Four hundred is the numerical value of the Hebrew letter Taw (ת), the last letter of the alphabet. In gematria, 400 represents completion, the boundary of the material world, and the threshold between the finite and the infinite. The letter Taw itself is often depicted as a cross or a mark, symbolizing a seal, a signature, or a final boundary.

Position on the Tree of Life

400 corresponds to the 32nd Path of the Tree of Life, the Path of Taw, which connects Yesod (Foundation) to Malkuth (Kingdom). This is the lowest and final path, governing the descent of spiritual energy into the physical plane. The number 400 thus marks the terminus of the Qabalistic journey through the thirty-two paths, embodying the completion of the Sephirotic structure.

Astrological and planetary correspondence

By association with the Path of Taw, 400 is linked to Saturn (Shabbathai). Saturn’s qualities of limitation, structure, and time align with the finality and material density that 400 signifies. In astrological Qabalah, this number grounds the abstract forces of the upper Sephiroth into concrete manifestation.

Historical context

The number 400 appears throughout Jewish and Hermetic Qabalistic literature. In the Bible, it marks the duration of Israel’s bondage in Egypt (Genesis 15:13) and the number of Esau’s men (Genesis 33:1), both emphasizing a period of trial or completion. In the Sepher Yetzirah, the letter Taw is assigned to the element of Water in some traditions, but more consistently to the final Sephirah Malkuth. Later Qabalists, such as those in the Zohar and the works of Isaac Luria, treat 400 as the numerical expression of the “four worlds” (Atziluth, Beriah, Yetzirah, Assiah) multiplied by 100, each world containing its own completeness. In Christian Qabalah, 400 is often read as the number of the cross (the shape of Taw) and of the four elements perfected.

In Liber 777, the numerical value 400 appears in the column “Numerical Value of Col. CLXXV” at the step of Path 32 (and its duplicate 32 bis). This placement directly ties the number to the final letter Taw, the planet Saturn, and the Sephirah Malkuth, sealing the table’s correspondence for the material terminus of the Tree of Life.