Fourteen

Q. In Jesus’ genealogy in Mt 1:17 there were 14 generations from Abraham to David, 14 from David to the deportation to Babylon, and 14 from the deportation to the Messiah. What is the significance of “fourteen” in the Bible?

A. The number fourteen or fourteenth appears 44 times in the NASB. I’ve read authors who are into numerology or gematria proposing fanciful meanings for the number. Just think of the many permutations and combinations of smaller numbers you can put together to equal 14, and you can see how the imagination can run wild very quickly. So I shall restrict myself to biblical citations, and have classified the 44 references as grouped in the Appendix.

The frequency of the references is as follows:
1. Passover 12 X
2. Feast of Tabernacles 9 X
3. Purim 5 X
4. Victory/Defeat 4 X
5. Turning Point 4 X
6. Service 4 X
7. Inheritance 2 X
8. Unclassified 4 X

Passover is the feast instituted the night before God delivered His people from Egyptian slavery. The Feast of Tabernacles or Ingathering celebrated the final harvest of olives and fruits and also the start of the civil new year. Many scholars believe it to be symbolic of the Second Coming of Christ, the final ingathering of God’s people. Purim is the feast commemorating the deliverance of the Jews by Esther from a massacre plotted by Haman. All three (26 out of 44 X or 59%) are related to the idea of deliverance and salvation.

The second major idea is that of turning point. There were 4 references to 3 battles which meant victory to the conquerors, but defeat for the captives, a turning point. These are followed by 4 references to turning points of 14 generations, days or years. Altogether 8 out of 44 times or 18% are related to turning points. A third minor idea is that of service or order of ministry, 4 out of 44 X or 9%.

If you are interested in numerology you can search online. I am a historical-grammatical-cultural type and did not spend much time in this topic.

Appendix: Fourteen in the Bible