Meaning of Numbers: Number 23
The English words "twenty and three" used for the number 23 is recorded 11 times in 11 King James Bible verses. All these occurrences are in the Old Testament. The phrase "three and twenty" is found only once in the New Testament.
Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand (1Corinthians 10:8, KJV).
The number 23 derives part of its meaning from the fact that Adam and Eve produced twenty-three daughters according to the first century historian Josephus (Jewish tradition).
Tola served as a judge of Israel for a total number of 23 years, from 1102 to 1079 B.C. (Judges 10:1 - 2).
Psalm 23 is the most well-known, popular and beloved of all the Psalms. King David, who wrote it, sings of God's protection, guidance, refreshment, abundant blessing and promise of eternal life to those who love him.
The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters . . . Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me . . .
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever (verses 1 - 4, 6 of Psalm 23).
At least 23 of the 89 chapters found in the Gospels discuss the critical final eight days in the life of Jesus. This period begins on March 29 in 30 A.D. and goes to April 5 (the day of his death). Only four chapters (Matthew 1 - 2 and Luke 1 - 2) in the Bible's New Testament mention events that occurred in the first thirty years of the Lord's earthly life.
Appearances of Number Twenty-Three
The English name "Jezebel" is referenced 23 times in 20 King James verses. It is recorded the most in 1Kings (15) followed by 2Kings (7) then Revelation (1). Jezebel was the notoriously wicked wife of Israel's King Ahab. She was a zealous supporter and worshipper of not only the pagan god Baal but also Ashtaroth (Astarte), Baal's female counterpart. She was also Elijah the prophet's sworn enemy.
And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the (pagan) prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time (1Kings 19:1 - 2, KJV).
Jezebel's notoriety for doing evil was used by God to symbolize an unknown woman who was leading the Christian church in Thyatira to indulge in sin.
Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols (Revelation 2:20, KJV).
The book of 2Timothy is one of the most personal epistles written by the Apostle Paul. This book mentions 23 distinct people, twenty of which are not mentioned anywhere else in the New Testament (Encyclopedia of Bible Facts).
A man named Jair (Num. 32:41, 1Chronicles 2:22), seemingly by force of arms, took possession of twenty-three cities in the land of Gilead. The area of Gilead, originally given by God to the tribe of Manasseh as an inheritance, was known for its balm made from a secretion of the balsam tree.
Jair renamed several of the cities he took after himself (e.g. Bashanhavoth-jair or the "towns of Jair," see Deuteronomy 3:14). One of the Judges of Israel, also named Jair, may have been one of his descendants (Judges 10:3 - 5).
Biblical History and Twenty-Three
It was on Sunday May 23 in 6 B.C., Pentecost, that the archangel Gabriel appears to Zacharias as he was offering incense before God. This appearance of the archangel highly likely takes place on Pentecost since John's birth was a major fulfillment of prophecy.
Gabriel reveals to Zacharias that the child he and his wife have longed to produce will become a reality! This is in spite of the fact that Elizabeth was barren and that the couple was quite old (Luke 1:7). The miraculous son they will soon produce will be named John.
But the angel said to him, "Fear not, Zacharias, because your supplication has been heard; and your wife Elizabeth shall bear a son to you, and you shall call his name John.
"And he shall be a joy and exultation to you; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great before the Lord . . . (Luke 1:13 - 15, HBFV).
Parables and Twenty-Three
Chronologically, the 23rd parable Jesus gave during his ministry is the parable that the Kingdom of God is like a net (dragnet). He gave it between October 28 A.D. and early 29 A.D. It is recorded only in the gospel of Matthew.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a dragnet cast into the sea, gathering in every kind of fish; Which after it was filled was drawn up on shore; and they sat down and collected the good into vessels, and the unfit they threw away.
"This is the way it will be in the end of the age: the angels shall go out, and shall separate the wicked from among the righteous, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 13:47 - 50, HBFV).
Jesus taught a staggering 27 parables during the three and one-half-month period between mid-November of 29 A.D. and February 30 A.D.! Luke's gospel records 23 of these parables such as the good Samaritan (Luke 10:30 - 37), the prodigal son (15:11 - 32), the unjust steward (16:1 - 9) and the unjust judge (18:2 - 8).
