Biblical numerology. Numbers and symbolism are all around us.
We can find them on signs, in names, and in the books that we read; and especially in religious texts like the Bible.
Numbers are super important in biblical or Christian numerology… especially the numbers 3, 7, and 40.
To learn about another number, choose the day of the month you were born:
1st, 10th, 19th, 28th = 1 2nd, 11th, 20th, 29th = 2 3rd, 12th, 21st, 30th = 3
The Number 3
In biblical numerology, the number 3 is the most spiritual of all the numbers.
It’s literally a divine number.
That’s because it refers to the perfection of the Holy Trinity — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Number 7
The number 7 is also quite awesome.
It represents oodles of good stuff in the Bible, such as perfection and completion.
Since God is the only one that is perfect and complete, this is said to be His number.
The Number 40
The number 40 shows up a lot in the Bible.
- For 40 years, the Israelites wandered the desert.
- For 40 days, Moses was on the mount and didn’t eat or drink the whole time. Okay, he did write the 10 Commandments, which is pretty spectacular.
- The Gospels of Luke, Matthew, and Mark speak of Jesus being tempted by the devil for 40 days and nights in the desert while he fasted.
- There were 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension.
Some say 40 is an unhappy number in biblical numerology because it’s often associated with struggle or painful situations.
Other Numbers in Biblical Numerology
3, 7, and 40 aren’t the only numbers that shine in the Bible. Other numbers make several appearances, too!
The Number 4
The number 4 is powerful, as it represents creation — like that of the four seasons (and I don’t mean the hotel, though I’ve heard it’s very luxurious!)
Can you imagine if there were 5 seasons? Or six? I imagine they would be like summer, winter, super winter, spring, and fall!
I think they got it right with 4!
The Number 6
There was an urban legend that the college I attended was designed by some freaky devil-worshiping architect because everything in the school was designed in 6’s… 6 stairs here, 6 windows there…
In biblical numerology, it’s often believed that three 6’s symbolizes the devil.
First off, that could totally freak you out if you get a new license plate with three 6’s in it, or live in a place that has three 6’s in the zip code!
So, don’t worry about it because:
- Man was created on the 6th day and most humans are good. And if 7 is the Big Man’s number, then 6 is little man’s number (obviously, we’re little man).
- Second, God likely doesn’t want us having an inferiority complex. He wants us all to think we’re awesome.
Plus, the number 7 appears more times than three 6’s in the Bible, so don’t worry.
Hebrew Numerology
Christian numerology isn’t the only system of Biblical numerology.
There’s also Gematria, or Hebrew numerology.
In Hebrew numerology, each letter is represented by a numerical value. Gematria takes those values to understand the relationship among words, concepts and ideas.
Um, what? (Stick with me because this is fascinating.)
Okay, so think of a spider web and the way it all intertwines. The whole thing is connected.
Now, because God’s speech created the universe (On the first day God said, “Let there be light…”) it is said that the numerical value of two words can reveal the connection between the potential of those words.
It uncovers a deeper, connected relationship between the words.
Thus, Gematria tries to find the connection between everything.
For you overachievers who want to know more, there are four different ways the value of letters can be calculated.
They relate to the four letters of God’s essential name in Hebrew, Havayah, and to the four spiritual realms:
- Absolute value. Relates to the yud letter and the emanation spirit realm.
- Ordinal value. Relates to the hei letter and the creation spirit realm.
- Reduced value. Relates to the vav letter and the formation spirit realm.
- Integral reduced value. Relates to hei letter and the action spirit realm.
Confusing? A little bit. Enriching? Definitely!
Biblical numerology is a fascinating subset of numerology that often gets overlooked. But it has much to reveal to us about the world we live in and how we fit into that world!
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