The creation stories told in the Book of Genesis have their origins in the oral history of the people of Israel. They are influenced by this people’s cultural background as inhabitants of the ancient near east, but primarily and most importantly by their experience of God at work in their history. The Cultural Context of Israel gives a good explanation of religious and cultural influences on Israel, and also explains how Israel’s experience of God in its history influenced the accounts of creation.
One of the interesting aspects of a number of ancient languages like Hebrew is that in their written form, where we have numbers and letters, they had only letters. In that language there are no numeric characters but the letters are also used as numbers. The interesting outcome of this is that when a word is written, it also has a numeric equivalent. Applied in reverse, when a number is written, it has a word equivalent. The context of what was written told the reader the word was a reference to a numeric value or not.
These word equivalents, or numerical words were used by the ancient prophets in their writings, particularly to the Children of Israel during their time in captivity, as a way of getting out God's message at a time where their worship of God was forbidden by their captors. Writing in this manner, these documents could be freely distributed among the people without the authorities realising that there was a message being circulated that was hidden from them, but understood by the Hebrews. This was important for the likes of Daniel whose writings were actually prophesying about the kings and kingdoms under which they were being ruled. Daniel therefore wrote about Statues and Beasts to hide the true meaning, yet it could be understood by the Hebrews of the day who were familiar with the principle of numerical words having two meanings.
For us today, understanding the alternative meanings of words and numbers in the Bible, particularly prophets like Daniel, Ezekiel and Revelation that were all written during times of oppressive foreign rule, is essential in understanding what these books are about. By not being able to determine the true meaning of what was being said or to not even know or realise these words have an alternate meaning, we will never fully understand them, and they will make as much sense to us today as they did to the captors of the Children of Israel in the day they were written.
Not only do we need to know and interpret the numeric values of words to discover their hidden meaning, we need to understand that the scholars of these ancient documents needed to apply a literary device called Midrash to unlock the deeper, hidden meanings contained therein. The word Midrash itself means "textual interpretation" or "study”, derived from the root verb darash (דָּרַשׁ), which means "resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require", forms of which appear frequently in the Hebrew Bible. The word Midrash occurs twice in the Hebrew Bible: 2 Chronicles 13:22 "in the midrash of the prophet Iddo", and 24:27 "in the midrash of the book of the kings".
According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Midrash was initially a philological method of interpreting the literal meaning of biblical texts. In time it developed into a sophisticated interpretive system that reconciled apparent biblical contradictions, established the scriptural basis of new laws, and enriched biblical content with new meaning.”
This then brings us to the first chapter in the Bible – Genesis Chapter 1. Churches teach that Genesis Chapter 1 is an historical record of how the world was created, yet it seems to fly in the face of scientific evidence. Could it be that Genesis 1 was in fact written as doctrinal truth, rather than historical truth, after all it has been taught as spiritual (doctrinal) truth in synagogues for centuries?
Contrary to what many think, that Genesis Chapter 1 is figurative rather than actual is not an recent insight. St Augustine in the fourth century realised that the creation stories of Genesis were not scientific treatises. He taught that the whole purpose of the scriptures was to explain God’s plan for the world and its salvation, not to supply theories of natural science. There is no necessary conflict between the Genesis stories and scientific explanations of our origins such as the various theories of evolution.
If we substitute the numbers found in Genesis I with what those numbers represent in Biblical numeric whilst applying the principles of Midrash (textual interpretation) when reading it, we should be able to uncover and interpret the doctrinal truths buried in its words, if that is indeed how and why it was written. When we do this, we in fact end up with an introduction to God and who He is, how the world we live in works, and where He and we fit into that picture.
The meanings of the numbers in Genesis Chapter 1 given here are based on the multiple use of those numbers elsewhere in the Bible and what Jewish scholars of ancient times taught the people using those numbers. To find these meanings in Genesis Chapter 1, they must be read and interpreted like the parables of Jesus – as an earthly story containing hidden ‘spiritual’ truths or principles.
“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:3-5).
Numeric meaning: Unity, commencement, sovereignty, God's sovereignty, wholeness and unity.
