לב קמי - midst of

Note that ancient Hebrew, as with most ancient languages, was written without spaces. Now apply the atbash cipher.

The result is the Hebrew name for Chaldea, "Kasdim", the land in which Babel (or Babylon) is situated. כשדים - Chaldea

Note that the Old Church Slavonic (from which Russian and other Slavic languages developed) explicitly uses the term for Chaldea as "Халдеи".

This is not surprising since the Old Church Slavonic came from the LXX Septuagint. In the above verse, the `name for Chaldea in Greek is "χαλδαιους", or, in modern Greek, "Χαλδαίους"

Question: How did the translators of the LXX from Hebrew into Greek know about the atbash encoding? Did they have some other knowledge?