9: The Importance of Numbers in the Bible

What do we know about the number nine? A nine-sided shape is a nonagon; in Chinese; it is a good number because it sounds like their word for “long-lasting”; in Norse mythology, the universe is divided into nine worlds; and in Greek mythology there are nine muses: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (erotic poetry), Euterpe (lyric poetry), Melpomene (tragedy), Polyhymnia (song), Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (comedy) and Urania (astronomy).
 
Many idioms incorporate the number nine, for example:

• To go the whole nine yards
• A cat has nine lives
• To be on cloud nine
• A stitch in time saves nine
• Dressed to the nines

 
Why nine has been used in these instances I am not sure but many authors have also adopted the number nine. In Dante’s Divine Comedythere are nine circles of Hell. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earththere are nine rings of power and, consequently, nine Ringwraiths. In the Lorien Legacieswritten under the pseudonym Pittacus Lore, nine children are sent to Earth from another planet. Also, in A Game of Thrones,there are nine regions of Westeros.
 
In Hinduism, the number nine is said to be complete, perfect and divine, and in Buddhism, there are nine virtues. Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, during which Muslims partake in fasting and prayer. In Judaism, the first nine days of the month Av are a period of mourning, leading up to the ninth day, the anniversary of the destruction of both temples in Jerusalem. But what about in Christianity; is there any significance of the number nine?
 
According to the Christian angelic hierarchy, something that is not found in the Bible, there are nine choirs of angels: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominions, Virtues, Powers, Principalities, Archangels and Angels. This was put forward by Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite and later explored further by Thomas Aquinas who used passages from the New Testament to help establish these spheres or choirs.
 
The number nine itself is thought to appear in the Bible only 49 times but is believed to symbolise divine completeness and finality. Part of the reason for this is that Christ died at the 9thhour of the day (3pm), assuming that the official start of the day began at 6pm. 
 
Another reason for this definition is the nine fruits of God’s Holy Spirit, which are mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23:

• Faithfulness
• Gentleness
• Goodness
• Joy
• Kindness
• Long-suffering
• Love
• Peace
• Self-control

 
Of the 49 usages of the number nine in the Bible, only a handful is worth mentioning, which may or may not correspond with the divine completeness symbolism.

• 2 Kings 17:1 (NIV): “In the twelfth year of Ahaz king of Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned for nine years.”
• In Genesis 14, the first battle in the Bible is fought between a group of four kings and a group of five kings, making a total of nine.
• According to Acts 10, it was at the ninth hour of the day that a centurion called Cornelius had a vision commanding him to contact the apostle Peter. Later, Cornelius was baptised with the Holy Spirit making him the first recorded Gentile to convert to Christianity. 
• There are nine people recorded as having leprosy in the Old Testament: Moses, Miriam, Naaman, Gehazi, King Azariah and the four lepers mentioned in 2 Kings 7:3.
• There are nine people recorded as being stoned in the Bible: a Sabbath-breaker (Numbers 15:36), a blasphemer (Leviticus 24:14), Abimelech (Judges 9:53), Achan (Joshua 7:25), Zechariah (2 Chronicles 24:21), Adoram (1 Kings 12:18), Naboth (1 Kings 21:10), Stephen, the first Christian martyr (Acts 7) and the apostle Paul (Acts 14:19). 

 
My final example of the number nine is the number of groups or individuals that practices sorcery in the Old Testament. It is unlikely this has any connection to divine completeness since sorcery was considered to be pure evil, however, it is interesting nonetheless. 

• There were conjurors and magicians amongst Egyptian counsellors (Isaiah 19:3-12)
• Pharaoh called on his sorcerers to confront the miracles of Moses and Aaron (Exodus 7:11 and 8:7)
• Balaam was a well-known soothsayer (Numbers 22)
• Jezebel used witchcraft to get her own way (2 Kings 9:22)
• The city of Nineveh was involved in idolatrous practices (Nahum 3)
• The Babylonians used magicians, astrologers and sorcerers (Isaiah 47:9-13 and Daniel 2)
• Belshazzar calls upon astrologers and sorcerers to interpret the handwriting on the wall (Daniel 5:7-15)
• God tells his people not to be afraid of heaven unlike the attitude pagans have towards their astrologers (Jeremiah 10:2 and Micah 6:6-7)
• False prophets deceive people into thinking they are speaking for God (Jeremiah 14:14 and Ezekiel 13:6-9)