DESIGN SHOWN IN THE WORD OF GOD
Chapter II
We now come to the Word of God, which is the greatest,
and, to us, most important of all God's works. May we not look for, and expect
to find, number used not only with the same wondrous design, but, here, with
significance also? If there be design, there must be significance. We may not
always see the reason for the latter in the works of creation; but we cannot
fail to do so in the great work of Divine Revelation. In Daniel 8:13 we read,
"Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain
saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice,
and the transgression of desolation," etc.?
Here, a revelation of a certain
future prophetic event was made to Daniel, by a certain saint or holy one,
i.e., a holy angel; and "another" angel asked a question concerning numbers
-"How long," etc.? The name of "that certain saint" is given in the Hebrew, and
is placed in the margin, with its meaning. His name is "PALMONI," and it means
"the numberer of secrets, or the wonderful numberer." So that there is one holy
angel, at least, whose function has to do with numbers. Numbers, therefore, and
their secrets, hold an important place in the words as well as in the works of
God. "A wonderful numberer" ("PALMONI") presides over them, and has his place
in making known the things of God.
This certainly looks like design;
and, if so - if not only the "days" in which revealed events shall take place
are numbered, but the words also themselves are numbered - then we shall have a
great and wondrous proof of the Divine, verbal, and even literal inspiration of
the Word of God.
"It is the glory of God to conceal a thing: but the
honour of kings is to search out a matter" (Prov 25:2). In searching out,
therefore, the secrets of the Word of God, we are doing not only a royal, but
an honourable work.
"The works of the LORD are great: sought out of
all them that have pleasure therein" (Psa 111:2). This is quite different, of
course, from trying to find out what God calls His "secret things."
"The secret things belong unto the LORD our God; but those things which are
revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever" (Deut 29:29). Our
searching must be confined to what is revealed. With what God has been pleased
not to reveal, but to keep secret, not only have we nothing whatever to do, but
we are guilty of the sin of presumption in even speculating about it. If a
child of God is observed to be much occupied with God's "secret things," he
will be found to be one who neglects the study of the things which God has
revealed.
We can have neither words nor works without "number." The
question which we have to answer is - Is number used with design or by chance?
Surely if God uses it, it must be with infinite wisdom and with glorious
perfection. And so it is. Each number has its own significance; and its meaning
is found to be in moral harmony and relation to the subject matter in
connection with which it stands. This harmony is always perfect. Every word of
God's Book is in its right place. It may sometimes seem to us to be deranged.
The lock may be in one place, and the key may sometimes be hidden away
elsewhere in some apparently inadvertent word or sentence.
A volume
might be written in illustration of this fact; and it would be a profitable
Bible-study to search out these little seemingly unimportant keys.
For
example: In Genesis 11 and 12, we see how Abram came out of Ur of the Chaldees,
but instead of going on at once to Canaan, he stops a long time in Haran. The
explanation of this delay is not given there. It is hidden away in Acts 7:4,
where we read, "from thence [i.e. from Haran] when his father was dead." From
which we learn that Terah was the hindrance; and we are taught by the fact,
thus emphasized, how earthly relationships may sometimes hinder our complete
obedience.
Another example is Isaiah 52:4: "My people went down
aforetime into Egypt to sojourn there; and the Assyrian oppressed them without
case." Here is a very difficult lock. This verse has greatly puzzled
commentators, who assume that two oppressions are spoken of, one in Egypt and
the other in Assyria. They are therefore at a loss to understand and explain
why these two oppressions are mentioned together in one verse, as though they
were closely connected, when in fact they were separated by more than seven
centuries. The key is hidden away in one little word in Acts 7:18, "There arose
another king." The word here translated "another" is not alloV, another
of the same kind; but it is eteroV, another of a different kind; showing
us that it was a different dynasty altogether: and the monuments now prove that
it was a new Assyrian dynasty.*
* The last king of the 18th dynasty,
Amenhotep IV, was succeeded by a new race of kings which is called the 19th
dynasty, commencing with RAMESES I and his son Seti I, who reigned together,
Seti I surviving as the Pharaoh of the "Oppression" (Exo 1 and 2) and dying
(Exo 2:23). His mummy is now in the Boulak Museum. He was succeeded by RAMESES
II - the Pharaoh of the Plagues and the Exodus, who was drowned in the Red Sea.
