Study scripture verses with commentary, concordances, and use highlighting, underlining, take notes in the bible. The book of numbers narrates a key chapter in the story of israel. Significant numbers numbers are also used with a symbolical or theological significance. The book of numbers was written between 1440 and 1400 b. Or from an arabic word meaning repent, thus bearing the name repentant one. But sacred scripture, the written word, cannot be separated from the living word, jesus christ. However, many people put too much significance on biblical numerology, trying to find a. Book of numbers simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. God responds with shortterm severity and longterm generosity as he leads them into the promised land.
The interpretation of numbers in the bible is quite different from how numbers are interpreted under popular numerological methods. Genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy. Deciphering and discerning that significance only adds to the mystery and wonder of the study of sacred scripture. In a few instances, i depart from previously published material on bible numerics, as to meaning and usage of certain numbers, but for the most part, there is a general agreement concerning a.
The number seven is also the most common in biblical prophecy, occurring 42 times in daniel and revelation alone. In hebrew, the book is called bmidbar, which means in a desert. The israelites disobedience and lack of faith caused god to make them wander in the desert until all the people of that generation had diedwith a few important exceptions. Home teachings books the biblical meaning of numbers chapter 2. The english title has its origin in the greek version of the old testament. The book of numbers is the fourth book of the law of moses, also known as the torah or pentateuch.
Common number use and meaning in the bible there are a handful of numbers that commonly reoccur throughout the entire bible, while other numbers generally do not occur at all. List of books in the bible written by apostle paul. The fourth book of moses called numbers the argument for as much as god hath appointed that his church in this world shall be under the cross, both because they should learn not to put their trust in worldly things, and also feel his comfort, when all other help faileth. The law includes the books of genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy. The theme of descendants marks the first event in numbers, the census of israels fighting men. It reminds believers of the spiritual warfare in which they are engaged, for numbers is the book of the service and walk of gods people. The first 5 books in the bible are called the 5 books of moses. Numbers was written in the final year of moses life. If a mans wife goes astray and is unfaithful to him so that another man has sexual relations with her, and this is hidden from her husband and her impurity is undetected since there is no witness against her and she has not been caught in the act, 14 and if feelings of jealousy come. Book of numbers the fourth book of the old testament.
Biblia sacra the holy bible is the most widely read book in the world. To fill in the historical period from the exodus and sinai revelation to the preparations in moab to enter the promised land. The book of numbers derives its name from the account of the two censuses taken of the hebrew people, one near the beginning and the other toward the end of the journey in the wilderness chaps. Bullinger can explain it to you and is an excellent resource. It is a source of inspiration to many and more curiously a source of divination and secret codes. The fourth book of moses called numbers the geneva. Numbers, hebrew bemidbar in the wilderness, also called the fourth book of moses, the fourth book of the bible. It is called a book of moses because it contains the story of moses and the israelites when they wander throughout the wilderness before ending up at israel also known as canaan or palestine, where god promised they will settle the promised land.
The importance of the book of numbers is indicated by its being referred to in the new testament many times. This list of biblical numbers and meanings is by no means exhaustive. Johnston develops his fascinating investigation of biblical numerology by showing the uniqueness of the eternal word of god and its godbreathed inspiration. The following material from the international standard bible encyclopedia should be helpful here. In a few instances, i depart from previously published material on bible numerics, as to meaning and usage of certain numbers, but for the most part, there is a general agreement concerning a majority of these numbers. This list is compiled from two of these books, plus my own research into biblical numbers. The book of numbers in the bible is the fourth book in the old testament. The book of numbers was named after the first key word bemidbar in hebrew scripture, which appropriately means in the desert, the place where the israelites spent forty years following the exodus. It describes moses taking two population censuses, hence the name numbers. Jan 02, 2020 whether or not the numbers really do have a significance is still debated in many circles. Thesymbolismof numbers 1, 3 and 7 are most agreed upon, while variations may occur withothers. This name might have been derived from the hebrew word for persecution, thus meaning persecuted one.
