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)

“I’ve got the key to the door, never been twenty-one before!” Twenty-one, also known as the age we pretend we are (“twenty-one again”)! Although the age of adulthood has changed to eighteen in the United Kingdom, twenty-one is still the age of majority in many countries. Other than age-related things, where else does the number twenty-one appear in our lives?
 
Twenty-one is the atomic number of scandium, a rare-earth element. There are a total of twenty-one spots on a standard die (1+2+3+4+5+6). It is the highest winning score in a game of Blackjack. There were twenty-one shillings in a guinea. 
 
There is a discrepancy about the meaning of the number twenty-one in the Bible. Some say that as twenty-one is the result of three times seven, both considered perfect, the number is perfect by default. Others, however, believe twenty-one represents wickedness, rebellion and sin. 
 
In 2 Timothy 3, the apostle Paul lists twenty-one sins that humans will fall prey to during the end of days:

1. Lovers of themselves
2. Lovers of money
3. Boastful
4. Proud
5. Abusive
6. Disobedient to their parents
7. Ungrateful
8. Unholy
9. Without love
10. Unforgiving
11. Slanderous
12. Without self-control
13. Brutal
14. Not lovers of the good
15. Treacherous
16. Rash
17. Conceited
18. Lovers of pleasure
19. Reject the love of God
20. Pretend to be Godly
21. Deny God’s power

 
Also in relation to sin, 1 and 2 Kings reference the sins of Jeroboam, the first King of the Northern Tribes, twenty-one times.
 
It has been recorded that the number twenty-one only appears seven times in the Bible, however, I have only been able to locate one of them:

• 2 Kings 24:18 (NIV): Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eleven years. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah; she was from Libnah.

 
There are, however, times where the number twenty-one has been substituted for another phrase, for instance, three weeks (7 days x 3 = 21 days):I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over. (Daniel 10:3, NIV)
 
The most interesting thing I have discovered while conducting my research is there are a total of twenty-one dreams in the Bible. They are as follows:

1. Genesis 20:3 (NIV): But God came to Abimelek in a dream one night and said to him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken; she is a married woman.”
2. Genesis 28:12 (NIV): [Jacob] had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. (Jacob’s Ladder)
3. Genesis 31:10-11 (NIV): “In breeding season I once had a dream in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted. The angel of God said to me in the dream, ‘Jacob.’ I answered, ‘Here I am.’
4. Genesis 31:34 (NIV): Then God came to Laban the Aramean in a dream at night and said to him, “Be careful not to say anything to Jacob, either good or bad.”
5. Genesis 37:5-7 (NIV): Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood upright, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”
6. Genesis 37:9 (NIV): Then he had another dream, and he told it to his brothers. “Listen,” he said, “I had another dream, and this time the sun and moon and eleven stars were bowing down to me.”
7. Genesis 40: 9-11 (NIV): So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said to him, “In my dream I saw a vine in front of me, and on the vine were three branches. As soon as it budded, it blossomed, and its clusters ripened into grapes. Pharaoh’s cup was in my hand, and I took the grapes, squeezed them into Pharaoh’s cup and put the cup in his hand.”
8. Genesis 40:16-17 (NIV): When the chief baker saw that Joseph had given a favourable interpretation, he said to Joseph, “I too had a dream: On my head were three baskets of bread. In the top basket were all kinds of baked goods for Pharaoh, but the birds were eating them out of the basket on my head.”
9. Genesis 41:1-4 (NIV): When two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing by the Nile, when out of the river there came up seven cows, sleek and fat, and they grazed among the reeds. After them, seven other cows, ugly and gaunt, came up out of the Nile and stood beside those on the riverbank. And the cows that were ugly and gaunt ate up the seven sleek, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.
10. Genesis 41:5-7 (NIV): He fell asleep again and had a second dream: Seven heads of grain, healthy and good, were growing on a single stalk. After them, seven other heads of grain sprouted—thin and scorched by the east wind. The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy, full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up; it had been a dream.
11. Judges 7:13 (NIV): Gideon arrived just as a man was telling a friend his dream. “I had a dream,” he was saying. “A round loaf of barley bread came tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent with such force that the tent overturned and collapsed.”
12. 1 Kings 3:5 (NIV): At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.”
13.  Daniel 2:31-35 (NIV): “Your Majesty [Nebuchadnezzar] looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
14. Daniel 4:10-12 (NIV): These are the visions I [Nebuchadnezzar] saw while lying in bed: I looked, and there before me stood a tree in the middle of the land. Its height was enormous. The tree grew large and strong and its top touched the sky; it was visible to the ends of the earth. Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit abundant, and on it was food for all. Under it the wild animals found shelter, and the birds lived in its branches; from it every creature was fed.
15. Daniel 7:2-3 (NIV): Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven churning up the great sea.  Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
16. Matthew 1:20-21 (NIV): But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
17. Matthew 2:12 (NIV): And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
18. Matthew 2:13 (NIV): When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
19. Matthew 2:19-20 (NIV): After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
20. Matthew 2:22-23 (NIV): Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
21. Matthew 27:19 (NIV): While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

