Biblical Meaning of Number 5
In the Bible, five is the number of grace: five smooth stones for David, five loaves for five thousand, and the one letter, the numeral five, that God breathed into Abram's name.
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What does the number 5 mean in the Bible?
Five turns up where God gives more than is earned. David goes out against Goliath with "five smooth stones out of the brook" (1 Samuel 17:40); "five loaves, and two fishes" feed "about five thousand men, beside women and children" (Matthew 14:17-21).
The Law itself is five books, Genesis to Deuteronomy, called in Greek the Pentateuch, the five scrolls, and the tabernacle is built in fives: its curtains coupled five and five, five bars to a side, five pillars at the door (Exodus 26).
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Where five appears in the Bible
| Verse | What it says |
|---|---|
| Genesis 17:5 | Abram becomes Abraham; in the Hebrew the change is one added letter, he (ה), the numeral five. |
| Genesis 17:15 | Sarai becomes Sarah: her last letter is exchanged for the same he. |
| Exodus 26:3 | "The five curtains shall be coupled together one to another." |
| 1 Samuel 17:40 | David "chose him five smooth stones out of the brook." |
| Matthew 14:17-21 | "Five loaves, and two fishes" feed about five thousand men. |
| Matthew 25:2 | "Five of them were wise, and five were foolish." |
| Ephesians 4:11 | Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers: the gifts later called the five-fold ministry. |
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The prophetic meaning of 5
Bullinger (1894) called five the number of divine grace, and made much of the letter added to Abram's and Sarai's names. Prophetic readers use it for favor that is given rather than won, and for the five-fold ministry of Ephesians 4:11.
The Bible never defines five as grace; that label is Bullinger's, drawn from the passages above.
Five in Hebrew and Greek letters
In Hebrew the numeral five is he (ה); in Greek it is epsilon (ε). He appears twice in the divine name YHWH.
The hidden lore of five
In Genesis 2:4, "when they were created" is written with a small he in Torah scrolls, and the Talmud reads the word as "with he he created them": this world, it says, was created with the letter he (Menachot 29b).
The name change of Genesis 17 is a single letter in each name: Abram (אברם) takes a he to become Abraham (אברהם), and Sarai (שרי) gives up her yod for a he to become Sarah (שרה).
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Sources and editorial method
Research and editorial references used for this page include:
- BibleGateway: Genesis 17:5 (KJV) - The passage quoted on this page, in the King James Version.
- BibleGateway: Genesis 17:15 (KJV) - The passage quoted on this page, in the King James Version.
- BibleGateway: Exodus 26:3 (KJV) - The passage quoted on this page, in the King James Version.
- BibleGateway: 1 Samuel 17:40 (KJV) - The passage quoted on this page, in the King James Version.
- E. W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture (London, 1894), Internet Archive - The source of the "prophetic" meanings: one unity, two difference, three divine perfection, four creation, five grace, six man, seven spiritual perfection, eight resurrection, nine finality or judgment, ten ordinal perfection, eleven disorder, twelve governmental perfection.
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version. The "prophetic" meanings are E. W. Bullinger's (Number in Scripture, 1894), named as his reading rather than as definitions the Bible gives; the Hebrew and Greek numerals are the standard letter values, and the later Jewish and Christian lore is given with its source.
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Common questions
What does the number 5 mean in the Bible?
Grace, in the classic reading: five stones for David (1 Samuel 17:40), five loaves for five thousand (Matthew 14:17-21), and the five books of the Law.
What is the prophetic meaning of the number 5?
Favor that is given, not earned. Bullinger called five the number of divine grace, and prophetic readers tie it to the five-fold ministry of Ephesians 4:11.
Why did God add a letter to Abram's name?
In Hebrew, Abram becomes Abraham by one added letter, he, the numeral five, the same letter that replaces the last letter of Sarai's name (Genesis 17:5, 15).
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