6 (Six)
Symbolic treatment of this number in the corpus
Bullinger · Jones
The number six stands in the corpus for man and humanity. Bullinger connects it to human imperfection and labor: man was created on the sixth day and is appointed to six days of work. Jones develops it through the Hebrew letter Vav (nail, connection) and sees in six millennia of human existence a typological pattern culminating in the Second Coming.
Biblical References
| Reference | Context |
|---|---|
| Gen. 1:24-31 | Man created on the sixth day |
| Ex. 20:9 | Six days of labor; the seventh is the day of rest |
| Ex. 21:2 | Hebrew servant serves six years, then goes free |
| Ex. 24:16 | Moses waited six days before ascending the mountain |
| Josh. 6:14 | Six days they marched around Jericho |
| Rev. 13:18 | The number of the beast: six hundred and sixty-six |
Symbolism in the Corpus
E.W. Bullinger
Bullinger describes six as “the number of man: created on the sixth day; six days of labor.” It signifies human imperfection, toil, and sin — always one short of the divine seven. He points to the human gestation period of two hundred and eighty days (forty times seven) as a pattern linking six and seven: the human form carries its fruit until the fullness is mature. The moral meaning of six is precise: it stands for the moral dimension of human deficiency in contrast to God’s perfection (number seven). 1
Stephen E. Jones
Jones derives six from the Hebrew letter Vav, meaning a nail or hook: to join, connect, fasten. He writes: “Six is the number of man, for man was created on the sixth day (Gen. 1:24-31).” Six days of labor (Ex. 20:8-11), the Hebrew servant serving six years (Ex. 21:2), and Moses waiting six days before ascending the mountain (Ex. 24:16-18) confirm the pattern. Jones connects six millennia of human existence to the Second Coming of Christ and sees in the six days Israel marched around Jericho (Josh. 6:14-15) a type of six thousand years of spiritual warfare. 2