THE BIBLE BY THE NUMBERS

One – Since God is totally unique, this is an apt number to apply to Him, as in Deuteronomy 6:4: “The Lord our God is one Lord.” It carries over to the NT in places such as I Corinthians 8:6 – “For us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”

The article on “Numbers in the Bible” in The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery begins by stating: “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. The history of biblical interpretation demonstrates four potential uses of numbers: conventional, rhetorical, symbolic and hidden.” So below is a quick review of some of the symbolic and rhetorical possibilities found in both the Old and New Testaments.

It carries over to the NT in places such as I Corinthians 8:6 – “For us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ through whom are all things and through whom we exist.”

Two – No other number is as important in the Bible in terms of frequency of occurrence (roughly 600 times). Two is the basic minimum number required for any sort of communion or companionship, as in the marriage bond. It is also the minimum required for a legal witness (see Deuteronomy 17:6; John 20:3; Revelation 11:3) and the number of people to be sent out on important missions (Genesis 19:1; Mark 6:7).

There are also numerous dualities present in the biblical writings, some complementary to one another and others in conflict. Examples include: day and night, heaven and earth, the way of the righteous and the way of the evildoer, In the stories of the patriarchs, there are many examples of contrasting sons, such as Cain and Abel, Ishmael and Isaac, and Jacob and Esau.

Three – Even though God is a unity, it is a unity of three parts: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In the NT, Christ is pictured with two others at the theophany appearing at the Mount of Transfiguration, and he is crucified with two others at his side.

Four – In one way or another, this number is often connected with the completeness of creation, as in the following cases: the four rivers flowing out of Eden (Genesis 2:10), the four winds (Jeremiah 49:36; Ezekiel 37:9), the four living creatures (Ezekiel 1; Revelation 4:6), and the four-cornered sheet containing all the animals of the earth (Acts 10:11).

Five – As half of the perfect number 10, it can represent one of the two tablets of the commandments, the half of the 10 virgins in Jesus' parable of Matthew 25:2 who were saved, the Pentateuch, the five major sermons in Matthew, etc.

Six – Since man was created on the sixth day and he is a little lower than the angels, it is appropriate for this number to represent imperfection – something short of the perfect number 7. And when such a created being attempts to raise himself to the status of the three-fold God, all he achieves is 666, a trinity of imperfection.

Seven – The symbolism represented by this number stems from the seventh day being the day when the Creation became complete. So it stands for completeness or perfection throughout the Bible. Therefore it is not at all surprising that we find the most references to seven or its multiples in the final book of the Bible, the Revelation of John. I have counted 45 key words or phrases which appear exactly seven times or multiples of seven in this completing book, and I am sure there are many more.

Eight – This number rarely occurs in the Bible, but in some sense it can be viewed as the equivalent of the first day of a new week since it follows the seventh. Thus, it can represent a new beginning. We see this usage in passages such as I Peter 3:20, which notes that eight people were saved from the flood in order to seed the new creation on earth. In a similar manner, a young boys' circumcision was to be carried out on the 8^th day after his birth (Genesis 17:12 and Philippians 3:5) and the priests in the new Temple were to make their offerings on the eighth day (Ezekiel 43:27).

Ten – Along with 7, this number represents completeness and it probably arose from the decimal system, which was in turn based on the ten digits on the hands and feet. It, and its multiples, appear multiple times in the Bible, sometimes as a representative round number and sometimes for its symbolic meaning. So, for example, we have 10 plagues and commandments, the commandment to tithe, and multiple references to the number in Jesus' parables (see Luke 15:8; 19:11-27; and Matthew 25). Various powers of 10 such as 100, 1,000, and 10,000 stand for large but indeterminate numbers.

Twelve – As the product of 3 (God) and 4 (creation), this number can be said to represent occasions where God is working through created beings, as in the 12 chosen OT tribes, the 12 judges of Israel; or the 12 Apostles.

Thirteen – This number is not specifically found in the Bible, but its historical association with bad luck stems from the fact that there were 13 people present at the Last Supper shortly before Jesus' arrest, trial and crucifixion.

Seventeen – This would seem to be an ideal number to represent completeness since it is the addition of two symbolically perfect numerals, seven and ten. But only the author John appears to utilize it in that manner. In his Gospel, there are 17 quotations having an introductory formula; exactly 17 occurrences in the text of the words “sign(s)” and “see/believe” (blepein) and the phrases “eternal life/life eternal” and “Simon Peter.” In addition, there are 17 references in the Gospel to the “hour / time coming” (erchomai). It is stated 17 times in the Gospel that God “sent” Jesus. Taken together, these references practically define the theme of the book. To these examples can perhaps be added, by one count, the 68 (4x17) appearances of the designation “the Jews” in the Gospel, especially since the idea of Jesus replacing the Jewish institutions is one of the more pervasive themes of the book.

Finally, there is the puzzling appearance of 153 fish in the catch of John 21:11. Since the time of Augustine, it has been explained as the sum of all numbers between 1 and 17. There are alternative explanations for the number 153, but the symbolic one remains very attractive in light of John’s demonstrated use of numbers in this manner.

And in Revelation, there are exactly seventeen references to God's throne in chapters 4-5 as well as another seventeen outside of those chapters.

Twenty-Two – Since this is the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet, it is used as the basis of the alphabetic acrostics in the Bible such as Psalm 119, which has 22 chapters, each succeeding one representing these letters in order and each one with lines beginning with that letter. This is appropriate since God's Word is now related directly to the letters used to express that Word.

Twenty-Four – As the sum of 12+12, it is appropriate that it be used to describe the 24 elders of Revelation 4:4,10 who are representative of the chosen of God from both the OT (Jewish tribes) and NT (apostles).

Forty – Besides its use as a round number meaning an indeterminately long time, 40 is often associated with times of trial or hardship such as the duration of the flood, times of fasting for Moses and Elijah, the years of wandering in the wilderness, and Jonah's prophecy that in 40 days Nineveh would be destroyed.

Fifty – This is the symbolic age of maturity in Israel (see Numbers 4 and John 8:57). It also figures importantly in the Jewish calendar of feast days as, for example, the Day of Pentecost and the Year of Jubilee.