The Meaning of Numbers: The Number 450
The possible meaning of the number 450 is derived from certain Biblical events and three notable ancient wonders.
One of the many ways King Solomon accumulated vast wealth was through a business partnership with Tyre's King Hiram. His and Hiram's men, from a single voyage to Ophir, brought back an astonishing 450 talents of gold! How much was this worth in today's money? A talent of gold, at $1,800 per troy ounce, would be worth $1,969,200 U.S. All 450 talents talents would be valued at $886 million dollars today.
And Hiram sent ships to him by the hand of his servants, and men who had knowledge of the sea. And they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took four hundred and fifty talents of gold from there, and brought it to King Solomon (2Chronicles 8:18, HBFV).
Appearances of Number Four Hundred Fifty
Athens was the center of the short-lived Athenian Empire, which started in 454 B.C., peaked in 450 and dissolved in 404. The Apostle Paul famously visited Athens during his second missionary journey where he preached to those who worshipped a plethora of pagan deities.
Then Paul stood in the center of Mars' hill and said, "Men, Athenians, I perceive that in all things you are very reverent to deities; For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your veneration, I also found an altar on which was inscribed, 'To an unknown God.' So then, He Whom you worship in ignorance is the One that I proclaim to you (Acts 17:22 - 23, HBFV).
Entry number 450 in Strong's definitions of Biblical Greek words is anistemi. It is recorded the most in the book of Acts (45 times) followed by the gospel of Luke (27) then Mark (18). The word means, either literally or figuratively, to stand up, arise or lift up.
And passing from there, Jesus saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office, and said to him, "Follow Me." And he arose (anistemi) and followed Him (Matthew 9:9, HBFV).
Ancient Wonders and Number 450
The Temple of Artemis (Diana) in Ephesus is considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The temple was 450 feet long (137 meters) by 225 feet wide (69 meters) and 60 feet (18 meters) high. Those who worshipped Diana, during Paul's third missionary journey, considered him an enemy due to his preaching impacting their idol making businesses!
After gathering together the workmen who worked in such things, he (Demetrius) said, "Men, you know that from this craft we gain our wealth; And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded a great multitude to turn away . . . Now not only is our business in danger of coming into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana . . . (Acts 19:25 - 27, HBFV).
The lighthouse at Alexandria, Egypt, is considered by many to one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It stood between 393 and 450 feet (120 to 137 meters) tall.
It is unclear whether Noah used the length of a ordinary cubit (17.5 inches or 44.5 centimeters) or a royal cubit (20.4 inches or 51.8 centimeters) to construct the ark (see Genesis 6:13 - 16). If we conservatively assume a cubit size of 18 inches, the ark Noah built was 450 feet (137 meters) long, 75 feet (22.8 meters) wide, and 45 feet (13.7 meters) high.
More Info on Biblical Meaning of 450
The number 450 is equal to 2 x 3 x 3 (or 3 squared) x 5 x 5 (or 5 squared).
The Bible, the world's best-selling book, has been distributed in more than 450 languages.
Gideon's tiny army of 300 men fought against the Midianites who fielded 135,000 soldiers (Judges 8:10, 28). Gideon's forces were 450 times smaller than those of his enemy! God, however, was on his side and caused a great victory for Israel.