At least three theological strains run through the book of numbers. Biblical numerology is defined as the study of the spiritual significance of numbers used in the bible. Marked by direct address numbers shows the peoples dependence upon god for daily guidance and provisions. Twot is a 2volume set, dealing with the hebrewaramaic words in the old testament that have a theological significance. Numbers is the fourth book in a collection of five books, the pentateuch. 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. Dualism argues that there are two equal and opposing realities good and evil. The book of numbers is the fourth book of the law of moses, also known as the torah or pentateuch. Numbers is a book of practical theology and emphasizes the interaction between the sovereign god and his people as recent recipients of the covenant stipulations. Theological hermeneutics and the book of numbers as christian. Typology between a rock and a hard place numbers 20 peace, peace, when.
Numbers, theology of definition and meaning bible dictionary. These groups delve into the dangerous realm of divination. The entry of sin into the world is through one man rom. Some of the many instances of numbers that carry spiritual or. Leviticus emphasizes the importance of holiness and cleanness. Theological interpretation, the eyes of the heart, and karl barths reading of sloth numbers 14 it is the text that swallows up the world. 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. This list of biblical numbers and meanings is by no means exhaustive. The book focuses on the main narrative elements of numbers 1125, although other passages are included numbers 5, 6, 33. In moving beyond the previous fragmentation of the book of isaiah, canon critics now look to themes spanning the three major sections of isaiah 166. Therefore, in this post i want to show a comprehensive list of the numbers in the book of revelation.
First, the lord himself communicated to israel through moses 1. Numbers, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of biblical. Integral to a discussion of the theology of numbers is an understanding of the books structure and its relationship to the rest of the pentateuch. The hebrews, greeks, romans, and many other ancient peoples used their alphabets for numbers. Leviticus, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of.
Thus, it is reasonable to conclude that every word is significantand this includes numbers. Occasionally they have a special theological significance. Conservative scholars remain cautious about assigning too much importance to the meaning of numbers in the bible. Any discussion of the theological concepts of the book of deuteronomy will necessarily be limited by the nature of the material in the book, by the space available, and by the subjective selection of the writer. Biblical literature the critical study of biblical. The theological virtues are faith, hope and charity 1 corinthians. On the other hand, and at the same time, it seeks to enrich and deepen our present prac. It relates particularly to the meaning of numbers, both literal and symbolic. The current version of cmos discourages the use of ibid. Remember, the meaning of numbers in the bible is not perfect, but the meaning of the written word is always perfect. Book of numbers overview insight for living ministries. This book sets out to do two things, neither of which comes first or second.
Censuses were taken to quantify the human and natural resources available for the economic and governmental affairs, including military service num. Exegesis, or critical interpretation, and hermeneutics, or the science of interpretive principles, of the bible have been used by both jews and christians throughout their histories for various purposes. One is used to convey the concept of the unity and uniqueness of god, e. This discovery offers additional proof that god inspired every word used in the book that boldly proclaims to reveal his will, plan, and purpose for man. The theme of the book of numbers is judgement on the old generation and hope on the new one. Numbers, theology of bakers evangelical dictionary of. Numbers are also used with a symbolical or theological significance.
The laws in this book carry deep theological impact for the old testament as well for the new testament e. Some theological concepts in the book of deuteronomy. Command the children of israel that they put out of the camp every leper, everyone who has a discharge, and whoever becomes defiled by a corpse. But sacred scripture, the written word, cannot be separated from the living word, jesus christ. The book is called numbers in english because it records a series of censuses that moses took of the tribes of israel. Although the star of bethlehem can be examined from a scientific perspective, it also has theological significance, as does the city itself.
The catholic spirit recently interviewed father scott carl, assistant professor of sacred scripture at st. Theological hermeneutics and the book of numbers as christian scripture reading the scriptures kindle edition by briggs, richard s download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. While it is a fairly short distance from egypt to israel, it took the ancient jews 40 years to get there. Star and city of bethlehem hold theological significance. This is the dominant theme in the book of numbers and the key to its theology. Theological wordbook of the old testament open library. Theological wordbook of the old testament 1980 edition. Citations austin presbyterian theological seminary. The book of numbers was written between 1440 and 1400 b. How should christian readers of scripture hold appropriate and constructive tensions between exegetical, critical, hermeneutical, and theological. Biblical literature biblical literature the critical study of biblical literature. The symbolism of numbers 1, 3 and 7 are most agreed upon, while variations may occur with others. Israels response to moses mirrored her obedience or disobedience to the lord. The book of numbers contributes significantly to our understanding and practice of work.
