What's the largest number mentioned in the Bible?

[ikester7579]

I was doing research on this. And what I found was surprising. And since most everyone here says that the numbers are small, that those in the bible could not count. Lets see if you really know.
Also it might suprise you what book the biggest number is in.

 

[Mistermystery]

I was doing research on this. And what I found was surprising. And since most everyone here says that the numbers are small, that those in the bible could not count. Lets see if you really know.
Also it might suprise you what book the biggest number is in.

I have no idea what you're talking about. What number are you refering to? Number of people? number of years? number of animals?

I think the largest number of people was when god say that abraham's decendents were as big as there would be stars in the sky. I don't know this for sure though.

 

[Jet Black]

the largest number in the bible is in 2. and it is in numbers.

 

[The Bellman]

I was doing research on this. And what I found was surprising. And since most everyone here says that the numbers are small, that those in the bible could not count. Lets see if you really know.
Also it might suprise you what book the biggest number is in.

Who here has ever said that the people in the bible could not count? Who here has ever said or implied that the bible only talks of small numbers? That is plainly ridiculous.

 

[lucaspa]

Who here has ever said that the people in the bible could not count? Who here has ever said or implied that the bible only talks of small numbers? That is plainly ridiculous.

Bellman, several of us have stated that Genesis 1-8 would not have evolution because the people of the time didn't have the language to understand the comments. I have stated that the people would not have grasped the concept of tens of millions or billions of years, for one instance. Also, there were no terms for genes, natural selection, alleles, understanding of fossils, etc. And the Bible doesn't come with a Glossary to define terms.

So Ikester is attempting to falsify one of those claims. However, he is being his usual coy self and refusing to share information. If he really has something, he will simply say it and not play these games.

 

[Data]

I win.

14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
19 For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

Two hundred thousand thousand would be, what, 200,000,000? Two hundred million?

The rest of this passage is rather unbeleivable though.

 

[Nathan Poe]

Bellman, several of us have stated that Genesis 1-8 would not have evolution because the people of the time didn't have the language to understand the comments. I have stated that the people would not have grasped the concept of tens of millions or billions of years, for one instance.

A reasonable claim, considering that many people in this day and age have difficulty wrapping their brains around how much a billion years really is...

Also, there were no terms for genes, natural selection, alleles, understanding of fossils, etc. And the Bible doesn't come with a Glossary to define terms.

I'm sure Genesis would have spoken about mutations if only the ancient Hebrews had a word for it.

So Ikester is attempting to falsify one of those claims.

Sounds more like he's setting up a strawman.

However, he is being his usual coy self and refusing to share information. If he really has something, he will simply say it and not play these games.

Well, if he doesn't play these games, then there's no way he can claim victory when we refuse to play along, or to cry persecution when we do play and soundly refute him.

What's a YEC to do?

 

[lucaspa]

http://www.cezwright.com/books/numbers.htm
"Thousand (thousand-thousands = chilioi-chilias) is the number used to represent, in biblical times, extremely large numbers. A vast or extended period of time or multitudes of people."

Revelation 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands

Notice, however, that this is in the New Testament and not the Old. So it comes, if you believe Moses wrote Genesis, 1,700 years after Genesis. By that time people had learned more so that 10,000 times 10,000 = 100,000,000 would be possible. Remember the times, Ikester.

 

[Data]

http://www.cezwright.com/books/numbers.htm
"Thousand (thousand-thousands = chilioi-chilias) is the number used to represent, in biblical times, extremely large numbers. A vast or extended period of time or multitudes of people."

I should have guessed that a literal translation didn't really mean much, 'thousand thousand' seemed much too abstract to be an actual number.

 

[lucaspa]

Well, if he doesn't play these games, then there's no way he can claim victory when we refuse to play along, or to cry persecution when we do play and soundly refute him.

What's a YEC to do?

LOL! You mean, what's Ikester supposed to do? Just this. What is a YEC supposed to do? What the original YECers did in the 19th century: admit that YEC is a falsified theory.

As Pierre Duhem pointed out, being a good scientist requires personal integrity. Modern day YECers aren't good scientists.

