Program Transcript
Episode 24: Yeshua’s Name in Notes
Heather M R Olsen
Welcome friends.
Did you listen to that beautiful music? That is Illumination’s new intro! I am so excited about it, I can hardly stand it. And it’s not just a random blurb. It was composed and orchestrated with love and intention. I can’t wait to tell you about it!
But first, if you are new to Illumination, welcome! I know time is precious to us all, and you chose to listen here today. You are in for a huge treat, and I am honored you are listening.
If you listen regularly, you may be used to hearing my former musical intro. The following is an explanation of the talent and expertise that went into Illumination’s debut opening.
I have many precious ones in my life, and this particular man is no exception. He is multi-talented: in music, psychology, exercise, health, yoga, and annoyingly, he even wins every game! This dear one recently purchased some musical recording equipment and has been dabbling in composing music. On a whim, I asked him to compose an 8-measure podcast intro for me as one to call my own. The previous jingle you have heard up until today was created by myself, using public domain material. I always wanted something more personal, and God has provided.
A typical composer would let inspiration take over and eventually find rhythms and notes to put together a piece. But not Afik. He composed and orchestrated his piece based on intellect in harmony with talent, logic, meaning, and sounds. Consequently, I asked him for one more thing. “Please write up what you told me about your piece. It’s incredible.”
And so he did.
To start, Afik will introduce a term entitled Gematria, something I have touched on but haven’t dug into in depth. As a point of reference, the Bible is full of Gematria, and we will explore it in its own podcast soon. But for now, you just heard his intro and the following is his astounding musical explanation. I hope it strikes a chord!
Afik wrote that,
“Gematria is an approach to interpreting language that assigns numerical value to letters, words, and even whole sentences. Evidence of Gematria in Judaism suggests it was in practice at least as early as the Hellenistic period (~76 BCE), with a growing use at the time of the Kabbalah [which is] an esoteric school of Jewish mysticism that started around the 12th century.”
My own interjection is that the Gospel writers used Gematria in their writings, plus we can find evidence of it in early antiquity, dating back to Moses’ writings in the Torah. Often we find the numbers 3, 7, 12, 40 and 1000 in the Bible with numerical and adjectival meanings. More on this at a later date.
Afik continues,
“Jesus’ name in Hebrew, ישוע (Yeshua), is spelled with the letters י (Yod), ש (Shin), ו (Vav), and ע (Ain). These letters hold the Gematria [numerical] values of 10 (Yod), 300 (Shin), 6 (Vav), and 70 (Ain). Working from a heptatonic scale perspective, I plotted where the 10th, 300th, 6th, and 70th notes would fall, assuming endless octaves. The 10th note would be the 3rd [note of the scale] (7 notes per scale + the next 3), the 300 would be the 6th (7 x 6 notes after 42 octaves will be the 294th note, + 6 = 300), 6 would also be the 6th, and 70 would be 7th (after 10 octaves). This process created a translation of Jesus’ original Hebrew name into musical notes, being the 3rd, 6th, 6th, and 7th of the scale. It is also somewhat serendipitous that the Gematria value for the name Yeshua is 386, leading to the 1st note on a 7-note scale, with the individual letters starting on the 3rd note, which, through hindsight artistic freedom, could symbolize God (1) and the Trinity (3). C major was used as it is one of the most common scales, also presented in a “purest” form of having no flats or sharps. This led to a base structure of E-A-A-B.”
Did you follow that?
Each interval of his bass line represents a letter spelling out Yeshua’s name in Gematria.
E (the 3rd), A (the 6th), A (the 6th again), and B (the 7th).
Afik continues with his choices for instrumentation.
“To bring the tune closer to Jesus’ historical origins, I chose to use the Kanun, a modern take on an ancient Mesopotamian zither, to play the underlying ostinato and opening tune of the base structure. You could also hear the Oud (generally considered a modern descendant of ancient Middle Eastern lutes), as well as several Middle Eastern percussion instruments.”
He quotes the Bible in 2 Samuel 6:5, “David and all the household of Israel danced before the Lord; with cypress artifacts, zithers, harps, drums, sistrums and cymbals.” (2 Samuel 6:5; CEB).
“These instruments are joined by an ensemble of Western instruments, symbolizing the integration of cultures and historical roots of Christianity that led to the birth of the Illumination podcast.
“Lastly, the main theme ascends three steps, symbolizing Jesus’ ascension and the Trinity.”
Wow. All of this in an 8-measure musical intro.
I get chills when I hear the thought and intention he put into this intro. You are all hearing a cascade of rhythms and chords, intermixed with ancient & modern instrumentation. Like the Bible, it is not put together happenstance, but with meticulous intention and deep meaning.
Think of it, if you were to listen to a tune of Jesus’ name, this is it.
Yeshua’s name has been put to music.
Thank you, my precious Afik.
Enjoy friends!
**Heather!
©2025 Heather M R Olsen, Illumination: Hebrew Insights. All rights reserved. 
