In Grabar, the Old Armenian language, կ stood for a sound that conformed to the Russian [к]. Of the two New Armenian literary languages, only the Eastern Armenian inherited this sound, while in the Western Armenian կ has retained its traditional way of writing.
According to one of the existing versions, letter Ծ derives from the Armenian letter Զ [z]. Supporters of another version believe that the graphic form of Ծ originates in letter of the Syriac еstrangelo – the oldest of all varieties of the Syriac script.
In Armenian, a Christian is also called “khachapasht” that means “someone who worships cross”. The numerical value of Խ is 40. This number is repeatedly used in the Bible: the flood lasted forty days and nights
The numerical value of lyun is 30. In the acrostic written by Mashtots, it stands for the word Լույս ([luys] – light). Light is the traditional symbol of divinity and sacredness, which originates in the Bible, where “God is light” (John, 11:5).
The mystic poet Grigor Narekatsi (X century) made letter Ի the symbol of grief and sins. Most of his “Book of Lamentations”, which consists of 95 chapters, is written in free verse.
The numerical value of Ժ is 10. It is noteworthy that Ժ denotes the beginning of a decimal line, i.e. the values of the next nine letters successively increase by ten. In the alphabetic acrostic written by Mashtots, letter Ժ stands for the word Ժամանակ ([zhamanak] – time).
The numerical value of Թ is 9. Number nine, which is the triple repetition of three, similarly represents the idea of the Holy Trinity. That is why, in the alphabetic acrostic written by Mashtots, letter Թ stands for a word that is the metaphor of the God – Թագաւոր (Таgаvоr – the king).
The numerical value of Ը is 8. In Christianity, this number implies renewal, revival, beginning of a new life.
Sanctity of Է is intensified by the fact that its numerical value is seven. This sacral number, considered as divine, is repeatedlyused in the Bible: seven sacraments, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, seven angels standing in the presence of God, seven thrones, seven seals.
The numerical value of letter Զ is six; therefore it was correlated with the sixth day of creation of the world, when the God created man in His image. In the alphabetic acrostic written by Mashtots, Զ stands for the word Զօրաւոր (mighty).