Singing Numbers

Some gleanings from CJ Labuschagne’s Numerical Secrets of the Bible on the Psalms.

On Psalm 23: “the three words in the phrase kiaatta immadi, ‘for you are with me’ (23:4), are situated in the mathematical center of the text, with 26 words preceding them and 26 after them. The structure of the text, formed according to an often used model, the balance-model: 26 + 3 + 26, signifies that the statement about the presence of God is a central and crucial element in the psalm. Seeing that 26 represents the divine name YHWH, and therefore his presence, I interpret the message encoded in the structure of the Psalm as an affirmation of the poet’s conviction that God is all around him. This is perfectly in line with what is said of God in Ps 139:5, ‘You keep close guard behind me and before me’” (11).

On Psalms 111-112: “Both [Psalms] have the heading Hallelu-Yah; both consist of 22 lines divided over 10 verses, in such a way that the first eight verses have two lines each while verses 9 and 10 have three lines each. Psalm 111 with its 72 words and Psalm 112 with its 77 words comprise together 149 words, but including the 4 words of their headings the total number of words comes to 153 (9×17). This is a very significant number, being the sum of the numbers 1–17, well-known from the 153 fish referred to in John 21:11, symbolically signifying all the nations gathered into the kingdom of God. Moreover, in accordance with the principle that the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet have numerical value, 153 is the numerical value of the Hebrew words bene-haelohim, ‘the children of God’” (12).

On Psalm 119: “On the level of verses, the mathematical center of Psalm 119 with its 176 verses is between verse 88 and 89, dividing the psalm into 88 verses before and 88 verses after this center. Most significantly, a count of the words of the psalm (a total of 1063) brings to light that the mathematical center on word level is situated at the very same place. It is constituted by the three words at the end of verse 88, weaeshmera bedut pika, “that I may follow the instruction of your mouth,” showing a balance- model (which we have already encountered in Psalm 23): 530 + 3 + 530. This means that the mathematical center on word level corresponds with the mathematical center on verse level” (14).