Meaning of Numbers
in the Bible

An essential key to understanding the design of God’s Word is through the meaning of Biblical numbers. The connections and patterns of numerals, when we search them out and understand them, reveal the handiwork of God. Although the arrangement of some is obvious, others are not and require in-depth study. The Biblical numbers found do not exist by random chance but by design. Each one has a particular meaning and symbolism attached to it by our Creator.

Those who research the Bible have discovered patterns in the occurrences and frequency of certain Hebrew and Greek words. These offer additional proof that God inspired every word used in the book that boldly proclaims to reveal His will, plan, and purpose for man. God challenges us through Isaiah that HE ALONE is Creator:

"'To whom then will you compare Me, or who is My equal?' says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold, who has created these things, who brings out their host by number." (Isaiah 40:25, The Holy Bible in Its Original Order, Second Edition).

The awesome complexity of the earth itself, as well as the infinite vastness of the universe (which man cannot even begin to comprehend), are silent witnesses of the existence and wisdom of a Master Designer. The creator God operates the universe based on mathematical laws and principles made by him. Indeed, God has wonderfully revealed Himself through His creation (Romans 1:20). Though the scientific community has discovered several of these immutable laws, men actually know "little to nothing" about God’s limitless universe.

A giant spiral galaxy 170,000 light years across with one trillion stars.

Numbers are the secret code of God's Word. Only to the students of the Word, those to whom God's Spirit has given spiritual insight, will the code be plain. God is 'The Great Geometrician' and does everything after a plan by number, weight, and measure. If God is the Author of the Scriptures and the Creator of the Universe (and He is) then the Words of God and the Works of God should and will harmonize" (page 19).

Imagine what the Bible would be like without the direct inspiration of a single Author:

"[The] various writers of the different books, men who lived in different ages, and most of whom never saw the others, would have crossed up each other had they not all been guided by a master mind, ONE, Who never makes a mistake, and Whose knowledge and wisdom comprehend the events of all time. The precision with which the Bible numbers all fall into their places cannot be accounted for except by the supernatural power and wisdom of a God Who is infinite" (Ibid., page 20).

From creation to about 90 AD, some 40 key Biblical writers were involved in compiling the Scriptures. A single author would have to be an absolute genius to develop the numerical design found in the Bible. However, to have 40 separate authors, writing over a period of nearly 3800 years, consistently following a complex numerical pattern - the odds would be beyond calculation. It would simply be impossible - apart from the direct inspiration of God.

It is interesting to note that, on average, ONE in every FIVE scriptural verses contains a number. The meaning of such frequently used numbers found within the Bible reveals the mind of God and the divine design of His revelation to man.

We have shown and established the supernatural design in the use of number, both in the works of God and in the Word of God. We now come to the spiritual significance of the numbers themselves. We propose to take them in order, and to give under each not merely lists of passages or things, but first to define and explain the significance of the number. We will then illustrate its meaning, and show its teaching, as applied to its use. We will also show per numeral the things mentioned, the occurrences of words and things, the words used for a thing, and the numbers formed by the letters of the words themselves (which the ancients called Gematria). This is the use of the letters of the alphabet instead of figures. Not known to the more ancient nations, Arabic numerals are a comparatively modern invention.

The Hebrew Alphabet consists of twenty-two primary letters. It has five others that are variations of existing letters, for twenty-seven letters total.

There were twenty-seven (27) letters in the ancient Greek alphabet. Three (3) of the letters with an equivalent value (Digamma, Qoppa, and Sampi - which represents the numbers 6, 90 and 900 respectively) were used only in certain Greek dialects and are now obsolete.

We shall now endeavor to discover the hidden symbolism of numerals found within God's word.