Introduction
Two is unity plus another, thus we have a difference or a contrast between the one and the other. Two is the first number by which we can divide another, in all of its uses this fundamental idea of division or difference shows through. The first time that the word two is used in the bible is in relation to this theme of division. The sun and the moon were to mark out the division between the day and the night. Thus the first use of two in the Bible was to make a division.
16And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:16-18
When it comes to the course of human affairs, the difference may be for good or for bad. The second might be for comfort or help.9Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 10For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. 11Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?
Ecclesiastes 4:9-11
However it might be in opposition, enmity or oppression. Unfortunately when humans are involved the second is more likely the case.
22And the children struggled together within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? And she went to enquire of the LORD. 23And the LORD said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb, and two manner of people shall be separated from thy bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
Genesis 25:22-23
Here we have Rebekah pregnant with Jacob and Esau who struggled from within the womb and all through their lives. Here we have a prime example of not only two who are in opposition to each other but also a contrast. The Bible often seeks to teach us by showing us a contrast between a bad example and a good one. Esau was the oldest and thus should have inherited the birthright of the promises given to Abraham and Isaac. However he valued them so little that he sold them to Jacob for a pot of stew. When Esau was forty years old he took two wives of the Hittites which were a grief of mind or a bitterness of Spirit to Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 26:35). Jacob on the other hand valued the birthright so highly that he resorted to deception and guile to win them. Also he worked for 14 years to attain the wife of his parents (and his own) choosing.
The second verse of the Bible is:
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
Genesis 1:2
This verse speaks of the barrenness and emptiness of the earth until God did further work upon it. This is in contrast to the first verse which speaks of the perfect order of Gods act of creation. This is a reasonable summary of where division or separation from God will get us.
The second act of creation
The second act of creation recorded in Genesis is the creation of light, and immediately there was difference and division, for God divided the light from the darkness.
3And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
Genesis 1:3-4
The second day of the creation.
6And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.
Genesis 1:6-8
In the second 'day' God divided the waters from the waters. Two - division, in this section God makes a separation based on His own judgement. This is the only day, which God does not look at what He has done and see that it is good. Thus God marks out the number two as something different from the rest. This section starts with verse six, six is the number of man. Prefiguring that men would separate themselves from God. Finally is finishes with verse eight, prefiguring the redemption, new life, that God will offer mankind.
The second chapter of the Bible
The second chapter of the Bible Speaks of God's creation of Adam, the first spiritual man. There is now more than one, now there are two. It is the start of God's relationship with man and thus the start of the sad tale of mankind's willful disobedience and separation from God. Also from verse 18 it relates the creation of Eve as a companion for Adam, for 'It is not good that the man should be alone;' (v 18). So Chapter two also touches on that other great meaning of the number two, as mentioned in Ecclesiastes (above) two can help each other out. This is most particularly emphasized by the institution of marriage, which is first prefigured here in Genesis.
The chapter has 25 verses. As we shall see at a later date 5 is the number of grace or free gift. So 52 or 5x 5 is grace multiplied, or abundant grace. It amply categorizes God's relationship with us.
The Second Tol`doth Division
Bullinger1 notes that the book of Genesis can be divided into twelve parts by the phrase "these are the generations" or 'Tol'doth' in the Hebrew. Each of these sections then has a logical theme. The first section starts at the beginning of Genesis and finishes at the first time the phrase is used.
The second division starts from the first 'Tol'doth':
4These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
Genesis 2:4
And finishes with:
And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the LORD.
Genesis 4:26
Thus the second 'Tol'doth' division tells the story of the fall of Adam and Eve and their banishment from the Garden of Eden. Then continues with the tale of Cain who slew his brother Abel out of jealousy. And finishes with the birth of Seth and then his son Enos. The name Enos comes from a Hebrew word (vWna;) Õanash {aw-nash'} meaning to be weak sick or frail. It is used figuratively to mean mankind, in the sense of being subject to these things. Thus the best translation of the meaning of the name Enos would probably be - mortal. However this same word is often translated as incurable, desperate, desperately wicked, woeful, and sick.
The Hebrew word translated as "was it begun" is (ll'j) châlal {khaw-lal'}; which properly means to bore or to start a bore, i.e. by implication to wound, to dissolve; figuratively to profane (a person, place or thing), to break (ones word), to begin (as if by an opening wedge)... The Jewish Talmud puts the origin of idolatry in the days of Enos. Thus The second 'Tol'doth' division ends with the beginning of idolatry and profaning the name of the Lord. In fact Seth seems to have named his son for the times in which they lived. Other patriarchs were also named for the times in which they lived, in particular see Peleg.
