Number 12

Yesterday during the Eucharistic celebration, the priest insisted on the importance of number 12 in the Bible. I always keep my ears open for such things and was really attracted towards this as Googaa is going to be 12-years-old this year. This is her year, year of the snake, according to the Chinese calendar. Not only this, as I wrote in the second line of this post, I keep my ears open on such tidbits as I like to research and blog on such things.

So I came across this site, http://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/12.html, which has some really exciting content about the number 12 in the Bible.

My search shows that there are twelve months in a year and this is why it is so prevalent in the Bible. Bible scholars both ancient and modern have interpreted this number as reflecting the symbolic perfection of redeemed man in terms of the “perfect” number 12. Many of the numbers in the Bible have deeper prophetic or spiritual significance. At least 12 numbers in the Bible stand out in this regard: and 12 is one of them as the number twelve speaks of governmental perfection or rule.

It implies structural beginning or foundation of an organization and normally deals with placing things from within perfect order. The importance of 12 in Judaism and Christianity can be found in the Bible. The biblical Jacob had 12 sons, who were the progenitors of the Twelve Tribes of Israel.

For Bible believers, the number 12 is a perfect number of God. The number 12 is mentioned often in the New Testament of the Bible, such as Jesus’ selection of 12 apostles, and again in the Book of Revelation, the number 12 becomes very important. Of all the numbers, 12 is the symbol of strength and authority. Also, the significance of number 12 lies in its association with the turn of events.