The Meaning of Numbers: The Number 600
The possible meaning of the number 600 is derived from several important events in the Bible and from prophecy.
Egypt's Pharaoh, after experiencing ten spectacular miracles called upon the nation by Moses and Aaron, finally frees his Israelite slaves. He soon has a change of heart, however, and decides to pursue them with 600 chariots.
And the king of Egypt was told that the people fled. And the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people. And they said, "Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?"
And he made his chariot ready and took his people with him. And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them (Exodus 14:5 - 7, HBFV).
The patriarch Noah was 600 years old when he, his wife, his three sons and their wives, went into the ark to be saved from the flood (Genesis 7:6).
Dan's inheritance in the Promised Land proved too small. This was due to their sizable population (64,400 fighting men, Num. 26:42 - 43) and the Amorites not allowing them to fully populate the land (Judges 1:34 - 35, Joshua 19:47). They decided, therefore, to gather 600 fighting men and travel to the northern city of Laish (Leshem, Joshua 19:47, Judges 18:7). After conquering the city they repopulated it and renamed it Dan (Joshua 18:11 - 29).
Number Six Hundred and Solomon
King Solomon had enough money to live a uniquely lavish life. Not only did he have his throne made of ivory overlaid with the finest gold (1Kings 10:18), he had 200 ceremonial "targets" (small military defensive shields, 2Chronicles 9:15) crafted utilizing 600 shekels of gold each. Assuming a modern price of $1,800 per troy ounce, he used $394,200 worth of gold to create just one shield! The total precious metal value of all the targets was $78.84 million dollars!
One of the many ways King Solomon got wealthy was through trade. He would buy a chariot from Egypt for 600 silver shekels then resell many of them to the Hittites and the Syrians for a profit (1Kings 10:28 - 29).
At an assumed weight of .4 U.S. ounces per shekel, these shekels are equivalent to 240 U.S. ounces or about 219 troy ounces. If we assume a modern price of $20 U.S. for a troy ounce of silver, Solomon paid $4,380 U.S. in today’s money for a chariot. He kept many chariots for himself (2Chronicles 9:25), however, which was a clear violation of God's law (Deuteronomy 17:14 - 16).
Prophecy and the Number 600
The Greek chi xi stigma (Strong's #G5516) occurs only once in the New Testament's original language. Chi represents the numeric value of 600, Xi represents 60 and Stigma (also known as digamma), represents 6 (The Universal History of Numbers, pages 219 - 220). Add them together and you get 666.
Here is wisdom. Let the one who has understanding count the number of the beast; for it is a man’s number, and his number is 666 (chi xi stigma, Revelation 13:18, HBFV).
More Info on Biblical Meaning of 600
A man named Shamgar sought to free Israel of its chief enemy the Philistines by killing 600 of them with nothing more than an ox goad (Judges 3:31). He was the fourth person to serve as a Judge of Israel.
The tribe of Benjamin, after being slaughter by the other Israelite tribes for refusing to hand over a rapist and murderer, is reduced to only 600 men (Judges 19 - 20). The people's solution to repopulating Benjamin was to violently take 400 virgins from Jabesh-gilead and give them as wives to the survivors. They also encouraged the remaining 200 men to abduct virgins attending one of God's Feast Days in Shiloh (Judges 21).
Jonathan, the son of King Saul, attacks a Philistine garrison in Geba and initiates a war. Saul, who can only attract 600 fighting men, sends them to Geba. The Philistines, however, from Michmash begin to loot and destroy the land. Jonathan responds by carrying out a secret mission whereby twenty Philistine fighters are killed in the city. The unexpected attack stuns the enemy and causes panic, allowing Saul to redirect his forces and win a great victory (1Samuel 13:1 - 14:23)!
600 is equal to 2 x 2 x 2 (or 2 cubed) x 3 x 5 x 5 (or 5 squared).