Numbers in the Bible have a greater significance than simply quantity. They can be symbolic and be used to express theological concepts throughout the Old and the New Testaments. David Blower, a theologian and former Mathematics teacher explores their relevance from measurements to salvation.
Recently my attention was drawn to a mathematical formula on social media which would predict the sex of your soon-to-be-born baby. The rule was this: take the numerical value of the month in which the baby was conceived and add this to the age of the mother to be at the time of conception. If the result is even, you will have a girl, if it is odd then you will have a boy. It is unlikely that the sum of two numbers can have any relationship to the biological process by which the sex of the new-born baby is determined. However, it does reveal how we as humans look for certainty in situations of uncertainty and it reminds us that we are still capable of seeing a certain “magic” in numbers. While some people have a favourite number, others will attach a certain power to these numerals or see a hidden symbolism in their configuration.
Numbers are everywhere in our lives – they define our age and lifespan. We use them to measure, to count money, to produce statistics that help to make sense of our world. Mathematicians investigate the shape of numbers and the patterns that exist amongst them. For example, the numbers 3, 6 and 10 can all be represented as triangles of dots and hence are referred to as triangular numbers. One particularly fruitful area for mathematicians has been investigating prime numbers because they are important to cryptography, computer science and number theory.
Hebrew is a pictorial language, its 22 letters represent multiple images, sounds and numbers in their form, meaning and numerical value. One example is Bet(h), the letter B which first means ‘house’ and is drawn to depict a house, and when joined with the word lahem meaning bread – we get Beth-lahem – Bethlehem – meaning ‘house of bread’. It also has a numerical value of 2. The symbolic potential of the Hebrew alphabet, therefore, enables us to see dynamic patterns and meanings in the Old Testament, which further enhance their resonances in the New Testament since there are at least 224 direct Old Testament references in the New.
This way of approaching the Hebrew text became a subtle and complex discipline in certain forms of rabbinic and kabbalistic mystical thought. It is called Gematria, possibly with roots in Pythagorian philosophy from the 6th century BCE and perhaps is derived from the Greek word ‘geometry’.
So when we turn to the Bible, we do not find a magical understanding of numbers but we can discern both their practical use and their symbolic or theological role.
From about the 4th millennium, Egypt used a different mathematical system from Mesopotamia. Egypt preferred a decimal approach while Mesopotamia structured its life around units of 60 rather than tens. We use both disciplines now including in our divisions of time with seconds, minutes and hours. While these influenced Israel in its practical applications, there is little evidence in the Old Testament of our modern mathematical logic, apart from in 1 Kings 7:23 where an understanding of the relationship between a diameter and a circle are expressed using 3 as an approximation for π. “Then he made the sea of cast metal. It was round, ten cubits from brim to brim, and five cubits high, and a line of thirty cubits measured its circumference.”
We find plenty of examples of other measurements in the Bible: the length of life of key figures such as Adam or Methuselah; distances to be travelled such as Paul’s voyage by sea to Rome with its precise nautical measurements in Acts 27:28; quantities of food or drink in the feeding of the five thousand with the five loaves and two fishes in Mark 6 or Matthew 14, or the Marriage at Cana’s fiasco with no wine in John 2:1-12.
One of the most important examples of a measurement is found in the book of Exodus. The Israelite people are given direct instructions by God for building the Ark. It is to be 2.5 by 2.5 by 1.5 cubits, in other words 4.6m by 4.6m by 2.8m. It is understood that this account is tied to the actual and later dimensions of the Temple of Solomon mentioned in 1 Kings 6. Another critical measurement in both the Old and New Testaments is in the form of a census, a population count. Indeed, in the fourth book of the Pentateuch, called Numbers, it records in detail the population of the fighting men in Israel, accounts of tax payments and records of animals. Regardless of whether the figures mentioned are accurate, these numbers symbolise power and influence. Whereas at the time of Jesus’ birth in Luke’s gospel (Luke 2:1–2) Caesar Augustus decreed a census of the entire Roman world intended to assess people and assets for taxation, so residents were required to return to their original homes. However, this may have simply been a symbolic device to ensure that Mary and Joseph returned to Bethlehem – to the birthplace of King David where the Messiah was expected to be born.
