Significant numbers include twelve, often associated with the full number of God's people, and multiples of ten, especially forty and seventy.
Eleven
Eleven sons of Jacob
Jesus Christ's eleven disciples
Matthew 28:16; Mark 16:14; Luke 24:9, Luke 24:33; Acts 1:26, Acts 2:14
Twelve
Twelve tribes of Israel
Genesis 49:28 See also Genesis 35:22–26; Exodus 24:4, Exodus 28:21, Exodus 39:14; Judges 19:29; Ezra 8:35; Acts 26:7
These are the tribes of Israel, twelve in all, and this was what their father said to them. He blessed them, and he blessed each one with a suitable blessing.
Representatives of the twelve tribes
Deuteronomy 1:23; Joshua 3:12, Joshua 4:2–3
The church symbolised as twelve tribes
James 1:1; Revelation 7:4–8, Revelation 21:12
Twelve apostles
Mark 3:14 See also Matthew 10:1–4, Matthew 19:28; Luke 9:1, Luke 22:30; John 6:70–71; Acts 6:2; 1 Corinthians 15:5 The term “the Twelve” is used here even though only eleven disciples remained at the time referred to.
He appointed twelve of them, whom He designated as apostles, to accompany Him, to be sent out to preach,
Fourteen
Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month
Numbers 28:16 See also Exodus 12:6; Leviticus 23:5; Numbers 9:2–5; Joshua 5:10; 2 Chronicles 35:1; Ezra 6:19; Ezekiel 45:21
The fourteenth day of the first month is the LORD’s Passover.
Passover on the fourteenth day of the second month
Numbers 9:10–11; 2 Chronicles 30:2–3, 2 Chronicles 30:15
Periods of fourteen years
Genesis 31:41; 2 Corinthians 12:2; Galatians 2:1
Genealogy of Jesus Christ in spans of fourteen generations
Fifteen
Festivals on the fifteenth day
Leviticus 23:6, Leviticus 23:34, Leviticus 23:39; Numbers 28:17, Numbers 29:12; 1 Kings 12:32–33; Ezekiel 45:25
Twenty
Twenty as the minimum age in a census
Exodus 30:14, Exodus 38:26; Numbers 1:3, Numbers 1:18, Numbers 14:29, Numbers 26:2; 1 Chronicles 27:23
Twenty as the minimum age for Levitical service
1 Chronicles 23:24, 1 Chronicles 23:27; 2 Chronicles 31:17; Ezra 3:8
Thirty
Thirty as the age for beginning a life's work
Luke 3:23 See also Genesis 41:46; 1 Samuel 13:1; 2 Samuel 5:4; Ezekiel 1:1 The “thirtieth year” may refer to Ezekiel's age.
Jesus Himself was about thirty years old when He began His ministry. He was regarded as the son of Joseph, the son of Heli,
Thirty as the minimum age for Levitical service
Numbers 4:3, Numbers 4:23, Numbers 4:30, Numbers 4:47; 1 Chronicles 23:3
The Thirty in David's army
2 Samuel 23:23 parallel 1 Chronicles 11:25; 2 Samuel 23:24; 1 Chronicles 11:15–42, 1 Chronicles 12:4, 1 Chronicles 12:18, 1 Chronicles 27:6
Thirty pieces of silver
Matthew 26:15 See also Zechariah 11:12–13; Matthew 27:3, Matthew 27:9
and asked, “What are you willing to give me if I hand Him over to you?” And they set out for him thirty pieces of silver.
Forty
Forty days
Jonah 3:4 Forty days is a standard period, sometimes viewed as a time of preparation or testing before a major event. Genesis 7:4, Genesis 7:12, Genesis 7:17, Genesis 8:6; Exodus 24:18, Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 9:9, Deuteronomy 9:18; Matthew 4:1–2 parallels Mark 1:13, Luke 4:1–2 Jesus Christ fasted for forty days in the wilderness.; Numbers 13:25; 1 Samuel 17:16; 1 Kings 19:8; Acts 1:3
On the first day of his journey, Jonah set out into the city and proclaimed, “Forty more days and Nineveh will be overturned!”
Forty years as a general term for a generation
God's anger against Israel in the wilderness: Numbers 14:34, Numbers 32:13; Joshua 5:6; Psalm 95:10; Hebrews 3:9, Hebrews 3:17; Exodus 16:35; Deuteronomy 2:7, Deuteronomy 8:2–4, Deuteronomy 29:5; Nehemiah 9:21; Amos 2:10; Acts 7:36, Acts 13:18
Other significant forty-year periods
Forty-year periods in Moses' life: Exodus 7:7; Deuteronomy 34:7; Acts 7:23, Acts 7:30, Acts 7:36; Judges 3:11, Judges 5:31, Judges 8:28; 1 Samuel 4:18; 2 Samuel 5:4; 1 Kings 2:11 parallel 1 Chronicles 29:27; 1 Kings 11:42 parallel 2 Chronicles 9:30; 2 Kings 12:1 parallel 2 Chronicles 24:1; Acts 13:21
Fifty
The fiftieth year as the Year of Jubilee
Leviticus 25:10–11 The word “jubilee” refers to the liberation of slaves, rather than to a fixed period of time. The number 50 represents the year following seven periods of seven years, i.e., 49 years + 1.
So you are to consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty in the land for all its inhabitants. It shall be your Jubilee, when each of you is to return to his property and to his clan. The fiftieth year will be a Jubilee for you; you are not to sow the land or reap its aftergrowth or harvest the untended vines.
Seventy
Seventy people went down to Egypt
See also Genesis 46:27; Exodus 1:5
Seventy years of God's judgment
Jeremiah 25:11–12 See also 2 Chronicles 36:21; Isaiah 23:15–17; Jeremiah 29:10; Daniel 9:2; Zechariah 1:12
And this whole land will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years. But when seventy years are complete, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation, the land of the Chaldeans, for their guilt, declares the LORD, and I will make it an everlasting desolation.
Seventy years as the human lifespan
Groups of seventy
Exodus 24:1; Numbers 11:16, Numbers 11:24–25; Judges 9:2; Luke 10:1, Luke 10:17
Seventy as a large number
Matthew 18:22 See also Daniel 9:24
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.