Is numerology used in the Bible?

Answer 1

Numerology is the study of the occult meanings of numbers and their supposed influence on human life. It was important to the ancients and many examples occur in The Bible. Significant biblical numbers include 3, 7, 14, 17 and 40.

The PatriarchsLet's have a look at the biblical evidence for the lifespans of the Hebrew patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. The Bible says that:

1. Abraham lived to 175 (5 X 5 X 7)
2. Isaac lived to 180 (6 X 6 X 5)
3. Jacob lived to 147 (7 X 7 X 3)

• Each lifespan involves a perfect square (5, 6, then 7 in a numeric series),
• the third factor also forms a series (7, 5, 3)
• and in each case the sum of the factors is 17.

Joseph is sometimes referred to as the fourth Patriarch, and he too fits into this

elegant pattern. And just as Adam is the first man in the Book of Genesis, Joseph is also the last, so his lifespan of exactly 110 years also fits into a pattern with Adam's. Finally, can see that Joseph share a pattern with other legenday heroes. Joseph lived to 110 years:

• 110 = 5X5 + 6X6 + 7X7, the same series of squares as we saw for the Patriarchs
• 110 = (10X10 + 10) - Joseph's lifespan

  930 = (30X30 + 30) - Adam's lifespan

This is certainly mystical, but not quite believable. Whether or not Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph were real, historical persons, they did not live to such precisely ordained ages. And if their exact lifespans were literary creations, there is no good reason they lived any longer than other humans. This is simply evidence that numerology was important in the beliefs of the ancient Hebrew people.

Other legendary HebrewsIn addition to the patriarchs and Joseph, Levi, Moses and Joshua were the other great leaders revered by the Jews. The priestly tribe of Levites was said to be descended from Levi, great grandfather of Moses who, along with Joshua, fulfilled the covenant that God gave to the patriarchs. The number 17 appears in the lifespans of the biblical heroes of Genesis from Adam onwards. We find a similar fascination with elegant series and the number 17 in the lives of:

1. Joseph, who lived to 110

   (also 5 X 5 + 5 X 17)

2. Levi, who lived to 137

   (7 X 5 + 6 X 17)

3. Amran, Moses' father, who also lived to 137

   (therefore also 7 X 5 + 6 X 17)

4. Moses, who lived to 120

   (7 X 5 + 5 X 17)

5. Joshua, who lived to 110

   (5 X 5 + 5 X 17).

Another Old Testament example of the special significance of the number 17 occurs in the life of the Bible's oldest human, Methuselah. He had his first son at 187 (17 X 11 years) and died at 969 (17 X 57 years).

Genealogy of JesusTwo different but related examples of numerology occur in the New Testament accounts of the genealogy of Jesus, 'proving' by numerology that Jesus was predestined to be the Messiah:

Matthew demonstrated that there were 14 generations: from Abraham to David; from David to Josiah; from Josiah to Jesus. To do this, he had to ignore 3 kings in the Old Testament and have David in the preceding (as 14) and following (as 1) groups, but not so Josiah.

Luke had great men occur in multiples of 7 generations starting from Adam, with: Enoch at 7; Abraham at 21; David at 35; Jesus at 77. He also had: Joseph at 42 and 70; Jesus (Jose) at 49. To do this, he had to insert his own presumably fictitious people into the Old Testament list: Kainan at 13; Admin at 28.

The number 12There are twelve constellations in the zodiac, and the number 12 occurs occasionally in the Bible. Jacob had 12 sons. There are supposedly 12 tribes of Israel. If the descendants of Levi, a son of Jacob, formed the priestly class, this creates a problem because there should only be 11 tribes of Israel, but this seems to have been solved by Joseph's two sons eaching heading a tribe of Israel. Jesus also had 12 disciples. These may be examples of numerology, astrology or simply a series of coincidences, but if so they do form an unusual set of coincidences.