The Meaning of Numbers: The Number 52
The possible meaning of the number 52 is derived from both facts about and writings within Scripture.
Azariah (Uzziah) was the son of Amaziah, the ninth ruler over the Kingdom of Judah. In 792 B.C., at the tender age of sixteen, he began to co-rule the people with his father. After sharing the reins of power for about twenty-four years, he became sole monarch over God's people when Amaziah died in 767. He would ultimately be king for a total of 52 years.
Azariah is considered one of the better kings over Judah. His 52 years of rule (2Kings 15:1 - 7, 2Chronicles 26:1 - 23) is the second longest of any sovereign over either Israel or Judah. His death in 740 B.C., at the age of 68, would also make him the oldest person who would ever rule Judah.
Appearances of number fifty-two
The prophet Nehemiah, a captive of the Persian Empire, was given the task of returning to Jerusalem and supervising its rebuilding (Nehemiah 1 - 2). Under his oversight, the city's walls were repaired and rebuilt in 52 days (6:15).
In a fascinating bit of trivia, Nehemiah is the only person to record the names of the gates within Jerusalem's wall. The names of these gates, found in chapter 3, are Sheep (verses 1 - 2), Fish (verses 3 - 5), Old (verses 6 - 12), Valley (verse 13), Dung (verse 14), Fountain (verse 15), Water (verse 26), Horse (verse 28), East (verse 29) and Miphkad (or Inspection, verse 31).
The Sabbath
The vast majority of years in both the Julian (before October 1582) and our modern Gregorian calendar systems have 365 days. This means each year contains 52 weekly Biblical Sabbaths (sunset Friday to sunset Saturday).
Leap years, even though they have 366 days, do not violate the count of fifty-two Sabbaths. Year 2020 was a leap year where February 29 added a fifth Sabbath to the month. The yearly Sabbath count, however, was still the same.
Number 52 and Apostle Paul
During Paul's second missionary journey, which ran from 49 to 52 A.D., he stayed in Corinth for roughly one and one-half years (Acts 18).
In the spring of 52 A.D., Paul leaves Corinth, along with Priscilla and Aquila, and sails to Ephesus. Staying in the city for only a short time, he soon travels to Jerusalem so that he can celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles (Acts 18:19 - 21). After the feast, he journeys to Syrian Antioch and spends the rest of the year in the city.
More info on Biblical Meaning of 52
Jesus, in the gospels, is directly accused on six separate occasions of being possessed of the devil or a demon. One of these occurrences is recorded in verse 52 of John 8 after he declares those who believe in him will receive eternal life.
Then the Jews said to Him (Jesus), "Now we know that You have a demon . . ."
A man named Nebo had fifty-two descendants during the time of Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 2:29, Nehemiah 7:33). These descendants, led by Zerubbabel and others (Nehemiah 7:7), returned to the land of Judah after being in Babylonian captivity.
Seven of these returning 52 captives, when they finally arrived home, were encouraged by Ezra the prophet to get rid of their foreign wives (Ezra 10:43, see also Ezra 9 - 10). God did not want his people marrying non-Israelite mates so that they would not be led away from solely worshipping him and committing idolatry (Exodus 34:12 - 16, Deuteronomy 7:1 - 4, 17:17).
The prophetic book of Jeremiah has exactly 52 chapters. Of the remaining sixty-five Bible books, only the writings of Isaiah (66) and the Psalms (150) number more chapters!