### Core Meaning & Semantic Range
The Hebrew word **ʼarbaʻ**, represented by `{{H702}}`, is the primary term for the number **four**. It appears 316 times across 276 unique verses in the Bible. While it is used for literal counting, it also carries significant symbolic weight, often denoting completeness, the created world, or divine judgment.
### Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis
In the biblical narrative, `{{H702}}` is used in a variety of contexts. It appears in simple counts, such as the "four leprous men" at the city gate [[2 Kings 7:3]] or the "four children" to whom God gave knowledge [[Daniel 1:17]]. It is also used to describe larger quantities, like the "four hundred men" who gathered to David [[1 Samuel 22:2]] and the "four hundred years" of affliction prophesied for Abram's descendants [[Genesis 15:13]]. In prophetic visions, it defines the structure of divine beings, as seen in Ezekiel's vision of living creatures, each with "four faces" and "four wings" [[Ezekiel 1:6]].
### Related Words & Concepts
Several related numerical words provide additional context for understanding measurement, time, and divine patterns:
* `{{H7969}}` **shâlôwsh** (three): This number is frequently used in a formula preceding **four** to indicate a final, culminating transgression, as seen in the repeated prophetic refrain, "For **three** transgressions... and for **four**" [[Amos 1:3]].
* `{{H705}}` **ʼarbâʻîym** (forty): As a multiple of four, this word often signifies a period of testing or completeness. After his trials, Job lived to see "four generations," and the Israelites were led for **forty** years in the wilderness ([[Job 42:16]], [[Amos 2:10]]).
* `{{H6240}}` **ʻâsâr** (-teen): This word combines with **four** to form "fourteen," a number of key ritual importance, especially for the date of the Passover on the **fourteenth** day of the first month ([[Exodus 12:6]], [[Leviticus 23:5]]).
### Theological Significance
The theological weight of `{{H702}}` is evident in its symbolic applications, particularly in prophecy.
* **Completeness of Creation:** The number frequently describes the entirety of the physical world, such as God gathering the dispersed from the "**four** corners of the earth" [[Isaiah 11:12]] or scattering a people to the "**four** winds of heaven" [[Jeremiah 49:36]].
* **Fullness of Judgment:** It is used to signify the comprehensive nature of divine judgment. The LORD sends his "**four** sore judgments" upon Jerusalem [[Ezekiel 14:21]], and Zechariah sees "**four** horns" representing the nations that scattered Judah [[Zechariah 1:18]].
* **The Limit of Transgression:** The recurring formula in Amos establishes **four** as a number signifying a final offense that exhausts divine patience and makes judgment unavoidable [[Amos 2:6]].
### Summary
In summary, `{{H702}}` is more than a simple digit. It is a cornerstone for concepts of order, totality, and judgment. It defines the boundaries of the created world, the structure of heavenly visions, and the point at which sin reaches its full measure. From the "**four** sides" of a holy space [[Ezekiel 42:20]] to the "**four** sore judgments" of God [[Ezekiel 14:21]], **ʼarbaʻ** illustrates how numbers in scripture can carry profound theological meaning.
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