12: The Divine Significance of the Number 12 in the Bible and Pre-Biblical Antiquity

The Divine Significance of the Number 12 in the Bible and

Pre-Biblical Antiquity

By: David Deschesne

Editor/Publisher, Fort Fairfield Journal

September 28, 2016

The number 12 is a superior highly composite number, which mean it is the smallest number with four non-trivial factors (2, 3, 4, 6), and the smallest to include as factors all four numbers (1 to 4) within the subitizing range.

It is likely due to this unique divisibility of 12 that we get the 12 notes of the chromatic musical scale (piano’s 7 white keys, plus 5 black keys), which are not arbitrary, but based on the continual subdivision of a vibrating string by two-thirds, producing the “spiral of fifths.”¹

In ancient mysticism 12 represented three dimensional reality since a cube, which represents height, width and depth of the three dimensions is comprised of 12 lines. In the Bible, the number 12 is associated with the concept of government rule.²

First historical significance of 12

While many Bible scholars are familiar with the occurrences of the number 12 in the Old and New Testaments, it is lost on most that the secular and religious significance of that number pre-dates the original Biblical writings by nearly 2,000 years.

12 was first given its significance in ancient Sumer around 4,000 years before Christ. The Sumerians attributed the importance of 12 to Nibiru, what they claimed to be the 12th planet of our solar system (counting the sun and moon).

“The 6,000 year old Sumerian descriptions of our solar system include one more planet they called ‘Nibiru,’ which means ‘Planet of the crossing.’ The descriptions of this planet by the Sumerians match precisely the specifications of ‘Planet X’ (the Tenth Planet), which is currently being sought by astronomers in the depths of our own Solar System.

They have left us artifacts and stone tablet pictures that say the Annunaki came from another planet within our own solar system. They call this planet ‘Nibiru’, according to the Sumerian translations. The Sumerians say that the Annunaki live on Nibiru, which has a 3,600 year orbit around our sun.

The Sumerians claimed that our system was made up of the Sun and eleven planets (counting the moon), and held steadfastly to the opinion that, in addition to the planets known to us today, there has been a 12th member of the solar system - the home planet of the Annunaki. What we now call Planet X.”³

The Sumerians also noted the 12 lunar months of the moon and probably used the lunar months and their 12th planet to originate what is known as the duodecimal (base 12) numbering system.

Duodecimal System

The duodecimal system originated with the Sumerians in ancient Mesopotamia. Unlike our modern base 10 numbering system, the duodecimal counted up to 12 before repeating.

We see remnants of the base 12 system still in use today in the dozen (as in eggs), foot (12 inches), shilling (12 pence), small gross (10 dozen—120), gross (12 dozen—144), and the baker’s dozen (13). There are also 12 months in a year and 2x12=24 hours in a day. The duodecimal system is expanded into the sexagesimal system (base 60) to give us 60 seconds in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour, and 360 degrees in a circle. The Sumerians also used a sexagesimal system.

Ancient Egyptian uses

The ancient Egyptian calendar consisted of 12 months and was established as early as 4241 B.C. though some Egyptologists postulate 2781 B.C.⁴

The ancient Egyptians used the duodecimal system and divided their days into 12 hours of day and 12 hours of night. As the seasonal changes affected the length of daylight hours, the length of the hour was allowed to expand or contract to fit the model. When their sun god, Re [or Ra] sank below the horizon, the Egyptians believed he had to go through twelve chambers, or “gates,” each one representing an hour of the night.⁵

The dual 12+12 variable hour day/night system was later adopted by the ancient Hebrews and is still in use in Jewish law today in order to calculate the time during which one may recite the Shema and the Amidah, namely during the first three and four “variable hours” of the day, respectively.⁶

The ancient Egyptians also believed the entirety of a human was divided into nine different bodies, one of which was the Khat, or physical body, which has 12 main inner organs and 12 main rivers of energy.⁷

12 Signs of the Zodiac

The oldest preserved zodiac dates from 3000 B.C. with the ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia and was divided into 12 parts.⁸ It was later adopted by the Babylonians around 1000 B.C. then the Romans and eventually the Greeks. The Chinese also have a 12 part name system for their constellations.

Roman Law

Ancient Roman Law is encoded in the “Twelve Tables.” The Twelve Tables were a primitive Roman Constitution adopted in 454 B.C., modeled after the laws of Solon, Greece.⁹

Number 12 in Religious Use

Hindu

The Hindu religion is one of the oldest, extant around 2,000 years or more before Christ. The ancient Hindu god of fire, Agni is depicted with two faces, three legs and seven hands for a total of 2+3+7=12 distinct features.¹⁰

Buddhist

Buddhism is an offshoot of the Hindu religion, dating to around 500 B.C. There are twelve members of the Buddhist council of the Dalai Lama.

