Section 1. In thirty-two¹ wonderful Paths of Wisdom did Jah², Jehovah Tzabaoth³ the God of Israel⁴, the Elohim of the living⁵ the King of ages, the merciful and gracious God⁶ the exalted One, the Dweller in eternity, most high and holy — engrave his name by the three Sepharim⁷ — Numbers, Letters, and Sounds.⁸
2. Ten are the ineffable Sephiroth⁹. Twenty-two are the Letters, the Foundation of all things; there are Three Mothers, Seven Double and Twelve¹⁰ Simple letters.
3. The ineffable Sephiroth are Ten, so are the Numbers; and as there are in man five fingers over against five, so over them is established a covenant of strength, by word of mouth, and by the circumcision of the flesh¹¹
4. Ten is the number of the ineffable Sephiroth, ten and not nine, ten and not eleven. Understand this wisdom, and be wise in the perception. Search out concerning it, restore the Word to its creator, and replace Him who formed it upon his throne¹².
5. The Ten ineffable Sephiroth have ten vast regions bound unto them; boundless in origin and having no ending; an abyss¹³ of good and of ill; measureless height and depth; boundless to the East and the West; boundless to the North and South¹⁴; and the Lord the p. 16 only God¹⁵, the Faithful King rules all these from his holy seat¹⁶, for ever and ever.
6. The Ten ineffable Sephiroth have the appearance of the Lightning flash¹⁷, their origin is unseen and no end is perceived. The Word is in them as they rush forth and as they return, they speak as from the whirlwind, and returning fall prostrate in adoration before the Throne.
7. The Ten ineffable Sephiroth, whose ending is even as their origin, are like as a flame arising from a burning coal. For God¹⁸ is superlative in his Unity, there is none equal unto Him: what number canst thou place before One.
8. Ten are the ineffable Sephiroth; seal up thy lips lest thou speak of them, and guard thy heart as thou considerest them; and if thy mind escape from thee bring it back to thy control; even as it was said, “running and returning” (the living creatures ran and returned)¹⁹ and hence was the Covenant made.
9. The ineffable Sephiroth give forth the Ten numbers. First; the Spirit of the God of the living²⁰; Blessed and more than blessed be the Living God²¹ of ages. The Voice, the Spirit, and the Word²² these are of the Holy Spirit.
10. Second; from the Spirit He produced Air, and formed in it twenty-two sounds — the letters; three are mothers, seven are double, and twelve are simple; but the Spirit is first and above these. Third; from the Air He formed the Waters, and from the formless and void²³ made mire and clay, and designed surfaces upon them, and hewed recesses in them, and formed the strong material foundation. Fourth; from the Water He formed Fire²⁴ and made for Himself a Throne of Glory with Auphanim., Seraphim and Kerubim²⁵ as his ministering angels; and with these three²⁶ he completed his dwelling, as it is written, “Who maketh his angels spirits and his ministers a flaming fire”.²⁷
11. He selected three letters from among the simple ones and sealed them and formed them into a Great p. 17 Name, I H V,²⁸ and with this He sealed the universe in six directions.
Fifth; He looked above, and sealed the Height with 1 H V. Sixth; He looked below, and sealed the Depth with I V H. Seventh; He looked forward, and sealed the East with H I V. Eighth; He looked backward, and sealed the West with H V I. Ninth; He looked to the right, and sealed the South with V I H. Tenth; He looked to the left, and sealed the North with V H I.
12. Behold! From the Ten ineffable Sephiroth do proceed — the One Spirit of the Gods of the living, Air, Water, Fire; and also Height, Depth, East, West, North and South.²⁹