If you ever wondered what does the number 1 mean in the Bible, you have a good question. Numbers in the Bible have a deeper meaning than just the number itself. We know this because a verse in the Book of Revelation refers to both numbers and to readers who desire to have understanding about the meaning of Biblical numbers. This verse is Revelation 13:18, which says, “Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.” (KJV)
If this number of man has a special significance, which it does, so do all of the other numbers in the Bible.
The study of Bible numbers is called “biblical numerology.” Specific numbers reveal that the number seven is sometimes considered “God’s number.” The number eight indicates new beginnings, and the number thirteen has negative connotations. The number one, like all other numbers, has a unique meaning throughout God’s Word, and He has His divine purposes for using it.
Mathematically, the number one is unique since it is only divisible by itself. It is not a prime number, since a prime number by definition must be a number greater than one and is not the product of two smaller numbers. This mathematical oddity of the number one reflects both the one God Who created numbers, and Who desires readers of His Word to study numbers.
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible? — First Mention
The first time the word “one” is found in the Bible is during the creation week. This is found in Genesis 1:9. “And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.” (KJV)
During the second day of creation, God divided the waters from the land. At that time in history, many biblical scholars (and secular ones, too) believed there was a single land mass, just one large continent, and that there also was only a single ocean.
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible? — One Bible
The first verse of the Old Testament, the Book of Genesis, introduces the single Author of the Bible — God.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1(KJV)
The singular God has given but one Book, God’s Word, called the Bible. The very term, “word of God,” indicates a singular entity. Although the Bible is composed of 1,189 chapters, it is commonly referred to using the singular designation “Word of God” instead of “words of God.”
Although the Bible is divided into two major divisions, the Old Testament and the New Testament, and has more divisions, exactly 66 books in the King James Version, there is unity throughout the Bible.
A quote about the Word of God, attributed to the fifth century theologian Augustine, is this: “In the Old Testament the New is concealed, in the New Testament the Old is revealed.” Bible scholars have observed that more than a third of the New Testament is composed of quotes from the Old Testament. Many of the prophecies of the Old Testament, especially about the coming of the Messiah, are fulfilled in the Gospel writings. Understanding the Gospels found in the New Testament gives understanding to Old Testament prophetic passages like Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22.
The Bible, despite its internal divisions, contains at least 40 different writers who wrote over a period of approximately 1,500 years is still one book, a single book. All of that one Bible is, and has been divinely inspired, through God’s Holy Spirit. Importantly enough, this same Bible has been preserved through the centuries by its single Author.
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible? — One God
The singularity of the number one relates to not only a single and true God, but also the unity of the triune Godhead.
God make this very clear to His people when He said in Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD” (KJV)
Interestingly enough, this verse uses two of God’s names. The word “LORD” in all capital letters is “Jehovah” — God’s personal name. The word “God” from the Hebrew word “Elohim” is actually a plural consisting of three entities. This singular name for God alludes to the triune Godhead, commonly referred to as “the Trinity.” There is but one God, however, He exists in three distinct Persons.
The nation of Israel was an oddity since all of the other nations worshipped multiple gods. These nations could not comprehend a single entity Who could help with all of their ongoing and diverse problems. The heathens had gods for all types of various categories. They had different gods to which they implored help for things like fertility issues, good crops, lost items, and a host of other things. A single, all-powerful, invisible God was a mystery to those nations that were in spiritual darkness.
God was well aware of the religious practices of the nations around Israel, so He specifically commanded His people against worshipping their false gods. Deuteronomy 6:14 is one verse where He warns His people against such worship. “Ye shall not go after other gods, of the gods of the people which are round about you” (KJV)
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible? — Israel’s New Year
God’s people, the Israelites, were in Egypt as slaves for about 400 years. When God raised up Moses to deliver them from Egypt, before they even left Egypt, He told Moses and his brother, Aaron, that He was going to do something special for His people — He was going to start a new era for His people. To commemorate God’s deliverance from Egypt, God made a new calendar, one especially for the Jewish people.
“This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.” Exodus 12:2 (KJV)
In the 10th day of this new month, God taught His people to observe the first Passover.
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible? — One Law
The one God Who chose a single nation to represent Him also welcomed people who were not native-born Israelites. But these “strangers” were to be treated fairly, and to obey the laws of God, just as the children of Israel did. God had the same set of laws both for His people as well as for those who wanted to adopt the customs and the culture of Israel.
“One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you.” Exodus 12:49 (KJV)
God welcomed people from other nations into the culture of Israel. However, both the visiting stranger and the native had the same laws of God to obey. The group of requirements, collectively called “the law,” was the same for both Jew and Gentile. God only has one “measuring stick.”
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible? — The Tabernacle on New Year’s Day
God is an orderly God. And since He is an orderly God, He has a divine order in which He does things. After the tribes of Israel left Egypt, God knew that His chosen people needed order, laws, and a government, not to mention a place to worship Him for their start as a new nation under His divine authority. God had to establish a new governmental order for His people, so He started on the first day of the first month.
God told Moses, the leader of the children of Israel, to construct a special place for His people to worship Him. This place of worship was called “the tabernacle,” “the tent of the congregation,” or sometimes the “tent of meeting,” since this place was where God met with His people.
On day one of the first month of the Hebrew calendar, their New Year’s Day, God instructed Moses to assemble the tabernacle. God recorded this in Exodus 40:2. “On the first day of the first month shalt thou set up the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation.” (KJV)
The tabernacle was a tent like structure that housed the holy Ark of the Covenant.
During this first month of the new year, Moses arranged for the religious structure the laws of God, which included the Ten Commandments, all of which he received from God on Mount Sinai. God spoke through Moses, for he was the governing spiritual authority for the people of ancient Israel.
