THE NUMBER "FOUR" IN THE BIBLE

 

“Numbers play a prominent and varied role in the Bible. They appear throughout both Testaments, even though no part of the Bible has a purely scientific or mathematical purpose...Numbers are not only prevalent in the Bible, but their use is varied.” These uses include the conventional, rhetorical, symbolic and mysterious or hidden. (Dictionary of Biblical Imagery) We will illustrate two of these functions with the number four. There is no use in discussing the conventional applications here, and the examples of hidden purposes in the Bible are few and far between (perhaps in this category would be included 666).

As for the rhetorical utilization of numbers, one type found in the Hebrew Bible is known as x / x+1 poetic parallelism. This sounds like a rather technical term, but it represents a rather simple concept. Let me start out in explaining it by comparing it roughly to the English expression “One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, and four to go.” In this case, there is no particular significance to the numbers themselves except for the fact that they get higher each time. But the rhetorical function (how it affects the reader or hearer) is to accomplish two things: lead to an increase in intensity with each subsequent phrase and reach a state of completion with the last number.

In the Bible, this translates to expressions such as “Three things are too wonderful for me: four I do not understand.” (Proverbs 30:18) This phrase is followed in verse 19 by a listing of four examples that the poet has observed on earth. Note that “too wonderful for me” is another way of saying “I do not understand.” Thus, it falls into the general category of biblical parallelism of thought typical of Hebrew poetry. Did the poet start out with only three items in mind and then happened to remember a fourth one to add at the end? Obviously not since that same type of expression (usually involving the numbers 3 and 4) appears multiple times in Prov. 30 and eight times in Amos 1-2 as well as in Exodus 20:5; 34:7; Numbers 14:18; and Deuteronomy 5:9. Instead, the increasing numbers are used for their rhetorical value only.

In two separate articles in DBI, authors attempt to explain the exact meaning of this phenomenon, but they do not quite agree with one another. Thus, one says that “the intended effect of the parallelism is to impress the reader that there are many other unspecified [items] at issue here.” But another commentator states that “the move from the lower to the higher number is not for the purpose of arriving at the 'right' number, but to intensify the thought.” I believe that they are both correct but have neglected to notice another factor at work here. To explain what I mean, let us next consider the symbolic meaning of the number four.

Among the numbers chosen for their symbolic meaning, 3, 4, 7, 10, 12, and 1,000 are probably the most prominent in the Bible. Three is obviously symbolic for the Godhead; seven and ten for completion; 12 for the chosen people of God (tribes, minor prophets, major judges, and apostles); and 1,000 quite often stands for an unspecified large number. But what about the number 4? A number of scholars simply treat “4” as yet another way of expressing the concept of completion or universality, but I feel that answer is a partial one at best. Look at just some of the many ways “4” is used in the Bible, listed in no particular order:

Four rivers flowing from the garden of Eden to water the earth (Gen. 2:10-14)

Four major kingdoms in Daniel 2, 7, and 11

Four winds (10x in the Bible)

Four corners of the earth (Is. 11:12; Jer. 49:36; Ezek 7:2; Rev. 7:1; 20:8)

Four living creatures (Ezek. 1:1; 10:14; Revelation – 10x)

Four horses / horsemen patrol the earth and execute judgment on it (Zech. 1:7-17; 6:1:1-8; Rev. 6:2-8)

Four types of destruction for judgment (Jer. 15:1-3)

Four corners on the sheet in Peter's vision containing all the animals (Acts 10:11; 11:5)

Four similar groups of four in Revelation describing all humanity (every tribe, every tongue, etc.)

In addition, the number 4 figures very prominently in descriptions of the furnishings of the Tabernacle (Exodus 25-39), the Temple (I Kings 7), and the eschatological Temple found in Ezekiel 40-48. Later Jewish writers compared the Temple to a representation of creation.

One common factor in all of these appearances of “four” is that they refer in one way or another to the totality of something here on earth. I find added support in this opinion from at least two scholarly sources.

A. Concerning the x / x+1 sayings:

Hubbard: “Numerical sayings [usually involving the number four] are illustrations drawn from creation to shed light on the behavior of creation's most puzzling creature: the human being.”

B. Concerning the symbolic meaning:

Ellul: Four “is traditionally the number of the universe, which was understood in antiquity according to a rhythm of fours: four cardinal points, four seasons, four reigns, four elements, etc...Therefore, this number expresses all of creation.”

With this basic symbolic understanding of the number in hand, coupled with “three” as a symbol of God, basic arithmetic can be used to explain why:

Seven, as the total of 3+4, stands for completion. All that exists in the cosmos is God and what He created.

Twelve, as the product of 3x4, stands for God's chosen people, i.e. God working through representatives of His creation.