The change to this new dynasty is clearly seen in the monuments, in the great
difference between the round faces, flat noses, and thick lips of the 18th or
Egyptian dynasty, and the long face, high cheekbones, and aquiline nose of the
Assyrian of the 19th dynasty. Josephus speaks of "the crown being come into
another family" (Ant. ii. 9). The same is implied in the words "a new king"
(Exo 1:8); See Deuteronomy 32:17; Judges 5:8; Daniel 2:31, 39, 44, 3:24.
Many other examples might be given to show how a name, or a word, or a
genealogy, or a date, may be found, which is seemingly of little or no
importance in its context, and yet may throw wondrous light on a passage
written elsewhere, and be a key to a difficulty, otherwise, inexplicable. "But
all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit," whose infinite wisdom is
seen inspiring the whole of Divine revelation and securing a uniformity in
results which would be absolutely impossible in a work written separately by
different writers. Let us defer for the present the subject of significance,
and look at a few facts which show a manifest design pervading the whole Bible,
by which various agents, writing at different intervals, and thus separated
both by place, and time, and circumstance, are yet made to use certain words a
definite number of times.
The actual number depends upon the special
significance of the word; for the significance of the word corresponds with the
significance of the number of the times it occurs. Where there is no such
special significance in the meaning or use of the word, there is no special
significance in the number of its occurrences. But where there is a general
importance in the word, apart from its direct significance, then the word
occurs according to law.
All such general and important words - i.e.,
such words on which the Holy Spirit would have us place special emphasis, or
would wish us to lay special stress - occur a certain number of times. These
are either -
(1) A square number, or
(2) A cube, or
(3) A
multiple of seven, or
(4) A multiple of eleven.
It is interesting to
notice why these numbers should be thus associated together. They are
significant in themselves, for seven is one of the four so-called perfect
numbers, 3, 7, 10 and 12, as we shall see below.
3 is the number of Divine
perfection.
7 is the number of Spiritual perfection.
10 is the number
of Ordinal perfection.
12 is the number of Governmental perfection.
The product of these four perfect numbers forms the great number of
chronological perfection, 3 x 7 x 10 x 12 = 2520, the times of Israel's
punishment, and the times of Gentile dominion over Jerusalem.*
* See The
Witness of the Stars (Part II), by the same author.
The association
of the numbers 11 and 7 connects this arithmetical law with the geometrical,
and calls our attention to the phenomena presented by the sides of the four
primary rectilineal forms -
In the plane,
The triangle has 3 sides
The square has 4 sides = 7
In the solid,
The pyramid has 5 sides
The cube has 6 sides = 11
The number 18 (the sum of these, 7 +
11) in Scripture and in nature is usually thus divided into 7 and 11, or 9 and
9. As 7 is to 11, so is the height of a pyramid (whose base is a square) to the
length of its base.
As 7 is to 11 expresses also the ratio between the
diameter of a circle and its semi-circumference; or between a semi-circle and
its chord.
Further, as 18 in Scripture and in nature is divided into 7
and 11, so 7 is divided into 3 and 4 (3+4=7), and 11 is divided into 5 and 6
(5+6=11).
These numbers, 3, 4, 5, and 6, are related by a perfect
arithmetical progression, whose difference is unity (1). Their product gives us
the well-known division of the circle into 360 degrees (3x4x5x6=360)*. No one
can tell us why the great circle of the heavens (the Zodiac) should be divided
into 360 parts, instead of any other number, for apart from this it appears to
be perfectly arbitrary. This is the number, however, which gives us the great
Zodiacal, Prophetic, and Biblical year of 360 days, which was given originally
to Noah, and employed by the Babylonians and Egyptians.
* The number 360
is divisible without a remainder by all the nine digits except seven.