 

[Routerider]

I was doing research on this. And what I found was surprising. And since most everyone here says that the numbers are small, that those in the bible could not count. Lets see if you really know.
Also it might suprise you what book the biggest number is in.

I'm not sure what the largest number is but I bet whatever it is, is describing the death count after ol man Jehovah got ticked off.

 

[ikester7579]

The first mention of the number 100 is in Genesis 5:3, And Adam lived an HUNDRED and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
The first mention of the word thousand is in Genesis 20:16, And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given thy brother a THOUSAND pieces of silver: behold, he is to thee a covering of the eyes, unto all that are with thee, and with all other: thus she was reproved.

And the first mention of the number million is in Genesis 24:60, And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of MILLIONs, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
Notice that another number is added. What is a thousand times a million? 1 Billion?

 

[Jet Black]

ooh loth and loth. your point?

 

[The Bellman]

Bellman, several of us have stated that Genesis 1-8 would not have evolution because the people of the time didn't have the language to understand the comments. I have stated that the people would not have grasped the concept of tens of millions or billions of years, for one instance. Also, there were no terms for genes, natural selection, alleles, understanding of fossils, etc. And the Bible doesn't come with a Glossary to define terms.

The issue here is that ikester has claimed that people have claimed that the Hebrews couldn't count (or, perhaps, couldn't count very high). Not anyting about understanding evolution, or grasping geological periods of time, or genes, natural selection, alleles, or anything else. From the OP: "most everyone here says that the numbers are small, that those in the bible could not count". Again, I've never seen anyone claim this.

And, oddly enough, the "thousands of millions" that ikester refers to is, in fact, a failed prophecy...Rebekah has not been the mother of "thousands of millions".

 

[DrLao]

And the first mention of the number million is in Genesis 24:60, And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her, Thou art our sister, be thou the mother of thousands of MILLIONs, and let thy seed possess the gate of those which hate them.
Notice that another number is added. What is a thousand times a million? 1 Billion?

Notice what Hebrew word was translated to "millions" by the KJV translators: http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=07233&version=kjv Notice that it doesn't literally mean "millions" but rather a very large number. Notice that that is the only place where it appears in the OT where the translators chose to translate it to "millions."

 

[Philosoft]

16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand

...and the and two hundred thousand thousand were the number of the army of the horsemen. Two hundred one thousand thousand shall not be the number, neither should one hundred ninety-nine thousand thousand, excepting that thou then proceed to two hundred thousand thousand...

 

[Nathan Poe]

[/b]
...and the and two hundred thousand thousand were the number of the army of the horsemen. Two hundred one thousand thousand shall not be the number, neither should one hundred ninety-nine thousand thousand, excepting that thou then proceed to two hundred thousand thousand...

Two hundred FIVE thousand thousand is right out!

 

[ThePhoenix]

the largest number in the bible is in 2. and it is in numbers.

Dude, I really respect you, but sometimes you're a complete idiot. The Ten commandments ring any bells? Sheesh, they had 10 fingers you know.

 

[ikester7579]

Notice what Hebrew word was translated to "millions" by the KJV translators: http://bible.crosswalk.com/Lexicons/Hebrew/heb.cgi?number=07233&version=kjv Notice that it doesn't literally mean "millions" but rather a very large number. Notice that that is the only place where it appears in the OT where the translators chose to translate it to "millions."

If you know anything about the Greek language, you also know that it's very specific in meaning. When the Hebrew version of the Bible was translated into Greek. For a determination in numbers to be made like this means that history was known of what was meant and was being corrected because now there was a word for the number of 1 million or million or millions. A word that the Hebrew language did not have at that time. http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Greek_numbers.html

 

[notto]

If you know anything about the Greek language, you also know that it's very specific in meaning. When the Hebrew version of the Bible was translated into Greek. For a determination in numbers to be made like this means that history was known of what was meant and was being corrected because now there was a word for the number of 1 million or million or millions. A word that the Hebrew language did not have at that time. http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/HistTopics/Greek_numbers.html

Except, as with the KJV Hebrew translations, the Greek translations were also given different wordings in english for the same word in Greek.

http://www.studylight.org/lex/grk/view.cgi?number=3461