Numbers also demonstrates the importance of holiness, faithfulness and trust. Chronologically numbers covers israels thirtyeightyear wilderness period from the second year after the exodus 10. The law includes the books of genesis, exodus, leviticus, numbers, and deuteronomy. The theological wordbook of the old testament aka twot is edited by r. The book highlights several key formational theological questions to which numbers provides illuminating answers. The theology of arithmetic numbers in antiquity joel kalvesmaki on this website i present some of my studies and notes on ancient number symbolism, numerology, and the theology and philosophy of mathematics.
What is the significance and nature of trust in god. The book of numbers is the fourth book of the hebrew bible, and the fourth of five books of the. On the one hand, it offers a theological interpretation of certain key narratives and other texts in the book of numbers. Deciphering and discerning that significance only adds to the mystery and wonder of the study of sacred scripture. These combine to form a rich theology that consistently points to god as the major character in the book. 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. Numbers reiterates the value of faith and obedience. After the two witnesses are taken to heaven rev 11.
The contributions of zechariah and haggai to israels understanding of the messiah are obvious. The hebrew name comes from the first sentence of the book and means in the desert of. Yet, the book of numbers reveals that this next generation learned a different heart. Linked with the books of exodus and leviticus, numbers. These forces are in an eternal battle with one another. Thus, only an expert in biblical numbers will be able to decipher the true meaning of the numbers in a specific context. 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. Theological hermeneutics and the book of numbers as. Introduction to the book of numbers learn religions.
Primes are numbers greater than 1 that have no proper factorsthe only numbers that can divide evenly into. Theology of the book of joshua at least seven major themes can be seen in the book of joshua. Leviticus stresses the role of sacrifice in creating and maintaining right relations between god and man, whereas numbers accentuates the indispensability of the priesthood for preserving the nations spiritual health. The theology of work bible commentary is an indepth bible study tool put together by a group of biblical scholars, pastors, and workplace christians to help you discover what the whole biblefrom genesis to revelationsays about work. It shows us gods people, israel, struggling to work in accordance with. With its mix of genres and its challenging theological perspectives, numbers offers a range of difficult cases for traditional christian hermeneutics. If one understands the numbers to be literal and the men to represent about onefourth of the population, then the number of the israelites ranges from two to three million people 10 a literal understanding of the numbers in the census is in congruence with pharaohs fear of the rapidly increasing hebrews overrunning egypt ex 1. Theology of work bible commentary one volume edition. Such attribution has led some groups to mystical and theological extremes, believing numbers can reveal the future or uncover hidden information. Integral to a discussion of the theology of numbers is an understanding of the book s structure and its relationship to the rest of the pentateuch. The number, in this case may stand for judas, the th apostle who betrayed jesus.
The significance of numbers in holy scripture is far greater than just the numerical value of each individual number. How does holiness mediated in numbers through the priesthood challenge and redefine our sense of what is right, or fair. The command to put out of the camp those who were uncleanand the lord spoke to moses, saying. The significance of numbers in scripture agape bible study. What is the difference between the ceremonial law, the moral law, and the judicial law in the old testament. Business, education, law, service industries, medicine, governmentwherever you work, in whatever. Again, old testament scholars have done much research to show the riches of the theological content in that name. Though not spelled out in numbers, a governing understanding is that god is. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading theological hermeneutics and the book of numbers as christian scripture reading the scriptures. The eclipse of numbers narrative and the literal sense of korahs rebellion numbers 1516 the rock was christ. There are a number of religions such as taoism that hold to.
A literal understanding of the numbers in the census is in congruence. Numbers and work bible commentary theology of work. Interpreting biblical numbers the bible is the divine revelation of the true and living god and every jot and tittle in his word is deemed important. I have chosen to summarize what i consider the main message of the book and to select the most important themes for further study. In this post i provide a list of the numbers used in the book of revelation because those numbers are often seen as symbolic. Numbers contains three distinct divisions based on israels response to the word of the lord. The most common purpose has been discovering the truths and values of the old. Numbers appear frequently in scripture and in a variety of contexts.