What’s So Special About 14?
Numbers.
Numbers are everywhere and represent important aspects of our lives. Numbers remind us of important things such as birthdays, addresses, phone numbers, weight, and blood pressure . . . just to name a few.
Numbers are very important to sports fans. “Ball and strike” counts, yards needed for a first down, seconds on the play clock, and statistics in the thousands make up the vocabulary of many sports aficionados.
Football fans know 12 is the number of great quarterbacks such as Joe Namath, Terry Bradshaw, Tom Brady, and my favorite – Roger Staubach.
All little boys growing up in the ‘50s and ‘60s knew the New York Yankee greats: 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, and 9. (If you don’t know who those are, email me!) Then, there’s “The Great One,” Wayne Gretzky, #99!
Sports are all about numbers.
Another memorable number is 11, the first Apollo space mission to land on the moon in 1969.
The number 29 pops up in February every 4th year – which is also the year of the U.S. General Election, at which time 270 becomes an important number for electoral votes.
Other numbers most of us will never forget: 9/11 and COVID-19.
One other number is an important part of this time of year: 14. The number 14 occurs in Matthew’s genealogy of Jesus.
When Matthew wrote his account of Messiah Jesus, he did not write a chronological record, but rather a thematic one with his very Jewish audience in mind. As an example, he quotes the Hebrew Bible more than any other gospel writer. To strengthen his case, he uses statements such as, “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet . . . .”
Matthew also used two very Jewish devices to prove his point that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah: genealogy and Jewish numerology.
Genealogies are a very important part of the Hebrew Bible. In fact, it contains at least 13 of them:
The heavens and earth – Genesis 2:4
Adam – Genesis 5
Noah – Genesis 10
Shem – Genesis 11
Nahor – Genesis 22
Abraham – Genesis 25
Ishmael – Genesis 25
Jacob – Genesis 35
Esau – Genesis 35
Jacob (Israel) – Genesis 36
Israel – Exodus 1
David – Ruth 4
Adam to Saul – 1 Chronicles 1-9
Therefore, a genealogy would be a very traditional way to identify the Messiah.
The thematic nature of this particular genealogy is seen in the introduction: “The record of the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham:”[1] Matthew emphasizes David by placing him first rather than Abraham, which is out of chronological order.
He then divides the genealogy into three sections of the same number of generations – 14. We find a second clue to the genealogy’s thematic approach in the way Matthew selects whom he includes in the 14 generations. The first section leaves out four generations between Amminadab and David. He also omits three names between Joram and Uzziah. Finally, he repeats the name Jeconiah in both of the final sections to keep the generations consistent at 14.
So why is it important for Matthew to emphasize the number 14?
Jewish numerology is the answer.
In the Hebrew language each letter has a numeric value. The letter daleth is the fourth letter in the alphabet and has the numeric value of 4. The sixth letter is vav with a value of 6. Hebrew vowels are shown with special markings, not letters; “vowel points” have no numeric value. So David’s name (i e., DVD) totals 14: D=4 + V=6 + D=4.
Matthew seems to be emphasizing the number 14 as a mnemonic device to help his Jewish readers recognize and remember that Jesus was the true son of David, fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant,[2] and legal heir to the Messianic throne.
Interestingly, the use of 14 wasn’t the only literary way in which Matthew showed the uniqueness of Jesus. By observation, one will note that in each of the listed generations the male generational head is described as “the father of . . . .” For example, “. . . Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of Judah . . . .”
This pattern develops a sort of rhythm as one reads. However, when we arrive at Joseph’s name the rhythm changes. Matthew writes, “. . . Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born . . . .”
Something is very different about this child Jesus. He has no listed earthly father, but Matthew introduces Him as “Jesus the Christ” (the Messiah). Matthew goes on to explain Jesus’ deity more fully with an account of the virgin birth in his next paragraph, which is beyond the score of this article.
I have never really enjoyed reading long lists of names in the Bible. But this genealogy is fascinating in that it uses a numeric device and poetic rhythm to declare Jesus to be not only the legal heir of David’s throne, but also God incarnate – uniquely not born of a human father.
You have seen I love numbers such as sports trivia. But a number I have truly grown to appreciate is 14. It reminds me every time I encounter it that God is faithful to His promises and that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah.
Written by Winn, LIFE Staff
So, how does all this “add up” to you?
“Biblical numerology” is far different from gematria or “the Bible codes” in which all kinds of esoteric and secret messages supposedly can be found. A study of how numbers are repeated throughout Scripture (three, seven, twelve, and forty are prime examples) can be “pay attention!” pointers to the reader.
Matthew’s use of 14 is one of those “don’t miss this!” markers. And for sure, you don’t want to miss a proper identification of Messiah. December is a great time of year to read His birth records, provided in Matthew 1 and Luke 2.
We pray you will be “numbered” among those who have trusted in the salvation Jesus provides all who trust in Him.
Footnotes:
[1] Matthew 1:1.
[2] 2 Samuel 7:12-14; 1 Chronicles 17:11-12.