14 (Fourteen)
Fourteen is the number of deliverance and salvation in the corpus. Bullinger emphasises the composite meaning: fourteen = 2 × 7, double completion. Jones approaches it primarily through the Hebrew letters Yod-Daleth (“hand of the door”): the image of release from captivity through the opening of a door. The Passover lamb slain on the fourteenth day is the central biblical anchor for both authors.
Biblical references
| Reference | Context |
|---|---|
| Ex. 12:6 | Passover lamb slain on the fourteenth day of the first month |
| Matt. 1:17 | Fourteen generations from Abraham to David; fourteen from David to the exile; fourteen from the exile to Christ |
| Acts 27:33-34 | Shipwreck: on the fourteenth day Paul urges the crew to eat |
| 1Pet. 1:19 | ”Holy” (ἅγιος) in 1 and 2 Peter: fourteen times (2 × 7) |
Symbolism in the corpus
E.W. Bullinger
Bullinger describes fourteen as double completion (2 × 7) and connects it to deliverance and salvation. He documents the pattern in genealogical registers: the Hebrew tol’doth (“generations”) appears fourteen times in the Bible — thirteen times in the Old Testament and once in the New. The word “holy” (ἅγιος) in the Petrine letters (1 and 2 Peter combined) occurs fourteen times; the word “woe” in Revelation likewise fourteen times. 1
Stephen E. Jones
Jones reads fourteen through the Hebrew letter-combination Yod-Daleth: “The hand (outworking) of the door. It pictures a release or deliverance from the prison with the opening of the door.” Israel’s deliverance from Egypt by the Passover lamb on the fourteenth day is central. Jones adds: Paul’s ship was delivered on the fourteenth day of the storm (Acts 27:33-34) — the same pattern of salvation after distress, on the fourteenth day. 2
Composite use
Bullinger explicitly treats fourteen as 2 × 7 (two levels of divine completion), which doubles the redemptive force of seven. 1