 
There are several words that appear twenty-one times in the Bible:

• Frankincense
• “The Father”
• James (the Great) and James (the Less)
• Flood
• Star
• Capacity (twenty-one times in Revelation alone)

 
The numbers 16, 2000, 5000 and 20,000 are each used twenty-one times.
 
There are twenty-one chapters in the Gospel of John and the book of Obadiah contains a single chapter with only twenty-one verses. The book of Hebrews contains twenty-one references to the Old Testament. There are twenty-one epistles in the New Testament: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John and Jude. (Paul wrote the first thirteen listed.)
 
So, does the number twenty-one represent sin, perfection, both, neither or something else? I welcome your thoughts.
 

I was not at Gants Hill this weekend, instead, I was preaching at Wanstead URC. I thought you might like to read a summary of my sermon. 

Reading: Luke 8:26-39 (NIV)

Jesus Restores a Demon-Possessed Man
They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee. When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!” For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.

Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”

“Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him. And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.

A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission. When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.

When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside, and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid. Those who had seen it told the people how the demon-possessed man had been cured. Then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

The man from whom the demons had gone out begged to go with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return home and tell how much God has done for you.” So the man went away and told all over town how much Jesus had done for him.

Doctor Luke wrote this Gospel around AD 60. It is fascinating a reading, posing questions, such as:

• What demons control us, e.g. addictions, alcohol, gambling, pornography, drugs etc?
• Do we know how much God has done for us? If so, do we tell others in a way that attracts people to Jesus? 
• Jesus can use anyone, even a man possessed with many demons. Do we really want Jesus to use us?
• What is the cost of following Christ? 
• If we truly want to see God's kingdom, what values, beliefs and learning do we need to have?

The reading is difficult because, in comparison to Matthew and Luke's version, there are discrepancies. Luke only writes about one possessed man, whereas, Matthew (8:28-34) mentions two. The actual location is different; Luke has set it in Gerasenes, whereas, elsewhere it is Gadarene. For certain, however, it is south-east of the Sea of Galilee. We are in Gentile country, which is symbolised by the pigs being farmed nearby. 

Jesus was clearly pushing the boundaries; he appears to have been deliberately trying to become ritually unclean: he was meeting Gentiles in a graveyard. Jesus has disturbed a community, he has disturbed the status quo and he is about to change one man's life forever but, in consequence, many people's lives will be changed, unwillingly. 

Jesus drove the demons out of the man. Commentaries say there may have been between 2000 and 6000 pigs nearby and it is into them that the demons chose to go. The following destruction of the pigs to save the man was not welcomed. For the farmers, the economic cost of losing so many pigs must have been immense. I think Jesus freed the man and it was the demons who chose to enter the pigs, therefore, Jesus is not to blame for the subsequent financial disaster, however, I note that Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD), an African theologian, and Thomas Aquinas (1225-74), an Italian theologian, interpreted this story to claim that Christians have total dominion over animals. 

Jesus has performed an extreme makeover and now the man is at peace, wanting to follow Christ. Jesus, interestingly, sends him back, merely asking that he tell people about what Jesus has done to save him. 

After this event, the disciples must be feeling very confused. In the previous chapter, Jesus healed a Roman centurion's servant at long distance, raised a widow's son from death in Nain, had his feet anointed, redefined what family meant and calmed a frightening storm. All this, as well as healing a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years and raising a girl to life, showed the miraculous power of Jesus. His disciples must be wondering, "Who is this man?" They too, in Chapter 9, will be sent out in the name of Christ to do similar acts. What are the disciples to think? What would we think if we had witnessed the same miracles? 

The reading does not ask us to convert anyone to Christ but simply requests that we tell people what Jesus has done and what difference he makes in our lives. That is all we, today, are asked to do; it is the Holy Spirit that converts, all we are asked to do is to proclaim the Gospel and tell of the difference Christ has made to us. 

I have recently seen the film Rocketman. It was most enjoyable and Elton John, alongside being a musical genius, certainly had his demons, including drugs, sex, food and alcoholism. Having realised the destruction these addictions were having on his life, he took action to rid himself of these constraints. The film ends saying that he has been sober for twenty-eight years. This led me to research a little about Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Step programme they use as a framework of healing. Five of these contain God, with number three saying, "Make a decision to turn your will and your life over to the care of God as you understand Him." 

