In order to understand the
Atbash Cipher theory, as it relates to the Baphomet mythos,
it is first important to examine the origins of the code. As early as
500 BC Scribes writing the book of Jeremiah used what we now know to be
the ATBASH
cipher.
This cipher is one of the few used in the Hebrew language.
The cipher
itself, ATBASH, is very similar to the substitution cipher.
A substitution cipher is one
where each letter of the alphabet actually represents another letter. In
the case of the Atbash cipher, the first letter of the alphabet
is substituted for the last, the second for the second last and so on.
The letter A becomes "Z"; the letter "B" becomes "Y" and so on.
Dead Sea Scrolls
Dr. Hugh Schonfield was one of the original researchers working
on the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran and is the author of many
books on Biblical history, most notably "The Passover Plot."
While working on the Dead Sea Scrolls, Schonfield used the cipher
to translate some words that were undetectable to the scholars. For
example applying the Atbash cipher to the word "hagu," he got the
Hebrew word, "tsaraph," which means, "test." The "hagu" passages are
important for they deal with "The Teacher of Righteousness," which some
scholars believe to have been Jesus.
Latterly, Schonfield became very interested in the charges of
heresy leveled against the Knights Templar and particularly the
etymology of the Baphomet. It was decided by Schonfield
that he would apply the Atbash cipher, which he was convinced the
Templars were aware of, to the Baphomet.
If one writes the word Baphomet in Hebrew and remember Hebrew
letters read from right to left, the result is as shown below:
[taf] [mem] [vav]
[pe] [bet] Baphomet In Hebrew Right to Left
Applying the Atbash cipher, Schonfield revealed the
following:
[alef] [yud] [pe] [vav] [shin]
Results In Sophia A Greek Word Written In Hebrew
Right To Left
Although written in Hebrew it reads as the Greek word Sophia that
translates into "Wisdom" in English. However, there is another
connotation to the term, for Sophia was the Goddess and
considered to be the bride of God.
It has been held by many that the Templars were followers of the
goddess or at very least in reestablishing the feminine aspect of
divinity that had been excised by the church. It should be remembered
that their patron, St. Bernard of Clairvaux had an absolute
obsession with Mary and was responsible for her being named the
queen of Heaven and the Mother of God.
Whether the Templars were devoted to the goddess or simply respectful of
wisdom, it cannot be argued that Schonfield’s Atbash cipher theory
is among the most plausible explanations of the etymology of Baphomet.
cipher.
This cipher is one of the few used in the Hebrew language. 
