Meaning of Numbers: The Number 31
The English phrases "thirty and one" and "one and thirty," used for the number 31, is recorded 3 times in 3 King James Bible verses. They are found once in the books of Joshua, 2Kings and 2Chronicles. The phrase "thirty and first" for 31st is found only in 1Kings where it mentions when Omri began to reign over the Kingdom of Israel.
In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah. (1Kings 16:23, KJV).
Part of the meaning of the number 31 in the Bible comes from one of the Hebrew names for God. Gematria is a way of interpreting Scripture by substituting the letters of a Hebrew (or Greek) word by their equivalent numeric values and arriving at a total. One reference to God is El (see Deuteronomy 32:15, 17, Job 3:4, etc. in Hebrew), which is composed of the Hebrew letters Lamed and Aleph. Their numeric values are 30 and 1, respectively, for 31 total.
One of the most commonly occurring names in God's word is Moses. It appears in 31 King James books.
Appearances of Number Thirty-One
In the Old Testament, the Biblical chapters of Genesis 1, 34, 47, Exodus 4, 14, 22, 38, Numbers 5, 28, Judges 3, 5, 16, 18, 1Samuel 30, 2Samuel 12, 1Kings 14, 1Chronicles 24, 25, 2Chronicles 9, Nehemiah 13, Job 30, Psalm 22, 109, Proverbs 11, 21, 31, Isaiah 1, 40, Jeremiah 4, 5, Ezekiel 22, 34, 44 and Daniel 5 contain 31 verses in the King James Bible.
In the New Testament, the chapters Luke 16, John 14, 20, Acts 28, Romans 3, 1Corinthians 1, 12 and Galatians 4 have 31 verses in the KJV.
The books of Proverbs and 1Samuel contain 31 chapters in the KJV.
Kings and Thirty One
Josiah, considered one of the best kings of Judah after Israel split into two nations, began his reign at the age of eight and ruled for 31 years (from 640 to 609 B.C.).
Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath. (2Kings 22:1, HBFV).
The thirty-first patriarch in Jesus' lineage is Obed, the father of Jesse. Jesse would ultimately become the father of King David in 1040 B.C.
Josiah was 31 years old when his son Zedekiah was born (1Chronicles 3:15). Zedekiah would assume the throne over the Kingdom of Judah in 597 at the age of 21 (2Kings 24:18). He is important to Biblical history as he is the last human to rule over either Israel or Judah. His rule ended in 586 when the Babylonians conquered Jerusalem and burned the temple.
Number 31 and the Promised Land
Moses, before his death, aided the Israelites in conquering two kings east of the Jordan (Joshua 12:1 - 6). They were Amorite King Sihon and Og, king of Bashan. Og was especially noteworthy as he was the last of the Rephaim (giants). Scripture states his bed was 13 1/2 feet long (4.1 meters) by 6 feet (1.8 meters) wide!
For only Og king of Bashan remained of the rest of the giants. Behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron. Is it not in Rabbath of the children of Ammon? Nine cubits was its length, and four cubits its width, according to the cubit of a man (Deuteronomy 3:11, HBFV).
The children of Israel, under the leadership of Joshua, conquered 31 kings west of the Jordan River. These kings were defeated, and land confiscated, toward the goal of fully possessing the Land of Promise.
And these are the kings of the land which Joshua and the children of Israel struck on this side of Jordan . . . In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country - the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites:
The king of Jericho . . . Ai . . . Jerusalem . . . Hebron . . . Jarmuth . . . Lachish . . . Eglon . . . Gezer . . . Debir . . . Geder . . . Hormah . . . Arad . . . Libnah . . . Adullam . . . Makkedah . . . Bethel . . . Tappuah . . . Hepher . . . Aphek . . . Lasharon . . . Madon . . . Hazor . . . Shimron Meron . . . Achshaph . . . Taanach . . . Megiddo . . . Kedesh . . . Jokneam of Carmel . . . Dor in the coast of Dor . . . the nations of Gilgal . . . Tirzah. All the kings were thirty-one. (Joshua 12:7 - 24, HBFV).
