All numbers in the original languages of the Bible are
written using words, not numerals. Neither the biblical Hebrew nor
the Koine Greek writing system had distinct written numeral forms to
represent numbers. Preexilic Hebrew inscriptions record numbers
written either with words or in Egyptian hieratic number glyphs.
During the exile, exposure to Aramaic resulted in the adoption of the
Aramaic script to write Hebrew, but there are no clear indications
that an Aramaic number system (as reflected in, e.g., the Elephantine
inscriptions) was adopted. Hebrew later emulated Greek in assigning
to the letters of the alphabet numerical values and so employing them
to record numbers, although the practice of assigning numerical
values to glyphs is also attested in pre-Hellenistic times. In
Mesopotamia, for example, the practice of assigning numerical values
to characters from their syllabic writing system seems to have
existed at least as far back as the eighth century BC. The earliest
evidence of this practice in Hebrew dates to no earlier than the
middle of the second century BC, when it was used on Hasmonean coins.
The
value and importance of numbers was widely recognized throughout the
ancient world. Sophisticated mathematical texts are attested in both
Mesopotamia and Egypt, although no such texts have been discovered
originating in ancient Israel. The use of hieratic numbers in
preexilic Israel suggests that mathematical knowledge may have been
imported, particularly from Egypt. The Akkadian language adapted from
Sumerian a hybrid sexagesimal number system, which used cuneiform
symbols to represent numbers. Numbers were written in paired glyphs,
one representing the values from 1 to 9, the second representing the
multiples of 10 up to 50. For example, 59 was written by combining
the glyph for 50 with that for 9. Larger numbers were then composed
of sets of these paired glyphs. The impact of the sex-a-ges-i-mal
system can still be seen in the division of hours and minutes into
sixty parts. Most other Near Eastern cultures, including that of
ancient Egypt and Israel, used a decimal system.
The
decimal system was also used in the Greek-speaking world, and the
Greek language, since before the NT era, had employed letters to
represent numbers. The use of archaic letters that had otherwise
disappeared from general usage by NT times gave the Greek alphabet
twenty-seven letters, which provided the basis for representing
ranges 1–9, 10–90, 100–900. Numbers were
represented by adding letters together, so that the order of letters
was unimportant.
When
Hebrew started using letters to represent numbers, a similar scheme
was adopted, although it necessarily stopped at 400 because the
Hebrew alphabet has only twenty-two letters. For some, this suggests
that Hebrew may have appropriated the system from Greek, but the same
sequence of values in earlier counting indicates that the association
of values 1–9, 10–90, 100–900 with the letters of
the alphabet was itself not a Greek innovation.
Number
Symbolism
Numbers
often are used with symbolic significance in the Bible. Particularly
prominent are the numbers 7 and 12, together with variations scaled
by powers of 10. Other numbers occur frequently and also appear to
have some symbolic significance, including 4, 40, and 1,000. A note
of warning is pertinent, however, because there is a danger both of
finding number symbolism where there is none and of overlooking the
symbolic significance of numbers where it is appropriate.
Perhaps
the most prominent symbolic association in the Bible occurs with the
number seven. Broadly speaking, seven denotes completeness,
perfection, or consummation. The number first appears in the creation
account in association with the first Sabbath, in which it is tied to
completion and rest. Linked to this are the working week, which
concluded with a Sabbath, the sabbatical year for the land (Lev.
25:2–7), the duration of the major feasts over seven days
(e.g., Passover [cf. Lev. 23:6, 34; Ezek. 45:21]), even the number of
years Jacob worked for Leah and then Rachel (Gen. 29:15–30).
God’s promise of comprehensive vengeance upon those who harm
Cain is reflected in the use of seven (Gen. 4:15; cf. Pss. 12:6;
79:12; Prov. 6:31; Isa. 30:26). The idea that seven represents
completeness can be seen in the seventy nations recorded in Gen. 10
and in the description of Yahweh as having seven eyes (Zech. 4:10).
In the NT, the symbolic use of seven is expanded: it is used by Jesus
in explaining unlimited forgiveness (Matt. 18:21–22) and most
extensively by the author of Revelation, where reference is made to
seven churches (1:4, 11, 20), spirits (1:4; 3:1; 5:6), golden
lampstands (1:12; 2:1), stars (1:16; 2:1), seals (5:5; 6:1), eyes
(5:6), angels (8:2, 6; 15:6, 7, 8; 16:1; 17:1; 21:9), trumpets (8:2,
6), thunderclaps (10:3, 4), crowns (12:3), heads (12:3; 13:1; 17:3,
7, 9), plagues (15:6, 8; 21:9), golden bowls (15:7; 16:1; 17:1),
mountains (17:9), and kings (17:10).