During this first month of the new year, Moses arranged not only the tabernacle, but also instructed the priests who would serve both God and the people, according to the laws of God that Moses recorded in the Book of Leviticus.
There were many priest who served God in performing the duties of the tabernacle. But in charge of all of the priests was a single priest, the high priest.
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible — First of the Second Month
On the first day of the second month, God directed Moses to take a poll of the people. The children of Israel were going to go into the Promised Land. But although God promised that land to them there would still be battles to fight. The census of the people on the first day of the second moth was to help organize their military.
This is recorded in the Book of Numbers 1:1-3. “And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, Take ye the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, after their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war in Israel: thou and Aaron shall number them by their armies.” (KJV)
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible — The New Testament
Just like the first verse of the Old Testament introduces God, the first verse of the New Testament introduces Jesus Christ in Matthew 1:1. “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ…” (KJV)
There are many “ones” associated with Christ Jesus.
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible? — Only One Begotten Son of God
There are many “sons of God.” In the Old Testament, the phrase “sons of God” always refers to angels. Adam is also called “the son of God” in Luke 3:38. In the New Testament, the phrase “sons of God” refers to those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, according to John 1:12. “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name” (KJV)
However, there was only one begotten Son of God, and that was Jesus Christ. Here are two verses that show His uniqueness as the only begotten Son of God.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16 (KJV)
“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9 (KJV)
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible? — The Unique Claims of Jesus Christ
The only begotten Son of God made some other unique claims based on the number one. Here are three verses in which Jesus spoke about a single Master, Who is Christ (Himself), and a single Father — God.
Jesus said in Matthew 23:8-10, “But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ.” (KJV)
When Jesus was on Earth, He made several statements regarded His unique purpose: He was not just another way to God, or one of the many ways to God, but that He was the one and the only way to access God’s favor.
Here are some of His “one” statements, all which are characterized by the article “the”:
The Door
“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.” John 10:9 (KJV)
The Bread of Life
“And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.” John 6:35 (KJV)
“I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.” John 6:51 (KJV)
The Light of the World
“Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” John 8:12 (KJV)
The Good Shepherd
“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” John 10:11 (KJV)
“I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.” John 10:14 (KJV)
The Resurrection and the Life
“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” John 11:25 (KJV)
The Way, The Truth, The Life
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” John 14:6 (KJV)
The Vine
“I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” John 15:5 (KJV)
The Son of God
“Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?” John 10:36 (KJV)
All of these statements by Jesus Christ can be summarized by the statement that the Apostle Peter made in Acts 4:10-12.“Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (KJV)
Jesus Christ is the only way to access the favor of God the Father. He, as the one single way, was repeated by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 2:5. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;” (KJV)
According to the Bible, the Word of God, only through one Man, Jesus Christ, can anyone gain access to God the Father.
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible? — The Marital Relationship
The old song may say “One is the loneliest number,” but this is contrary to what God says. When two people fall in love and get married, this is not just a romantic relationship. The marriage covenant takes two separate individuals and makes them to become one.
This truth about two becoming one is as old as the Garden of Eden when Adam said in Genesis 2:24, “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.” (KJV).
Jesus repeated this fact in the Gospels. “And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” Matthew 19:5-6 (KJV)
The Apostle Paul reiterates this fact as a warning against fornication in 1 Corinthians 6:16. “What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.” (KJV)
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible? — The Special Love of God
In parable format, Jesus taught about the special love of God to each unique individual in Luke chapter 15. In verse 4, Jesus told of a man with one hundred sheep, and one was missing. Despite having ninety-nine sheep safely in the fold, the shepherd was concerned about the single missing sheep; he could not rest until he found that one lost sheep.
“What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?” Luke 15:4 (KJV)
Again, Jesus related God’s love to each individual when He tells about a woman who had ten pieces of silver and lost one. She was not satisfied with the nine pieces, but rather, she searched her home diligently until she found the one single lost piece.
“Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?” Luke 15:8 (KJV)
Jesus used these two illustrations to tell how heaven rejoices when one, single sinner repents.
“I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” Luke 15:7 (KJV)
“Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” Luke 15:10 (KJV)
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible? — Unity of God’s People
God desires His people to have unity. Unity is a chosen togetherness by those involved. Unity is very different from the word “union,” which is forced from an external source. The Holy Spirit directed David to exclaim in Psalm 133:1, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (KJV)
God’s people should all be of one mind as they rejoice in His love for them.
Jesus, the Good Shephard, said there would be only one single fold — one large place, a house of safety. This is a reference to heaven — with one shepherd — Himself.
“And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” John 10:16 (KJV)
Before suffering on the cross, Jesus prayed to God His Father for unity of those who would believe on Him and with His Father. He wanted all those He loved to be “one” — a single, united body.
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” John 17:21-23 (KJV)
The Apostle Paul repeated this desire of His Savior, knowing there was but one way to one God, in Ephesians 4:4-6. “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” (KJV)
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible? — Alpha and Omega
The words “alpha” and “omega” are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The number one is represented by the Greek letter “alpha.” In the Book of Revelation, the resurrected Jesus Christ calls Himself the “Alpha and Omega” four different times. He is the first and the last, and He is the only One Who can make this statement. Here are His words, near the end of the Bible, when referring to Himself. “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” Revelation 22:13 (KJV)
What Does the Number 1 Mean in the Bible? — Last Mention
The last mention of the number one in the Bible occurs in Revelation 21:21. “And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.” (KJV)
This glorious verse describes the city of New Jerusalem. This future city, created by God, reflects back to His original creation.
Just as God originally created the world and everything in it, so, too, can He create a wonderful city complete with a pearl large enough to serve as an entry gate.
This article is not an exhaustive study on the biblical meaning of the number one in the Bible, but rather, an overview to show the significance of the number one in God’s Word.
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