It is the multiplication of seven of these great Zodiacal circles, or years, by
seven, which gives us the great number expressive of chronological perfection
(360x7=2520). The number 2520 is, perhaps, the most remarkable of all others,
for
It is the summary of all the primary rectilinear forms. It is the
product of the four great numbers of completion or perfection, as shown above
(for 3x7x10x12=2520). It is the Least Common Multiple (LCM) of all the ten
numbers from which our system of notation is derived; for the LCM of 1, 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, is 2520. Finally, in the musical scale, as we have
already seen, we again meet with these numbers seven and 11 as the expression
of the seven primary notes and the 11 semitones.
What there is of design
or chance in all this we must leave to the judgment of our readers.
It is
sufficient for our purpose now, merely to note that these two numbers, seven
and 11, have been specially selected to play so important a part;* and that
there is such a remarkable relation between them must be due to design.
*
Why they should have been so selected we cannot tell. That there must be a
peculiar adaptation in certain numbers and certain things is clear, even
according to man's usage of them. Man speaks of "three cheers" and "forty
winks," but why no other number would do no one can tell.
Why should
it be these two numbers seven and 11? Why not any other two numbers? or why two
at all? Why not three? We may or may not be able to explain why, but we cannot
close our eyes to the fact. We are now merely observing phenomena and noting
the working of laws. Let us look first at
THE
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
The Old Testament
The Authorised
Version, and indeed all printed Bibles, contain and reckon 39 separate books in
the Old Testament.
The Alexandrian Jews and early Christian Fathers
reckoned 22 (2x11) books. This number was arbitrarily and artificially made by
putting certain books together in order to make the number of the books agree
with the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet.*
* This number 22 they
obtained by arbitrarily reckoning Judges and Ruth together as one book, and
Jeremiah and Lamentations together, in addition to reckoning the double books
as one, and Ezra-Nehemiah as one.
But all these reckonings are of no
value, none of them being based on any authority, and all of them being against
the authority of the Hebrew MSS, which is all that we have to guide us in the
matter. In other words, the number and order of the books of the Bible come to
us on precisely the same authority as its facts and doctrines. In the Hebrew
MSS Ezra and Nehemiah are always reckoned as one book, with the one name, Ezra.
Each of the double books is reckoned as one book (e.g. 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2
Kings, and 1 and 2 Chronicles), and all the minor prophets are also reckoned as
one book. This makes 24 books in all. This is 8 x 3, both factors stamping the
number with the seal of Divine perfection. (see under the numbers Three and
Eight).*
* For further information on this interesting subject see a
pamphlet on The Names and Order of the Books of the Old Testament, by the same
author.
The New Testament
The New Testament contains 27
separate books (3x3x3 or 33).
Of these 27 books, 21 (3x7) are Epistles.
THE WRITERS
If we take
the agents employed, we have 28 writers (4x7) in the Old Testament, and 8 (23)
in the New Testament; or together, 36 (62).
Of the 21 Epistles of the New
Testament 14 (2x7) are by Paul, and seven by other writers.
In this we
have an argument for the Pauline authorship of the Epistle to the Hebrews; an
argument which is confirmed by the numbers of verbal occurrences shown below.
(See pages 37-41.)*
* The following logical reasoning also supports
the Pauline agency. There are four steps in the argument: -
Peter wrote
his First Epistle to the Diaspora, the Dispersion. See 1 Peter 1:1. His Second
Epistle was addressed to the same dispersed of Israel. See 2 Peter 3:1. To
these same he says (2 Peter 3:15) "our beloved brother Paul...hath written unto
YOU." Where is this Epistle if it be not the one which is addressed to "the
Hebrews"? Not only do we find these phenomena in the books and the writers of
the Bible, but in the occurrences of important words and phrases.
WORDS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
"Mercy
seat" occurs 27 times (33).
"The candlestick" occurs 27 times (33).
The "wave offering"* occurs 28 times (4x7).
* Only in Exodus and Leviticus
the AV does not translate "wave" uniformly.
The "heave-offering"*
occurs 28 times (4x7).
* In its sacrificial character.
"Frankincense"
occurs in Leviticus 7 times and elsewhere 14 times for a total of 21 (3x7)
"Tenth deal," 28 times (4x7).
