Twelve: People, the people of God

Naturally, when the number twelve is mentioned, two thoughts enter into one's mind.  The first thought is the twelve tribes of Israel and the second is the twelve disciples. Both groups represent the people of God. Hence, when the number twelve appears in the Scriptures, the reader ought to think of the people of God in some unique or specific manner.  

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. 

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Fourteen: A double blessing or God's providence

The idea that is expressed by the number fourteen is a double blessing or an expression of God's providence to His people. The Rabbis point out that Jacob worked fourteen years and the outcome of these fourteen years of labor were his two wives, Leah and Rachel. A wife is a helpmate (Genesis 2:18) and the Scripture instructs that he who has found a wife has found a good thing (Proverbs 18:22). Hence, the outcome of these fourteen years of labor was the children of Israel.

Passover is on the 14th day of the Jewish month of Nissan. Here again, according to the Rabbis (Talmud— Rosh HaShana 11a), not only did the first redemption take place on the 14th day of Nissan, so too will the final redemption רבי יהושוע— בניסן נגאלו בניסן עתידין ליגאל. The point is that this date, the 14th day of Nissan, will serve as a double blessing or a second expression of providence to His people. The first blessing was the Exodus from Egypt into the Land of Promise, i.e. Israel; and the second blessing will be the Exodus from sin into the Kingdom by means of our Passover Lamb, Yeshua the Messiah.

In a similar fashion, King Solomon dedicated the Temple during the Festival of Tabernacles. This festival is seven days; however, because Solomon wanted to express what a great blessing this was, he in fact celebrated for an additional seven days, i.e. 14 days in total.

In the New Testament, the number 14 appears in the very first chapter of Matthew's Gospel. The reader is told that in Messiah's genealogy, there are 14 generations between Abraham and David and 14 generations between David and the Exile, and 14 generations from the Exile to Messiah. It is understood that the Messiah is the second Redeemer (Moses being the first) and the establishment of the Kingdom, being the role of Messiah, is the second expression of God's promise to His people of which the Prophets frequently spoke.  Careful attention reveals that there was actually only 13 generations from the Exile to the birth of Messiah.  The fact that the text states 14 is not an error.  It is a subtle reference to not the first coming of Messiah, but to the second, when the Kingdom will be established.  In Judaism, the final generation is often referred to as the next generation, so as to emphasize an expectancy for the Kingdom. 

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One: God

Refers to HaShem (God), Who is One. This number can also refer to unity. The first place the number "one" occurs is in Genesis 1:5. There one reads, "And there was an evening and there was a morning— one day". Later on in this same book of Genesis, it is stated concerning the man and his wife, "And they became one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). It is very significant that in both of these examples there was a multiplicity for the subject. In the first example, the evening and the morning became one day and in the second example, it was Adam and Eve who became one flesh.

One of the most famous passages in the Torah concerning HaShem is Deuteronomy 6:4 which states, "Hear O Israel the Lord your God the Lord is One." The question that a person must ask himself is what is the connection between the use of the Hebrew word אחד "one" which identifies a multiplicity being one and the fact that the Lord God of Israel is One? The answer is that the Hebrew word אחד can relate to the concept for one as in "unification". There is another Hebrew word that would have been possible to be used if the author wanted to refer to an absolute oneness or singleness. This is the Hebrew word יחיד. In fact, there is a well-known prayer in Judaism which states, "אחד ואין יחיד כיחודו". This phrase should be translated as, "(God is) One and there is no singularity as His singularity." The idea that is being expressed in this prayer is that the Lord God of Israel is One; but not an absolute One; rather there is a uniqueness and a complexity to His Oneness.

The number one is frequently employed to express in the Scriptures one object, such as one man or one tabernacle. This usage would be the simple or common purpose that the number one or for that matter any number, would appear in a Biblical text. Often the appearance of a number does not contain any of the significance that Hebrew numerology might offer. Therefore, the reader must always consider when coming across a verse which contains a number, that the number only expresses an amount and no additional significance. 

Because the number one is often associated with God, there is a unique phenomenon in the Scriptures concerning this number. Sometimes the number one is employed to express a unique relationship that the object has to HaShem. For example,

"And it will be one day, it will be known to HaShem..." Zechariah 14:7

In the text above, Zechariah could have stated simply, "And it will be a day…" The fact that the prophet said "one day" is to convey that this day is uniquely related to God. Similarly, it is stated by the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 37, "one King", "one nation" and "one Shepherd" (see Ezekiel 37:22, 24). Each of these objects—King, nation and Shepherd—has a connection to HaShem. The King and Shepherd is Messiah Yeshua, the Son of God and the one nation is Israel, the people of God.

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