The Bible often says "The Lord God is One". Deuteronomy 6:4 "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Ephesians 4:5 "one Lord, one faith, one baptism."
God created light (not darkness, as it already existed)
Light is good (infering darkness is not good)
Light is both the power source of the universe and the very material out of which the universe exists and matter is constructed.
Light reveals the way, darkness hides it, without light we are lost.
Light and darkness are in every way, shape and form, a part of our world. You can’t have one without the other – there would be no such thing as evil if there was not good to contrast it, or be its opposite. The same applies to up and down; top and bottom; black and white; positive spirits and negative spirits; positive attitudes and negative attitudes; inside and outside.
The first day began and ended with darkness (birth and death), God separated light from darkness so that there would be light (goodness) in between birth and death. The stages from physical conception to birth are paralleled in Genesis 1.
“When God said, ‘Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.’ Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day” (Genesis 1:6-8).
Numeric meaning: Division (as in a part of a whole), differences, distinctness, an agreement between two parts - each are different and distinct, but combine to create unity (oneness).
Though God is one, his creation is two-fold by nature (two parts that together form a whole). One part cannot exist without the other - both compliment and contrast the other. A right balance of the two brings wholeness - example: be angry (negative), but don’t sin (positive) in response to a negative situation, leaves a person calm and at one within themselves.
Other examples: Up and down. Top and Bottom. Inside and Outside. Good and Evil. Heaven and Hell. Mankind has two natures: human and divine (physical and spiritual). Two types of people (physical): Male and Female. Two types of people (spiritual): Bride of Christ and Bridesmaids, illustrated by Jesus as Sheep and Goats. Two types of responses: positive and negative. Two states of mind: calm and agitated.
In marriage, two shall become as one.
In Chinese culture, day two’s creation is paralleled in yin and yang - that the universe is governed by a cosmic duality, sets of two opposing and complementing principles or cosmic energies that can be observed in nature.
The differences also apply between the spiritual and physical - God and Man: “ My ways (spiritual) are not your ways (physical) … “My ways (spiritual) are above (better, higher, greater than) your ways (physical)”.
Two is the numerical symbolism of a faithful (truthful) witness or testimony. i.e., one being in agreement or "confirming" the witness of another.
Light and Dark were revealed and differentiated on Day 1, but were defined on Day 2.
“Then God said, ‘Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear’; and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth, and the gathering together of the waters He called Seas. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:9-10).
“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth’; and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day” (Genesis 1:11-13).
Numeric meaning: three represents divine perfection in physical terms, that which is solid, real, substantial, complete, entire.
Not only was the physical realm was created on the third day, but also all that is required to sustain life (grass, herbs. fruit).
All things physical are threefold in nature. The universe itself consists of Time, Space, and Matter. The earth has three environments: land, sea and sky. There are three states of physical existence: solid, liquid and gas. There are three forms of created matter: animal, vegetable and mineral. All substances are made up of atoms, which consist of three base elements: protons, neutrons and electrons. The essential elements of a musical chord are three notes; Time is measured as being in one of three states: past, present, future. Animals are tripartite beings: head, thorax and abdomen. Plants have a tripartite structure: roots, trunk, foliage.
Humans are tripartite beings: body (physical shell), soul (mind, will, emotion) and spirit (source of life that allows the body and soul to function together). The soul is tripartite: mind, will and emotions.
The third Heaven (2 Cor 12: 2) refers to the dwelling place of God, the 'three' being both a reference to God and his spiritual realm, the other two ‘heavens’ being the physical space above the earth and the spiritual realm wherein the tripartite human soul (mind, will, emotions) exists.
Jesus is said to have risen on the third day (God's day of resurrection). The first day represents his physical existence, the second his spiritual re-birth (attained by being born again), and the third his entry into a total realm of the spirit (God).
Truth is established on the evidence of three witnesses.
“Then God said, ‘Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth’; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day” (Genesis 1:14-19).
Numerical meaning: four represents physical things that have a beginning, of things that are made, material things, creation, the universe, the world that was created on Day 3. Four is the number of material completeness - North, South, East, West - "the four corners of the Earth", which indicates all things terrestrial and "under the Sun"; the four seasons, which are the four segments of time which compile a complete cycle (year) before the next cycle starts.