"Shittim wood," h+@af#$i and My+@i#$i,
28 times (4x7).
"Living" (yx, Chai):
Chaldee 7 175 (7x25)
Hebrew
Leviticus 35 (5x7)
Numbers 7
Deuteronomy 21 (3x7)
Samuel 49 (7x7)
Solomon 56 (7x8)
"Manna," Nmaf, occurs 14 times (2x7).
Qoheleth, tleheq&, "preacher," seven, all in Ecclesiastes:
3 at the
beginning (1:1,2,12).
1 in the middle (7:27).
3 at the end (12:8,9,10).
"Little children," P+a:
In Deuteronomy 7 42 (6x7)
Rest of
Pentateuch 21
Elsewhere 14
In God's covenant with Noah (Gen 9)
the word Berith, "covenant," is used seven times; with Abraham (Gen 15 and 17)
14 times.
N'ginah (hnaygin:, "a song," etc.):
In Psalm Titles 7 14*
Elsewhere 7
* Seven times in singular: - one in Psalms (61), and
six elsewhere. Seven times in plural (Neginoth): - six in Psalms (4, 6, 54, 55,
67, 70), and one elsewhere (Hab 3:19), thus making a double-sevenfold
arrangement within another!
"Chief Musician" (M'natstsach):*
In
Psalms 55 (5x11) 56 (7x8)
Hab 3:19 (RV) 1
* The verb occurs 9
times (32) with other meanings.
"Blessed" (ashrey):*
Psalms 25 (52)
44 (4x11)
Rest of Old Testament 19
* This word is masculine
plural construct, and means literally, O the blisses of! O the happiness of! It
is never used in the singular, to show that God's blessings cannot be numbered.
It is translated 17 times "happy" and 27 times "blessed."
"Vision":
wzx, Cheh-zev (Chald.) 11 55 (5x11) Nwzx, Chah-zon 35 (5x7) Nwyzx,
Chiz-zah-yohn 9 (32)
"Branch": rcn, Neh-tzer* 4 (22) 16 (42) xmc,
Tsemech** 12 (3x22)
* From (Nahtsar), to preserve, which occurs 63 (7x9)
times.
** Tsemech is used of Christ the Branch 4 (22) times.
pah-sach, the verb used of the Passover, seven times. , k'thoh-neth, and
koot-toh-neth, "coats," 28 times (1st occ. Gen 3:15).(lish shahn) (Chald.),
languages, 7 times - all in Daniel. (rz (zeh-ragh), seed, 224 (7x32).
WORDS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
"The
Father" occurs in Matthew 44 times (4x11).
"The Father" occurs in Mark* 22
times (2x11).
* One passage (11:26) is disputed, and is omitted in the RV.
The above numeration is an argument for its retention.
"The Father"
occurs in Luke 16 times (42).
"The Father" occurs in John 121 times (112).
"The Father" occurs in Rest of NT 77 times (7x11).
"The Lamb," a
peculiar word (arnion) as used of Christ, 28 times* (4x7).
* The
Concordance gave 29; but, on examination, one of these was found to belong to
Antichrist, Revelation 13:11.
(phos), light, occurs 72 times
(33x6) if we add with RV Ephesians 5:9 and Revelation 22:5. apax (hapax), once,
or once for all, 14 times (2x7), omitting 1 Peter 3:20 with RV. This is a word
used especially of Christ's sufferings and death.
anastasiV
(anastasis) rising again 1 42 resurrection 39 raised to life again (with ek) 1
the first that should rise (with prwtoV ex) 1
afqartoV
(aphthartos) not corruptible 1 7 incorruptible 4 uncorruptible 1 immortal 1
"Israelites" (pl.), 7. KokkoV grain 6 7 corn 1 Kurieuw, (kurieuo) be
Lord of 1 7 lord 1 exercise lordship over 1 have dominion over 4
(Odee), a song, 7. yalmoV (psalmos), a psalm, 7. Nazareq, per (Nazareth)
occurs 12 times (22x3) 25 (52) NazwraioV, (Nazarethan) occurs 13 times*
*
This is omitting Mark 10:47 and Luke 24:19, where the reading is NazarhnoV
(Nazarene), according to Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Alford, Westcott and
Hort. For the significance of this number, see under "Thirteen."
