Meaning of Numbers: The Number 1
The English word "one" for the number 1 is recorded 1,969 times in 1,697 King James Bible verses. This breaks down to 1,361 occurrences in the Old Testament and 608 times it appears in the New Testament.
The number 1 is only divisible by itself. 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), which is taken from Deuteronomy 6:4, attests to this fact. This verse, twice, contains the tetragrammaton which is the four consonants used to designate God's name in the Old Testament.
Hear, O Israel. Our one God is the Lord (YHVH / YHWH, Strong's Concordance #H3068), the Lord (YHVH / YHWH) (Deuteronomy 6:4, HBFV).
The number 1 also symbolizes 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).
The patriarch Jacob ultimately had children through four different women (Leah, Rachel, Bilhah and Zilpah). Although he produced twelve sons, which became the twelve tribes of Israel, he only had one daughter. The daughter's name is Dinah (Genesis 30:21).
The Apostle Paul penned fourteen writings that were included in the canon of the New Testament. In each of his books, except for one, he introduces himself to the reader. The only book which doesn't directly state he wrote it is Hebrews.
God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets . . . (Hebrews 1:1, KJV).
Israel's kingdom split in 930 B.C. forming the Kingdom of Israel (northern ten tribes of Israel) and the Kingdom of Judah (three tribes). The northern kingdom was ruled by twenty kings during its existence.
The Kingdom of Judah, however, during its 344 year history, was ruled by nineteen kings and one queen. The singular female ruler was the devilish Queen Athaliah who seized Judah's throne and ruled by violence for six years (841 to 835 B.C.).
Biblical History and One
In 27 A.D. Jesus travels from somewhere in Galilee to his hometown of Nazareth. On the day of Pentecost, which falls on Sunday June 1, he visits a local synagogue (Luke 4:16 - 20). Asked to read from the Bible, he finds a well-known passage from Isaiah concerning the Jubilee Year.
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (Luke 4:18 - 19, NIV, quoting from Isaiah 61:1 - 2).
Jesus then declares that he is the fulfillment of Isaiah's 600+ years old prophecy (Luke 4:21)! What he said on June 1 was his first public message preaching the gospel.
April 1 in 30 A.D. was the last weekly Sabbath Jesus would keep before his crucifixion.
In the morning of the first, while traveling to Jerusalem, the disciples notice that the fig tree Jesus cursed is dried up (Matthew 21:19 - 22, Mark 11:20 - 26). The Lord uses the opportunity to teach about faith, forgiveness, and the importance of relationships.
And Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith from God. For truly I say to you, whoever shall say to this mountain, 'Be taken away and be cast into the sea,' and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that what he said will take place, he shall have whatever he shall say . . ." (Mark 11:22 - 23, HBFV).
A little later on April 1 some Greek proselytes, in Jerusalem to keep the upcoming spring feast, ask Philip if they can see the Lord. Philip discusses their request with Andrew, who also was a fisherman, and the pair make the request known to Jesus (John 12:20 - 22). Though not directly stated, the Bible seems to indicate the request was denied.
The last event to take place on April 1 occurs after Jesus reveals that his time to be glorified has come (John 10:23). After a few more comments He asks God the Father to glorify His (the Father's) name. A thunderous voice from heaven states God had, and will again, do so.
Then a voice came from heaven, saying, "I have both glorified it and will glorify it again." (John 12:28, HBFV).
Jesus finishes his comments with declaring that Satan the devil will be cast out.
"Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world (Satan the devil) be cast out. And if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all to Myself." (John 12:31 - 32, HBFV).
The First Wall Foundation
The first wall foundation stone to be used by God to build the New Jerusalem will be jasper.
The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald;
the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. (Revelation 21:19 - 20, NASB).
Parables and One
Chronologically, the first parable Jesus gave during his ministry is the parable of the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13). The Lord first taught it during his famous Sermon on the Mount which took place late in 27 A.D.
The salt of the earth parable is also one of only two given by Christ that he gave on three separate occasions. He taught this parable a second time between mid-November and December 18 in 29 A.D. (Mark 9:50), as well as a third time in early 30 A.D. (Luke 14:34 - 35).
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. These references were also coupled with labeling himself the Omega (the last Greek letter) or last.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty . . .
And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. (Revelation 1:8, 21:6, KJV, see also 1:11 and 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.
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).
More Info on Biblical Meaning of 1
There are 4,649 words and phrases in the Bible's original languages that are recorded only 1 time.
The Old Testament writings that use "one" for number 1 the most are the book of Numbers (193 times) then Ezekiel (125) followed by Exodus (115). The New Testament books that use the word the most are Luke (85 times) followed by Matthew (80) then the book of Acts (70). Its first use in found in Genesis 1 and its last is in Revelation 21.
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so (Genesis 1:9, KJV).
And the twelve gates (of New Jerusalem) were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass (Revelation 21:21).
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.
Galatians, written in Syrian Antioch, may have been the only one of Apostle Paul's books he wrote with his own hand (Galatians 6:11). Most, if not all, of his other books were written by others as he dictated them (see 1Corinthians 16:24 and Philippians 4:23 in the KJV, Romans 16:22, etc.).
The Greek word abaddon, Strong's Concordance #G3, is used only once in the entire New Testament. Left untranslated in the King James, the word means "a destroying angel." The word is another name for Satan the devil.
And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon (Revelation 9:11, KJV).
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).