It was also interesting to note that the AA uses the Serenity Prayer at the beginning of their meetings. This prayer is written by Reinhold Niebuhr, the most well-known part being, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and wisdom to know the difference." The prayer, I believe, is on the back of medals that are given out when people have achieved six or nine months of abstinence. 

This lovely reading from Luke challenges us to look at our own lives and to examine our habits and the powers that control us. As Christians, we are encouraged to have values and beliefs that give hope for the future. The reading alongside Luke is Galatians 3:23-29 where, in essence, we are reminded that we were imprisoned by sin but our faith in Jesus is the key that has set us free. We must ensure that we grasp that freedom, enjoy God's love, allow ourselves to be clothed in Christ, which Colossians 3:12 reminds us is compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience, forgiveness all wrapped in love. 

So, as we go about our lives, may we proudly show Christ's clothes as we live free of demons, and not fall back into the prison of sin. 

Including this one, I have now written a score of articles about numbers in the Bible. A “score”, of course, is another way of saying twenty. We use the term 20/20 to denote perfect vision, although what this actually means is that you are capable of seeing something clearly at a distance of twenty feet. 
 
Twenty is the atomic number of calcium, an essential element for our health. It is the international dialling code (+20) for Egypt. There are twenty possible moves at the beginning of a game of Chess, and you’ve no doubt heard of or even played the game Twenty Questions. 
 
In Hebrew numerals (gematria), the letter kaph represents the number twenty. It is written as a palm shape or open hand, which people have attributed the meaning of redemption. The hand shape has been interpreted in two ways: one, giving freely or freedom, and two, covering up sin. In the Bible, the number twenty has also become associated with a complete waiting period.
 
Genesis 31 tells us Jacob had to wait twenty years to be freed from the control of Laban and receive his wife and property. “I have been with you for twenty years now. Your sheep and goats have not miscarried, nor have I eaten rams from your flocks… It was like this for the twenty years I was in your household. I worked for you fourteen years for your two daughters and six years for your flocks, and you changed my wages ten times.” (Genesis 31:38, 41, NIV)
 
In the book of Judges, the Israelites waited twenty years to be freed from the oppression of King Jabin of Canaan. Through Deborah and Barak, God saved his people from this bondage. “Because he had nine hundred chariots fitted with iron and had cruelly oppressed the Israelites for twenty years, they cried to the Lord for help.” (Judges 4:3, NIV)
 
As recorded in 1 Samuel, the Philistines overcame the Israelites and took the Ark of the Covenant back to their land. As a result, they suffered severe consequences from God, which urged them to return the Ark to the Israelites, where it ended up in the city of Kirjath Jearim. The people of Israel had to wait another twenty years until the Ark could be moved again. “The ark remained at Kiriath Jearim a long time--twenty years in all.” (1 Samuel 7:2, NIV)
 
King Solomon had to wait twenty years until both the Temple and his own home were fully constructed. The Temple took a total of seven years, and his home took a further thirteen. “At the end of twenty years, during which Solomon built these two buildings—the temple of the Lord and the royal palace…” (1 Kings 9:10, NIV) As a way of thanks to Hiram, the king of Tyre for his support with the lengthy project, Solomon gifted him twenty towns. “King Solomon gave twenty towns in Galilee to Hiram king of Tyre, because Hiram had supplied him with all the cedar and juniper and gold he wanted.”
 
It is thought the number twenty appears 288 times in the Bible, however, not all of these are in relation to waiting. Here are some other examples I have found:

• Genesis 18:31 (NIV): Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?” He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.”
• Judges 15:20 (NIV): Samson ledIsrael for twenty years in the days of the Philistines.
• Judges 16:31 (NIV): Then his brothers and his father’s whole family went down to get him. They brought him back and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol in the tomb of Manoah his father. He had led Israel twenty years.
• Ezra 3:8 (NIV): They appointed Levites twenty years old and older to supervise the building of the house of the Lord.
• Exodus 30:14 (NIV): All who cross over, those twenty years old or more, are to give an offering to the Lord.
• Exodus 26:18 (NIV): Make twenty frames for the south side of the tabernacle
• Exodus 26:20 (NIV): For the other side, the north side of the tabernacle, make twenty frames
• Exodus 27:10 (NIV): … with twenty posts and twenty bronze bases and with silver hooks and bands on the posts.
• Zechariah 5:2 (NIV): He asked me, “What do you see?” I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.”
• Numbers 32:11 (NIV): “Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of those who were twenty years old or more when they came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…”
• Leviticus 27:5 (NIV): for a person between the ages of five and twenty, set the value of a male at twenty shekels and of a female at ten shekels
• Haggai 2:16 (NIV): When anyone came to a heap of twenty measures, there were only ten. When anyone went to a wine vat to draw fifty measures, there were only twenty.
• Ezekiel 4:10 (NIV): Weigh out twenty shekels of food to eat each day and eat it at set times.
• Numbers 14:29 (NIV): In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me

