153: A Stunning Biblical Number

God succeeds in conquering evil and capturing His people from evil.

After reading this post, the number 153 may become your favorite number. You may think: “Why would I ever care about the number 153?”

Hang in there. When you finish, 153 will remind you of God’s grace, Christ’s power, and the Spirit’s goodness in your life.

Let’s Begin

I’m a numbers guy. Biblical chronology and biblical numerology are my hobbies.

I write articles at Wade Burleson at Istoria Ministries to help my friends and family understand the world through a biblical worldview.

I’m always a positive, hopeful person about the future of this world because I know Who is really in charge.

153 represents God conquering evil and capturing His people from their bondage to evil.

Numbers matter.

Dr. Francis Collins, the scientist who discovered the human genome, turned from being an atheist into a follower of Jesus Christ because he came to see the Creator as THE Supreme Mathematician and Physicist of the Universe.

The Number 153

In John 21:1-12, the resurrected Messiah appears to His disciples on the northern shore of Galilee at a little fishing community called Tabgha.

Tabgha as it looks today: Photo taken by Wade Burleson at Tabgha, 2023.

⁴ Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus.

⁵ He called out to them, “Friends, have you caught any fish?” “No,” they answered.

⁶ He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the number of fish.

⁷ Then the disciple whom Jesus loved (e.g. “John”) said to Peter, “It is the LORD!”

As soon as Simon Peter heard John say, “It is the LORD” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.

⁸ The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards. ⁹ When they landed, they saw a fire of burning coals there with fish on it, and some bread.

¹⁰ Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.” ¹¹ So Simon Peter climbed back into the boat and dragged the net ashore.

It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many the net was not torn.

¹² Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” They KNEW it was the LORD.

The Number 153 in Math

For centuries, biblical scholars have wondered why John counted the fish the disciples caught. He could have left it at “The net was full of large fish,” but he counted them and recorded the number as 153. Why?

In the Bible, Hebrew and Greek letters double as numbers. This is not the case in English, where we use Aramaic numbers.

In the Bible, every word or phrase has a number assigned to it. Assigning numbers to Hebrew words and deriving meaning from those numbers is called gematria.

For example, the first 10 Hebrew letters represent ten significant Hebrew numbers with essential meanings.

The three numbers that make up 153 are 1 - 5 - 3.

1 = God - א (aleph in English) is the first letter in the 22-letter Hebrew aleph-bet.

5 = Grace - ה (hey in English) is the fifth letter in the 22-letter Hebrew aleph-bet.

3 = Trinity - ג (gimel in English) is the third letter in the 22-letter Hebrew aleph-bet.

153 is the smallest number, which can be expressed as the sum of the cubes of its digits.

153 = 1³ + 5³ + 3³

GOD, in GRACE, moves in TRINITY.

153 is also the 17th triangular number.

The triangle △ is a three-sided polygon with connected straight lines. Throughout Christian history, the triangle has been a symbol of the Trinity.

In the picture below are 17 triangles, and the number 153 ends at the base of the 17th triangle.

The numbers 17 and 153 go together beautifully. When you add the first seventeen numerals together, you get 153.

1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + 10 + 11 + 12 + 13 +14 + 15 + 16 + 17 = 153

The number 17 in the Bible represents “complete victory.” So, the depths of the meaning of the number 153 in the Bible can now be summarized:

The biblical number 153 refers to “God conquering evil and capturing His people by the work of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

The Meaning of 153 Seen in Elijah’s Life

An illustration of the meaning of 153 from the Bible comes from the life of Elijah.

One hundred fifty-three men, three groups of fifty soldiers plus one captain for each group of fifty, sought to capture Elijah, God’s prophet, and bring him to the court of wicked King Ahaziah for execution.

The evil intent of the soldiers didn’t succeed because God, in grace, protected Elijah and conquered the evil coming against the prophet.