Symbolic use of numbers in the bible grace thru faith. Apostle paul wrote books of the new testament see the list of books in the bible written by paul the book of romans was written by paul the book of 1 corinthians was written by paul the book of 2 corinthians was written by paul the book of galatians was written by paul the. The order that a bible chapter occurs corresponds to its bible number. Home page bible chapters by number keys to the kingdom prophecy in stars the list of meanings from 1 to 2099. Why do the first books of the bible have those strange names. The message of the book of numbers, is universal and timeless. Numbers 1 niv bible the lord spoke to moses in the tent. An introduction to the book of numbers from the bible jack wellman. They contain gods instructions about how his people should live. Moses is the central figure within the book, and in at least two instances numbers mentions him recording events by the lords commands numbers 33. Bible number, spiritual meaning, factor 1, factor 2, meaning of factor a number with a factor is a prime. Just as the word house can have more than one sense spiritual numbers can also have more than one sense.
Other scholars add the wisdom of jesus the son of sirach or wisdom of ben son of sirach. For example, jewish cabalists have analyzed the hebrew scriptures using a technique called gematria, which looks for a hidden code in the numerical equivalents of letters. Information about book of numbers in the dictionary, synonyms and antonyms. The second took place at the end of the 40 years in the wilderness as the nation was preparing to finally enter the promised land. Bible numbers for life number meanings hidden manah in.
Numbers chapter 1 kjv king james version stanjett, not to be rude, but i have noticed your remark before about lets go kill some people i dont know if you are trying to disrespect gods word or not, because you never explain your answer. The prince of bible numbers, it is used 562 times, including its derivatives e. While it is a fairly short distance from egypt to israel, it took the ancient jews 40 years to get there. Some commentaries refer to it as sira, which is the hebrew family name of the author. The hebrew name comes from the first sentence of the book and means in the. Theyve been in this same spot for about a year and now theyre getting ready to start out on their journey to this land flowing with milk and honey that god keeps talking about. Jul 20, 2015 the symbolism of numbers 1, 3 and 7 are most agreed upon, while variations may occur with others. Their usage and grouping is far to ordered and to consistent throughout the bible to be considered irrelevant or incidental. This list looks at ten significant numbers in the bible numbers that pop up time and again. Numbers old testament britannica encyclopedia britannica. Since the patterns vary, some numbers are not as clearly defined as others.
Johnston develops his fascinating investigation of biblical numerology by showing the uniqueness of the eternal word. Listen to chuck swindolls overview of numbers in his audio message from the. The book is called numbers because of the two censuses taken of. The book is called numbers because at the start god ordered a counting of the. The book of numbers was named after the first key word bemidbar in hebrew scripture, which appropriately means in the desert, the place where the israelites. God established two covenants in the bible, first as a double witness of truth, but also to establish direction. Numbers book of bible synonyms, numbers book of bible pronunciation, numbers book of bible translation, english dictionary definition of numbers book of bible. It continues the story of that journey begun in exodus, and describes briefly the experiences of the israelites for a period of thirtyeight years, from the end of their. Biblical numbers are used in prophecy of time and cycles. The number 40 may signify the 40 days jesus christ was in desert and the 40 years israelite wandered in the desert. The purpose of the book of numbers is to tell about how israel prepared to enter the promise land, but sinned and was punished. Each figure is associated with some spiritual meaning of numbers like the most used numbers are 7 and 40. The first 5 book of the bible, called the law, of which numbers is the fourth, are ascribed to moses throughout scripture joshua 8. The following are five of the most helpful commentaries on this neglected book of scripture.
Its a book of history that records many of gods miraculous deeds as the israelites wandered in the wilderness. The precision with which the bible numbers all fall into their places cannot be accounted for except by the supernatural power and wisdom of a god who is infinite ibid. The hebrew name for the book is bemidbar which means in the desert. One is used to convey the concept of the unity and uniqueness of god, e. Whether or not the numbers really do have a significance is still debated in many circles. The bible definitely seems to use numbers in patterns or to teach a spiritual truth. Top 10 significant numbers in biblical numerology listverse. The book of numbers is the fourth book of the hebrew bible, and the fourth of five books of the.
