Miraculous Numbers?

Miraculous numbers?

The Old Testament sometimes recorded amazing, almost unbelievable, numbers. Adam’s descendants often lived over 900 years (Genesis 5:3–32). And the numbers escaping Egypt seem far too large (Numbers 1:20–47; 26:4–51). David’s census was also very high (2 Samuel 24:9; 1 Chronicles 21:5). And is it truly possible for 100,000 enemies to be slain in one day—with 27,000 more crushed by a city wall (1 Kings 20:29–30)? Scholars suggest several explanations.

Suggestions for the Old Ages in Genesis Chapter 5

• actual ages—Perhaps the first generations after Eden were physically able to live for centuries. Their ages are so precise that all the later generations died in the same year, the year of the Flood. God gradually limited us to 120 years, although seventy to eighty years is more common (Genesis 6:3; Psalm 90:10).
• gap years included—Genealogies often skipped generations to list only ten (Genesis 5:1–32; 11:10–26) or fourteen generations (Matthew 1:17). The listed ages may have included the gaps in between.
• different ways to count—Like some cultures today, ancient societies may have calculated the “years” differently. In addition to birthdays, they may have counted many other life events.
• years increased for honor—Some ancient cultures exaggerated the ages of kings to honor them. Sumerians and Babylonians used precise formulas (age multiplied by a squared number).
• symbolic ages—Enoch’s 365 years may be symbolic of a full life (365 days in a year), and Lamech’s 777 may be a multiple of seven, symbolic of completeness (see Genesis 4:24).

Suggestions for the High Conquest and Census Numbers

• actual numbers—The Scriptures claim that many conquests actually were miracles of God. And even Pharaoh feared the rapid increase of the Israelite population (Exodus 1:7). The census figures in Numbers are mathematically exact, but David’s totals are rounded figures.
• scribal error—When older manuscripts were missing a number, later copyists may have supplied a wrong number. And different manuscripts sometimes have different numbers.
• different meaning for “thousand”—Many scholars suggest that the word for “thousand” also meant “officer,” “family division” or “clan” (see Joshua 22:14; 1 Samuel 23:23).
• numbers increased for glory—Some ancient cultures exaggerated the enemies conquered in order to increase glory for their leaders, sometimes simply doubling a previous conquest.
• symbolic numbers—Hebrew letters also stand for numbers. So an unusual number may not be an actual count, but the total for all the letters in a name (compare Revelation 13:18).