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Summary
- Thirty-one has no symbolic meaning in Scripture. It is a count, and its most memorable use is a tally at the end of a war.
- Joshua 12 lists the kings defeated west of the Jordan in a short repeated formula and totals them: “thirty-one kings in all” (12:24). The kingdoms were small — each a walled town and a few villages.
- Josiah reigned thirty-one years (2 Kings 22:1). Crowned at eight, he sent men to repair the temple, and during the repairs a book was found.
- When it was read to him he tore his robes. He had not known what was in it, and what followed was the most thorough reform in Judah’s history.
- Seven, forty, twelve, three and eight carry meaning because the text builds it by repeated use. Thirty-one counts things.
Bibliography (Click to show)
Sources: Scripture quotations from the NIV via BibleGateway (Joshua 12:9-24; 2 Kings 22:1, 3-11; 23:25-27; Leviticus 19:26; Philippians 4:6). The observation that Josiah’s reforms did not outlast him is the judgement of 2 Kings 23:26-27. Gematria is described as a rabbinic interpretive practice, which is what it is.
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