Interpreting Biblical Numbers - by Denise C Flanders (Paperback)

About the Book

Biblical authors used numbers in a variety of ways--to inform, measure, keep time, persuade, convince, and even awe. This book demonstrates that attention to the ancient historical and literary contexts in which biblical numbers are found can deepen our understanding of the Scriptures and help readers combat flawed interpretations common in the church.

Book Synopsis

From the seven days of creation in Genesis 1 to the 1,000-year reign of the martyrs in Revelation 20, the Bible is filled with numbers. Some are impossibly large, some are rich with symbolic weight, and some are oddly specific--like the 153 large fish Simon Peter hauls to shore. All of them communicate meaning of some kind. Biblical authors use numbers to inform, measure, mark time, persuade, convince, and even inspire awe.

In this scholarly, accessible resource, Denise C. Flanders equips students of the Bible to

- distinguish how biblical numbers function literally, idiomatically, symbolically, and hyperbolically;
- recognize the rhetorical power of numbers to emphasize, connect narratives, evoke comparison, and even work ironically;
- navigate numbers that don't add up, including discrepancies between parallel accounts and manuscript traditions;
- understand key symbolic numbers like seven, 12, 40, and 70 without getting carried away by mystical or "secret" meanings; and
- make sense of very large numbers--900-year lifespans or enormous censuses and troop counts--in light of ancient literary conventions.

Correcting popular mystical approaches and flawed interpretations common in the church, Flanders shows how paying attention to the ancient historical and literary contexts where numbers appear can deepen our understanding of Scripture.

About the Author

Denise C. Flanders (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is associate professor of biblical studies at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. She is the author of The Rhetorical Use of Numbers in the Deuteronomistic History.