Parables
Chronologically, the 31st parable Jesus gave during his ministry is the parable of the salt of the earth. He gave it between mid-November and December 18 of 29 A.D. It is one of only two parables the Lord taught on three separate occasions.
The first time Jesus gave the parable was during his famous Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:13). The second time was late 29 A.D. mentioned above. The third and last time it was taught was between January and February of 30 A.D. (Luke 14:34 - 35).
"The salt is good, but if the salt becomes tasteless, how will you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." (Mark 9:50).
Jesus and 31
Friday March 31 in 30 A.D. was less than a week before Jesus would be arrested and killed by his enemies in Jerusalem. Before the day ends the Lord would perform a miracle and have major confrontations with business owners at the temple and with Jewish religious leaders!
On March 31 the Lord travels to Jerusalem. As he walks he grows hungry and, spotting a fig tree, goes to it to pick some fruit. Finding the tree having nothing but leaves he curses it to no longer bear fruit (Mark 11:12 - 14). Early the next day, the Sabbath, the disciples notice the tree has dried up and died (Matthew 21:19 - 22, Mark 11:20 - 26).
Jesus, as he enters the temple area, discovers money changers and others ripping people off. These are some of the same thieves thrown out early in the Lord's ministry during Passover of 27 A.D. (see John 2:13 - 21). The Lord, once again, cleanses the temple by assertively throwing out those who were robbing the people (Mark 11:15 - 17).
Later on Friday several children begin to shout "Hosanna to the Son of David!" (Matthew 21:15) while Jesus heals at the temple. The chief priests and scribes become angry when they hear this praise offered by the children. They demand the Lord tell them to stop! Jesus' response is to quote a part of Psalm 8.
"Yes! Have you never read, 'Out of the mouths of little children and infants You have perfected praise'?" (Matthew 21:15 - 16, see also Mark 11:12 - 17 and Luke 19:45 - 48).
Animals in Scripture
The English word "fowl" is found 31 times in 31 King James verses. It is written the most in the book of Genesis (16 times) followed by Leviticus (4). Fowl is a generic reference to birds.
And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven . . .
And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth (Genesis 1:20, 22, KJV).
The English word "lamb" appears 33 times in 31 King James New Testament verses. It is recorded the most in the book of Revelation (29 times) followed by John (2) and the books of Acts and 1Peter (once each).
Lambs are young sheep. Lambs are many times used to symbolically reference Jesus Christ.
The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29, KJV).
And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth (Revelation 5:6, KJV).
The Hebrew word nachash, Strong's Concordance #H5175, is recorded 31 times in 28 Hebrew Old Testament verses. It is found the most in the book of Genesis (6 times) followed by Numbers (5). The word, which means "to hiss," is translated as the word "serpent" in the King James.
Now the serpent (nachash) was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? (Genesis 3:1, KJV).
The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's (nachash) meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the Lord (Isaiah 65:25, KJV).
More Info on Biblical Meaning of 31
There are 37 words and phrases in the Bible's original languages that are recorded exactly 31 times.
31 is the eleventh positive prime. Prime numbers before it are 19, 23 and 29, and those after it are 37, 41, 43 and 47.
Surprisingly, there are no months in the Biblical Hebrew calendar that contain 31 days! Five of them always have twenty-nine days, two can have twenty-nine or thirty, and the rest always contain thirty. Compare this to our Gregorian-based calendar that always has seven months with thirty-one days.
Proverbs 31 is famous for being the "virtuous wife" chapter. It reveals the character traits and behaviors of a married woman who not only pleases God, but also blesses her family and is an asset to her neighbors. The chapter, written by a mother for her son Lemuel, is the only one penned by a female in the entire book!
Who can find a virtuous woman? For her value is far above rubies. The heart of her husband trusts safely in her, so that he shall have no lack of gain. She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life (Proverbs 31:1- 3, HBFV).
In 31 A.D., the first year after Jesus' death and resurrection, the gospel is being preached in Jerusalem. The apostles, in this year, also begin the long task of compiling his teachings so that a record of what he said and did could be written down (Acts 5 and 6).
The book of Luke contains references to 31 Old Testament books, the second highest in the New Testament.