When being numerate used to mean something else the case of number symbolism in the Hebrew bible

Meir Bar-Ilan

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to present a new method of biblical criticism by drawing attention to the importance of numbers and their meanings in the biblical text, with and without concepts that are also known as being Pythagorean concepts. It is argued that the numerical symbolism of Sarah having lived 127 years is that it denotes the concept of perfectness, while the numerical symbolism of Moses having lived 120 years is that it denotes completeness. It is shown that the years of lives of the Patriarchs are set in a series, and they were no random numbers. The meaning and implications of the innovation is discussed, showing that it might be done in whatever language, not just in Hebrew.

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014.

Keywords

  • Biblical interpretation
  • Number symbolism
  • Pythagorean concepts

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