The Math Path

Unraveling the Mysteries Behind the Number 153

For years I was having a hard time figuring out any symbolism that relates to the number 153. Once I discovered The Kingdom blog, specifically her post “Number 153, signs and symbols“, it’s almost as if a floodgate was opened and I’ve found many. Below is a list of what I’ve found so far, and as I find more symbolism related to the number 153, I will add them to this page.

1. 153
2. 17 Dialects
3. 5! + 4! + 3! + 2! + 1! = 153
4. 5! = 120
5. The Number 5
6. √3 and the Vesica Piscis
   1. √3 and the Trinity
   2. Triquetra
   3. 2 Triangles = 1/3 of Upper Circle
   4. √3 and 3ϕ Power
7. Almond = Watching
8. The Numbers 2 Cross
9. Summary
10. T-Shirt Conversation Starter

153

Here it is in March 2025 and I may have come up with some good connections as to a possible reason that God might have intended in choosing the number 153 in John 21:11. Some of the math I found finally clicked when I read a blog that I had read earlier this year, but wasn’t convinced. The only reason I read it again was I got a comment from Jo-Blogs (The Kingdom Blog) responding to my comment on her entry about 153 fish. I have to confess that I hit a snag when triangular numbers were mentioned, as I didn’t see the connection with the 17th triangular number. I should’ve read that more in-depth.

My connection between being fishers of men and the miraculous catch was as far as I got on the math path. Now I have a way to go further on that path using hints in the Bible.

I first noticed the number 153 on June 13^th, 2012, but couldn’t find that number anywhere else in the Bible. One theory I came across was that there were 153 people in the Gospels who were blessed by Jesus in some way. That lead me to make my own version of the list since some of the lists seemed lacking to me.

Check out the Wikipedia article on the number 153. It mentions a bunch of numerical facts about the number 153, which is interesting, but in no way does it explain why 153 was chosen for the number of fish. Then in the Biblical section, all kinds of theories abound – which is why I discounted all those theories. But between The Kingdom blog and me reading her entry twice, I think I have a plausible theory here. Too bad it took so long for me to make those connections.

17 Dialects

This time when I got to the point that she mentioned that 17 nations were present at Pentecost, I actually looked for a list of those 17 nations, but there was no list. Of course I went looking as I consider myself as one of the Bereans (Acts 17:11) and searched the scriptures. I tried using AI to search, but it couldn’t find it either. All because of the fact that 153 is the 17th triangular number.

I found the list of dialects in Acts 2:9-10, but could only find 16. Most versions use the word language in verses 6 & 8, but the Greek is actually διάλεκτος (dialektos). Back in verse 4 a different word is used: γλῶσσα (glōssa). This means tongue, which could mean that tongue and dialect are synonymous, or there were different languages, and within those languages there were different dialects. Just like we can tell where a person is from because of their accent, yet we speak English. Arabic also has accents which are undetectable to me, but when I was in Iraq, the local Iraqis could tell that our interpreter was from Kuwait because of his dialect. Same thing back in the days of Acts.

Back to the 16 dialects – I found 16 in verses 9, 10. Then I looked back at verse 7 where it says, “Completely baffled, they said, “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans?” That was my 17th as it shows that Galileans were present as well.

Here’s the list I found in Acts 2.

• Verse 2 1 dialect
  Galileans
• Verse 9                   8 dialects
  Parthians
  Medes
  Elamites
  Mesopotamia
  Judea
  Cappadocia
  Pontus
  Asia
• Verse 10                 6 dialects
  Phrygia
  Pamphylia
  Egypt
  Libya (near Cyrene)
  Roman Jews
  Roman Proselytes
• verse 11                 2 dialects
  Cretans
  Arabs

So there’s a good possibility of a connection between 153 and the number 17 in the Bible. First we have the 153 fish for the number of people blessed by Jesus in the Gospels. Now in Acts we have 17 dialects from every nation under heaven. We get this from Acts 2:5 “Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem.” This tells me that when we see the phrase every nation under heaven, it doesn’t necessarily mean all of planet earth, like we think today.

(On a side note, with this obvious meaning of the phrase ‘every nation under heaven’, how should we interpret Matthew 24:14, where the Gospel will be preached to every nation before the end?)

So these 17 dialects represented the people in and around Israel, not all 7 continents that we know today. After Pentecost, they went back to their homes and spread the gospel, which would fulfill Matthew 24:14 in the first century, but would of course eventually spread to the entire globe, as the parable of the mustard seed hints at. Just because a prophecy is fulfilled, doesn’t mean that that action doesn’t continue.

A few weeks after I wrote about not finding 17 nations, i had a thought to do a search on what the people in the first century thought about what a nation was. I did a Google search on that and found that it had a meaning that was a lot different than what we think today. Here’s the result I got.

So yes, it could very well be 17 nations, but not in the sense we know the word today.

5! + 4! + 3! + 2! + 1! = 153

The next connection on the math path is about factorials. An exclamation point is used to symbolize factorials with the following formula: 5! = 5 x 4 x 3 x 2 x 1 = 120.

