Stop Ruining Numbers: A Theological Lament

This is just a general rumination (and frankly, lament) because I was led to go on a bit of a research side-trail today due to an interesting question about the Babylonian base-60 number system and if the Bible has anything to do with that.  (Quick answer:  they were understandably influenced by time and calendar by the Babylonians, but generally the people of the Bible seem to be using a base-10 decimal system.)

But anyway, as I was researching that for a bit, I felt annoyed.  Specifically, the trail I was tracking was, I thought, an interesting one:  that the numbers 4 and 7, although not immediately significant in a base-10 system, might actually be more pertinent than you might think due to the fact that 2 and 5 are prime factors of 10.  So, it might be that 4 is important because it’s 2 squared and 7 might be important because it’s 2+5.  Obviously, all that is complete speculation and there's not much attached to it, but the point is:  I want to know if anyone—anyone credible, that is—has explored it.

Yes, yes, you’re not expecting math in a biblical theology blog.  #sorrynotsorry

Now, in none of that am I trying to do some magic Bible code wizardry.  I just want to know, out of curiosity, where the numbers are coming from.  LIKELY the reason is that 4 and 7 are related to the lunar calendar cycle—and fair enough.  But I’m likewise curious to see if any mathematically-inclined biblical scholars or historians have really looked at the evidence here regarding prime numbers and their use.

Again....because I feel like I have to shout this (and thus, my annoyance, because I can’t just ask this simple question without making sure that everyone knows I’m not trying to go to some math-cult nonsense):  none of this question is about finding a system within Scripture that all coalesces into one amazing mathematical equation or code or mystical knowledge or did I say code?  No, none of that.  Not even a bit.  Zero. Mathematical. Code. Okay?  I'm not even making charts--and I like charts!

Prime numbers are not magic.  The logic behind them is not magic.  They do not form some amazing code that God locked into the universe upon its creation.  God is not Triune because of the first three prime numbers, all right???  That’s not a mathematical way to understand the nature of God.  Nor is it the case that just because the Babylonians wrote down mathematical tables, that means that mathematical knowledge was given to them by apkallu or Sons of God or that trigonometry was an essential element in their spell casting.  

But people will go that direction with all this.

And really my question is fundamentally the same exact question I’d explore regarding why “the deep” has great figurative meaning.  Or mountains.  Or rocks.  Or the grave.  Or wine.

You see, there’s reasons why people use the symbols that they do.  Understanding those reasons and the meaning behind the symbols is going to help us understand someone’s worldview and their thinking.  

That’s it.  That’s all I’m going for.

So you go into biblical studies and it’s like, great!  The numbers 4 and 7 and 10 hold significance.  And we can tell what that significance is (roughly) because of how and where they are used.  And let me just say:  that’s the main interesting thing and why (reasonable) biblical scholars will mostly talk about literary and narrative use.  Fair enough.  That’s what generally matters because we're looking for the meaning of the text.

It’s just annoying to me that I feel like I can’t ask a more basic underlying question simply because most people are going to suppose that I’m going down some weird path when I’m not.  It’s just frustrating that curiosity gets overshadowed by sensationalism.  Some of us just want to ask honest questions without getting lumped in with the code-hunters.