Unique Kings of Judah
King Jehoshaphat of Judah assumed the throne in 872 B.C. when he was 35 years old. Earlier, when he was 23 years old, he gave birth to Jehoram who would succeed him as ruler in 853.
Jehoram, just like his father, when he turned 23 gave birth to Ahaziah who would rule for only a short time in 841 B.C. Ahaziah was killed, along with King Joram of Israel, the sons of King Ahab, and Ahab's wife Jezebel, by Jehu (2Kings 9:7 - 8).
In 609 B.C., after the death of King Josiah, his 23 year old son Jehoahaz succeeded him as ruler (2Kings 23:31). Part of his claim to fame was that he had one of the shortest spans of rule in Judah's history, reigning for only three months in 609 B.C.
What makes Jehoahaz further unique is that he is the only king of either Israel or Judah to die in Egypt. In 609 B.C. his throne was brought to an abrupt end when Pharaoh Neco captured him and took him back to Egypt. He will ultimately die in Egypt and be replaced by Jehoiakim (2Kings 23:31 - 34).
The Tetragrammaton and 23
The Tetragrammaton (Greek for "four letters") refers to the four consonants (YHWH or YHVH in English) used to represent God's name in the Old Testament's original manuscripts.
The Tetragrammaton, Strong's Concordance #H3068, is translated as "Lord" 32 times in 23 King James verses of the book of Job. Its first and last appearances in the book are the following.
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord (YHWH / YHVH), and Satan came also among them (Job 1:6, KJV).
So the Lord (YHWH / YHVH) blessed the latter end of Job more than his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and a thousand she asses (Job 42:12, KJV).
Number 23 and War
In at least one instance, the number 23 conveys the meaning that a special group of people is reserved by God for his service and therefore ineligible to fight. On God's command, Moses instituted a count of all the men in Israel who were twenty years old or older (all those who could go to war, Num. 26:1 - 2). It was discovered, a short time before Moses' death, that there were 601,730 males among the people.
One special group, however, was not counted toward those who would be eligible to fight the enemies of Israel. The tribe of Levi was consecrated to serving the Lord. They represented substitutes to God's claim of all the firstborn in Israel when he saved them, and not the Egyptians, from the death angel (Num. 3:12 - 13). Counted separately, it was found that twenty-three thousand males, one month of age or above, were Levites (26:62).
More Info on Biblical Meaning of 23
The tenth generation of humans in the Bible is represented by Noah. The fifteenth generation is Peleg while the twentieth is Abraham. Generation 23 of humans is represented by Judah who was the great grandson of Abraham. Judah was also one of the twelve (actually thirteen) sons of Jacob (Israel).
There are 67 words and phrases in the Bible's original languages that are recorded exactly 23 times.
The Hebrew word dehab, Strong's Concordance #H1722, is written 23 times in 23 Hebrew Old Testament verses. It is found 18 times in the book of Daniel and 5 times in Ezra. The word, of Chaldean origin, is always translated as "gold" in the King James.
And the vessels also of gold (dehab) and silver of the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar took out of the temple that was in Jerusalem, and brought them into the temple of Babylon, those did Cyrus the king take out of the temple of Babylon . . . (Ezra 5:14, KJV).
The latest start, throughout history, of the joyous Feast of Tabernacles occurred at sunset on October 23. This late observance of the sixth of God's annual Holy (Feast) periods took place in 3696, 3677, 3658 and 3430 B.C.
23 is the ninth prime number. The primes which precede it are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17 and 19.
Verse 23 of Psalm 118 is referenced in Mark 12:10, Matthew 21:42, Luke 20:17, and Acts 4:11.
Genesis 39 and 40, as well as Ezekiel 13 and 14, contain 23 verses in the King James translation. Several other chapters also contain this number of verses such as Exodus 5 and 33, Leviticus 24, and others.
Mordecai, on Sivan 23, with the permission of Persia's king, had a decree written that gave Jews protection from Haman's inspired edict for their destruction (Esther 3:10 - 11, 8:9 - 11). The Jews, in the lands controlled by the Persians, were allowed to defend themselves and to take any spoil from those who sought to harm them.