Dictionary of Bible Themes  »  1000 God  »  1600 Scripture as the word of God  »  1650 numbers, significance of  »  1655 numbers, hundreds and thousands

The words “hundreds” and, especially, “thousands”, often refer to large quantities in general; they are also used simply in a superlative sense.

Hundreds

A hundred in Jesus Christ's teaching

Matthew 13:23 pp Mark 4:20 See also Matthew 13:8 pp Mark 4:8 pp Luke 8:8; Matthew 18:12 pp Luke 15:4; Matthew 18:28; Mark 10:30

Abraham becomes a father at 100

Genesis 17:17; Genesis 21:5; Romans 4:19

People who lived to over 100

Genesis 5:3-32; Genesis 9:29; Genesis 11:10-32; Genesis 25:7,17; Genesis 50:22; Deuteronomy 34:7; Judges 2:8; 2 Chronicles 24:15; Job 42:16; Isaiah 65:20

Hundreds and thousands

Hundreds and thousands as military units

Exodus 18:21; Numbers 31:14; 1 Samuel 22:7; 2 Samuel 18:1; 1 Chronicles 13:1; 1 C 1; 1 C 1; 2 Chronicles 25:5

Hundreds and thousands in blessings

Deuteronomy 1:11 See also Genesis 24:60; 2 Samuel 24:3 pp 1 Chronicles 21:3; Psalm 144:13

Thousands

Jesus Christ feeds thousands

Matthew 14:21 pp Mark 6:44 pp Luke 9:14 pp John 6:10; Matthew 15:38 pp Mark 8:9; Matthew 16:9-10 pp Mark 8:19-20

Believers numbered in thousands

Acts 21:20 See also Acts 2:41; Acts 4:4; Romans 11:4; 1 Kings 19:18

God shows his love to thousands

Exodus 34:6-7 See also Exodus 20:6 pp Deuteronomy 5:10; Deuteronomy 7:9

God has thousands of attendants

Revelation 5:11 See also Psalm 68:17; Daniel 7:10; Hebrews 12:22; Jude 14

God protects one believer amidst thousands of people

Psalm 91:7

God helps one believer against a thousand

See also Joshua 23:10; Judges 15:15-16

God allows thousands to be defeated

Deuteronomy 32:30; Isaiah 30:17

A thousand years

As a day to the Lord:

Psalm 90:4; 2 Peter 3:8 Revelation 20:2-7 the reign of Jesus Christ with believers for 1,000 years while Satan is restrained

Special numbers

Revelation 13:18 666 is a symbol of total incompleteness; Revelation 7:4 144,000 symbolises the perfect number of God's people.

God's people are without number

Genesis 16:10 See also Numbers 10:36; Revelation 7:9

God's people are compared to stars and sand

Genesis 22:17 See also Genesis 15:5; Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 10:22; 1 Chronicles 27:23; Nehemiah 9:23; Jeremiah 33:22; Hebrews 11:12

See also

1085  God, love of
1335  blessing
2351  Christ, miracles
2363  Christ, preaching & teaching
4110  angels
5208  armies
5467  promises, divine
7105  believers
7140  people of God
9155  millennium