There is another word NazarhnoV (Nazarene), which seems to have not so much a
local reference, but a moral sense. This word occurs six times,* and partakes
of the moral significance of the number six.
* Adding the two passages in
the above note, they are Mark 1:24, 10:47, 14:67, 16:6; Luke 4:34, 24:19.
This shows that the other two words refer to the city and its inhabitants,
as noun and adjective; and therefore, that NazwraioV, in Matthew 2:23, has
special reference to the inhabitants of the city, and means "He shall be called
a Nazarethan." (See "the first fulfillment of prophecy in the New Testament,"
under the number "One.") ounesiV (sunesis) understanding 6 7 knowledge 1 sperma
(sperma), seed, 44 (4x11). meqermhneuw (methermeeneuo) interpret 5 7 be by
interpretation 2
"Verily" is shown to be a weighty word. It occurs 49
times (72) in the first three Gospels* and 25 times in John (52). In the Gospel
of John, however, it is always used double ("Verily, verily"), making 50
altogether in John, and 49 in the other three, or 99 in all (32x11).
*
Omitting Matthew 6:11 and Luke 23:35 with RV.
If we separate those
which were spoken to the Disciples and those spoken to others, we have
| Spoken to the Disciples Matthew . . . . 20 (22x5) Mark . . . . . . .. 9 (32) Luke . . . . . . . . 4 (22) = = . . . . . .. . . 33 (3x11) John . . . . . . .. 10 (2x5) |
Spoken to others 10 (2x5) 4 (22) 2 16 (42) 15 (3x5) |
"Moses" occurs 80 times in the New Testament (42x5) (or 23x10). The
Concordance gave only 79, overlooking Hebrew 11:23.
The names of the
Apostles conform to this law: -
Peter occurs 245 times (72x5) Simon* (used
of Peter) occurs 50 times (52x2)
* The Concordance gave in this case one
too many, viz., 51, but this was found to include Mark 3:18, which is another
Simon (the "Canaanite").
James (the great) occurs 21 times (3x7)
James (the less) occurs 21 times (3x7)
John occurs 49 times (72)
Simon Zelotes occurs 4 times (22)
Matthew occurs 8 times (23)
Philip
occurs 16 times (42)
Paul occurs 160 times (42x10)
Saul (Apostle)
occurs 25 times (52)
Seven were called before the whole Twelve were
appointed: -
John (John 1:35-39)
Andrew (John 1:40)
Peter (John
1:41,42)
Philip (John 1:43)
Nathanael (Bartholomew) (John
1:47-51)
James (son of Zebedee) (Matt 4:21)
Matthew (John 9:9)
Then
the Twelve appear to have been called at seven different times: -
1.
Andrew and John, John 1:35-39 4 7
2. Peter, John 1:41
3. Philip, John
1:43
4. Nathanael (Bartholomew), John 1:47-51
5. James (son of
Zebedee), Matthew 4:21 3
6. Matthew, Matthew 9:9
7. The remaining
five, Luke 6:13-16
Here the seven is divided as usual into 4 and
3. Four being recorded in John's Gospel, and three in the other Gospels.
It is probable also that they belonged to seven different families, but the
relationships are too uncertain for us to speak positively. At any rate seven
were brothers: - Peter and Andrew; James and John; James (the less), Judas
(Lebbaeus or Thaddaeus), and Simon (Zelotes).
Side by side with this
seven-fold order, marking the number of the Apostles, there is a three-fold
division of the twelve into fours.