I could go on and on with the examples but I won’t bore you all. Instead, I will leave you with this fact: the book of Hebrews apparently contains twenty different names or titles for Jesus Christ. 

Number nineteen: the eighth prime number and the atomic number of potassium. There are not that many instances of the number in our everyday lives. In Canada, it holds some importance because nineteen is the age of majority, similar to age eighteen in the UK. In golf, the clubhouse bar is jokingly called “the 19thhole”. The strategy game Go is played on a 19 x 19 square board.
 
In the Bahá’í faith, the year is made up of nineteen months, which each contain nineteen days. In Islam, the Qur’an states there are nineteen angels guarding Hell. In the Qur’an, chapter nineteen, verse nineteen, the birth of Jesus to his mother Maryam (Mary) is announced. 
 
In the Bible, the number nineteen does not have its own meaning but combines the numbers ten and nine, which represent perfection and completeness. The number nineteen only appears in the Bible three times:

• Genesis 11:25 (KJV): And Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen years, and begat sons and daughters.
• Joshua 19:38 (KJV): And Iron, and Migdalel, Horem, and Bethanath, and Bethshemesh; nineteen cities with their villages.
• 2 Samuel 2:30 (KJV): And Joab returned from following Abner: and when he had gathered all the people together, there lacked of David's servants nineteen men and Asahel.

Plus, there are four instances of the term “nineteenth”:

• 1 Chronicles 24:16 (KJV): The nineteenth to Pethahiah, the twentieth to Jehezekel
• 1 Chronicles 25:26 (KJV): The nineteenth to Mallothi, he, his sons, and his brethren, were twelve:
• 2 Kings 25:8 (KJV): And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem
• Jeremiah 52:12 (KJV): Now in the fifth month, in the tenth day of the month, which was the nineteenth year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, which served the king of Babylon, into Jerusalem,

 
Nahor, the man mentioned in Genesis 11:25, was the grandfather of Noah. He lived for 119 years AFTER the birth of Noah’s father Terah; therefore, he was of a considerable age at his death. 
 
The cities mentioned in Joshua 19:38 are the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali in the Promised Land. This was in the northernmost part of what would become Israel. It included the entire western side of the Sea of Galilee. Isaiah prophesiedthat the lands of Naphtali and Zebulon (Naphtali’s neighbour) would one day see a shining beacon in their lands:
 
Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. (Isaiah 9:1-2, KJV)
 
This prophecy is eventually fulfilled in Matthew 4 during the life of Jesus Christ:
And leaving Nazareth, he came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon the sea coast, in the borders of Zabulon and Nephthalim: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up. (Matthew 4:13-16 KJV)
 
After the death of the Solomon, the Promised Land was split into two territories: Judah in the south, and the remaining ten tribes, including Naphtali, in the north, which would later become known as Israel. From this point until the Assyrian’s conquered the land in 722 BC, there were nineteen kings of Israel:

1. Jeroboam I
2. Nadab
3. Baasha
4. Elah
5. Zimri
6. Omri
7. Ahab
8. Ahaziah
9. Jehoram
10. Jehu
11. Jehoahaz
12. Jehoash
13. Jeroboam II
14. Zechariah
15. Shallum
16. Menahem
17. Pekahiah
18. Pekah
19. Hoshea

 
Just for fun, I have found examples of things that appear nineteen times in the Bible:

• Mary, the mother of Jesus, is mentioned nineteen times
• The word “creature” appears nineteen times 
• The word “star” appears nineteen times in the New Testament

Eighteen: the age when one becomes an adult and can vote in public elections. It is an important, even life-changing, age in the United Kingdom. No longer constricted by parental consent, eighteen-year-olds have legal control of their lives, actions and decisions. In Chinese tradition, eighteen is also a lucky number because it sounds similar to a word that means, “Definitely get rich”. 
 
In chemistry, the periodic table is comprised of several groups. The eighteenth group is known as the Noble Gases. These include Helium, Neon, Argon, Krypton, Xenon and Radon. The number eighteen is also the atomic number of Argon. 
 
