Equidistant Letter Sequences (ELS) Tool — Terms of Conduct

This page details the principles and conditions for using the TheFirstVerse Equidistant Letter Sequences (ELS) search tool, available at /els on the site. On entering the tool, a short summary of these principles is presented for informed consent; this page is the full and binding version. Use of the tool is also subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

The tool is independent research software in active development. Bugs or unexpected behavior may exist; reports are welcome via the contact page. Use of the tool is solely at the user's own risk.

Accuracy of results: the tool's algorithms aim to return all occurrences within the chosen parameter range, to the best of our knowledge — but any software may contain bugs or unknown edge cases. Differences with other ELS tools may arise from differing parameter conventions (skip threshold, step vs. letters-between, final-letter normalization), source-text choice, or implementation differences. The tool should not be relied upon as a sole source; any meaningful finding should be cross-validated in a separate, independent ELS tool.

Searches performed via the tool — terms searched, parameters, time of search, results, and flagged findings — may be captured anonymously by the TheFirstVerse team for:

• Improving scoring algorithms and probability computation.
• Identifying findings worthy of deeper review and possible future publication.
• Researching statistical phenomena in the Torah text.
• Bug fixing and field-monitoring of tool behavior.

In the visitor track, data collection is without personal identification. In the registered-user track, data is associated with the account for granting credit on findings.

Interpretation of the tool's results — attribution of meaning, intention, or any conclusion — is solely the user's responsibility.

ELS results vary in their probability and inferential power. A table that appears meaningful — even one with low statistical probability — does not necessarily indicate design or intention from a scientific standpoint. This depends on degrees of freedom, additional search parameters, meta information, and other methodological considerations.

The tables reflect what appears in the Torah at equidistant skips, but there is a large gap between a phrase appearing at an equidistant skip and what can scientifically be regarded as deliberately encoded information. Even when scientific intent can be attributed to a particular table or values, the inference of meaning can shift depending on additional words or phrases that cross the table or appear within it that were not accounted for. Approach all of this with sober care and full personal responsibility.

Before attributing meaning, intention, or prophecy to any result, the user is expected to evaluate it critically:

• Check the p-value (basic probability) via the probability computation function. Values below 0.001 indicate high statistical rarity under the null model; values above 0.05 indicate that the finding does not point to clear scientific intent within that model. Important: this parameter must be treated with limited certainty, particularly for attribution of meaning, intention, or inference. A low p-value is not 'proof' — it only marks rarity under a simple statistical model, without accounting for the full range of methodological degrees of freedom.
• Verify the finding with an independent external ELS tool — cross-validation strengthens confidence.
• Apply rational, statistical, and inner judgment together — never substituting one for the others.
• Account for degrees of freedom: how many spelling variants of the term were possible, how many skips were tested, what frame size was scanned — each reduces the standalone weight of an individual finding.

The user shall avoid drawing rapid conclusions. The position of TheFirstVerse on any finding is determined exclusively when the finding is officially published as an article on the site.

TheFirstVerse endorses and authorizes only what is published on the site itself — in reading articles, articles and scientific research, and the various sections of the site published by the site team.

Accordingly:

• Search results obtained in the tool — not an official TheFirstVerse position.
• Tables identified by the user — not an official TheFirstVerse position.
• Interpretations by the user or by others on tool results — not an official TheFirstVerse position.

Members of the team may personally believe in a finding, but if it has not been published on the site, it is not TheFirstVerse's stance. We respect and defend the work of WRR (Witztum-Rips-Rosenberg, Statistical Science 1994) and distinguish rigorous mosaic research from casual pattern-chasing.

TheFirstVerse encourages independent research with its tools. Using the tool for research requires particular care:

• Methodology — document the search method, number of queries tested, and filtering criteria. Reporting a 'strong finding' without documenting the rejected searches is not valid research.
• Look-elsewhere correction — selecting the best of a thousand options is not representative; the corrected probability is always lower.
• Wiggle room and selection bias — number of spelling variants, post-hoc skip choice, frame size adjusted to fit the finding — all affect the true probability.
• Honest reporting — report all attempts, not only the successful ones. Partial reporting is methodologically invalid.
• Pre-publication — cross-validate across multiple tools, consult researchers in the field, and submit the method to methodological critique.

Even with proper use, full responsibility for methodology, reporting, statistical corrections, and interpretation always lies with the user.

TheFirstVerse does not bear responsibility for incorrect conclusions, flawed publications, or interpretation errors made by the user — even when the tool was used.

The tool produces raw arithmetic outputs over a public text. The meaning of those outputs, the probability after appropriate corrections, and whether they merit publication or sharing — are questions for the user to answer through independent due diligence. Findings the user subsequently attributes to TheFirstVerse, absent explicit publication of those findings on the site, do not bind the site in any way.

Broad personal responsibility: responsibility for any interpretation, belief, lifestyle change, action, publication, or reliance based on tool search results lies solely with the user. To the fullest extent permitted by law, the site and its owners disclaim all liability for any harm, distress, belief, or outcome arising from use of the tool or reliance on its results, even when the user attributes them to material published on the site. For the full framing see the personal-responsibility clause in the general Terms of Use.

These terms may be revised when tool behavior, telemetry scope, endorsement policy, or research-use guidance materially change. When wording materially changes, re-acknowledgment of the updated terms is required on the next entry to the tool. Cosmetic edits do not trigger re-consent. The 'last updated' date at the top of this page reflects the current state.

For questions about these terms or the tool, contact via the contact page. Response is targeted within 30 days. The Hebrew version of these terms is binding in the event of any conflict between language versions.