Further in the second 'Tol'doth' division we see for the first time "enmity".
And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Genesis 3:15
However we see the grace of God in that at the very moment were enmity is first mentioned God is giving us the first promise of a savior.
The second book of the Bible
Exodus opens with the oppression of the enemy. The first seven verses enumerate the sons of Jacob who entered into the land of Egypt. Then starting in verse eight we have the rise of a Pharaoh who did not know them and started to afflict them.
Exodus 1:8-14
8Now there arose up a new king over Egypt, which knew not Joseph. 9And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 11Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 13And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: 14And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, in morter, and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field: all their service, wherein they made them serve, was with rigour.
Thus the tale of the affliction starts in verse eight, 8 = 23 = 2x 2x 2. The first chapter goes on the tell of Pharaoh's order to kill all the male children of the Hebrews. However in contrast to the first, the second chapter tells of the birth of Moses their redeemer.
The book as a whole deals with the great lengths that God goes to redeem Israel from the oppression of Egypt.
The link with 43
The bible mentions that Israel stayed in Egypt 430 years three times. However two of these times are in adjacent verses, so it could be said to only be spoken about in two places, once in the Old Testament and once in the New. So we have here a link between the oppression of Egypt and the number two. Also note the two-fold nature of their duration in Egypt. At first they were welcomed and treated as important guests, given the best lands and everything they could want. But later in their stay they were treated as slaves and bond-servants, treated spitefully and made to serve their Egyptian masters with hard labor.
The number 430 is mentioned in only one other place in the Bible. So in total it is used in four verses. Four being two times two, or two squared is again a link between two and this number. This number represents the time of Israel's service or apprenticeship. 43 represents this thought in more general terms. Thus there is a link, through the land of Egypt and the book of Exodus, from the number two to the number 43.
The nature of man
A human has a three fold design, body, mind and spirit. Where the mind is also often also referred to as the soul. However The Bible says that until a person has received the Holy Spirit they are spiritually dead. This is based on the Law, which stated that the punishment for sin was death. Since all are sinners then all are sentenced to death. However this is a spiritual allogory rather than a littoral one. Because the Bible says elsewhere that (in a littoral sense) that the body without the spirit is dead (James 2:26). The greek word for spirit used in the New Testament is derived from
Thus without the Holy Spirit we are incomplete, only two of our three parts are alive. This marks natural man with the number of two, division and conflict. While the Spirit filled person is marked with the Divine perfection that the Holy Spirit brings.
The Old and New Testaments.
The most obvious example of the number featuring in the Bible must surely be the to testaments into which it is divided. The Old Testament gives us the law and shows us by example that humans failed to live up to the law and Gods perfect standards again and again. Thus the main effect of the law was to show us the sinful nature mankind. In contrast the New Testament, shows us the eternal and never-failing nature of Gods love for us. It ushers in the New contract between God and us, where we now live by the Spirit of the law and not the letter of the law. The main effect of the New Testament is to freely give us that which we could not earn by ourselves, eternal life and a restored relationship with God. Thus the Old Testament brings us to sin and death while the New shows us grace and life.
Words that are used twice in the Bible
When a word is used only twice in the entire text of the Bible we might expect it to be marked with the symbolic meaning of the number two. Let us consider some words that are only used twice:
Cause
The Aramaic word (hr;b]Di) dibrah (Aramaic) { dib-raw’} (Hebrew Strongs number 1701) means cause or reason. It is used in two different sences, firstly 'for the sake of', and secondly 'to the intent that'.
30But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
Daniel 2:30
In this case Daniel is speaking to the king, telling him that God has granted this revelation so that the lives of the many soothsayers and diviners would be saved. Thus it is in effect an act of mercy by God, and serves to show His merciful character. It is also an interesting coincidence that this is chapter 2 of Daniel. Contrast this with the second occurence of the word in chapter four.
17This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
Daniel 4:17
This time it is the king speaking to Daniel. he is telling of a strange dream, which he wants Daniel to interpret. It turns out that this dream fortells the punishment upon the king himself for his pride and arrogance. Thus it is a warning and in the end, its purpose is to glorify God as the almighty one. thus this word which is used twice is used in two sences, and talks about two different reasons.
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