The Biblical Meaning of Numbers

For many people, the biblical meaning of numbers, or biblical numerology, plays a significant role in how they interpret scripture. For people who adhere to biblical numerology, the biblical meaning of numbers goes beyond any cultural meaning a human writer may have had when writing a biblical passage, by revealing some kind of spiritual truth. For more information on spiritual biblical meanings of numbers, see the biblestudy.org explanation on biblical numerology. For our discussion here, we will focus on whether or not biblical numerology, or the study of the biblical meaning of numbers, is a legitimate study.

Nobody can deny that certain numbers are repeated throughout the bible, such as the numbers 3, 7, and 40. However, what meaning do we ascribe to those numbers? Some people believe that the Bible is a partially inspired book written by human beings and that those human beings chose repetitive numbers that were significant in their own native cultures. If a person believes as such, then the meaning of biblical numbers would have more to do with insights gained from anthropological study than from any spiritual discipline.

Other people believe that the Bible was written by God, using the hand of human beings as an agent for writing. These persons believe that every single word in the Bible is the actual inspired Word of God. In this instance, God may use certain numbers over and over again in the writing of the Bible, but what for? Some would argue that the repetitive numbers are there as devices to help us remember important passages. Others would argue that there is a hidden spiritual biblical meaning of numbers that are frequently repeated in the Bible.

Of those who believe in the hidden biblical meaning of numbers, some believe that the spiritual meanings are meant to be guides to us in how we live our lives, while others believe that the spiritual meaning is more meditative or reflective in nature. People who believe that the numbers in the Bible are meant to be guides for our lives often engage in numerology readings, very similar to regular secular psychic readings. People who believe that biblical numbers have meditative or reflective meaning may engage in practices of meditation involving certain biblical numbers believed hold meaning for their lives.

As with many spiritual practices, there is no way to know for sure if the study of the biblical meaning of numbers, or numerology, is legitimate. To date, none of the most prominent seminaries (Union New York, Yale, Duke, Emory, ITC, Howard, etc.) have professors or scholars on faculty who teach biblical numerology as truth. This may be because it is extremely difficult to prove the biblical meaning of numbers in a spiritual sense. The biblical text does not say, “The number 40 means such and such a thing,” so the study of numerology, by nature, is reading meanings into the biblical text that the text itself does not specify. It could be that God wants us to understand those meanings, but how do we know? When did God say that, to whom, and where? Since there is no proof of this within the text, from a scholarly point of view, it can be extremely difficult to say that biblical numerology is legitimate and can be studied. Some scholars have gone as far as to say that those who do numerology readings are primarily out to get the money of their clients, with little actual regard for their actual well-being.

Surely, such sweeping generalizations are not fair. There have been many tribal religions and practices over the centuries that have focused on a plethora of ideas that cannot be proven. But, while the practices cannot be proven, the impact of those practices on the lives of practitioners cannot be denied. Many times these practitioners will talk about how the practices have changed their lives, shaped their thinking, and connected them with others in communal ways. These facts are real and true and many of them have also been said about biblical numerology, or the biblical meaning of numbers. While we cannot prove the legitimacy of the practice itself, the experience of the people involved is truly how they see, feel, and think about things; and that is something that we must respect.