200: The Importance of Numbers in the Bible

The number 200 appears over thirty times in the Bible. According to René Allendy (1889-1942), 200 represents “the duality in the creature, duality of tendencies, magnetic polarities, poles of homology, sexuality, but not duality of constitution: soul-body, as claims Descartes with the official church.” Others more simply claim 200 is a symbol of insufficiency, upheaval and antagonism. 
 
In the book of Joshua 7, there is a record of Achan from the tribe of Judah’s sin. Despite being commanded not to, Achan stole 200 shekels of silver and other goods. 

• Joshua 7:21 (NIV): “When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

Joshua discovered the plunder in Archan’s tent. As a punishment, Joshua had him stoned to death. This also served as a warning to other people: money is insufficient to save someone from sin. 
 
It is recorded in the book of Judges that the mother of a man named Micah melted 200 shekels of silver to create an idol. 

• Judges 17:4 (NIV): So after he returned the silver to his mother, she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who used them to make the idol. And it was put in Micah’s house.

Micah’s house became an idolatrous house of worship, which was consequently adopted by the tribe of Dan. Thus, the tribe of Dan was the first to turn away from God, something for which they were later punished. This shows the insufficiency of man-made religions.
 
An example of antagonism in relation to the number 200 can be found in the book of Acts. Paul, who is endeavouring to spread God’s Word, causes an upheaval amongst the Jews. Some accuse him of breaking their laws and others vow to kill him. 

• Acts 23:23 (NIV): Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight.

After the plot on Paul’s life was discovered, it required 200 soldiers and 200 spearmen to escort Paul out of Jerusalem to Caesarea and ensure his safety. 
 
King David’s son Absalom tried to take the throne from his father. This upheaval did not bring Absalom the desired result. David sent an army to oppose his son and won, resulting in Absalom’s death. It is recorded that Absalom’s hair weighed 200 shekels:

• 2 Samuel 14:26 (NIV): Whenever he cut the hair of his head—he used to cut his hair once a year because it became too heavy for him—he would weigh it, and its weight was two hundred shekels by the royal standard.

Absalom hired 200 men to fight for him, although they were not aware they had been recruited.

• 2 Samuel 15:11 (NIV): Two hundred men from Jerusalem had accompanied Absalom. They had been invited as guests and went quite innocently, knowing nothing about the matter.

 
The number 200 first appears in Genesis 11:23 (NIV), which says, “And after he became the father of Nahor, Serug lived 200 years and had other sons and daughters.” The second use of the number appears later in the same book. As you may recall, Jacob tricked his father into giving him his older twin brother’s birthright. Esau vowed to kill Jacob, who escaped to Canaan. Later, God commanded Jacob to return home, despite the risk of being murdered by his brother. When Jacob discovered Esau was marching out to meet him with 400 men, he sent ahead a gift of “two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, two hundred ewes and twenty rams.” (Genesis 32:14 NIV) Despite the upheaval and antagonism Jacob’s earlier actions had caused, the twin brothers met peaceably and Jacob safely arrived home.
 
Another example of antagonism can be found in the first book of Samuel. King Saul hated David and said he would only give him the hand of his daughter Michal in marriage to David if he completed the supposedly impossible task of bringing back the foreskins of 100 slain Philistines. Not only did David achieve this, he doubled the amount:

• 1 Samuel 18:27 (NIV): David took his men with him and went out and killed two hundred Philistines and brought back their foreskins. They counted out the full number to the king so that David might become the king’s son-in-law. Then Saul gave him his daughter Michal in marriage.

 
There are plenty more example of the number 200 in the Bible. Some relate to the aforementioned symbolism and others do not. In some cases, the number may have been used to represent “umpteen”. Here are the rest of the examples I have found. I will leave it to you to decide whether they are meaningful.

• 1 Samuel 25:13 (NIV): David said to his men, “Each of you strap on your sword!” So they did, and David strapped his on as well. About four hundred men went up with David, while two hundred stayed with the supplies.
• 1 Samuel 25:18 (NIV): Abigail acted quickly. She took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, five seahs of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys.
• 1 Samuel 30:10 (NIV): Two hundred of them were too exhausted to cross the valley, but David and the other four hundred continued the pursuit.
• 1 Samuel 30:21 (NIV): Then David came to the two hundred men who had been too exhausted to follow him and who were left behind at the Besor Valley. They came out to meet David and the men with him. As David and his men approached, he asked them how they were.
• 2 Samuel 16:1 (NIV): When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba,the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.
• 1 Kings 7:20 (NIV): On the capitals of both pillars, above the bowl-shaped part next to the network, were the two hundred pomegranates in rows all around.
• 1 Kings 10:16 (NIV): King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of gold went into each shield.
• 1 Chronicles 12:32 (NIV): from Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do--200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command
• 1 Chronicles 15:8 (NIV): Shemaiah the leader and 200 relatives
• 2 Chronicles 9:15 (NIV): King Solomon made two hundred large shields of hammered gold; six hundred shekels of hammered gold went into each shield.
• 2 Chronicles 29:32 (NIV): The number of burnt offerings the assembly brought was seventy bulls, a hundred rams and two hundred male lambs—all of them for burnt offerings to the Lord.
• Ezra 2:65 (NIV): besides their 7,337 male and female slaves; and they also had 200 male and female singers.
• Ezra 6:17 (NIV): For the dedication of this house of God they offered a hundred bulls, two hundred rams, four hundred male lambs and, as a sin offering for all Israel, twelve male goats, one for each of the tribes of Israel.
• Ezra 8:4 (NIV): of the descendants of Pahath-Moab, Eliehoenai son of Zerahiah, and with him 200 men
• Song of Songs 8:12 (NIV): But my own vineyard is mine to give; the thousand shekels are for you, Solomon, and two hundred are for those who tend its fruit
• Ezekiel 45:15 (NIV): Also one sheep is to be taken from every flock of two hundred from the well-watered pastures of Israel. These will be used for the grain offerings, burnt offerings and fellowship offerings to make atonement for the people, declares the Sovereign Lord.