On the other hand, to see how a number sometimes has a symbolic value which is then repeated throughout the scriptures, let us look at a particular example.
The number seven is of interest because it counts the number of days in the Creation story. In Genesis: 2:1-4, God completed his work on the seventh day. From this point onwards, we find that seven appears many times in scripture representing completion, wholeness and fulfilment. The meaning of the number seven in the Bible is also linked to exoneration and healing. Of course, seven marks the complete week: the days of work and the day of rest, the Sabbath. Sunday, the Christian Sabbath, should then be our day of recreation and healing from the working week.
Deuteronomy tells us that on every seventh year, the year of Jubilee, the Israelites were to cancel all the debts they had made with each other and free their slaves (Deuteronomy 15:1-2,12). When Peter asks Jesus how many times we are to forgive each other, Jesus replies: “seventy times seven” times (Matthew 18:21-22). Clearly this is not a literal measurement of 490 times. Instead, we have the sense of a complete forgiveness instructing us to forgive each other wholly. We see this in the context of healing, the prophet Elisha referenced the number seven when he directed Naaman the leper to bathe in the river Jordan seven times in order to be healed (2 Kings 5:9-10,14). It is worth noting that the Hebrew word for swearing an oath (shaba) and the Hebrew word for seven (sheba) derive from the same Hebrew root meaning satisfaction or fullness (saba). We can also appreciate this idea of completeness and healing when we consider the Babylonian exile. The prophecy is reiterated in Jeremiah 29:10: “For this is what the Lord says: ‘When Babylon’s seventy years are complete, I will attend to you and confirm My promise to restore you to this place”.
This concept of fulness or completeness appears in the New Testament such as in Acts 6:1,3 – “Now during those days, when the disciples were increasing in number, the Hellenists complained against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution of food… Therefore, friends, select from among yourselves seven men of good standing, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this task.”
The book of Revelation 20:15 and 21:1, 27 also invokes the number seven in its discussion of God’s promise to save those whose names are written in the Book of Life and condemn those whose names are not. The fulfilment of this divine promise is ushered in by several groups of seven: seven seals, seven trumpets sounded by seven angels, and seven bowls of God’s promised wrath carried by seven angels. (Revelation 6,8,11 and16).
It is important to understand the symbolic significance of the number seven in the Bible, but we must also be careful. There are times when the number seven appears but does not have this character. However, these occasions are rare and often when the number seven is part of a larger number, for example, “Methuselah lived after the birth of Lamech for seven
hundred and eighty-two years and had other sons and daughters.” (Genesis 5:31).
Other numbers in the Bible have a further significance, which if recognised can enrich our understanding of the scriptures and the nature of our covenant relationship with God. One example is the number forty.
In Genesis 7, rain fell for 40 days and 40 nights in the great flood.
In Numbers 32:13, the Israelites spent 40 years in the wilderness before entering the Promised Land.
In Exodus 34:28-35, Moses fasted for 40 days before receiving the Ten Commandments.
In Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13: and Luke 4:1-13, Jesus spent 40 days fasting in the wilderness before starting his ministry.
The number three might be considered the most important number theologically since it represents the Trinity. In Matthew 28:19, Jesus tells his disciples to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…”. Three is also associated with God’s actions such as when God appeared on Mount Sinai on the third day to deliver the Ten Commandments in Exodus 19:16, or when the prophet told the people that God would raise them up on the third day in Hosea 6:2, and when Jesus rose from the dead on the third day in all four gospels.
It is clear, that in the Scriptures when we see certain numbers being used and read, we should listen carefully for echoes of their presence in other texts which can sometimes illumine their meaning and deepen our faith.
David Blower STL, MA has degrees in mathematics and theology. He has spent over twenty years in mathematics education and many years providing parish catechesis.
