Biblical numerology
use of numbers for their symbolic value in biblical texts
Biblical numerology is the use of numerology in the Bible to convey a meaning outside of the numerical value of the actual number being used. Numerological values in the Bible often relate to a wider usage in the Ancient Near East.
Values
Three and a half. A broken seven or a symbolic week that "is arrested midway in its normal course." The most prominent example is in Daniel 12:7, where "a time, two times, and half a time" or "time, times, and a half" designates a period of time under which God's faithful are persecuted by the fourth beast. Corresponds approximately to the temple's desecration under Antiochus IV Epiphanes (167-164 BC). In various Jewish sources, three and a half also signifies the amount of time that the Temple is given over to heathen worship (Dan. 7:25; 2 Macc. 10:5; Test. of Levi 17:1). Variations of the three and a half years result in other numerological values.
The public source identifies “Biblical numerology” as use of numbers for their symbolic value in biblical texts. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Biblical, numerology and numbers.
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This entry incorporates text from “Biblical numerology” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.