The interesting fact is that when you add 5! + 4! + 3! + 2! + 1!, you get 153!

5! = 120

Another connection to 153. The next number on the path is 120 for 5!.

I read in E.W. Bullinger’s book “Number in Scripture” that it is three forties.
Forty is very significant in scripture. 40 days on Mt. Sinai to receive the law, 40 more days after the golden calf, 40 days for the spies to check out the Promised Land, then 40 years of wandering. Jesus was tempted 40 days, and then seen for 40 days in Acts 1:3.

E.W. Bullinger says that the number 120 signifies a divinely (3) appointed time (40).

120 was the amount of time appointed for man in Gen 6:3. It doesn’t say if that’s the lifespan of man, or that the flood will begin in 120 years. I lean towards it being the amount of time before the flood.

That number is also the number of people in the upper room that were waiting for Pentecost, as well as picking a replacement Apostle for Judas Iscariot. It was reported that there were about 120 people there in Acts 1:15. Once again 153 is associated with another event leading up to Pentecost.

The Number 5

I actually had my Math Path down to the Almond and kept thinking about the fact that the number 5 is important and has a connection to 153 as well. I then decided to add a section just for it.

• 5 books in God’s Law (The Pentateuch) – Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy
• 5 types of offerings in Leviticus
  1. Burnt Offering (Lev 1, 8:18-21, 16:24) An animal is completely burned signifying it’s total dedication to God.
  2. Meal Offering (Lev 2) Also known as a grain offering since no animals are involved.
  3. Peace Offering (Lev 3, 7:11-34)
  4. Sin Offering (Lev 4, 16:3-22)
  5. Trespass Offering (Lev 5:14-19, 6:1-7)
• The Tabernacle has many instances of the number 5, as well as multiples of 5 in it’s measurements.
  1. Holy anointing oil for the tabernacle consisted of 5 ingredients – Myrrh, cinnamon, calamus, cassia, and olive oil. (Exodus 30:23-25)
  2. The tabernacle had 5 curtains, 5 bars, 5 pillars and sockets. (Exodus 26:3, 26-27, 37)
  3. The altar was 5 cubits wide long and 5 cubits wide. (Exodus 27:1)
  4. The height of the court within the tabernacle was 5 cubits (Exodus 27:18)
• There were 5 kingdoms in Daniel’s prophecy (Daniel 2:29-45) – Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, Rome are the first 4. The fifth is the Kingdom of God (2:44-45), the stone that destroyed the rest and grew into a mountain.(2:35)
• David chose 5 stones before he confronted Goliath (1 Samuel 17:40), yet only used one to slay the giant. One possibility is that he chose 5 stones, one for goliath and his 4 brothers who were hunted down by David’s men later.
• Jesus fed 5,000 using 5 loaves of bread (Matthew 14:17)
• There were 5 wise virgins out of ten. (Matthew 25:1-13)

The number 5 has many other symbolic meanings, but I wanted to focus on tangible examples of the number 5 in the Bible. This tells me that 5 is an important number in the Bible.

√3 and the Vesica Piscis

The next section is more esoteric concerning the number 153, but still quite intriguing. It starts with a venn diagram. The technical name for this particular venn diagram is Vesica piscis, which literally means “bladder of a fish” in modern times, but an obsolete meaning is a large vessel. The link goes into some detail but is used symbolically in Christian tradition to show the intersection of the spiritual and physical realms – basically how Christ is the vessel and the intersection between God and humanity. (See The Kingdom blog for a good explanation of this. I’m also creating a 3D version of this in Second Life if you’re so inclined to visit my Noah’s Ark there.

So how does the number 153 fit in with this? It has to do with the square root of 3. Archimedes figured this out some time between 287 and 212 BC, which actually adds to my amazement that the number 153 was important even before the Gospels were written.

Archimedes states that the square root of three (√3) is less than 1351/780 and greater than 265/153. He used these numbers as they were the closest whole numbers to be able to do this calculation. But he didn’t find it by reading the Bible, and God seemed to use the number in various aspects, at least it is looking that way to me. This wasn’t the only formula that used 153. In calculating π he used 153 in 9 out of 10 of his equations. This site https://www.defendingthebride.com/ss/fish/archimedes.html#arch goes over this in much more detail, as well as issues with the connection between 153 and the √3. He says that since John didn’t make any reference to 153 and a connection to the √3, it can’t mean that. It really is not a strong connection, but more an allusion, in my opinion. John probably had no idea why there were 153 fish but the Holy Spirit compelled him to make note of that number and record it. God certainly knows why He used 153. How many other prophecies used specific numbers that the original authors had no idea why they used the numbers that they used. The connection to the number 17 is a much stronger connection to 153, but I think the √3 can be loosely connected to 153.

Here’s how the square root of 3 is part of the Vesica piscis diagram.

If you size your circle so the center points are 153 units apart, the width will be 265. Maybe that’s why the designer of the Vesica piscis chose that ratio. This person came across 153 while reading the Bible and wanted to use that number in some way. Or it’s another Godly coincidence.

