what is the signifigance of numbers in the bible?

Question

i don't mean the book of numbers from the torah, i mean actual numbers. 7 is said to be the number of perfection (7 spirits, 7 churches of asia, 7 times around the wall of jericho), and it seems that the number 40 may have some kind of meaning also (40 days and nights of rain, 40 days of Jesus fasting in the desert, 40 years of moses wandering in the desert). what are some more numbers and what, if anything, do they imply?

Answer 1

Numbers are sometimes used in the bible to symbolize things. Example:

2-Signifies confirming a matter.
3-Symbolizes emphasis or intensity.
4-Signifies universalness or foursquare symmetry.
6-Signifies imperfection or adnormalness.
7-Signifies divinely determined completeness.
10-Signifies allness or completeness in an earthly way.
12-Signifies a divinely constituted government.
24-Signifies Jehovah's abundant organizational arrangement.

Answer 2

E.W. Bullinger wrote a book two inches thick on numbers in the Bible. I couldn't begin to scratch the surface.

2 = confirmation
3 = complete
4 = the world
5 = grace
6 = man
7 = perfection
8 = new beginning
40 = a time of purifying

The Greek Hebrew and Aramaic languages often use figures of speech instead of sentence structure, and numbers are used in many of those figures.

That's about all that I have on the subject.

Answer 3

Gods number is 12

Answer 4

3 stands for the trinity.6 stands for man .8 stands for a new beginning 33 and 333 stands for Jesus 153 stands for getting rewarded for doing God's work 666 stands for satan 888 stands for a blessing is coming.There are alot more in between.But numbers are important to God and man

Answer 5

I believed it is the number three because of the holy trinity and the three worlds. Also, the number three is seen in the bible in other areas as well.

Answer 6

I love 7.
May be 12?

Answer 7

maybe they could only remember a few numbers with out having to look them up when they where making the bible up so they just ran with those ones

Answer 8

GOD IS PERFECT IN ALL HIS WAYS..THE NUMBER 3 ALSO WAS USED IN JESUS' DEATH AND 3 DAYS IN THE BELLY OF A WHALE..
GOD DOES THE IMPOSSIBLE..
I COULD NEVER EVEN COME CLOSE TO HIS AWESOMENESS OF HOW HE DOES WORK..

Answer 9

Our Lord founded a Church (Matthew 16:18-19), not a book, which was to be the pillar and ground of Truth (1 Timothy 3:15). We can know what this Church teaches by looking not only at Sacred Scripture, but into History and by reading what the earliest Christians have written, what those who've sat on the Chair of Peter have spoken consistently with Scripture and Tradition, and what they've solemnly defined. To believe that the Bible is our only source of Christian Truth is unbiblical and illogical.

During the Reformation, primarily for doctrinal reasons, Protestants removed seven books from the Old Testament: 1 and 2 Maccabees, Sirach, Wisdom, Baruch, Tobit, and Judith, and parts of two others, Daniel and Esther. They did so even though these books had been regarded as canonical since the beginning of Church history.

When examining the question of what books were originally included in the Old Testament canon, it is important to note that some of the books of the Bible have been known by more than one name. Sirach is also known as Ecclesiasticus, 1 and 2 Chronicles as 1 and 2 Paralipomenon, Ezra and Nehemiah as 1 and 2 Esdras, and 1 and 2 Samuel with 1 and 2 Kings as 1, 2, 3, and 4 Kings—that is, 1 and 2 Samuel are named 1 and 2 Kings, and 1 and 2 Kings are named 3 and 4 Kings. The history and use of these designations is explained more fully in Scripture reference works.


"To get the full flavor of an herb, it must be pressed between the fingers, so it is the same with the Scriptures; the more familiar they become, the more they reveal their hidden treasures and yield their indescribable riches."-- St. John Chrysostom, A.D. 347-407



The Process of Lectio Divina
A VERY ANCIENT art, practiced at one time by all Christians, is the technique known as lectio divina - a slow, contemplative praying of the Scriptures which enables the Bible, the Word of God, to become a means of union with God. This ancient practice has been kept alive in the Christian monastic tradition. Together with the Liturgy and daily manual labor, time set aside in a special way for lectio divina enables us to discover in our daily life an underlying spiritual rhythm. Within this rhythm we discover an increasing ability to offer more of ourselves and our relationships to God, and to accept the embrace that God is continuously extending to us in the person of Jesus Christ.

Lectio - reading/listening
THE ART of lectio divina begins with cultivating the ability to listen deeply. When we read the Scriptures we should try to imitate the prophet Elijah. We should allow ourselves to become women and men who are able to listen for the still, small voice of God (I Kings 19:12); the "faint murmuring sound" which is God's word for us, God's voice touching our hearts. This gentle listening is an "attunement" to the presence of God in that special part of God's creation which is the Scriptures.

THE CRY of the prophets to ancient Israel was the joy-filled command to "Listen!" "Sh'ma Israel: Hear, O Israel!" In lectio divina we, too, heed that command and turn to the Scriptures, knowing that we must "hear" - listen- to the voice of God, which often speaks very softly. In order to hear someone speaking softly we must learn to be silent. We must learn to love silence. If we are constantly speaking or if we are surrounded with noise, we cannot hear gentle sounds. The practice of lectio divina, therefore, requires that we first quiet down in order to hear God's word to us. This is the first step of lectio divina, appropriately called lectio - reading.

THE READING or listening which is the first step in lectio divina is very different from the speed reading which modern Christians apply to newspapers, books and even to the Bible. Lectio is reverential listening; listening both in a spirit of silence and of awe. We are listening for the still, small voice of God that will speak to us personally - not loudly, but intimately. In lectio we read slowly, attentively, gently listening to hear a word or phrase that is God's word for us this day.

Meditation
ONCE WE have found a word or a passage in the Scriptures which speaks to us in a personal way, we must take it in and "ruminate" on it. The image of the ruminant animal quietly chewing its cud was used in antiquity as a symbol of the Christian pondering the Word of God. Christians have always seen a scriptural invitation to lectio divina in the example of the Virgin Mary "pondering in her heart" what she saw and heard of Christ (Luke 2:19). For us today these images are a reminder that we must take in the word - that is, memorize it - and while gently repeating it to ourselves, allow it to interact with our thoughts, our hopes, our memories, our desires. This is the second step or stage in lectio divina - meditation. Through meditation we allow God's word to become His word for us, a word that touches us and affects us at our deepest levels.

Prayer
THE THIRD step in lectio divina is prayer: prayer understood both as dialogue with God, that is, as loving conversation with the One who has invited us into an embrace; and as consecration, prayer as the priestly offering to God of those parts of ourselves that we have not previously believed God wants. In this consecration-prayer we allow the word that we have taken in and on which we are pondering to touch and change our deepest selves. Just as a priest consecrates the elements of bread and wine at the Eucharist, God invites us in lectio divina to hold up our most difficult and pain-filled experiences, and to gently recite over them the healing word or phrase God has given us in our lectio and meditation. In this prayer, this consecration-prayer, we allow our real selves to be touched and changed by the Word of God.

Contemplation
FINALLY, WE simply rest in the presence of the One who has used the Scripture word as a means of inviting us to accept a transforming embrace. No one who has ever been in love needs to be reminded that there are moments in loving relationships when words are unnecessary. It is the same in our relationship with God. Wordless, quiet rest in the presence of the One who loves us has a name in the Christian tradition - contemplation. Once again we practice silence, letting go of our own words; this time simply enjoying the experience of being in the presence of God.




"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." -- St. Jerome, A.D. 340-420