Meaning Of Biblical Numbers

In Joshua 7, we read the story of the battle of Ai, which immediately followed the battle of Jericho. Because of the sin
of Achan, who took some gold, silver, and a garment from the battle of Jericho, which were supposed to be dedicated to
God, Israel lost the battle of Ai, and 36 Israelites were killed. This is a good example of the fact that when Israel was
disobedient, God became their enemy, as the prophet tells us in Isaiah 63:10,
10 But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore He turned Himself to become their enemy; He
fought against them.
In the types and shadows of the Old Testament, we find the same principle established in the law of Exodus 22:31,
which is the 36 th time the word “flesh” is used (including “flesh hook”). It says,
31 And you shall be holy men to Me, therefore you shall not eat any flesh torn to pieces in the field; you shall
throw it to the dogs.
The reasoning behind this law is stated in clearer fashion in Lev. 17:13-15. Animals that die by themselves retain the
blood in the flesh, and the people were prohibited from eating blood—not only in Lev. 17:14 but also in Acts 21:25.
Drinking blood or eating meat full of blood signifies being “bloodthirsty.” Those who do not hate this bloodthirsty attitude
are enemies of God—that is, of His Spirit. God condemned Mount Seir (Edom) for this fleshly attitude in Ezekiel 35.
2 … Set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it… 5 Because you have had everlasting
ENMITY… 6 therefore, as I live, declares the Lord, “I will give you over to blood(shed), and blood(shed)
will pursue you; since you have not hated blood(shed), therefore blood(shed) will pursue you.
Death itself is said to be “the last enemy” (1 Cor. 15:26). Thus, we find that the 36 th time the name Jesus is named is
in Matt. 9:19, when a certain official told him that his daughter had just died. Jesus went and raised her from the dead.
The 36 th time the name Jesus appears in the book of Luke is in Luke 8:35 was when Jesus had healed the demoniac
who had been afflicted by “Legion.” The local people “were gripped with great fear” and asked Jesus to leave their town.
Fear is an enemy, and fear makes people think Jesus is their enemy.
The 36 th time the name Paul appears is in Acts 17:13,
13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul in Berea
also, they came there likewise, agitating and stirring up the crowds.
Paul knew their carnal mindset, because he had been one of the first to persecute the early Church before Christ
revealed Himself to him. Paul writes in 1 Thess. 2:14-16,
14 For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God in Christ Jesus that are in Judea, for you
also endured the same sufferings at the hands of your own countrymen, even as they did from the Jews, 15
who both killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out. They are not pleasing to God, but
hostile to all men, 16 hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles [ethnos, “nations”] that they might be saved;
with the result that they always fill up the measure of their sins [Matt. 23:32]. But wrath has come upon
them to the utmost.
Finally, if we add all the numbers from one to thirty-six, they come to a total of 666 a tripling of man’s number that
generally has adversarial implications.
We see then that there are numerous examples of the meaning of number 36 as it is used in the Bible. It is not
surprising, then, that the 36 th psalm (Psalm 37) speaks of God’s enemies, “evildoers,” those carnally-minded people who
oppose Him and refuse to live by His Spirit.
Thirty-Seven (lamed-zayin)
Inheritance
The number thirty-seven in Hebrew was written with the letters lamed (authority) and zayin (weapon, to cut or
pierce). Our inheritance from God comes by means of “cutting a covenant,” as the Bible puts it. When God made His
covenant with Abraham in Gen. 15:10, He required Abraham to cut the animals in half (except for the birds). Verse 18
reads, “On that day the Lord made [karath, “cut”] a covenant with Abram.”
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