Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: st0o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Steven Timm) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: important biblical numbers Message-ID: Date: 20 Jul 90 06:23:53 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 18 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu I know of fairly few times that the number 13 is mentioned in the Bible. The only significant thirteen I can think of would be Jesus + 12 disciples. Six was the number used to denote the imperfection of man. Daniel 3 loads the description of Nebuchadnezzar's golden images with sixes. The "Number of the Beast" is 666, a tripling of a number showing a perpetual or eternal perseverance of that quantity. I'm not aware of any significance to nine. As for 14, with 3 times 14 generations from Abraham to Christ in Matthew 1 (double-counting the people at the ends of the 14) I suspect this number was important because it was a multiple of seven. Seven is the number used to signify perfection, while eight signifies victory. If anyone has insights on 12, 40, or 5 please speak up! Steve