What Does the Number 14 Mean in the Bible?
In the Bible, the number 14 has a double meaning. It refers to the numerical value of the name David in ancient Jewish numerology. It also references the number seven, which in ancient Jewish numerology is the number for spiritual perfection. As 14 is twice seven, its use implies a double measure of that virtue.
The total value of the name David is determined by adding the individual values assigned to the name’s three consonants. The consonant dalet = 4, while vav, = 6. Therefore, dalet+vav+dalet = 4+6+4 = 14.
The number 14 makes only one significant appearance in the Bible. In the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, the author divides the genealogy of Jesus into three groups of 14 generations. The first group runs from Abraham to David, the second from David to Josiah, who was alive at the time the Jews were taken into captivity in Babylon, and the third from Josiah to Joseph.
As the number three represents God’s actions in ancient Jewish numerology, it is inferred that the separation of the Jew’s history into three distinctive periods implies that everything that happened was part of God’s plan, one which the number 14 implies will result in a double measure of spiritual perfection for his people.
