Properties of the number 4

---

Symbolism

• Represent the union of the three Persons of the Saint Trinity in only one Being. In this sense the number 4 symbolizes the family, being considered as another image of the number 1.

• Simple projection of the unit, it is the number of the organization and the perfect rhythm.

• In the Greek mythology, it is the number of Jupiter, alive law, master of the protection and the justice, organizer of all that was created.

• Symbol of the totality, it is considered by the initiates as the root of all things.

• Number of the double duality, two plus two, and of the universal measure, according to the Pythagorean.

• Represent the sense of the revelation, the stability, according to saint Jerome.

• Saint Ambroise sees in 4 a luckless number.

• Represented symbolically by the square or the cross.

• For the Amerindians, this number is the perfection: the prayers are repeated four times, the dances have four tempo, and the warriors do four pauses before to rush on their enemies.

• Symbolizes the Earth, or what is terrestrial, the totality of created and revealed, according to the Bible.

• Symbolize the incarnation of the beings in the matter.

• Symbol of the feminine or the woman, for anatomical reasons: the four lips on the body of the woman.

• Number of the force, this symbol is often reproduced on arms.

• Number of the balance.

• In Japan, the four brings misfortune. They avoid to pronounce it because the same word means "the death".

Bible

• The four evangelists of the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

• The four days of Lazarus at the grave. (Jn 11,17)

• The four colors of horses of the Revelation and the four knights who bring the four major curses. (Rv 6,2-8)

• The four destructive angels standing at the four corners of the earth. (Rv 7,1)

• The four walls of the celestial Jerusalem. (Rv 21,16)

• The four living creatures in front of the throne of God. (Rv 4,7-8)

• The Jews knew four archangels to govern the angelic world.

• The four living creatures in the vision of Ezekiel. (Ezk 1,5)

• The four camps of the twelve tribes of Israel. (Nb 2)

• God called Samuel the child four times. (1 S 3,1-11)

• The four chariots of Zechariah. (Zc 6,1)

• The four rivers of the Paradise. (Gn 2,10-14; Koran 157,15)

General

• Several prominent facts come to associate the number four to the cross of the Christ: the four segments of the cross; the four kinds of wood which were used for the construction of the cross of Christ, and also for Noah's Ark: the palm tree, the olive-tree, the cedar and the cypress, according to visions of Ann-Catherine Emmerick; the four Roman executioners who crucified Jesus on the Calvary, according to visions of Maria Valtorta; the four letters I.N.R.I. engraved on the cross. Concerning this last inscription, the Christians interpreted it as "Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum", Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews. The esoterists attribute another sense to it: "Igne Natura Renovatur Integra", The Nature will be Renovated by the Fire.

• Jesus remained four years in the temple of Juggernaut in Indies, according to the Gospel of the Aquarius.

• The return to Nazareth of Mary and Joseph lasted four days, after that Mary had remained three months with Elizabeth, according to visions' of Mary Agreda.

• The four emblems of the tribes of Israel, one for each group of three: the lion, the man, the bull and the eagle.

• The four Hebraic letters forming the name of God: YHWH.

• The four necessary elements for the conversion: prayer, penance, fast and sacrifice, given by the messages of the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje.

• Number of fundamental collections (sacred volumes of India Brahman) in which are contained the whole of the knowledge of the Veda: Rig-Veda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-Veda (or Yajour-Veda) and Atharva-Veda.

• The four rays of the cosmic wheel.

• The four pillars of the Universe.

• According to the Tibetans, there are four "chakras", called also wheels, Lotus or subtle centers.

• The four petals of the Muladhara "chakra" located at the base of the spinal colum.

• The Israelites were divided in four groups when they arrived at the Red sea: one said "Let's jump into the sea", another said "Let's return to Egypt", the third said "Fight" and the last group said "Raise the voice against them", according to writings of the library of Qumran.

• The Cabal distinguishes four worlds in which are the ten "Sephiroth": the world of the emanation, Atziluth; the world of the creation, Briah; the world of the formation, Yetzirah; the world of the action, Asiah.

• The Buddhism is based on the four truths taught by "Cakkya-Mouni": "Kou", the pain exists in the birth, the old age, the disease, the attachment, etc.; "Tou", it is the sharing of all the creatures: its origin is the thirst of existence, pleasures, power; "Mou", the man must be liberated by the annihilation of the desire; "Tau", the means to arrive at this setting free is the practice of the "eight branches of the noble path".

• The Buddha made four travels which are symbolized by the Four Gates.

• The quaternary of the motto of the alchemists and the Rosicrucians: to know, to want, to dare, to hush.

• The Koran authorizes the polygamy, allowing a man to have as far as four women. (Koran 4,3)

• The quaternary is present in the Egyptian sphinx: head, body, paws, wings.

• The Pythagorean considered the quadrilateral supporting Hermes as the sign the infallible reason.

• Number of the symmetry, it is used in various constructions, one of them being the "mandala" of which emerges an impression of order and discipline.

• According to Hippocrate the number four governs the biological life of the man and according to C.G. Jung, it governs the psyches of the man by the four following psychological functions: the thought, the intuition, the feeling and the sentiment.

• The four fundamental parts of the organic chemistry: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.

• The four cardinal points or direction of the space: North, South, East and West.

• The four states of the matter: solid, liquid, gaseous and igneous.

• The four phases of the moon.

• The four limbs of the man and the four cavities of the human heart.

• The four known physical forces: the nuclear force, the radiate force, the electromagnetic force and the force of gravitation.

• The four blood groups: O, A, B and AB.

• The number four and its successive multiples are generated by the sum of two successive odd numbers (1+3=4 where 1x4=4, 3+5=8 where 2x4=8, 5+7=12 where 3x4=12) or by the sum of the even number with itself (2+2=4, 4+4=8, 6+6=12).

• In his book "Superior Mathematical Puzzle", 1968, the American engineer Howard Dinesman indicates a magic square of order 4 (its side comprises four numbers) a little special, whose sum gives 264.

                                    18 99 86 61
                                    66 81 98 19
                                    91 16 69 88
                                    89 68 11 96

• Anniversary of marriage: weddings of silk, books or flowers.

Occurrence

• The number 4 is used 279 times in the Bible.

• In the Bible, 12 numbers are used 4 times. There are the numbers 31, 37, 39, 72, 112, 128, 137, 430, 450, 666, 1254 and 600000, and 4 numbers are used only in the Revelation: 144, 1260, 144000 and 200000000.

• The number 4 is used 14 times in the Koran. (Koran II,226; II,234; II,262; IV,2; IV,19; IX,2; IX, 36; XXIV,4; XXIV,6; XXIV,8; XXIV,13; XXIV,44; XXXV,1 and XLI,9)

• The four forties enumerated in the Bible: the two of Moses, one for Elisha and one for Jesus. (Ex 24,18 and 34,28; Dt 9,11; Mt 4,2)

---

Return

Last modification: December 19, 1998

sdesr@globetrotter.qc.ca