Altogether there are four (22) lists of
the Apostles' names; three in the Gospels and one in the Acts. In each list the
order of the names varies, but with this remarkable agreement, that the first
name in each group is the same in each list, while the other three, though they
are in a different order, are never in a different group, thus: -
Matt
10:2-4 Mark 3:16-19 Luke 6:14-16 Acts 1:13
PETER and Andrew and James
and
Andrew and James
James and John
James and John and
John and
Andrew and
John and Andrew
PHILIP and Bartholomew(1) and
Bartholomew(1) and
Bartholomew(1) and Thomas
Thomas and Matthew
Matthew Bartholomew and
Matthew and Thomas and
Thomas and
Matthew
JAMES (son of Alphaeus) and Lebbaeus(2) and
Thaddaeus(2)
and Simon(3) (Zelotes) and
Simon(3) (Zelotes) Simon(3) (Can.) and
Simon(3) (Can.) & Judas(2) (br. of Jas.) &
Judas(2) (br. of
Jas.) and Judas (Iscariot) and
Judas (Iscariot) and
Judas (Iscariot)
Vacant
(1) A patronymic for Nathanael. See John 1:44-46, where he is
joined with Philip as here, and John 21:2.
(2) Judas the brother of James,
to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot. He was called Lebbaeus or Thaddaeus,
words which have a similar meaning, courageous.
(3) Canaanite, not a
Gentile name, but an Aramaic word meaning the same as Zelotes.
Note (1)
that 4 hold the same place in each list, Judas Isacriot being always last. (2)
That in Matthew and Luke the first four are arranged in pairs according to
their calling and sending out; while in Mark and Acts they are placed
individually according to their pre-eminence.
(3) The second four are
given in Matthew, Luke, and Acts, in pairs; while in Mark they are given
individually.
(4) The third four are in Matthew, again given in groups;
while in Mark, Luke, and Acts the order is individual.
(5) That each group
furnished a penman of the NT: from the first Peter and John; from the second
Matthew; from the third James and Jude.
The illustrations of the working
of this law might be indefinitely extended. We have given merely a selection
from our lists, which contain a large number of examples. Let us turn to
The Apocalypse
In the Book of
the Revelation of Jesus Christ, seven seems to be the predominating number, not
only used as a numeral, but in the occurrences of the important words: -
"Jesus" occurs 14 times (2x7) (seven times alone, and seven times with
"Christ") "Lord"* occurs 21 times (3x7) * This word kurioV gave some trouble.
For the Concordance gave 22. This was good enough, being 2 x 11. But being in
the Apocalypse we expected a multiple of seven, and this led to a more careful
examination. We found that the RV omitted kurioV, on due authority, in
Revelation 16:5 and 19:1, while it inserted it in 11:4 instead of the word
"God," thus leaving exactly 21 as above.
"Spirit," 14 times, Pneuma,
1:10, 2:7,17,29, 3:1,6,13,22, 4:5, 5:6, 11:11, 14:13, 22:17
axioV (axios),
worthy, 3:4, 4:11, 5:2,4,9,12, 16:6
upomonh (hupomonee), patience, 1:9,
2:2,3,19, 3:10, 13:10, 14:12
sarx (sarx), flesh, 17:16, 19:18 (five times),
21
deka kerata (deka kerata), ten horns, 12:3, 13:1 (twice),
17:3,7,12,16
profhteia (propheeteia), prophecy, 1:3, 11:6, 19:10,
22:7,10,18,19
shmeion (seemeion), sign, 15:1
shmeion (seemeion),
wonder, 12:1,3, 13:13
shmeion (seemeion), miracle, 13:14, 16:14, 19:20
asthr (asteer), star, 1:16,20 (twice), 2:1,28, 3:1, 6:13, 8:10,11,12, 9:1,
12:1,4, 22:16 (14 times)
yuch (psuchee), life, 8:9, 12:11
yuch
(psuchee), soul, 6:9, 16:3, 18:13,14, 20:4
kairoV (kairos), time (i.e.
