Meaning of Numbers: The Number 84
The English phrase "fourscore and four," used for the number 84, is recorded 2 times in 2 King James Bible verses.
The possible meaning of the number 84 is derived from both Old and New Testament events.
Aaron, the brother of Moses, was 83 years old when he and Moses appeared before Pharaoh to request God's people be freed to serve him (Exodus 7:7). In the spring of 1445 B.C., after ten plagues had struck the Egyptians, the children of Israel were finally set free from slavery. It was a year later, when Aaron was 84, that the Israelites kept their first Passover outside of Egypt while they sojourned in the wilderness of Sinai (Numbers 9:1 - 5).
Luke, who wrote one of the gospels and the book of Acts, was one of Apostle Paul's close friends. It is unclear what happened to the "beloved physician" (Colossians 4:14) after Paul was martyred in 68 A.D. Foxe's Book of Martyrs writes that he may have died a martyr's death by being hanged in Greece. Another tradition states he died at the age of 84.
Appearances of the Number Eighty-Four
Psalm 84 is one of eleven Psalms in the Bible created for the sons of Korah (the others are Psalms 42, 44 - 49, 85, 87 and 88). It praises God's greatness and longs for the time when the writer can be in the Lord's presence at his temple.
How lovely are Your tabernacles, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yea, even faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God . . .
Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising You. Selah. Blessed is the man whose strength is in You; Your ways are in their hearts . . .
For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness (verses 1, 2, 4, 5, 10 in Psalm 84).
The Hebrew word palal (Strong's Concordance #H6419) is found 84 times in 82 Hebrew Old Testament verses. It is written the most in 2Chronicles (14 times) followed by 1Samuel (11). The word means to intervene, pray, intercede or otherwise intreat someone. It is commonly translated as "pray," "prayed," or "judged" in the King James.
Now therefore restore the man (Abraham) his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray (palal) for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine (Genesis 20:7, KJV).
I (Moses) prayed (palal) therefore unto the Lord, and said, O Lord God, destroy not thy people and thine inheritance, which thou hast redeemed through thy greatness . . . (Deuteronomy 9:26, KJV).
The Hebrew word yehoshaphat (Strong's #H3092) is recorded 84 times in 75 Hebrew Old Testament verses. It is used the most in 2Chronicles (41 times) followed by 1Kings (25). It is translated as the word "Jehoshaphat," the name of at least five individuals, in the King James. The most important of these individuals was King Jehoshaphat who was the fourth ruler over the Kingdom of Judah from 872 to 848 B.C.
And Jehoshaphat (yehoshaphat) the son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel (1Kings 22:41, KJV).
Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat (yehoshaphat), and his might that he shewed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? (1Kings 22;45, KJV).
Number 84 and Nation Building
Jacob, at the age of 77, steals his twin brother Esau's firstborn blessings by tricking their father Isaac who is 137. His act so enrages his brother that he has to flee northeast to Padanaram where his uncle Laban resides (Genesis 27:41 - 28:5). After arriving, he is smitten by Laban's youngest daughter Rachel and arranges to work seven years for the right to marry her.
Seven years later, in 1716 B.C., Jacob is 84 years old when he fulfills his labor in order to wed Rachel. Laban, however, tricks him into marrying Rachel's older sister Leah first! He is only allowed to marry Rachel, one week later, by agreeing to work for Laban another seven years (Genesis 29:20 - 30).
Remarkably, from the age of 84 to 91, Jacob produces eleven sons and one daughter through two wives (Rachel and Leah) and two handmaids (Bilhah and Zilpah). His sons will become the founding patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel.
More Info on Biblical Meaning of 84
The English word "prison" is recorded in 84 King James verses. The first Biblical mention of a prison is linked to Joseph after he arrives in Egypt as a slave. Once in Egypt he becomes the slave of one of Pharaoh's officers (Genesis 39). Over time he earns his master's respect and becomes overseer of his entire household.
One day the wife of Joseph's master demands he have illicit sex with her. Joseph's initial refusal, however, does not deter her from pursuing an affair with him. After her advances, for the next many days, is rejected, she resorts to accusing him of rape. Her husband is told of the accusation and places Joseph in the King's prison.
And Joseph's master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king's prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison (Genesis 39:20, KJV).
There are 5 words and phrases in the Bible's original languages that are recorded exactly 84 times.
The English phrase "fourscore and four," used for the number 84, is found in the books of Nehemiah and Luke.
84 is the product of 2 x 2 (2 squared) x 3 x 7. All three numbers, 2, 3 and 7, are primes.
There are no Biblical chapters in the King James Bible that contain 84 verses.
A young woman named Anna, married only seven years when her husband dies, decides to devout herself entirely to serving God. The widow, for the next 84 years, fasts and prays regularly at Jerusalem's temple.
In 5 B.C. Anna is blessed with recognizing the Messiah when, at less than two months old, he is brought by his parents to be presented before God. Her joy at seeing him motivates her to tell others that the Messiah has finally arrived!
Now there was Anna . . . And she was a widow of about eighty-four (84) years, who did not depart from the temple . . . And at the same time she came up, giving praise to the Lord; and she spoke concerning Him to all those in Jerusalem who were waiting for redemption (Luke 2:36 - 38, HBFV).