Traditionally, there are eighteen holes on a golf course and in Australian football each team has eighteen players on the pitch during a game. Some countries refer to the penalty area on a football pitch as “the 18” due to it extending 18 yards in front and to either side of the goal.
 
The Hebrew word for “life” (chai) has the numerical value (gematria) of eighteen. As a result, it has become customary for Jews to give donations in multiples of eighteen as an expression of a blessing for long life. The American author Joseph Heller was initially going to name his well-known novel Catch-18due to the Hebrew meaning of the number, however, it was changed to Catch-22to avoid confusion with another book of a similar name.
 
In the Bible, the number eighteen has come to mean bondage or slavery. Before Saul was made king of Israel, the Israelites were made slaves to many nations. A couple of their enemies, Eglon the Moabite king and the Philistines and Ammonites, held them in bondage for eighteen years:

• Judges 3:14 (NIV): The Israelites were subject to Eglon king of Moab for eighteen years.
•  Judges 10:7-8 (NIV): He sold them into the hands of the Philistines and the Ammonites, who that year shattered and crushed them. For eighteen years they oppressed all the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan in Gilead, the land of the Amorites.

God eventually freed his people from their oppressors with the help of Ehud, Jephthah and Samson. 
 
In the King James Version of the Bible, the word “bondage” in relation to the Israelites is mentioned eighteen times. In all these instances, it is through God that they are saved:  I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:2-3, KJV)
 
Another form of bondage has a more spiritual nature. Many people in the Bible are slaves to the demons that possess them or are influenced by other people. During his ministry, Jesus healed many of these people including a crippled woman. “… a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteenyears. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all.” When Jesus healed her he announced, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” (Luke 13, NIV)
 
There are other occasions when the number eighteen is mentioned in scripture, but not all of these relate to bondage and slavery. Here are a few examples I have found:

• Jeremiah 52:21 (NIV): Each pillar was eighteen cubits high and twelve cubits in circumference; each was four fingers thick, and hollow.
• 2 Kings 22:3 (NIV): In the eighteenth year of his reign, King Josiah sent the secretary, Shaphan son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam, to the temple of the Lord.
• 2 Kings 23:23 (NIV): But in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, this Passover was celebrated to the Lord in Jerusalem.
• Jeremiah 32:1 (NIV): This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar.
• Luke 13:4 (NIV): Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem?
• 2 Samuel 8:13 (NIV): And David became famous after he returned from striking down eighteen thousand Edomitesin the Valley of Salt.
• 1 Chronicles 18:12 (NIV): Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
• Judges 20:25 (NIV): This time, when the Benjamites came out from Gibeah to oppose them, they cut down another eighteen thousand Israelites, all of them armed with swords.
• Judges 20:44 (NIV):Eighteen thousand Benjamites fell, all of them valiant fighters.
• 1 Kings 15:1 (NIV): In the eighteenth year of the reign of Jeroboam son of Nebat, Abijah became king of Judah
• 2 Kings 24:8 (NIV): Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem three months.
• 2 Kings 3:1 (NIV): Joram son of Ahab became king of Israel in Samaria in the eighteenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and he reigned twelve years.

 
When reading the Bible, you will have noticed that buildings are often described in great detail, down to the exact measurements. You will have also noticed that these measurements are usually recorded in cubits. This was the length of a man’s forearm from the tip of his middle finger to the point of his elbow. It is believed the average man’s forearm is about 18 inches long. 
 
The book of the New Testament 1 Corinthians has references or content from eighteen books of the Old Testament. One of these is Psalm 110:1, which throughout the New Testament, plus the original verse itself, is referenced eighteen times.

1. Psalm 111:1 (NIV): The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”
2. Matthew 22:44 (NIV): ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’
3. Matthew 26:64 (NIV): “You have said so,” Jesus replied. “But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
4. Mark 12:36 (NIV): David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’
5. Mark 14:62 (NIV): “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
6. Mark 16:19 (NIV): After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, he was taken up into heaven and he sat at the right hand of God.
7. Luke 20:42-43 (NIV): David himself declares in the Book of Psalms: “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
8. Luke 22:69 (NIV): But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.
9. Acts 2:34-35 (NIV): For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,“‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”’
10. Romans 8:34 (NIV): Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.
11. 1 Corinthians 15:25 (NIV): For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
12. Ephesians 1:20 (NIV): he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms
13. Colossians 3:1 (NIV): Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
14. Hebrews 1:3 (NIV): The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
15. Hebrews 1:13 (NIV): To which of the angels did God ever say, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”?
16. Hebrews 8:1 (NIV): Now the main point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
17. Hebrews 10:12 (NIV): But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, and since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool.
18. Hebrews 12:2 (NIV): fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 
Finally, I’ll leave you with the knowledge that there are two eighteen-lettered names in the Bible:Jonathelemrechokim and Mahershalalhashbaz, the latter being Isaiah’s son. 

