Meaning of Numbers: The Number 60
Part of the meaning of the number 60 is derived from the fact that it is consider the threshold of when a person enters the last major phase of their life. The Apostle Paul warned Timothy that the church should not financially support widows less than 60 years old. This was because those who were younger were considered able to remarry or strong enough to support themselves (1Timothy 5:3 - 11).
Under the Old Covenant, a sixty-year-old male could redeem himself from a vow of serving the Lord by paying 15 shekels to the temple. A woman who was 60 could redeem herself from such a vow for only ten shekels (Leviticus 27:1 - 2, 7). This compares to younger adult males who had to pay fifty shekels while younger women paid thirty (verses 3 - 4).
Isaac, after his wife is healed of being barren, has his first two sons (Esau and Jacob) when he is 60 years old (Genesis 25:26).
Appearances of the Number Sixty
One of the last battles Moses fought before his death was against Og the King of Bashan. The king's territory, which made for excellent pastures, was northeast of the Sea of Galilee. Although he was a giant man (his bed was roughly 13 feet or 3.9 meters long, Deuteronomy 3:11), Og was soundly defeated by the Israelites. The 60 cities he controlled were taken by God's people and given to the tribe of Manesseah as part of their inheritance in the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 3:13, Joshua 13:11 - 12).
King Solomon was so wealthy that his household required daily, among many other provisions, 60 measures of fine flour (1Kings 4:22).
Rehoboam, the first king over Judah after a united Israel split in two, ultimately had eighteen wives and sixty concubines (concubines were women whose kids, through the king, could not inherit the throne). These 78 females produced 28 sons and 60 daughters (2Chronicles 11:21).
King Nebuchadnezzar made an idol of gold that stood 60 cubits. He then required, on pain of death, all those whom Babylon ruled to worship it. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's refusal to worship the idol got them thrown into a fiery furnace (Daniel 3).
The Apostle Paul is arrested by the Romans in early 58 A.D. for inciting a riot at Jerusalem's temple. He is then held in a Caesarea prison until the early autumn of 60 A.D. when He appeals his case, as a Roman citizen, to Caesar (Acts 24 - 26). His appeal starts what amounts to his fourth missionary journey as he must make the long journey to Rome. Luke the Evangelist accompanies him on the ship.
Now when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered up Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, who was of the band of Augustus.
And after boarding a ship of Adramyttium that was about to pass by the coasts of Asia, we set sail . . . (Acts 27:1 - 2, HBFV).
60 men escourted Solomon as he travelled to the love of his life.
Behold his carriage, Solomon's! Sixty mighty men are around it, of Israel’s mighty men (Song of Solomon 3:7, HBFV).
Number 60 and Worshipping God
Many offerings were made by the Israelites after Moses set up, anointed and sanctified God's wilderness tabernacle. Sixty rams, along with the same number of male goats and lambs that were a year old, were given as an offering when the altar was dedicated (Num. 7:1, 88).
Jerusalem's first temple, built by King Solomon, was 60 cubits long by 20 cubits wide by 30 cubits high (1Kings 6:2, 2Chronicles 3:3).
There were at least two sizes of cubits used in the Old Testament. The first or ordinary cubit was about 17.5 inches (44.5 centimeters) long. The second, known as the long or "royal" cubit, was about 20.4 inches (51.8 centimeters) long. The royal cubit was likely used by Solomon to build Jerusalem's temple (see 2Chronicles 3:3 where a cubit "after the first measure" is used) and possibly used in the construction of Noah's Ark.
Assuming an ordinary cubit was used, the temple's 60 cubits is equivalent to 87.5 feet (26.7 meters). If we assume a royal cubit was used, the length would be 102 feet (31.1 meters)!
More Info on Biblical Meaning of 60
60 is the product of 2 x 2 (or 2 squared) x 3 x 5. The numbers 2, 3 and 5 are primes.
In Gematria, the Hebrew letter Samekh represents 60. In the Greek alphabet it is represent by the letter Xi.
Sarah (wife of Abraham) and the variations of her name are recorded 60 times in fifty verses in the King James Bible. In the Old Testament, the King James spells her name Sarai seventeen times and Sarah thirty-nine times. In the New Testament, her named is spelled Sara in Romans 4:19, 9:9, Hebrews 11:11 and 1Peter 3:6. She is the most referenced woman, by name, in the entirety of Scripture.
The true meaning of Jesus' parable of the sower (Matthew 13:18 - 23, Mark 4:13 - 20) reveals some of the major responses people produce who hear God's truth. Those who are able to allow the truth to grow inside them, can produce fruit (good works, etc.) that is thirty, sixty or a hundred times more than what they received (Matthew 13:23).
Acts 7 is the only chapter in the King James Bible translation that has exactly 60 verses. The only two KJV books that contain more than this number of chapters are the Psalms and Isaiah. The sixtieth book in most modern translations, which was written between 64 and 65 A.D., is 1Peter.