Light and dark had already been created and defined on Day 1, but only on Day 4 was the rule of light and dark relating to the physical realm allocated.
The 4th commandment is the first that refers to the earthly life ("Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy").
The 4th clause of the Lord's Prayer is the first that mentions the earth. It relates to God’s laws of life having to be established in the physical realm, just as they had already been revealed and differentiated in the spiritual realm (Heaven) on day 1.
The materials of the tabernacle were four and so were the coverings and the ornamentations. Four is also the number of man’s relationship to the physical world.
In prophecy, four signifies the world (a physical locality) as does the word 'city'. A city is interpreted in prophecy as a micro world, being a part of but representative of a much larger 'world', and as such can be interpreted as a specific reference to the people that make up that ‘world’) eg. “You are the light of the world, a city on a hill that cannot be hidden’ Matt 5:14.
“‘Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.’ So God created great sea creatures and every living thing that moves, with which the waters abounded, according to their kind, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.’ So the evening and the morning were the fifth day” (Genesis 1:20-23).
Numeric meaning: Divine grace and goodness, the bonuses that come with Godliness. Day 3 saw the creation of the things required to sustain life (grass, herbs, fruit). Day 4 saw the implementation of the laws of nature. Day 5 brought the added blessing of birds and sea animals. This concurs with science that has determined birds and sea animals came before land animals
In the Bible, the number five represents God-enabling, redemption, added blessing. Israel came out of Egypt in rank (Ex 13:18), the word ‘rank’ meaning ‘groups of five’, signifying they left Egypt in an act of divine grace and goodness. Though he only used and needed one, David picked up five smooth stones to fight Goliath (1 Sam. 17:40). The Holy Anointing Oil was pure and composed of five parts (Ex. 30:23-25). Five is also a leading factor in tabernacle measurement.
Five is the half-way point between zero (nothing) and ten (earthly or physical maturity, perfection, completion). Ten represents ordinal perfection as opposed to spiritual perfection (7). Five is at the half-way point where God gives unmerited blessings and favour both as a reward and as an incentive to complete the journey of life (10).
“Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind: cattle and creeping thing and beast of the earth, each according to its kind’; and it was so. And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”
“Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.’”
“And God said, ‘See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food’; and it was so. Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Genesis 1:24-31).
Numeric meaning: six is the number of humanity, often mentioned in prophesy as a reflection of carnal man in opposition to God. Man labours six days only, then rests on the seventh.
The 6th commandment is "Thou shalt not murder" (kill another man - 6)
Six is double 3. A double signified ‘twice the power of’, that is, ‘authority over’. On the sixth day, man was given authority of the earth and the things on it, which were created on Day 3.
The addition of the first 36 numbers from 1 to 36 equals 666. In prophecy, 666 is the number of the Beast; it represent an ungodly human power/authority structure (king, kingdom, rule). It is made up of six (man) and sixty (6 x 10: human authority) and six hundred (100 is the Hebrew word for 'world' (cosmos). In prophesy, 100 always refers to the children of the promise, Gods elect who have attained human completeness (10 x 10), thus 60 (human authority) times 100 (God’s elect) is man’s authority structure over God’s people. In the Book of Revelation there are two beasts – one believed to be symbolic of the Roman Catholic Church, the second is another authority originating from the first, but now a separate authority over a later, second branch of God’s people (Protestant churches?).
Six to the power of two (this multiple is used to calculate completeness) is 6 x 6 = 36, which represents man's completeness. Six to the power of three (6 x 6 x 6 = 216. In other words, 6 (man) to the power of three (divine perfection in physical terms), represents divine completeness of man.
216 x 10 = 2,160 is the number of divine ordinal completeness of man, that is, the complete ordered environment God created for mankind to live in.
2,160 is a common factor in the laws governing man's environment. In the mathematical design to all things, specifically with measurements, proportions (the Golden Mean) and distances, the number 2160 pops up all over the place.
21,600 = average number of breaths in a day taken by a human being.
2,160 miles = diameter of the moon,
2,160 = the total number of corner-angle degrees on the surface of a Cube.
21,600 miles per hour = the suns travel through our galaxy orbiting an unknown centre.
