Meaning of Numbers in the Bible
The Number 1

Question?   -   New   -   YOUR AD HERE!
Biblical Meaning of Numbers
1   -   2   -   3   -   4   -   5   -   6   -   7   -   8   -   9
10   -   11   -   12   -   13   -   14   -   15   -   17
20   -   21   -   24   -   30   -   33   -   40   -   111
222   -   333   -   444   -   555   -   777   -   MORE!

Meaning of Numbers: The Number 1

The number 1 is only divisible by itself. It is independent of any other numeral yet composes them all. Its meaning in the Bible centers on the unity and primacy of the God family being one. What is known as the Shema (or Shema Yisrael), a quote of verse four in Deuteronomy 6:4 that is often used in Jewish prayer services, attests to this fact.

The number 1 also represents the unity between God the Father and His Son Jesus (John 10:30). Jesus, by his singular sacrifice, has made possible the forgiveness of all our sins. He is the one Mediator and Shepherd (1Timothy 2:5; John 10:16) in the life of a Christian.

The Old and New Testaments have an incredible unity of one (1) between them. More than a third of the New Testament is composed of Old Testament quotes. Many writings from the prophets and Psalms could not be understood without the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament.

Prophecies in places like Isaiah 53 would not be correctly understood as referring to the Messiah if the Gospels did not exist. Such examples are a testament to the unified nature of the Scriptures and offer proof of its direct inspiration by God.

Appearances of the Number One

Of the ten shortest books 2John, 3John, Philemon, Jude and Obadiah are the shortest with only 1 chapter.

Words that show up only 1 time in the King James Version translation of Scripture include Reverend (Psalms 111:9), Grandmother (2Timothy 1:5) and Eternity (Isaiah 57:15). Other words such as Forgetfulness (Psalm 88:12) and Lukewarm (Revelation 3:16) also appear only one time.

The first English translation of Scripture was in 1382 A.D. by John Wycliffe. The first printed Bible using movable type was produced by Johann Gutenberg in 1456. William Tyndale (1494-1536) was the first person to translate Scripture into English from its original Greek and Hebrew.

The first thing designated as Holy is God's Sabbath Day (verses 1 to 3 in Genesis 2). The first person called a prophet is Abraham (Genesis 20:7).

The first of the ten commandments, on which all others are founded and without which is chaos, destruction and death, is "Worship no god but me" (Exodus 20:3).

First Words

Between his birth and the beginning of his ministry at age 30, the scriptures record only 1 sentence Christ spoke. He spoke it at the age of twelve right after he and his parents kept the Passover in Jerusalem. When asked why his parents could not find him after the Feast he said "Didn't you know that I had to be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:49).

What was Jesus' very first public message? Did he chastise the religious leaders of his day for hypocrisy? Did he rail against sin? Did he correct people for disobeying God? Did he promise torture for all eternity to sinners? No, Jesus' first sermon had nothing to do with these subjects. He began the public part of his ministry with a reading of verses 1 and 2 of Isaiah 61 which proclaimed a Jubilee message of hope and a brighter future (see Luke 4:18 - 19)!

Number 1 and Jesus

Jesus is called the firstborn of every creature (Colossians 1:15) and the firstborn not only of the dead (1:18) but also among many brethren (Romans 8:29). He is also called the "first of the firstfruits" (1Corinthians 15:20, 23), meaning that he is the first one of many to be resurrected to eternal life (especially those in the first resurrection, see Revelation 20:6).

Christ referred to himself as the first or Alpha (the first letter of the Greek language) several times in the book of Revelation (1:11, 17, 22:13).

The apostle Peter tells us bluntly that it is through the one name of Jesus Christ, and him alone, that a person can receive salvation and live forever (Acts 4:10 - 12). There is no other name in all creation, in spite of the sincerity of countless billions who believe in other paths to salvation, eternal life and so on, by which mankind can connect to the true God and fulfill their destiny.

More Info on Biblical Meaning of 1

The number 1 cannot be a prime since primes are defined as any integer greater than 1 that is not the product of two smaller integers.

In Gematria, the value of 1 is represented by the Hebrew letter Alef. In the Greek alphabet it is represented by the letter Alpha.

There are eight Biblical writings that are distinguished in their name by using a 1. These are 1Samuel, 1Kings, 1Chronicles, 1Corinthians, 1Thessalonians, 1Timothy, 1Peter and 1John. There are also, not surprisingly, eight book titles that begin with 2. Only one writing in God's word, 3John, begins with a three.

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the church at Ephesus, emphasized the uniqueness of the Christian calling when he stated there was only one (1) true spiritual body of believers where all share a singular spirit (the Holy Spirit).

There is one body and one Spirit, even as you were also called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Ephesians 4:4 - 5).

Recommended Articles
How Is Jesus the Alpha and Omega?
Was Jesus Depressed?
Can God Ever Tell a Lie?
What is the Jubilee Year?
Did Paul Write the Book of Hebrews?
Will God Ultimately Save Everyone?
Flow of Old Testament History Map
Why Keep God's Sabbath Day?

Biblical Meaning of Numbers
Introduction   -   Book of Numbers
Forgiveness Numbers  -  Abraham's Numbers
Apostle Paul's Seven Churches
Infinity   -   Zero
One Tenth   -   One Third   -   One Half
1    -    2    -    3    -    4    -    5    -    6    -    7
8    -    9    -    10    -    11    -    12    -    13
14    -    15    -    16    -    17    -    18    -    19
20    -    21    -    22    -    23    -    24    -    25
26    -    27    -    28    -    29    -    30    -    31
32    -    33    -    34    -    35    -    36    -    37
38    -    39    -    40    -    41    -    42    -    43
44    -    45    -    46    -    47    -    48    -    49
50    -    51    -    52    -    53    -    54    -    55
56    -    57    -    58    -    59    -    60    -    61
62    -    63    -    64    -    65    -    66    -    67
68    -    69    -    70    -    71    -    72    -    73
74    -    75    -    76    -    77    -    78    -    79
80    -    81    -    82    -    83    -    84    -    85
86    -    87    -    88    -    89    -    90    -    91
92    -    93    -    94    -    95    -    96    -    97
98    -    99    -    100   -   101   -   102   -   103
104   -   105   -   106   -   107   -   108   -   109
110   -   111   -   112   -   113   -   114   -   115
116   -   117   -   118   -   119   -   120   -   121
122   -   123   -   124   -   125   -   126   -   127
129   -   130   -   131   -   132   -   133   -   134
135   -   136   -   137   -   139   -   140   -   143
144   -   145   -   146   -   150   -   152   -   153
155   -   156   -   160   -   168   -   175   -   180
200   -   203   -   210   -   211   -   212   -   215
216   -   220   -   222   -   223   -   225   -   234
250   -   300   -   303   -   311   -   313   -   316
318   -   320   -   321   -   323   -   333   -   345
350   -   365   -   367   -   369   -   390   -   400
404   -   411   -   414   -   420   -   430   -   440
444   -   450   -   456   -   490   -   500   -   516
555   -   600   -   613   -   616   -   666   -   700
711   -   717   -   777   -   800   -   808   -   818
888    -    900    -    911    -    999    -    1000
1001   -   1004   -   1010   -   1111   -   1144
1212   -   1222   -   1234   -   1500   -   2000
2222   -   3000   -   4000   -   5000   -   10000
144000   -  500000   -  The Largest!
Prophecy Numbers   -   Numerology
Creation's Numerics   -   Further Study

Series References
Number in Scripture: Its Supernatural
Design and Spiritual Significance

Some information on the
meaning of the number 1 derived from
Holy Bible Faithful Version (HBFV)