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1 Corinthians 15:1–4; Genesis 1, 7:11–12 Certain numbers
seem to pop up everywhere in Scripture. What can they tell us about time?
By the numbers
Recently I read my daughter the story of Snow White — not the Disney story, but the original Grimm’s fairy tale. In this version, the wicked queen attacks Snow White not just once with a poisoned apple, but three times. I remembered the Three Bears, Three Little Pigs, and Three Billy Goats Gruff. Bad things happen in threes and yet the third time is the charm. Certain numbers, it seems, resonate with us beyond their everyday function as instruments for counting and measurement.
Numbers such as 3, 7 and 40 permeate the Scriptures. In some passages these numbers have a simple rhetorical purpose. Three sometimes serves as a generic “few,” whereas 40 indicates the length of a generation, or what we might call “a good long while.” But what did these numbers signify to the people who told, retold and recorded these stories? What does each reveal to us about time?
Easy as 1, 2, 3
Anyone who has sung “God in three persons, blessed Trinity” knows the power of the number 3, which conveys holiness. The dimensions of the temple worked in proportions of 3, with the Holy of Holies comprising one third of the temple. Three also implies completion: a beginning, middle and end. Jonah spent 3 days in the belly of a great fish, while Jesus rose on the third day.
In Jewish law something that is done 3 times is considered permanent. If we try a new habit or practice once, or even twice, it doesn’t “stick.” After 3 times, it’s for real. Many Jewish prayers are said 3 times, to lend emphasis and conviction to the words. Perhaps this is why Jesus asks Peter 3 times if he loves him — he knew Peter would need that resolve for the difficult road ahead.
‘Lucky’ 7
Seven was a significant number for several ancient civilizations. The Egyptians and Mesopotamians took part in 7-day festivals, perhaps influenced by the presence of 7 planets in the night sky. Seven is similar to 3, signifying perfection and completion. From the length of the plagues in Egypt (7 days) to the number of times Jesus commands us to forgive (70 times 7), the number drips with ritual significance. We see this reflected in the establishment of the Sabbath day, the Sabbatical year (every 7 years) and the Jubilee year (7 squared plus 1, or 50).
Seven is knit into the structure of the Genesis 1 creation story in the original Hebrew. The first sentence contains 7 words, and the second sentence, 14 words. Certain words such as “God” and “earth” appear in multiples of 7 (35 and 21, respectively). Phrases such as “it was so” and “it was good” appear exactly 7 times. And in the last section, which deals with God’s day of rest, each of the 3 statements has 7 words in it, and the middle (fourth) word of each statement is: Seven.
Life begins at 40?
Scripture identifies 40 as the age of maturity (Exodus 2:11 together with Acts 7:23). And according to the Talmud, the soul enters the body of a child 40 days after he or she is conceived. Forty, therefore, is a symbol of birth, rebirth and change. Remembering that 40 also signifies “a long period of time,” the implication is clear: change doesn’t happen in the blink of an eye. The journey of transformation takes time. It took 40 days of flood, 40 years of wilderness wandering, 40 days of temptation by Satan, 40 days between resurrection and ascension for God’s purposes to be achieved.
So what are we to make of all these numbers? Some people attempt to reconcile the units of time with historical records so that the text may be proven inerrant and consistent. Some take this numbers game to the extreme, seeing patterns everywhere and believing that God has embedded messages in the Scripture which we can use to predict the future (i.e. the Bible Code books). Others dismiss the numbers as mere coincidence, or a product of literary convenience.
I see them as evidence of the cohesion of our sacred story and the coherence of God’s providence and care. There is a logic to time, but it is God’s logic alone. Whether we’re talking about 3 days in the belly of a fish or a 40-year journey, God is the ultimate author of time. Just as the heavens tell the glory of God, so does the passage of time.
MaryAnn McKibben Dana is associate pastor of Burke (Va.) Presbyterian Church. |
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