Numbers! We use them every day. They record how much we have and how much we owe. They help us remember important events past and present. They are very practical and accurate. Things were different in the ancient world. Numbers were the language of the gods. Their symbolic meanings influenced people’s lives. They were magical.
Interesting! In our time, Bible readers sometimes force literalism that would surely surprise the original authors. Other times, those same readers are quick to look for embedded meanings by applying numerical equations onto the text. Why? To show that the Bible has a supernatural origin. In other words, to prove that God exists.
Bible Codes
Bible codes took the evangelical world by storm a couple decades ago. It’s origin goes back to 1291 BCE when rabbi Rabeinu Bachye authored his commentary on the Torah. He found a four-letter word starting with Genesis 1:1 and then skipping forward in 42 letter increments. Few cared. But in the twentieth century, Rabeinu Weissmandel picked up on the idea and found curious word patterns in the Torah using letter skips of 49, 50, and 613.1 Still, few cared. Forty years passed till in the 1990s, Michael Drosnin published his famous book, The Bible code . An impressive number of examples were illustrated. Could this be proof of God? Were hidden messages embedded within? Could some of the codes predict the future? Many thought so!
There are problems. Consider the New Testament for example. There are hundreds of thousands of textual variants among existing Greek manuscripts. Most of these are spelling variations or changes in word order. None have any impact on Bible doctrine. Unfortunately, they mess up Bible codes that rely on words emerging from exact spelling and equidistant spacings. It’s less of a problem to the Tanakh. Even here, the Old Testament Dead Sea Isaiah scroll has thousands of variants from the established Masoretic text. Other questions arise. Are the supposed hidden messages only in Hebrew or do they extend to the Greek Septuagint translation?
The knockout blow. Researchers find similar patterns when applying the same technique to other large works such as War and Peace. Serious scholars therefore reject Bible codes as anything to take seriously.2 In my opinion, Bible code research simply is an example where modern Westerners try to force secret messages onto a text that doesn’t care about such things.
Gematria
Gematria involves assigning numerical values to names, words, or phrases. Both Greek and Hebrew number systems make this possible. Digits are encoded as letters. Imagine. A for 1; B for 2; etc. This gives each name and word a numeric value. Both Jews and Christians dance with this in their literature. Subtle embedded symbolic values are thought to reveal hidden biblical insights. The earliest known instance of this goes back to the eighth century BCE. Sargon II writes on an Assyrian cuneiform inscription:
Hittite cedar and cypress I laid over them for roofs 16,203 cubits, the numeral of my name.3
Unfortunately, cuneiform has thousands of symbols, not an alphabet as we know it. Nobody has a clue how 16,203 corresponds to his name or if it even has anything to do with the spelling. This is a historical mystery that will likely remain unsolved. As best as we can tell, alphabetic numeral systems originated with the Greeks around 600 BCE. The Jews followed sometime after (likely in the second century BCE).4
As with the Bible code, the practice of gematria is problematic. The original authors of Tanach would not have known about the practice. Furthermore, numbers in the bible are always spelled out in words. The only exception as far as I can tell is the famous 666 in Revelation 13:18. In that instance, John tells us that it has a coded meaning.
Here is wisdom. He who has understanding, let him calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is six hundred sixty-six (χξς).
My conclusion is this: focusing attention on Bible codes or gematria move our attention away from biblical truth. It is not helpful. Paul’s advice applies:
As I urged you . . . not to pay attention to myths and endless genealogies, which cause disputes, rather than God’s stewardship, which is in faith—but the goal of this command is love, out of a pure heart and a good conscience and sincere faith; (1 Tim 1:3–7)
Valid Symbolism
Puzzling! How is it that often the same believers who are ready to accept Bible codes and gematria tend to hold to a flat literal reading of Bible texts? In doing so, these believers are quick to disregard the intent of the original authors. Why? I guess fear. Symbolic interpretations undermine the authority of scripture.
Consider the first Pentecost: “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under the sky. (Acts 2:5). Note the similarity to the wording about the flood: “I, will bring the flood of waters on this earth, to destroy all flesh having the breath of life from under the sky. (Gen 6:17)” Common sense dictates that Peter was not including the indigenous tribes of North America and Australia. When it comes to Noah and the flood though, it’s a different story.
In normal conversation even today, we don’t always speak in literal terms. A teenager comes home and says: “I want a particular video game. Everyone in the school has one.” Really? Did they actually talk to every single classmate? Unlikely! If I say: “I waited for my computer to boot all morning,” do I mean every second of the morning? Starting at what time? A politician tells us that the country is lost should his opponent get elected. Again, really? Put similar statements into the Bible, and common sense good bye. Examples follow:
Jacob complains that his relative Laban changed his wages ten times (Gen 31:7, 41). How many of us are tempted to count through the verses of the Bible to find the ten wage changes. I don’t think I have, but I thought about it at times. How about you? Other similar examples regarding the number ten are found in Num 14:22; Neh 4:12; Job 19:3. Consider Dan 1:20. After Daniel refused eating from the kings table for a trial period of ten days, the scripture states:
In every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters who were in all his realm.
Daniel was ten times better. What does this even mean? How would it be measured? Obviously, in all these cases, the number ten is not meant to be 10. I would say that it means ‘many, much, or lots.’
The number forty is another example. Moses went without food for forty days and forty nights (Exod 34:48). So did Elijah (1 Kgs 19:8) and Jesus (Luke 4:2). Is a miracle required in all these cases? Yes, God does miracles. However, as I understand it, he does them sparingly and for special purposes. Forty in these cases likely refers to an indefinite time of testing.
Finally, consider the number seven. Many times this number is indeed literal. Other times we can’t tell. Were there exactly seven good years and seven famine years at the time of Joseph (Gen 41)? Would six and a half still work? How about seven years and a day? Does it have to be exact? The number seven serves an additional symbolic meaning. It points us back to God and the creation. How about Jesus being in the tomb for three days and three nights? Exactly 72 hours? Would 71 hours suffice? These examples signal a hint. Perk up. Look for a spiritual implication? The exact numerical value is not the point.
Conclusion
Ancient peoples used numbers consistent with their times and culture. It is silly to force formulas and hidden patterns onto scripture. It is also a mistake to require scripture to conform to modern standards. The Bible provides eyewitness accounts of God’s unfolding revelation. These, when interpreted properly, bring the texts to life. Literalism can engulf spiritual truth in a fog that clouds our understanding.
References
Torah Codes Bible Codes: a Lie That Won’t Die Luckenbill, Daniel. Ancient Records of Assyria and Babylonia . Vol. 2, University of Chicago Press, 1927. 65.
Chrisomalis, Stephen. Numerical Notation: A Comparative History . Cambridge University Press, 2010. 133–187.
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I read Drosnin’s book. It was rubbish, and surprisingly, He did not believe in God! Meaning is discovered in taking on the cultural context and mindset of those Hod inspired.