The Weird and Awesome World of Biblical Numerology

Be wary when digging into numerology because it’s been wildly paganized and contorted to fit all sorts of schemes. Even Christians have misapplied it.

But…is numerology biblical? I think it is, as the Bible references specific numbers all over the text, either explicitly or hidden throughout the Bible that you can spend some time tracking down. As always, diligence is required when studying the Bible.

Here are some of my favorites:

2 – Union, Witnessing or Verification

• Animals went 2 by 2 into Noah’s Ark
• 2 people (man and woman) become ONE flesh
• Bridegroom (Christ) and Bride (Church)
• 2 Thieves on the Cross with Jesus…and one was saved with Jesus, making a new 2.
• Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega
• Adam, the first directly created man by God; and Jesus, acting as the Second Adam.
• Israel and the Church, co-heirs in Christ. (Ephesians 3:6)
• Humans can either be born twice or die twice (Sheol and the Lake of Fire, the Second Death)….and if you’re born twice, you only die once!
• Two witnesses against the Beast and False Prophet (Rev. 11)
• Jesus sent out disciples 2 by 2 (Mark 6:7-13)
• The friendship and comraderie displayed by David and Jonathan. (1 Sam. 18 et seq.)
• 603,550 men of war came out of Egypt, but only Joshua and Caleb (the two faithful spies) were allowed to enter the Promised Land; the rest were killed by plague for their unbelief. (Exo. 28:26; Numbers 14:28-30; Deu. 2:14)
• The love, devotion, and kinship between Ruth and Naomi. “For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” (Ruth 1:16)
• 2 women with Biblical books named for them, Ruth and Esther.

3 – The Godhead or the Holy Trinity

• Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
• 3 Days between Death and Resurrection of Christ
• “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:16)
• Joseph spent three days in prison.
• Jonah spent three days in the great fish.
• Saul rested for three days after his vision on the road to Emmaus.
• In the Parable of the Talents, the master of the house had three servants. (Matt. 25)
• Queen Esther and her servants fasted for three days and nights before Esther approached the King to stop Haman’s plot to murder all of the Persian Jews. (Est. 4:16)
• Prophetically, the Exodus route is going to be referenced THREE times. The first time was by Israel. The second was by our Lord returning from Egypt after Herod’s massacre. The third is in the future – when Jesus returns He will land in Egypt (Isaiah 19), march to Bozrah (Isaiah 63), and then split the Mount of Olives when He returns to Jerusalem (Zechariah 14) before finishing off the Antichrist. What an awesome God.

4 – The Creation or Relating to the Creation

• The 4 Living Creatures (Ezekiel 1:5, Revelation 4)
• The pre-flood world was watered by 4 rivers. (Gen. 2:10)
• The 4 carpenters of Zechariah’s vision. (Zec. 1:20)
• The 4 winds of Heaven. (Zec. 2:6)
• The 4 chariots of Zechariah’s vision. (Zec. 6:1)
• The 4 corners of the Earth. (Isaiah 11:12)
• 4 men in the midst of the fire – the three men sentenced to death by Nebuchadnezzer standing with Jesus. (Daniel 3:25)
• Daniel’s 4 beasts representing the 4 kingdoms that will rule the world. (Daniel 7)
• 4 horns. (Daniel 8)
• 4 destroyers sent to Jerusalem: the sword, dogs, birds, and beasts. (Jeremiah 15:3, Ezekiel 14:21) It also corresponds to the 4th horseman released by the breaking of the 4th seal, who was given authority over a fourth of the Earth to to kill with the SWORD, FAMINE, PESTILENCE, and BEASTS. (Rev. 6:8)
• Philip’s 4 virgin daughters that prophesied. (Acts 21:9)
• The 4 descriptions of our physical world (breadth, length, depth, height) shall be comprehended by the faithful. (Eph. 3:18)
• 4 men bringing the paralytic to Jesus for healing. (Mark 2:3)
• Lazarus in the tomb for 4 days before his resurrection. (John 11:17)
• Jesus’ garments divided into 4 parts for each Roman soldier. (John 19:23)
• Jesus walked on water during the “fourth watch” (Matt. 14:25, Mark 6:48)

7 – Godly Perfection

• The righteous man will fall seven times, but get back up again. (Pro. 24:16)
• God rested on the seventh day.
• Noah’s Ark rested in the seventh month.
• 7 Feasts of Israel
• The 7 Letters to the 7 Churches in Revelation 2.
• 7 Seals, 7 Bowls, 7 Trumpets of Revelation.
• Seven Sabbath years. (Lev. 25:8)
• “Seven times a day I will praise You for Your righteous judgments.” (Psalms 119:164)
• Abraham ate 7 ewe lambs as a witness to his digging the well of Beersheba, on his way to “sacrifice” Isaac. (Gen. 21.)
• Moses tells Israel that God will clear out and destroy 7 pagan nations from the Promised Land. (Deut. 7:1-2.)

