153: The Importance of Numbers in the Bible

On Sunday, like many other preachers, my sermon featured John 21:1-19 and the miraculous catch of 153 fish. What many people ask is, is the number 153 important? This question has been considered over many centuries and I've drawn together some interesting facts.

• Jerome, a Christian priest, theologian and historian (347-420AD), recorded that Greek zoologists believed there to be 153 different species of fish known at that time.
• It was believed that there were 153 known nations at this time.
• Augustine, a Christian theologian and philosopher (354-430AD), said 17 was an important number because it combines 10 (the number of commandments) and 7 (the gifts of the holy spirit). Alternatively, 7 is considered a perfect number because that is how long it took God to create the world, including the day of rest.
• For mathematicians, 153 is the sum of all the numbers from 1 to 17 (1+2+3 etc.) 
• 153 is a Harshad number meaning you can add the sum of the digits and divide that by the answer and get a whole number. 1+5+3 =9. 153 divided by 9 =17, which, as Augustine said, is also an important number.
• YHWH is called a Tetragrammaton and in the Jewish tradition is used in place of writing God in the Bible. The YHWH is used 153 times in the book of Genesis, I am told.
• Gematria is an alphanumeric code where letters in the Greek and Hebrew alphabets have been given numerical value. In the English alphabet, this would be equivalent to A=1 B=2 and so forth. The number 153 is the numerical total for the Hebrew phrase Ani Elohim, which means "I am God". The whole subject of Gematria, however, is open to debate regarding its legitimacy.
• There is also a connection between 153 and the Greek mathematician Archimedes' (287-212BC) wisdom. I am told 153 was often the last three numbers of many of his calculations. By linking 153 with Archimedes, who had a great reputation for his sagacity, means the amount of fish caught symbolised wisdom.

Of course, it could just be that the fishermen pulled such a large catch they were intrigued to know how many there were, not least to know how many to share out between each boat for sale in the market.

So, as you see, the significance of the number 153 has been thought about by multiple people, with many competing ideas offered. It makes me wonder what significance other numbers in the Bible hold. I am interested in looking into this further and writing a series of these interesting facts on the main numbers in the Bible, perhaps as a type of Bible study. I'll give it a go; your feedback would be most interesting and welcome.

©Copyright Martin Wheadon 2019