season), 1:3, 11:18, 12:12,14 (3 times), 22:10
seismoV (seismos),
earthquake, 6:12, 8:5, 11:13 (twice), 19, 16:18 (twice), seven times
elsewhere in NT, making 14 in all
etoimazw (hetoimazo), make ready,
19:7
etoimazw (hetoimazo), prepare, 8:6, 9:7,15, 12:6, 16:12, 21:2
basileuw (basileuo), reign, 5:10, 11:15,17; 14:6, 20:4,6, 22:5, 14 occurrences
elsewhere, making 21 in all
imation (himation), garment, 3:4, 16:15
imation (himation), raiment, 3:5,18, 4:4
imation (himation), vesture,
19:13,16
abussoV (abussos), bottomless, 9:1,2
abussoV (abussos),
bottomless pit, 9:11, 11:7, 17:8, 20:1,3
nefelh (nephelee), cloud, 1:7,
10:1, 11:12, 14:14 (twice), 15,16
tetartoV (tetartos), fourth, 4:7, 6:7
(twice), 8:12, 16:8, 21:19
tetartoV (tetartos), fourth part, 6:8
drepanon (drepanon), sickle, 14:14,15,16,17,18 (twice), 19
topoV (topos),
place, 2:5 6:14, 12:6,8,14, 16:16, 20:11
makarioV (makarios), blessed,
1:3, 14:13, 16:15, 19:9, 20:6, 22:7,14
oxuV (oxus), sharp, 1:16, 2:12,
14:14,17,18 (twice), 19:15
qumoV (thumos), wrath (God's), 14:10,19, 15:1,7,
16:1
qumoV (thumos), fierceness, 16:19, 19:14
ouai (ouai), woe 8
ouai (ouai), alas 6 [8+6=14* (2x7)]
* There is another seven-fold
arrangement in connection with this word; for while Bruder's Concordance gives
14 times in Revelation as noun and interjection, the word occurs 42 times
elsewhere as interjection only.
brontai (brontai), (Nom. pl.)
thunders, 10:3,4, 16:18
brontai (brontai), (Nom. pl.) thunderings, 4:5,
8:5, 11:19, 19:6
akolouqew (akoloutheo), to follow, 6:8, 14:4,8,9,13, 19:14
akolouqew (akoloutheo), reach, 18:5
piptw (pipto), to fall down (in
worship of God), 4:10, 5:8,14, 7:11, 11:16, 19:4,10
These are some
examples, among many others, from one book.
PHRASES OF THE BIBLE
(aleh tol'doth), these are
the generations, i.e., these are the events that time brought forth to him;
(from dly (yalad), to bring forth); or these are the things or persons produced
by him. This phrase occurs 14 times in the Bible, 13 times in the Old Testament
and once in the New Testament.
Genesis 11 times, of the Patriarchs,
etc.
Numbers (3:1) 1 of Aaron and Moses
Ruth (4:18) 1 of Pharez
(David)
= 13
Matthew (1:1) 1 of Jesus
= 14
The first and
last are used only of the "first Adam" and of the "last Adam." But these have
the additional formula, "This is the book of," etc. (Gen 5:1 and Matt 1:1).
While the total number is 14, Genesis has 11, which divide the book
into twelve sections. The first section being the Introduction, and the rest
consisting of these eleven "Tol'doth," making twelve divisions in all, in
Genesis.
The eleven Tol'doth in Genesis are as follows: -
2:4-4:26
The Heavens and the Earth
5:1-6:8 Adam
6:9-9:29 Noah
10:1-11:9
The Sons of Noah
11:10-26 Shem
11:27-25:11 Terah (not Abraham's!)
25:12-18 Ishmael
25:19-35:29 Isaac
36:1-8 Esau
36:9-37:1 Esau's
posterity
37:2-50:26 Jacob (not Joseph's)
The Massorah calls
attention to the fact that the word Tol'doth, in the Old Testament, is spelt in
two ways. The first and the last occurrences (Gen 2:4 and Ruth 4:18) are spelt
with two Vaus; the other eleven are spelt with one Vau. Various fanciful
explanations of the phenomena are indulged in by Jewish Commentators. But the
simple reason seems to lie in the fact, that the spelling of the first and last
is called plene, i.e., full or complete; while the spelling of the other eleven
is called defective. Thus the eleven which relate to Adam and his posterity
(5:1, etc.) are stamped with defect: while the first, which relates to the
heavens and the earth, tells of the perfection in which they were created; and
the last, which relates to Pharez (Ruth 4:18), contains the first mention of
the name of David, and tells of the Perfect One - David's Son and David's Lord,
who shall restore perfection to His people as well as to the new heavens and
the new earth.