10 – Completion

• David sends 10 men to Nabal (husband of Abigail) to seek a gift. Nabal (“fool”) acts like a fool, but is saved by the diplomacy and respectful attitude of his wife, Abigail. When Nabal finds out from Abigail what he had almost gotten himself into, he suddenly dies 10 days later – struck by the Lord. (1 Sam. 25)
• The Ten Commandments
• The Ten Plagues of Egypt
• The Ten Horns of Daniel
• 10 men journeying in Acts 11:12
• A bastard’s lineage shall not enter the congregation until the 10th generation. (Deut. 23)
• Israel tempted God 10 times (Num. 14:22) after release from Egypt: (1) at the Red Sea (Exo. 14:11-12), (2) at Marah (Exo. 15:23), (3) in the Wilderness of Sin (Exo. 16:2), two rebellions concerning the manna (Exo. 16:20, Exo. 16:27), at Rephidim (Exo. 17:1), at Horeb (Exo. 32:7), at Taberah (Num.11:1), at Kibroth Hattaavah (Num. 11), and at Kadesh (Num. 14).
• Nehemiah rebuilds the wall of Jerusalem and has 10 children. Chron. 3:19-20 [kids 1-8], Matt. 1:13 [kid #9], Luke 3:27 [kid #10].)
• Jesus heals 10 lepers. (Luke 17:11-19) …yet only one gave thanks to God.
• In the Parable of the Virgins, there were ten of them, representing all Christian believers. (Matt. 25)
• 10 names are said twice together (or in a duplicated set) in the whole Bible, e.g., “Abraham, Abraham.” (Gen. 22:11 [Abraham], Gen. 46:2 [Jacob], Exodus 3:4 [Moses], 1 Sam. 3:10 [Samuel], Matthew 7:21-22 [“Lord, Lord”], Matthew 23:37 [Jerusalem], Luke 10:41 [Martha], Luke 22:31 [Simon], Acts 9:4 [Saul/Paul], and Mark 15:34 or Psalm 22 [“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”])

12 – The Kingdom of Heaven

• 12 Tribes of Israel named for the 12 sons of Jacob.
• 12 Apostles
• 12 Gates into the New Jerusalem
• 12 Thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel (Matt. 19-27-28)
• 12 wells of water that nourished Israel before they journeyed into the Wilderness of Sin (Exo. 15:27)
• 12 fruits bearing healing leaves in the Millennium (Rev. 22:2)
• Asaph wrote 12 psalms. (Psalms 50, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83.)
• God tells Moses to send 12 spies into the Promised Land. (Numbers 13)
• Jesus commissioned the 12 Apostles to preach the Kingdom of Heaven. (Luke 9.)

40 – Being Tested

• Rain for 40 days and 40 nights (Gen. 7)
• Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness and being tempted by Satan (Matt 4)
• Jesus preached for 40 days after his resurrection (Acts 1:3)
• Moses communed with God on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights (Exodus 24:18)
• The exodus of Israel through the wilderness lasted 40 years. (Acts 13:18)
• Moses’ 12 spies into the Promised Land took 40 days to complete their mission. (Numbers 13:25)
• Saul ruled Israel for 40 years, but he was not a good king and even God regretted making Saul king, but only did so because His people clamored for a king they didn’t deserve.

70 – A Greater Whole

• 70 nations are listed in the Table of Nations. (Gen. 10) There are only 70 nations the Bible recognizes and their boundaries are fixed according to the number of the children of Israel, which is 70. (Deu. 32:8, Exodus 1:5)
• Joseph’s family size when entering Egypt, symbolizes all of Israel (Gen. 46:27)
• All the descendants of Jacob were 70 persons. (Exodus 1:5)
• 70 weeks in Daniel’s end-time vision
• 70 palm trees at Elim that nourished Israel before the wilderness of Shur (Exo. 15:27) — see also the 12 wells of water.
• Jesus sends out 70 disciples. (Luke 10)

666 – The Coming World Leader? An adversary against God?

• Rev. 13:18 – “Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666.” (NKJV)
• 1 Kings 10:14 – Solomon’s gold income: 666 talents. This made Solomon the richest man in the world at that time.
• Ezra 2:13 – the people of Adonikam (“my Lord has risen,” or “my Lord arose”) returned to Jerusalem after the Exile, numbering 666. But see Nehemiah 7:18, he gives the number as 667.
• Goliath was 6 cubits in height, wore 6 items of apparel (bronze helmet, coat of mail, 2 leg coverings, bronze javelin, and his spear), and the spear’s head weighed 600 shekels of iron. (1 Sam. 17:4-7)

3,000 (3 x 1000) – ???

• 3,000 died when the Law was given. (Exo. 32:28)
• 3,000 were saved when the Holy Spirit was given. (Acts 2:41)
• (Or maybe it’s just a reiteration of “3” but multiplied?)

This doesn’t even scratch the surface.

CrossExamined puts out a great list summarizing biblical numerology.

But even this list is just a drop in the bucket!

Don’t wait. Get a copy of a good study Bible and delve into the Word of God: