Numbers and their associated symbolism interconnect the Bible in such a way as to prove that God is the sole author, while giving insight into God's mind. They provide continuity from book to book and from Old to New Testaments, and considering that one was written in Hebrew and one in Greek, it is quite amazing that numbers carry consistent meanings throughout both. In Numbers of the Bible, How to Interpret the Mind of God, Dr. Gannaway presents the symbolism attached to the numbers of the Bible and demonstrates how that symbolism evolves from number to number. Dr. Gannaway describes the imagery and provides examples in scripture, revealing techniques for reducing numbers to their simplest forms and for converting the original Hebrew and Greek letters of the Bible into numbers. Dr. Gannaway proves that the symbolism associated with the explicit form of numbers and their equivalent numerical value in words is the same. He also explains why certain numbers appear where they do and describes the added dimension of meaning they bring to the scripture. With an appendix which contains a section on the names of God and their numerical values, examples of symbolism in the Apocrypha, alternative numerical analysis techniques, and a concordance of number usage in the Bible, Numbers of the Bible, How to Interpret the Mind of God is the perfect tool for understanding this often confusing phenomena.
Dr. Randall Gannaway is an award winning author who has been a student of the Bible for over fifty years. He holds a Doctorate in Operations Research from Texas A&M University and teaches classes on the relationship of the Old and New Testaments, Old Testament Messianic prophecies, and Bible symbolism. Dr. Gannaway currently lives with his wife in Dallas, Texas.
TESTIMONIALS
SimonSays, Amazon Customer
Other books on Bible numerology (or Gematria) quickly pale in comparison to this book. In compiling this book, the author has apparently spent many, many hours in research. He does not take a short cut in any way.
His introduction gives some history, symbolic meaning of words, and an explanation of numerology. In each explanation of the symbolism of each number, he patiently repeats the process of numerology. Appendices include, among other listings, a reference to where in the Bible various numbers appear, and the 613 commandments of the Torah - referenced, of course.
FYI, my sources of exegesis do not concur with many of his conclusions as to the intended meaning (as opposed to symbolism) of numbers used in scripture. However that does not stop me from keeping this book on the shelf next to the concordance and Bible(s,) and using it often enough that it never, ever gets dusty.
Wheels, Amazon Customer
very enlightning
KIRKUS REVIEW
Conservative Christians interested in the Bible and numbers will find this a reassuring introduction; others would do better...
A Christian take on numerology that attempts to demonstrate that God is the sole author of the Bible.
Gannaway explores the significance of numbers in the Old and New Testaments, highlighting their explicit and implicit meanings and bringing to light the metaphorical mathematics strung together across centuries and languages. He does a thorough, admirable job of taking the reader through the single digits, revealing the meaning behind each one and demonstrating how they interact with each other both mathematically and symbolically. He draws out themes of unity, the nature of the Trinity, the end times and humanity’s striving against carnal desires to deepen the reader’s understanding of the Bible. Gannaway is quick to distance his practice from numerology, citing its relationship to witchcraft, while mentioning the long-standing (and apparently not numerological) practices of gematria and isopsephy. This facile distinction is in service of his stated goal: proving God is the sole author of the Bible based, apparently, on the complexity of the book’s math. Gannaway ignores the long history of the study of numbers in his effort to prove that only God could come up with such dazzling and complicated logic as the number one signifying extraordinary things or the number eight symbolizing perfection—conclusions that appear in most numerology systems. The book contains six appendices, including an impressive concordance of where each number appears in the Bible, a cursory glance at the apocrypha and a list of all 613 commandments in the Old Testament. However, his thesis—reiterated didactically at the end of each chapter—falls short of his aims. Gannaway, who teaches classes on biblical symbolism, has an admirable grasp of numerology and a readable, familiar but professional voice. He knows what he’s talking about, even if his book is less academically rigorous than a book of this nature should be.
Conservative Christians interested in the Bible and numbers will find this a reassuring introduction; others would do better with a book more open to non-Christian perspectives.