√3 and the Trinity

This could be another representation of the Trinity. The two triangles symbolize God and the Holy Spirit, both of which are in Christ as the fish. Any attempt to symbolize the trinity will have shortcomings compared to the reality, but we do the best we can.

Triquetra

2 Triangles = 1/3 of Upper Circle

Another possibility is that the 2 triangles with 2 of the respective sections of the circle form 1/3 of the top circle. Christ is in the fish, and the Holy Spirit and God are in the upper 2/3 of that circle. But they aren’t constrained to any part of the circle, all three can move between them as they will.

√3 and 3ϕ Power

Another esoteric thought is how electrical engineers calculate power for a circuit. The formula is:

• wattage = voltage x amp x power factor x 1.732

To be honest, I didn’t get this at first. I learned electrical systems while in the Navy for computers. Computers convert alternating current (AC) power into direct current (DC) so doesn’t have to worry about the efficiency lost in AC power. For DC the formula is just:

• wattage = amp x voltage

I found out that power factor and the √3 are used when calculating for 3 phase AC power. It’s not needed in DC power as it is a constant voltage, and different values are used for single phase AC which is less efficient than 3 phase.

The power calculation includes 3 phase power and the √3, two uses of the number 3 and symbolizes God. Jo had a good comment on this in her post: “It reminds me of Christ being referred to as “the power and the wisdom of God” in 1 Corinthians 1:22-24.”

Almond = Watching

This may seem like a strange symbol, and it was at first to me. This is related to the Vesica Piscis above. When researching, I read that the middle section is also seen as an almond shape. I kind of ignored it, but the other day I decided to see what Google had to say about it with a search of “tell me about almonds in the old testament”. Here’s what I got:

This was confirmation for me of yet another valid symbol connected to the number 153.

An interesting thing about the word ‘almond’ in Hebrew compared to watching in Jeremiah 1:11-12:

And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, “What are you seeing, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I am seeing a branch of an almond tree.” Then Yahweh said to me, “You did well to see, for I am watching over my word to perform it.”

8247. שָׁקֵד shaqed almond

8245. שָׁקַד shaqad watching

The only difference between the two is a vowel – could God be using a play on words here? I’m no Hebrew scholar, but it looks that way to me. I’ll ask Him once I get to Heaven.  This also makes me wonder more about the Vesica Piscis – a lot of images of it have an eye in the oval. My thought is that it was satan hijacking that symbol,  which could still be the case. (He did try and hijack the rainbow and change its meaning, at least in my opinion).  But in Jeremiah, God equates the almond with watching.

The Numbers 2 Cross

This one requires some basic math of simple addition. If you look at the arrangement of the camp in Numbers 2 you will find something if you look closely and graph it out. I see a lot of diagrams showing it as a square camp, which could be true, but the numbers are where it gets interesting.

Judah is camped on the east with 186,400 (verses 3-9)
Reuben is to the south with 151,450 (verses 10-16)
Ephraim is on the west with 108,100 (verses 18-24)
Dan is to the north with 157,600 (verses 25-31)

If you look at it from the east, you see the shape of a cross. At the center of this encampment was the Tabernacle, where God resided during the Exodus.

On a side note, when I set up my Math Path in Second Life, I hadn’t made my Numbers 2 cross. A couple weeks after setting up a garden like space with a cross shaped walkway, I then decided to make a Numbers 2 cross. When I laid it out on my existing cross path, the side representing Dan to the North, was actually on the North facing path. I know I had a 24% chance of that happening, but it was one of those moments that made me feel that I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing.

Summary

To summarize, here’s the Math Path as of now:

• Jesus said that He will make His disciples fishers of men in Matthew 4:19 which connects with the miraculous catch of 153 fish in John 21:11, which I feel is something similar to my list of 153 people that were blessed in some way by Jesus in the Gospels. These two verses are almost bookends as one is in Matthew, the first Gospel, and the other at the end of John in the last Gospel.
• The next connection is the fact that 153 is the 17th triangular number, which is most likely in reference to the 17 dialects listed in Acts 2 on the first Pentecost after Jesus’ resurrection.
• Next is the factorial connection. The sum of the first 5 factorials is 153 as seen above.
• Then the factorial of 5 is 120, which is the number of disciples in the upper room (Acts 1:15), another connection to Pentecost.
• 153 is used in the calculation of the √3
• √3 can refer to the Trinity
• √3 is used in the calculation of power in electrical circuits of 3 phase AC power.
• Almond = Watching
• The Cross in Numbers 2

The √3 entries are not as obvious, but they piqued my interest. When I find more numbers related to 153, I’ll add them. Let me know what you think!

T-Shirt Conversation Starter

I’m planning on using the below list as part of a t-shirt design:

• Fishers of Men
• 153 Fish
• 17th triangular number = 153
• 17 = Dialects spoken at Pentecost
• 5! + 4! + 3! + 2! + 1! = 153
• 5! = 120 People awaiting Pentecost
• √3 = 265/153
• √3 in Vesica Piscis
• 3 = Trinity and Triquetra
• 2 Triangles = 1/3 of Upper Circle
• √3 & 3ϕ Power
• Almond = watching

I’m thinking it could lead to some interesting discussions.