Arising
out of the observations relating to the symbolic use of the number
seven are the manner in which its significance also applied to
related numbers such as 7 × 7 = 49 (cf. Lev.
25:8–55) and 7 × 10 = 70 (cf. Exod. 24:1,
9; Jer. 25:12; 29:10; Dan. 9:2, 24; Luke 10:1–17).
The
next most significant number with symbolic associations is twelve. In
the OT, the primary association is with the tribes of Israel, and
this association later develops to encompass God’s people in
their entirety. It is likely that such an association is deliberately
made in Jesus’ choice of twelve apostles.
The
number ten is also associated with the practice of tithing, which was
common throughout the ancient Near East. The number ten alone does
not have a clear symbolic usage, although when a power of ten (e.g.,
1,000 or 10,000) is used, these can represent any vast or unnumbered
quantity (see “Large Numbers” below). Ten is also used in
combination with other symbolic values to express the same symbolic
notion emphatically; for example, 70 (7 × 10) or 77
(7 × 10 + 7) become emphatic affirmations of
completeness, perfection, or consummation (e.g., Gen. 4:24; Matt.
18:22).
The
number four appears to have some symbolic significance, perhaps due
to the typical enumeration of the four cardinal directions,
suggesting geographical or cosmological entirety (cf. Isa. 11:12;
Jer. 49:36; Zech. 6:5). For example, four rivers leave Eden to water
the entire land (Gen. 2:10–14).
The
number forty appears frequently in association with long periods of
endurance, such as Moses on the mountain (forty days [Exod. 24:18]),
the time in the wilderness (forty years [Exod. 16:35]), Elijah’s
journey to Horeb (forty days [1 Kings 19:8]), Jesus’ time
in the wilderness (forty days/nights [Matt. 4:2; Mark 1:13; Luke
4:2]), and his time with his disciples following the resurrection
(forty days [Acts 1:3]).
Large
Numbers
Some
scholars have argued that the large numbers in the OT present a
particular problem in several places. Based on the figures in Num. 1,
for example, there were 603,550 men of fighting age among those in
the exodus, suggesting a total population of between one and three
million (not counting livestock). Taken at face value, this number
presents some difficulties: based on estimates of Egyptian
population, it represents a very significant proportion of the entire
population of that country; taken in conjunction with the number of
firstborn recorded in Num. 3:43, it implies a very large average
family size; it seems difficult to reconcile with the claim that the
seven nations in the land of Canaan were greater than Israel (Deut.
4:38; 7:1; 9:1–2); and the logistics of moving that many people
would pose significant problems.
However,
if the observation made by Pharaoh in Exod. 1:9, that the Hebrews
were more numerous than the Egyptians, was even approximately
accurate, then a population of between one and two million would be
appropriate. Nonetheless, various attempts have been made to mitigate
the perceived difficulties by suggesting approaches that interpret
the text in ways that result in significantly smaller population
estimates for the Israelites.
The
largest single-number word used in the OT is rebabah, which is used
to represent large values greater than ten thousand but otherwise
often lacks precision and is better understood to refer to a vast
unnumbered multitude (e.g., Pss. 3:6; 91:7; Song 5:10). Similarly,
the number one thousand can be used rhetorically without demanding
mathematical precision (e.g., 2 Pet. 3:8, which should not be
understood to provide a mathematical equation). It is this latter
number that appears in the difficult passages in Numbers. The best
solution to the problems lies in the meaning of the Hebrew term in
question, ’elep (“thousand”). Several scholars have
suggested that ’elep can also refer to a military unit or some
other group (cf. Num. 1:16). Although the precise numbers in question
are debated according to varying understandings of the sizes of the
groups, the best solutions put the total number of Israelites in the
exodus at around thirty thousand.
Gematria
Gematria
is a system for calculating numerical values for words by assigning
specific values to the letters of an alphabet. As noted above, the
practice was used for legitimate numerical notation in Greek and, in
some periods, in Hebrew. Letters were assigned values based on their
order within the alphabet, the first nine letters assigned values
1–9, the next nine assigned values 10–90, and the
subsequent letters assigned multiples of 100.
Although
numerology of various forms, and in particular gematria, has formed
the basis of many misguided attempts to discover hidden meanings
within the biblical text, there appear to be explicit uses of
gematria in Rev. 13:18 and, some suggest, in John 21:11. If the
number 666 is an actual example of gematria, no consensus has been
reached over the identity of the referent.
Most
of the other supposed examples of gematria within the pages of the
Bible are unconvincing, largely because the texts wherein such
examples are found make good sense without resorting to obscure and
uncertain interpretations, and partly because it runs counter to the
notion that God speaks to make his will known (e.g., Deut. 29:29).
