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 "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.