The Number Three in Scripture

The number three appears prominently in the Judeo-Christian canon. Some of the more important of those instances follow:

Noah had three sons (Genesis 6:10)

The ark was three hundred cubits long (Genesis 6:15)

God commanded Abram to sacrifice a three-year-old cow, female goat, and ram (Genesis 15:9)

Three men appear to Abraham (Genesis 18:1-2)

Joseph interprets Pharoah's cupbearer's and butler's dreams that their fate would be determined in three days (Genesis 40)

The baby Moses was hidden for three months (Exodus 2:2)

Three days journey into the wilderness to worship God (Exodus 3:18, 5:3 and 8:27)

Three days of darkness over Egypt (Exodus 10:21-23)

Three times each year a festival before the Lord (Exodus 23:14-17)

Three branches and three bowls on the candlestick (Exodus 25:32-33)

After planting fruit trees in the new land, the fruit was not to be consumed for 3 years (Leviticus 19:23)

The entire tithe every three years for Levites, foreigners, widows, orphans (Deuteronomy 14:28)

Three pilgrimage festivals at the central sanctuary (Deuteronomy 16:16)

Job had three friends to "comfort" him (Job)

Three Jews (Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego) refused to worship a statue (Daniel 3)

Daniel prayed three times each day (Daniel 6:10-13)

Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17)

Three wise men from the East (Matthew 2)

Satan tempted Christ in three ways (Matthew 4:1-11 and others)

Jesus to be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth (Matthew 12:40)

Jesus, Moses, and Elijah appeared together (Matthew 17:4 and others)

Tear down the Temple and rebuild it in three days (Matthew 26:61 and others)

Peter denied Christ three times (Luke 22:54-62)

Do you love me? Feed my sheep three times to Peter (John 21:15-17)

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19)

Three thousand souls added to the Church on Pentecost (Acts 2:41)

Saul was blind for three days (Acts 9:9)

In Peters vision, the tarp of unclean animals lowered three times (Acts 11:10)

Paul reasoned with the people of Thessalonica three days in a row (Acts 17:1-2)

Faith, hope, and love (I Corinthians 13)

Three that bear witness on earth - Spirit, water, and blood (I John 5:8)

Three gates in each of the cardinal directions (Revelation 21:13)

The Number Forty in Scripture

The number forty appears over and over again in the Bible. What follows is a list of its more important appearances there:

It rained for forty days and forty nights when the flood covered the earth (Genesis 7)

Noah waited forty days after the mountain peaks became visible to release a raven (Genesis 8:6-7)

Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah (Genesis 25:20)

It took forty days to embalm Jacob (Genesis 50:2-3)

The children of Israel ate manna for forty years (Exodus 16:35)

Moses was on the mountain for forty days and forty nights (Exodus 24:18 and 34:28)

Forty silver bases to support the frames of the Tabernacle (Exodus 26:19-21 and 36:24-26)

Spies looked over the Promised Land for forty days (Numbers 13:25)

The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty years (Numbers 14:33-34 and others)

Caleb was forty years old when Moses sent him to look at the land (Joshua 14:7)

Forty years of rest during the times of the Judges (Judges 3:11, 5:31, 8:28, and I Samuel 4:18)

Forty years into the hands of the Philistines (Judges 13:1)

Goliath taunted the army of Israel for forty days (I Samuel 17:16)

David reigned as king of Israel for forty years (II Samuel 5:4)

Solomon reigned as king of Israel for forty years (I Kings 11:42)

Elijah traveled forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai (I Kings 19:8)

Ezekiel prophesied that Egypt would be desolate for forty years (Ezekiel 29:11-13)

Jonah prophesied that Nineveh would be destroyed in forty days (Jonah 3:4)

Jesus fasted for forty days and nights and was tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:2, Mark 1:13, and Luke 4:2)

Jesus appeared to his disciples forty days after he was resurrected (Acts 1:3)

The Number Twelve in Scripture

Like the number seven, the number twelve appears numerous times in Scripture and appears to be important to God. What follows is a list of some of the more important instances from the Judeo-Christian canon:

Ishamel was to be the father of twelve princes (Genesis 17:20 and 25:16)

Jacob or Israel had twelve sons (Genesis 35:22 and 42:13 and 32)

The twelve sons of Jacob gave rise to the twelve tribes of Israel (Genesis 49:28 and others)

Twelve stones for the ephod of the High Priest (Exodus 28:21 and 39:14)

Twelve loaves of holy bread (Leviticus 24:5)

Twelve men, one from each tribe, appointed as a tribal leader/representative (Numbers 1:5-16)

Twelve silver platters, 12 silver basins, 12 golden spoons for the altar (Numbers 7:84)

Twelve bullocks, 12 rams, and 12 lambs for the burnt offering and 12 kid goats for the sin offering (Numbers 7:87) 

Twelve staffs/rods, one for each of the leaders of the tribes (Numbers 17:2-6)

Twelve stones for each one of the tribes of Israel (Joshua 4:2-20)

Solomon had twelve officers over Israel (I Kings 4:7)

Solomon's great brass sea stood upon a base of twelve oxen (I Kings 7:25, 44)

There were twelve lions, one on each side, of the six steps leading to Solomon's throne (I Kings 10:20)

The Prophet Ahijah tore his cloak into 12 pieces and gave 10 to Jeroboam (I Kings 11:30)

Jesus chose twelve apostles (Matthew 10:1-5, Mark 3:14, Luke 6:13, and others)

Twelve baskets full of leftovers (Matthew 14:18-21, John 6:13, and others)

Twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28)

Twelve legions of angels (Matthew 26:53)

Jesus was twelve years old when he taught the Jewish religious leaders at the Temple (Luke 2:42)

Twelve hours in the day (John 11:9)

James epistle to the twelve tribes scattered abroad (James 1)

Twelve thousand from each of the tribes of Israel (Revelation 7)

The woman with a crown of twelve stars (Revelation 12:1)

The twelve gates of the city (Revelation 21:12)

The twelve foundations of the wall (Revelation 21:14)

The city measured twelve thousand furlongs (Revelation 21:16)

The twelve gates were made out of twelve pearls (Revelation 21:21)

The Tree of Life will bear twelve kinds of fruit (Revelation 22:2)

Moreover, there are twelve months in a solar year!