Is 666 the Number of the Beast in Rev 13:18?

Scarcely a day goes by that we don’t hear mention of the man whose number is 666 in reference to Revelation 13:18, but the Hebrew text of Revelation 13:18 has a very different meaning than the English translation of the Greek text. Also, Rev 13:18 doesn’t begin with a waw, evidence that it is the start of a new paragraph, and Rev 14:1 where the Lamb stands upon Mount Zion, begins with a waw indicating it is a continuation from the previous verse.

Rev 13:18 in Hebrew, reading right to left is as follows:

בזה החכמה מי אשר לו תבונה יחשב מספר החיה כי מספר בן אדם הוא ומספרו שש מאות וששים ושש׃

My translation of the Hebrew text of Rev 13:18 is as follows: “In who (1) the wisdom outpouring (2)  leader (3)  to him understanding (4) will impute (5) from book (6)  the living (7) mark (5) from book (8) son (9) Adam (9) he himself (5) and from book (10) fine linen (11) from mark (10) and fine linen of them (10) and fine linen.”

1. The Hebrew זה (Strong’s H2088) means ‘this’ or ‘who, that, which’.  Found with the beth ב prefix that means ‘in, with’.
2. The Hebrew מי (Strong’s H4325) means ‘flowing, pouring, running’, hence ‘water’ as a material element, fig. ‘seed’ in Isa 48:1.
3. The Hebrew אשר (Strong’s H833) means ‘walk, to be led, guided’, also ‘to be straight’ in a moral sense ‘to be right, honest, upright’.  Often classified as Strong’s H834 that means ‘who, which, that’, perhaps to lead us astray from the real meaning.
4. The Hebrew חשב translated ‘let him count’ means ‘impute’ in Lev 7:18, 17:4, & Num 18:27.
5. The Hebrew ספר (Strong’s H 5612) means ‘document, writing, book’.  In a broader sense it also means ‘to make incisions, marks’ hence ‘to number, to count’ (Strong’s H5608).
6. The Hebrew חיה (Strong’s H2416) means ‘alive, living’. This word requires a thorough analysis because it is translated ‘living’ or ‘beast’, especially in Genesis 1 – 3 and Revelation to lead us astray. Like Adam became ‘a living soul’ in Gen 2:7, Satan became ‘the living’ when he was thrown out of heaven in Rev 12:7 – 12. Which is why the spirits of the dead, all the leaders of the earth, all the kings of the nations said to him “Even you have been made weak as us, you have become like us” in Isa 14:9 – 10.   
7. The Hebrew כי (Strong’s H3588) means ‘that, for, when’, but in Isa 3:24 (Strong’s H3587) it means ‘a prick, a mark, a brand’, and that appears to be the underlying meaning of the word.
8. The Hebrew בן that means ‘son’ is not translated, and the Hebrew אדם that means ‘Adam’ is translated ‘man’, disguising the fact that this verse is about Yahshua, whose title is ‘son Adam’.
9. The Hebrew הוא (Strong’s H 1931) means ‘he, she, it’, sometimes equivalent to ‘himself, herself, itself’, emphasizing the subject.
10. The Hebrew word שש (Strong’s H8336) means ‘fine white linen, the clothes of the priest and persons of distinction’, or ‘white marble, for pillars’ in Esther 1:5. Interestingly, the Greek transliteration of ‘six’ is ‘hex’! We might wonder if the Greek text puts a spell on us?
11. The Hebrew אות (Strong’s H226) means ‘a mark, sign, pledge, token’.  The Hebrew word that means ‘hundreds’ is מאה (Strong’s H3967) found in Rev 7:4.

Looking at each and every word mistranslated in this one verse, it becomes apparent how vulnerable we are having to rely on the English translation found in all Bibles. This verse is clearly about Yahshua, the ‘son Adam’ and those who are made clean through his sacrifice, but they have turned the meaning up-side down to be about Satan and his mark.

I recommend you test my translation to ensure it is accurate.  Every minute we spend in the Hebrew text adds to our ability to rightly divide the Word of Yahweh.  It is the Word of Yahweh that refines us, so that we can stand before Yahweh and not be destroyed by his fire.