The New Testament contains a high number of words and phrases called Semitisms: a combination of poetic or vernacular "koine" Greek with Hebrew and Aramaic influences. A Semitism is the linguistic usage, in the Greek in a non-Greek fashion, of an expression or construction typical of Hebrew or Aramaic. In other words, a Semitism is Greek in Hebrew or Aramaic style. For example, Matthew begins with a Hebrew "gematria" (a method of interpreting Hebrew by computing the numerical value of words). In , Jesus is designated "the son of David, the son of Abraham". The numerical value of David's name in Hebrew is 14; so this genealogy has 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 from David to the Babylonian exile, and 14 from the exile to the Christ (). Such linguistic peculiarities tie New Testament texts to Jews of 1st-century Palestine.