Seventeen: a prime number that is also the sum of the first four prime numbers (2+3+5+7). It is the atomic number of Chlorine. It is the number of syllables in a haiku poem (5+7+5). It is the number to call for the police in France. It is also the apparent percentage of alcohol in Baileys Irish Cream.
 
In the Harry Potter world, seventeen is the age when wizards come of age, rather than the traditional eighteen. In the UK, seventeen is the youngest age at which you can give blood and the minimum age for taking driving lessons. On the other hand, in the USA, seventeen-year-olds can apply for private pilot licences! 
 
The fear of the number seventeen is called “heptadecaphobia” or “heptakaidekaphobia”; although why people should fear the number, I am not sure. 
 
In the Bible, the number seventeen has become associated with victory and overcoming enemies. It is believed that Jesus Christ was resurrected, thus overcoming death, on the seventeenth day of the month Nisan (8thApril 30 AD). 
 
In the Book of Genesis, God began to flood the earth on the seventeenth day of the second month, in order to overcome the sins of the people who had turned away from him. As we know, only Noah and his family were saved; Noah’s ark came to rest on Mount Ararat on the seventeenth day of the seventh month. 
 
In Judaism, Yom Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, occurs on the tenth day of the seventh Hebrew month. One of the key themes of the festival is the binding of Satan. Therefore, the number seventeen (10+7) has come to symbolise this. 
 
Let’s take a look at some example where the number seventeen is written in the Bible. It is believed there are at least thirteen instances (depending on the version) of the number but I will leave it up to you to find them all!

• Genesis 37:2 (NIV): Joseph, a young man of seventeen, was tending the flocks with his brothers, the sons of Bilhah and the sons of Zilpah, his father’s wives, and he brought their father a bad report about them.
• 1 Kings 14:21 (NIV): Rehoboam son of Solomon was king in Judah. He was forty-one years old when he became king, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city the Lord had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel in which to put his Name. His mother’s name was Naamah; she was an Ammonite.
• 2 Kings 13:1 (NIV): In the twenty-third year of Joash son of Ahaziah king of Judah, Jehoahaz son of Jehu became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned seventeen years.
• Genesis 47:28 (NIV): Jacob lived in Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were a hundred and forty-seven.
• Jeremiah 32:9 (NIV): so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver.
• 2 Kings 16:1 (NIV): In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign.
• Judges 8:14 (KJV): And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and enquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men.
• 1 Chronicles 7:11 (KJV): All these the sons of Jediael, by the heads of their fathers, mighty men of valour, were seventeen thousand and two hundred soldiers, fit to go out for war and battle.

 
Seventeen enemies of Israel have been recorded throughout the Old Testament:

1. The Midianites
2. Sisera
3. Jabin
4. Oreb
5. Zeeb
6. Zebah
7. Zalmunna
8. Edom
9. Ishmaelites
10. Moab
11. Hagarenes
12. Gebal
13. Ammon
14. Amalek
15. Philistines
16. Tyre
17. Assyrians

 
It is believed the apostle James wrote his Epistle seventeen years after the crucifixion of Christ. He also used material from seventeen books of the Old Testament. Likewise, the book of 1 Corinthians has seventeen direct quotes from the Old Testament.
 
Obadiah, the seventeenth book of the Bible is also the shortest. 
 
Finally, I leave you with the knowledge that there is a seventeen-letter name in the Bible: Therefore the anger of the Lord was hot against Israel, and he sold them into the hand of Chushanrishathaim king of Mesopotamia: and the children of Israel served Chushanrishathaim eight years. (Judges 3:8, KJV)

I was fortunate enough to be invited to afternoon tea in Milton Keynes at the head office of World Vision - No Child Without A Future. There were many interesting presentations, which I thought you might be curious to know about. 

Globally, World Vision reaches 100 countries with 45 thousand staff helping 150 million children. The organisation is making a difference in their world. For example, in 1990, 12.5 million under-fives died of things that could have been prevented. By 2015, that figure had been halved. Good things are happening throughout the world that are making a difference and countries, such as Mozambique or Bangladesh, are much more prepared for the inevitable natural disasters, resulting in thousands of fewer deaths.

World Vision works with the most fragile of countries, mainly through sponsorship of children in developing areas where they also concentrate on digging water holes or providing agricultural knowledge and education for girls. One local initiative was providing school children with bicycles so that they could get to school more quickly, less tired and more able to cope. 

