22: The Importance of Numbers in the Bible

Two little ducks, twenty-two. The atomic number of Titanium, a very strong metal named after the Greek Titans. The number twenty-two is known as a semiprime, which means it is the product of two prime numbers (2x11). It is also a pentagonal number, a Perrin number, an Erdös-Woods number and a Smith number. Like me, you probably have no idea what any of that means!
 
The length of a cricket pitch is twenty-two yards, which is equivalent to the length of one chain. On a rugby pitch, the “22” is a line in each half of the field, which is twenty-two metres from the respective try line. A snooker game begins with twenty-two balls on the table (fifteen red, six coloured and one white). In football, there is a maximum of twenty-two players on a pitch at any time. 
 
The human skull contains twenty-two bones: eight cranial and fourteen facial. There are twenty-two Major Arcana cards in a standard Tarot deck. The Hebrew alphabet contains twenty-two letters: alef, bet, gimel, dalet, he, vav, zayin, chet, tet, yod, kaf, lamed, mem, nun, samech, ayin, pay, tsade, qof, resh, shin, tav. In fact, most Semitic alphabets and the Phoenician language contain twenty-two letters.  
 
As mentioned, the number twenty-two is double eleven, which symbolises disorder and chaos in the Bible. As a result, twenty-two can represent disorganisation. The number can also represent the beginning and end of man. In Genesis, God created twenty-two things during the six days of creation. At the opposite end of the Bible, the Book of Revelation contains twenty-two chapters. 
 
The number twenty-two is used around thirty-one times in the Bible, depending on the translation. Here are a few examples: 

• 1 Kings 14:20 (GNT): Jeroboam ruled as king for twenty-two years. He died and was buried, and his son Nadab succeeded him as king.
• Judges 10:3 (NIV): He was followed by Jair of Gilead, who led Israel twenty-two years.
• Judges 20:21 (NIV): The Benjamites came out of Gibeah and cut down twenty-two thousand Israelites on the battlefield that day.
• 1 Kings 16:29 (NIV): In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years.
• 2 Kings 8:26 (NIV): Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year.
• 2 Kings 21:19 (NIV): Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years. 
• 1 Chronicles 12:28 (NET): along with Zadok, a young warrior, and twenty-two leaders from his family.
• 2 Chronicles 13:21 (NIV): But Abijah grew in strength. He married fourteen wives and had twenty-two sons and sixteen daughters.
• 2 Chronicles 22:2 (NIV): Ahaziah was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem one year.
• 2 Chronicles 33:21 (NIV): Amon was twenty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem two years.

 
According to Luke 3:23-38, there are twenty-two generations between God and Abraham:

1. God
2. Adam
3. Seth
4. Enos
5. Cainan
6. Maleleel
7. Jared
8. Enoch
9. Mathusala
10. Lamech
11. Noah
12. Shem
13. Arphaxad
14. Cainan
15. Sala
16. Heber
17. Phalec
18. Ragau
19. Saruch
20. Nachor
21. Thara
22. Abraham 

 
Although there are thirty-nine books in the Old Testament, the original amount finalised by Ezra the prophet and the Great Assembly was twenty-two. It has also been counted that Jesus quoted from twenty-two Old Testament books. When Jesus was on the cross, Mark 15:34 (NIV) records: “And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).” Although those at the foot of the cross mistakenly believed Jesus was calling out to Elijah, he was, in fact, quoting from Psalm 22:
 
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from my cries of anguish?
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, but I find no rest.
Psalm 22:1-2 (NIV)
 
To end, I leave you with some words that appear twenty-two times in scripture:

• Marriage
• Day
• Creation
• Universe (twenty-two times in the Old Testament)
• Light (twenty-two times in the Gospel of John)