Graeco-Roman

Herodotus says there are twelve gods and goddesses of Olympus. Hesiod mentions there were twelve Titans. Twelve is also the number of the Tables of the Law and the days and nights of Saturnalia.¹¹ This pagan holiday is where we get the 12 Days of Yule and subsequently the “12 Days of Christmas.”

Mithraic

Mithra was an ancient Persian (Iran) god who began to be worshipped around 700 B.C. Like Christ of the Christian religion he was said to have 12 disciples.¹² Mithra was also said to have been born of a divine birth which was witnessed by shepherds and Magi who brought him gifts, he was said to engage in healing the sick, raising the dead and casting out devils and his ascension into Heaven was celebrated at the Spring equinox (Easter).¹³ Mithraism is said to have influenced the early Christian stories of Christ and was a leading competitor to Christianity for the first 300 years after Christ, until the established Christian church under the auspices of the Roman government used force to eradicate all adherents to Mithraism in order to secure Christianity as the dominant religion (this is a topic for another editorial).

Hebrew (Old Testament)

The first five books of the Old Testament are relative newcomers on the religious scene, having been first canonized around 500 B.C.¹⁴

While authorship of the first five books of the Old Testament (the Torah) is generally attributed to Moses, who lived in the 13th century B.C., he had nothing to do with the writing of the complete Torah. His name was attached to it as author at the time of the book’s canonization.¹⁵ The version of the Old Testament Torah Christians use today is from the Masoretic text which took the oral tradition and written scrolls and began to preserve it in writing starting around 600 A.D.¹⁶

The Old Testament continues the use of the number 12 from the earlier religions. A few examples of which are:

- twelve princes of Ishmael (Gen 19:20)

- twelve sons of Jacob, a/k/a 12 Tribes of Israel (Gen 35:22)

- twelve wells of water (Ex 15:27)

- twelve stones in Aaron’s breastplate (Ex 28:17-20)

- twelve cakes of fine flour (Lev 24:5)

- twelve oxen in an offering (Num 7:3)

- a dedication of the altar in Numbers being of twelve chargers of silver, twelve silver bowls and twelve spoons of gold (Num 7:84)

- The sacrifice of twelve bullocks, twelve rams, twelve lambs of the first year and twelve kids of goats (Num 7:87)

- twelve thousand armed for war (Num 31:5)

- twelve fountains of water (Num 33:9)

- twelve stones of Joshua (Jos 4:3-20)

- twelve cities of Joshua (Jos 18:24; 19:15; 21:7; 21:40)

- a husband cutting his wife into twelve pieces (Judges 19:29)

- Elijah’s twelve stones (I Kings 18:31)

- Jehoram reigned over Israel for twelve years (II KIngs 3:1)

- Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign in Jerusalem (II Kings 21:1)

- Women purified for 12 months (Esther 2:12)

- Ezekiel’s altar was twelve cubits long (Ez 43:16)

- twelve minor prophets (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micha, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi.)

Gnostic Christianity

Gnostic Christians were one of four distinct Christian sects that arose in the first century, A.D. before being quashed nearly out of existence by the Pauline branch of Christianity which received the endorsement of the Roman government and continued on to be the branch of Christianity recognized today. The Gnostics have a couple of references using twelve in their writings. The Gnostic Secret Book of John describes twelve Aeons, or ages¹⁷and The Creation of the World and the Alien Man, from Mandaean Gnosticism, mentions Ruha giving birth to twelve monsters and twelve forms. ¹⁸

Christianity (New Testament)

The New Testament also contains a fair number of references with the number twelve. Written 30 to 50 years after Christ, the books of the New Testament continue the long history of recognition of the number 12 as a mystical number. Some of the Christian references to twelve are:

- A diseased woman issuing blood for twelve years (Mat 9:20; Mark 5:25)

- Jesus had twelve disciples/apostles

- After Jesus fed the masses with loaves and fish, the remaining food was taken up in twelve baskets (Mat 14:20; Mark 6:43; Luke 9:17; John 6:13)

- twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Mat 19:28)

- twelve legions of angels (Mat 26:53)

- Jesus heals a young girl who is twelve years old (Mark 5:42)

- Jesus sits in the temple questioning the elders at twelve years old (Luke 2:42)

- twelve thousand sealed from each tribe of Israel (Rev. 7:8)

- A woman clothed with the sun wearing a crown of twelve stars (Rev. 12:1)

- John’s vision of New Jerusalem has twelve gates with twelve pearls sitting on twelve foundations and guarded by twelve angels (Rev. 21)

- There are twelve different fruits on the tree of life in John’s vision (Rev. 22:2)

Notes