216,000 miles = the distance between the Earth and the Moon.
21,600 = the number of arc-minutes on any circumference, according to our math conventions.
2,160 years = one 'age' of the zodiac in the cycle of the precession of the equinoxes.
The Grid Latitude of Stonehenge is 51 deg x 10 min x 42.35294118 sec North = 21600 North.
A long unit of measure used by the ancient Egyptians was the "Schoenus," a unit of 216,000 modern inches.
The Roman "Load" was 3000 Libra; 2160 pounds today.
The earliest recorded bushel was equal to 2160 cubic inches.
Abrahem's birth has been calculated at 2160 BC.
“Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them, were finished. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis 2:1-3).
Numeric meaning: spiritual completeness, spiritual perfection, God's seal, a place of rest.
The number 7 appears 735 times in the Bible; the word "seventh" is used 118 times.
The seventh day of creation refers to the same day found in the fourth commandment (Exodus 20:8-11). “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.”
The number ‘three and a half’, which is half of seven, symbolises tribulation. It is the half way point in the journey from the beginning to spiritual completeness (7) but not human completeness (10). Tribulation is the birth pangs of new (spiritual) life.
In Bible numerics, the number 8 represents new beginnings, new birth, the beginning of a new cycle (the old having been completed with number 7). The resurrection of Jesus took place on the first day of the week (the 8th day of the previous week). In music the eighth note is not only the last note of an octave but the first note of a new octave. The eighth day of the week is the first day of the new week. God made 8 covenants with Abraham. Jewish male children were circumcised on the 8th day of his life.
Divine grace and goodness (5) x a new beginning (8) = the end of probation, waiting or incubation, and the arrival of a new generation (40). As eight signifies the beginning of a new week, so 40 signifies the beginning of a new year.
Alternatively 40 can be illustrated by another equation: 4 x 10: physical things that have a beginning (4) x redemption (10) = re-generation (born again … “old things are passed away, and all things become new (literal translation: are renewed)”.
Gematria – the use of number as symbols – takes the use of numbers as symbols to another level. Gematria works by giving each letter of the alphabet a numerica; value, starting with the first letter having a value of one. By adding up the numeric value of each letter, the sum total determines the word's value or meaning. As an example, the word "Jesus" in Greek is "iasous." Since each letter has a numeric equivalent, we can add up each number and get a value. This value is called the number's gematria. Therefore, the gematria of "Jesus" in Greek is 888 because i = 10 a = 8 s = 200 o = 70 u = 400 s = 200. 888 is a crucial number, not only because it is the number of Jesus; the Gematria for every word of each Gospel (Matthew, John, Luke etc.) totals that number. In addition to this, some Gematria is intrinsically linked to Sacred Geometry; paragraphs become symbols, shapes and geometric diagrams, depicting Sacred symbology.
The Gematria of words spoken by Jesus in the Gospels were combined to form geometric shapes (circles, triangles, lines etc.) that fit together like some great diagram. Spoken words in a parable or story were used for imagery, while the numerical value of other words could intersect these geometric designs at crucial points. The Genius of our Creator has transformed the written witness of His dealings with mankind (the Bible) into "three-dimensional hypertext" long before computers were even imagined.
What are the origins of Gematria? The Fifth century BC trading empire of the Eastern Mediterranean-Phoenicians saw the appearance of a writing mode in which alphabetical letters served as numbers.
Even at this early date, however, its roots were lost in the mists of time. From this base evolved the Greek and later Hebraic systems of Gematria. Both had reached a high degree of development by the Third Century BC. These alphanumeric alphabets exhibit qualities and interrelationships for which there is no logical intention. Yet an entire symbolic teaching evolved around them that incorporated the principles of number, form, sound, and astronomy. Only number combinations and figures could be utilized to express this knowledge. Today we view numbers as merely an expression of quantity. To the Ancients, however, every number had its own character and identity, a place in an arithmetic chain that leads from one dimension of understanding to another. Now this extraordinary system of arithmetic, or concealed Geometry, formed the link between the languages of literature and mathematics. With this knowledge, ancient literature, metrology, and sacred geometry can be viewed with new eyes.
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