Proper usage and audio pronunciation plus ipa phonetic transcription of the word book of numbers. The names of the first five books of the bible sound rather strange. Biblical numerology is the use of numbers for their symbolic value in biblical texts for example, the seven days of creation in genesis 1 while many ancient languages, religions, and philosophies contained numeric interpretation of events, words, and names, this article is concerned with those uniquely affecting judeochristian beliefs. The israelites disobedience and lack of faith caused god to make them wander in the desert until all the people of that generation had diedwith a. And throughout history, men with great minds, like. Symbolism of numbers is defined by identifying patterns throughout the bible. The spiritual number 930 means old things are past, new has come.
Their usage and grouping is far to ordered and to consistent. This book gives an account of israels 38 years of their wandering in. It describes a period of transition from the exodus generation to the generation that would enter the promised land. Jan 02, 2020 the theme of the holiness of god is continued from the book of leviticus into the book of numbers, which reveals gods instruction and preparation of his people to enter the promised land of canaan. While the number 69 seems to carry no spiritual significance by itself, 6 and 9 do.
Nov, 2019 while it is a fairly short distance from egypt to israel, it took the ancient jews 40 years to get there. These symbolic meanings of numbers in the bible are different from numerology, which involves looking for an occult meaning in numbers, their combinations, and numerical totals. Many of the numbers in the bible have deeper prophetic or spiritual significance. Numbers book of bible definition of numbers book of. The name genesis is easier for us to understand, but for a rather ironic reason. To explain that the 38 year period in the wilderness was a consequence for the unbelief of the older generation dt 1. The greek name of the bible book of revelation, apoka. However, many people put too much significance on biblical numerology, trying to find a special meaning behind every number in the bible. Most of the events of the book are set in the wilderness.
This name indicates the meaning of revelation it uncovers matters that had been hidden and discloses events that would happen long after it was written. Numbers can be grouped into two movements based on the two. Summary of the book of numbers numbers gets its name from the two censuses, or numberings, of the people of israel. It is called a book of moses because it contains the story of moses and the israelites when they wander throughout the wilderness before ending up at israel also known as canaan or palestine, where god. From chapters 19 the israelites are preparing for their journey and entry into the promise land. The book of numbers itself refers to the writing of moses in 33. The last book of the apocrypha is known by many names. Remember, the meaning of numbers in the bible is not perfect, but the meaning of the written word is always perfect. What do these names mean, and where do they come from. The study of the symbolic use of numbers in scripture is a fascinating one, but is unfortunately too complex to go into here. As with other books of the bible, job bears the name of the narratives primary character. The english name of the book comes from the septuagint the prechristian greek translation of the ot and is based on the census lists found in chs.
At first glance, the name numbers may not sound appealing and interesting. This is the exact same place where the israelites have been hanging out since god freed them from slavery back in exodus. For the meaning of bible numbers see our link at top of the page. Numbers, book of definition and meaning bible dictionary. The significance of numbers in holy scripture is far greater than just the numerical value of each individual number. Many people take this with a grain of salt but many others consider it to be very important and believe that the study of.
Going from the old covenant to the new covenant shows a. Jul 21, 2015 the symbolism of numbers 1, 3 and 7 are most agreed upon, while variations may occur with others. The study of numbers in the bible is called biblical numerology. It continues the story of that journey begun in exodus, and describes briefly the experiences of the israelites for a. Book of numbers simple english wikipedia, the free. As it does for the rest of the pentateuch, universal jewish and christian tradition attributes the authorship of the book of numbers to moses. The hebrew name for these books is the torah, which means law. The symbolism of numbers 1, 3 and 7 are most agreed upon, while variations may occur with others.
330 860 680 265 1638 1102 1600 884 512 515 1089 102 866 103 1130 392 143 131 1286 904 106 1096 1184 147 349 1236 859 633 355 953 662 729 1614 375 710 1379 784 925 1324 861 240 1303 1381 923 1153 967