World Vision is a Christian organisation but it helps wherever there is a need with the desire to making a better place for the world's most vulnerable children to live. Its recent initiative was called Take the Matthew 25 Challenge. This is a week-long disciple-making experience where, throughout the week, there is a daily challenge based upon Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 25. The focus of the chapter is about feeding the hungry, giving the thirsty a drink, inviting the stranger and looking after the sick.

Matthew 25:42-45:
"For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
 
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'"

The challenge before us is do we wish to accept a week of daily, sacrificial challenges, engaging in God's love to care for our neighbour? If anyone from the church is interested, please let me know. 

Sweet sixteen; the smallest number with five divisors: 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16. Those who still use the imperial measurement system will know there are sixteen ounces in one pound, and other cultures also counted many things in groups of sixteen, for instance, Chinese Taoists used their fingertips and joints of the fingers to count up to sixteen on each hand. 
 
In science, sixteen is the atomic number of sulphur, which is apparently the fifth most common element on Earth. Those interested in psychology will know there are sixteen Myers-Briggs personality types. In music, a semiquaver lasts for one-sixteenth of a semibreve and is, therefore, known as a “sixteenth note” in America. In a game of Chess, there are a total of sixteen pawns on the board at the beginning of play. 
 
In America, girls celebrate a “Sweet Sixteen” party on their sixteenth birthdays; however, the age was not good for the fictional Briar Rose in Sleeping Beautywho was cursed to "prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and die" on her sixteenth birthday. 
 
In Chinese history, between the years AD 304 to 439, the country was split into sixteen kingdoms. In Ancient Greece, a symbol known as the Vergina Sun had sixteen rays. In Japan, the Imperial Seal of Japan, also known as the Chrysanthemum Seal, is made up of sixteen petals.
 
In the Bible, the number sixteen is said to represent love and loving. God’s name is written in various ways in the Old Testament, however, sixteen of these, when written in Hebrew, have meanings that indicate His constant, never-ending love for His people. Also, the phrase “the Father”, appears sixteen times in scripture.
 
The number sixteen itself has been counted only twenty-one times in the Bible. Here are a handful of examples:

• 2 Kings 13:10 (NIV): In the thirty-seventh year of Joash king of Judah, Jehoash son of Jehoahaz became king of Israel in Samaria, and he reigned sixteen years.
• 2 Kings 14:21 (NIV): Then all the people of Judah took Azariah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in place of his father Amaziah.
• 2 Kings 15:2 (NIV): He was sixteen years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-two years. His mother’s name was Jekoliah; she was from Jerusalem.
• 2 Kings 15:33 (NIV): He was twenty-five years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. His mother’s name was Jerusha daughter of Zadok.
• 2 Kings 16:12 (NIV): Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God.
• 1 Chronicles 24:4 (NIV): A larger number of leaders were found among Eleazar’s descendants than among Ithamar’s, and they were divided accordingly: sixteen heads of families from Eleazar’s descendants and eight heads of families from Ithamar’s descendants.
• Genesis 46:18 (NIV): These were the children born to Jacob by Zilpah, whom Laban had given to his daughter Leah--sixteen in all.

 
Since there are so few occurrences of the number sixteen, it is unlikely that it held any particular value in these examples; its meaning of love has been added much later. The meaning has likely derived from the well-known verses in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. Paul, in his letter to the Corinthians, wrote that there are sixteen distinct qualities of God’s love:

1. Love is patient
2. Love is kind
3. It does not envy
4. It does not boast
5. It is not proud
6. It does not dishonour others
7. It is not self-seeking
8. It is not easily angered
9. It keeps no record of wrongs
10. Love does not delight in evil
11. But rejoices with the truth
12. It always protects
13. Always trusts
14. Always hopes
15. Always perseveres
16. Love never fails

 
In addition to this list, the Book of 1 John mentions the word love numerous times, the sixteenth being “There is no fear in love.” (1 John 4:18, NIV) 
 
In the Old Testament, between the times the Israelites took possession of the Promised Land until Saul was anointed their first king, there were a total of sixteen judges who governed the whole of or part of Israel:

• Joshua
• Othniel
• Ehud
• Deborah
• Barak
• Eli 
• Gideon
• Abimelech
• Tola
• Jephthah
• Samson
• Samuel
• Ibzan
• Jair
• Elon
• Abdon

 
Finally, just as I did with the number fifteen, I have found a few words in scripture that are sixteen letters long!

