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Summary
- 616 is a genuine variant reading of Revelation 13:18, found in the third-century papyrus P115 and a correction in Codex Ephraemi. Most manuscripts read 666.
- Irenaeus knew of the 616 reading around 180 and argued against it, so the disagreement is nearly as old as the book.
- Both numbers point at the same name. “Neron Kaisar” in Hebrew letters totals 666; the Latin spelling without the final n totals 616.
- Nero is the obvious first-century referent, and the rumour that he would return reads suggestively alongside the beast whose fatal wound had healed (Revelation 13:3).
- Revelation 13:18 is the only place in Scripture where the reader is told a number requires calculation. That is the whole of the Bible’s cryptography.
Bibliography (Click to show)
Sources: Scripture quotations from the NIV via BibleGateway (Revelation 13:3, 18). The 616 reading is attested in Papyrus 115 (P.Oxy. 4499, third century) and as a correction in Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus; Irenaeus discusses and rejects it in Against Heresies V.30. The gematria of Neron Kaisar (666) and Nero Kaisar (616) in Hebrew letters, and the Nero redivivus legend, are standard in critical commentary on Revelation. The identification with Nero is the majority scholarly reading, not a certainty.
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