1 (One)
Symbolic treatment of this number in the corpus
Bullinger · Jones · Warnock
Across the corpus, the number one is primarily treated as the number of divine unity and primacy. Bullinger and Jones emphasize God’s absolute indivisibility — the Shema is the central passage. Jones adds a Hebrew semantic distinction: absolute unity (yacheed) and compound unity (echad) show that biblical “oneness” is richer than arithmetic singularity. Warnock stresses the eschatological dimension: unity with God is the prophetic end-goal of the present dispensation of the Spirit.
Biblical References
| Reference | Context |
|---|---|
| Deut. 6:4 | Shema: “the LORD our God is one LORD” — foundation of Israel’s faith |
| Ex. 20:3 | First commandment: no other gods — divine primacy |
| Isa. 44:6 | ”I am the first, and I am the last; beside me there is no God” |
| Gen. 22:2 | Isaac as “thine only son” (yacheed): absolute singularity |
| Gen. 2:24 | Husband and wife become “one flesh” (echad): compound unity |
| John 17:21 | High-priestly prayer: “that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me” |
| Rev. 5:5-6 | The Lion of Judah announced — but appearing only once in the book of Revelation |
Origin
The unity symbolism of the number one is rooted in the Shema (Deut. 6:4) — Israel’s daily confession that God is absolutely one. In rabbinic tradition this singularity is not merely a numerical claim but an ontological one: no competing power exists alongside God. Jones links this biblical-rabbinic line to the Proto-Sinaitic background of Aleph (א): the ox-head, symbol of strength and leadership priority, gives the numeric value one its semantic weight of primacy. Warnock reinterpreted the unity symbolism through his contemporary pneumatology: in his eschatological framework “one” is not primarily a cosmological statement about God but the prophetic goal of the present dispensation of the Spirit — the unification of the prepared people with God (John 17:21).
Symbolism in the Corpus
E.W. Bullinger
Bullinger defines one as the number of unity, independence, and divine primacy. God is the First; everything else begins with Him. The Shema of Deut. 6:4 — “the LORD is one” — forms the scriptural foundation. This primacy recurs in the first commandment (Ex. 20:3), in God’s unique claim upon His people (Isa. 44:6: “I am the first, and I am the last; beside me there is no God”), and in the first recorded words of Jesus (Luke 2:49), which point to the Father as the One. 1
Stephen E. Jones
Jones connects the number one to the Hebrew letter Aleph (א), which depicts an ox or bull and signifies “strength, primacy, leader.” One is therefore the number of divine strength and leadership priority. Jones distinguishes two Hebrew words for “one”: yacheed, expressing absolute singularity (Gen. 22:2: Abraham’s “only begotten” son), and echad, denoting compound unity (Gen. 2:24: husband and wife becoming “one flesh”; Deut. 6:4: “the LORD is one”). Both converge in the first commandment: the one God tolerates no rivals, for all primacy and strength are concentrated in Him. 2
George Warnock
Warnock addresses oneness along two lines. Numerologically, he observes that “the Lion of Judah” appears only once in the book of Revelation (Rev. 5:5) — compared to twenty-eight occurrences of “the Lamb.” That singularity of the Lion is theologically significant for Warnock: Christ overwhelmingly identifies Himself with the way of the Lamb, not the Lion. Eschatologically, unity is the prophetic end-goal of the present dispensation: “God is preparing a ministry and a people, through many fiery trials, to bring about this kind of union. When the ministration of truth goes forth from ministries who are one with God, this prepared people will also become one with God” (John 17:21). 34
Related Terms
Number symbolism:
- Two — the number of difference and witness; stands in contrast to the absolute singularity of one.
- Three — the number of the Trinity; threeness presupposes divine oneness as its foundation.
Glossary:
- Trinitarian theology — the doctrine of the Trinity builds upon the Shema: one God in three persons. The tension between the absolute unity of the Shema and the triunity of the Christian doctrine of God is a central issue in systematic theology.
- Economic Trinity — the outward acts of the three persons; closely linked to the unity of God’s will and purpose.