Eight: The Kingdom of God, redemption, and newness or renewal 

The number eight both in Judaism and Christianity expresses "newness". Many scholars call it the number of redemption or the Kingdom number. A common use for the number eight relates to circumcision, for a male child was circumcised on the eighth day. It was on the eighth day the male child was also given a name. It was through the covenant of circumcision and the giving of a Hebrew name that the child entered into a new relationship as a member of the Children of Israel. Circumcision also relates to the death of the flesh (carnal nature), which is one of the primary outcomes of redemption. Not living according to the flesh expresses a Kingdom lifestyle. Before examining a few examples from the Scripture, let it be stated that early churches were often built with eight walls to convey faith in the resurrection (the Kingdom hope). The Bible states that Yeshua rose from the dead on the first day of the week. However, when also considering the prior week, seven days and adding the first day of the week, the total is eight. Therefore, Christianity has used the number eight to convey the concept of resurrection and not only the resurrection of Yeshua, but all who will enter into the Kingdom. Resurrection and Kingdom are often linked together in both Judaism and Christianity. 

In the book of Leviticus, Moses provides a list of God's festival days. The last one is known as the Eighth Day Assembly (see Leviticus 23:36). Although very little is stated in the Scripture concerning this festival, it is treated as a Shabbat and called a holy convocation. Whereas Christianity ignores this day altogether, Judaism places great significance upon it and understands its message as related to the Kingdom. 

A classic example of the number eight is found in Acts chapter 9. In this passage, a man who was paralyzed for eight years, was healed by Peter. There is no coincidence that in the next passage the message found is resurrection. In 1 Peter 3:20, eight individuals are mentioned. These are Noah and his wife and their three sons and their wives. It was with these eight people that HaShem began humanity anew. This is one of the places that one can see how the concept of newness is related to the number eight. The vast majority of times the number eight appears in the Scripture it is part of a composite number. For example, in John chapter five a man was paralyzed for 30 and 8 years (38). This occurrence provides a good illustration of how composite numbers should be handled.

Although the number 30 has as a general meaning death, it is possible to understand it as multiplications of five and six, and three and ten. The idea then would be that when incompleteness (5) meets with the grace of God (6), there is a new beginning (8). One could make this interpretation somewhat more spiritual. As sinners we are incomplete (5) for entrance into the Kingdom of God, but when we experience the grace of God (6), we become a new creation (8) and are no longer incomplete for entrance into the Kingdom.
If one uses the other numbers (3 and 10) the following can be derived from the number 38. As we have learned, the number three expresses the concept of testing. Hence, the number thirty can relate to being thoroughly or completely (10) tested (3). Usually when a person finds himself being tested, he immediately prays for the testing to be stopped or to be removed from the trial. What is being expressed in this example is that one is going to be thoroughly or completely (10) tested (3) and when the purpose for this testing or trial is complete, then this person will have a new beginning (8). 

Loveisrael.org - Baruch Korman, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved - Used with Permission 2016

Two: Two divergent opinions

The classic example for the number "two" is found in Matthew chapter 26. There, Yeshua says to His disciples,

"You know that after two days comes the Passover, and the Son of Man will be given over for crucifixion."  Matthew 26:2

The phrase "after two days" is somewhat meaningless because after two days can mean three or more days. The period is unspecified. The reason for such ambiguous language is because the purpose of the number two in this passage is not solely numerical. This means that the text is not intending to provide the reader with some definite information concerning a time period. Rather, the purpose of the number two in this context is one of the numerological meanings of the number two.  Often the number two relates to two divergent opinions. In the aforementioned verse, the author wants to inform the reader that there are two very different understandings for this coming Passover. Yeshua wants to emphasize that He is going up to Jerusalem in order to die as the true Passover sacrifice. Even though Yeshua states this emphatically, the disciples did not receive this. In fact, the disciples did not perceive at all what was going to take place during Passover in regard to Yeshua. In other words, Yeshua and the disciples have two divergent opinions concerning the Passover.

This same principle is also found in the Hebrew Bible (Old Covenant). In the book of Amos one reads,

"Can two walk together without them having agreed" Amos 3:3

The word which was translated into English with the phrase "them having agreed" is נועדו. The root of this word is יעד, which relates to a specific destination. The word which precedes this word is בלתי and in this context the word implies a change to the condition. In other words, had there not been a change in the condition, then the two could not walk together, i.e. they could not have arrived at the common destination.

The concept of divergent or different is also seen in the book of Genesis. In speaking about the sun and moon one reads, "And God made two great lights…" (Genesis 1:16). Obviously the sun and moon are very different, as one is a source of light, while the latter just reflects light. Also in the book of Genesis, one encounters the account of the flood. Here Noah is commanded to bring onto the ark two sorts of each type of animal. In this passage, the two relates to two different (or divergent) kinds of the same sort, i.e. male and female. 

Likewise, two angels came to Sodom, demonstrating that the people of Sodom had a very different way of living from that of the Law of God. Once again, the reader should not assume that every occurrence of the number two in the Bible demands this interpretation. However, one will find in a great majority of Biblical passages, the reader will be assisted in arriving at the proper interpretation, when he considers this divergent quality for the number two. 

Loveisrael.org - Baruch Korman, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved - Used with Permission 2016