• Covenantbreakers (Romans 1:31, KJV)
• Evilfavouredness (Deuteronomy 17:11, KJV)
• Lovingkindnesses (Psalm 25:6, KJV)
• Unprofitableness (Hebrews 7:18, KJV)

In comparison to the previous numbers we have looked at, there are not as many instances of the number fifteen in our everyday lives. The most obvious is the quarter hour, which is made up of fifteen minutes. Sports fans will be quick to point out that there are fifteen players in a rugby union team and in tennis, the number fifteen represents the first point scored in a game. The chemists will also inform us that fifteen is the atomic number of phosphorus.
 
In my research, I came across the term quinceañera, which is the title given to a Catholic Latina girl on her fifteenth birthday. Another Spanish phrase, “la niña bonita”(the beautiful girl), is what Spanish Bingo callers announce when the number fifteen comes up. 
 
There are three Jewish festivals that begin on the fifteenth day of the month. Passover (the Feast of the Unleavened Bread) begins on the fifteenth day of Nisan, the first month. Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles) begins on the fifteenth day of Tishrei, the seventh month. Finally, Tu Bishvat begins on the fifteenth day of Shevat, the eleventh month. 
 
Interestingly, the number fifteen does not follow the usual method of numbering in the Hebrew numbering system. Numbers are represented by letters and, whilst 13 is combined of 1 and 3, and 14 of 1 and 4, the numbers 1 and 5 spell out one of the Jewish names for God. Therefore, the number is written with the letters representing 9 and 6, instead. 
 
It is thought that in the Bible the number fifteen represents rest after deliverance. This is based on the events that occur in Exodus when the Israelites were delivered from slavery. God had told Abraham in Genesis 15:12-16 that his descendants would be enslaved and mistreated, however, they will eventually be let free. In Exodus 12, the enslaved Israelites are instructed to put sheep or goat’s blood on their doors on the fourteenth day of the month, so when God passes through the land that night striking down all the firstborn sons, they will be spared. The very next day, the fifteenth day of the month, Pharaoh orders the Israelites to leave. 
 
Exodus 12:41 says, “At the end of the 430 years, to the very day, all the Lord’s divisions left Egypt.” This is referring to the moment God told Abraham about the fate of his descendants. Not only were the Israelites freed on the fifteenth, but Abraham also received his message on the fifteenth. (The date was not recorded in Genesis because the Lord only established when the first month was at the beginning of Exodus 12.)
 
Another event that occurred on the fifteenth day of the first month, or Nisan, was the burial of Christ in the tomb. As the Gospels of Matthew, Luke and John record, this was the beginning of the Jewish day of Preparation and the Sabbath was about to begin.
 
Although there are many references to Passover in the Bible, there are not as many occurrences of the number fifteen. I have, however, managed to locate a handful of examples. Not all of these have a correlation with the idea that the number fifteen represents rest after deliverance and, therefore, may not have a particular meaning. 
 

• 1 Kings 20:6 (NIV): I will add fifteen years to your life. And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.
• Hosea 3:2 (NIV): So I bought her for fifteen shekels of silver and about a homer and a lethekof barley. 
• John 11:18 (KJV): Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off.
• Genesis 7:20 (NIV): The waters rose and covered the mountains to a depth of more than fifteen cubits.
• Exodus 27:14-15 (NIV): Curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on one side of the entrance, with three posts and three bases, and curtains fifteen cubits long are to be on the other side, with three posts and three bases.
• Numbers 33:3 (NIV): The Israelites set out from Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, the day after the Passover. They marched out defiantly in full view of all the Egyptians.
• Leviticus 23:6 (NIV): On the fifteenth day of that month the Lord’s Festival of Unleavened Bread begins; for seven days you must eat bread made without yeast.
• Esther 9:18 (NIV): The Jews in Susa, however, had assembled on the thirteenth and fourteenth, and then on the fifteenth they rested and made it a day of feasting and joy.
• Luke 3:1-2 (NIV): In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar—when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Iturea and Traconitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene— during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

 
To finish, I have found a few fun appearances of the number fifteen in scripture:

• Pharaoh named Joseph “Zaphnathpaaneah”, which is fifteen letters long
• The Book of 1 Peter contains fifteen references to the Old Testament
• Both Abigail and Miriam are mentioned fifteen times in the Bible
• Some of the longest words in the King James Version, not including names, are fifteen letters long:
  • Administrations – 1 Corinthians 12:4
  • Bloodguiltiness – Psalm 51:14
  • Notwithstanding – Exodus 16:20
  • Righteousnesses – Isaiah 64:6
  • Stumblingblocks – Jeremiah 6:21
  • Unrighteousness – Leviticus 19:15