Meaning of Numbers: The Number 21
The English words "twenty and one" and "one and twenty," both used for the number 21, appear only a total of seven times in the King James Bible. All of these occurrences are in the KJV Old Testament. The books which have either of the phrases are Nehemiah (twice) along with 2Chronicles, Jeremiah, Daniel, 2Kings and Ezra (one each).
The meaning of number 21 in the Bible is that it represents great wickedness of rebellion and sin. After the children of Israel left Egyptian bondage, they had twenty-one major rebellious events as they wandered the wilderness.
13, which symbolizes depravity and sinfulness, and 21 are closely related. What twenty-one symbolizes is an outgrowth of thirteen. Adding thirteen (sinfulness) and eight (symbolizing a new beginning) gives us twenty-one or a number that represents beginning a new level or effort that is sinful and disobedient against God.
On the last day of God's seven-day spring festival, day 21 of the month of Nisan, the Eternal carried out his last judgment against the Egyptians. He drowned Pharaoh and his entire army in the Red Sea as they were pursuing the Israelites in order to make them slaves again.
The last day of God's annual Fall Feast of Tabernacles, which occurs every year on the twenty-first day of the seventh Hebrew month, pictures the end of Christ's 1,000-year reign on earth. At the end of this period, the devil will also be loosed out of his spiritual prison for a short time.
Satan's first task after being freed from prison is to lead people, once again, into war and rebellion against all that is Holy. He will only get so far, however, as God will execute His judgment against the Satanic forces by consuming them in fire (Revelation 20:10).
Appearances of Number Twenty-One
Out of 27 New Testament books 21 of them are Epistles in the King James Bible.
The book of Judges and the gospel of John each contain 21 chapters. Obadiah, which has only one chapter, has 21 verses as a book.
The book of Hebrews, written by the Apostle Paul, contains materials from twenty-one Old Testament books.
The word "frankincense" occurs twenty-one times in Scripture. Frankincense is one of the many commodities businesses around the world will be unable to sell when their greatest customer, Babylon the Great, is destroyed.
And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more: The merchandise of gold, and silver . . . and cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, and frankincense . . . (Revelation 18:11, 13, KJV).
The books of 1Kings and 2Kings make 21 references to the sins of Jeroboam (the first king of the Northern Tribes of Israel after their split with Judah). These references were used to show how Israel continued to disobey God even though he gave them plenty of time to repent.
Verse 21 of Revelation 21 reveals some interesting facts revolving the New Jerusalem God will create in the new future.
And the twelve gates (of New Jerusalem) were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass (Revelation 21:21, HBFV).
Number 21 and Sin
In 2Timothy the apostle Paul writes of 21 sins which show the exceeding wickedness of self and sin. He begins chapter 3 with a warning, "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will . . ." (2Timothy 3:1 - 2). He then proceeds to list the sins humans will indulge in.
1) Selfishly love themselves.
2) Love money.
3) Brag quite a bit.
4) Be proud of themselves.
5) Blaspheme.
6) Disregard and disobey their parents.
7) Will not be thankful for what they have.
8) Reject being holy.
9) Will not have natural affection.
10) Will be uncompromising.
11) Falsely accuse others.
12) Lack any self-control.
13) Will be fierce.
14) Hate anyone who does good.
15) Betray others.
16) Will act hardheaded.
17) Will have exalted, selfish views.
18) Lovers of pleasure.
19) Reject loving God.
20) Will seem, superficially, to be Godly.
21) Deny God's power.
Paul's ultimate advice to Timothy, after listing all the above sins, is "turn away from all these" (2Timothy 3:5).
People in Scripture
The English name James appears 21 times in 19 verses total in the books of Matthew and Mark. The name refers to both James (the greater) and James (the less), both of which were one of Jesus' twelve disciples.
The Hebrew word adam, Strong's Concordance #H121, is written 21 times in 19 Hebrew Old Testament verses. The word, untranslated in the King James, is the name "Adam" which means "red." It appears the most in the book of Genesis with 18 appearances. Its first use takes place when God asks the first man he created to name all the animals.
And out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof (Genesis 2:19, KJV).
The Hebrew zerubbabel, Strong's #H2216, is recorded 21 times in 20 Hebrew Old Testament verses. The word, untranslated in the King James, is the name "Zerubbabel" which means "sown or born in Babylon."
Zerubbabel, the grandson of Judah's King Jehoichin (1Chronicles 3:17 - 19), led freed Jews living in Babylon back to Jerusalem. As the governor of Judah appointed by Persia's King Cyrus (Ezra 5:13 - 15), he also directed the rebuilding of Jerusalem's altar and temple.
Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, saith the Lord; and be strong, O Joshua, son of Josedech, the high priest; and be strong, all ye people of the land, saith the Lord, and work: for I am with you . . . (Haggai 2:4, KJV).
The Hebrew noomiy, Strong's #H5281, is recorded 21 times in 20 Hebrew Old Testament verses. The word, found only in the book of Ruth, means "pleasant" or "my delight" and is translated as the name "Naomi" in the KJV. Naomi was the mother-in-law of Ruth who helped her raise Obed who would become the grandfather of King David (Ruth 4:14 - 22).
More Info on Biblical Meaning of 21
There are 73 words and phrases in the Bible's original languages that are recorded only twenty-one times.
21 is the product of 3 x 7, both of which are primes.
21 is considered part of a Fibonacci sequence. A Fibonacci sequence is a special set of integers where each number is the sum of the two that precede it. This sequence is 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89, 144, 233 and so on.
Interestingly, the number 21 is equal to adding the first six digits or 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6.
In the Old Testament, the Biblical chapters of Genesis 15, Exodus 27, Deuteronomy 19, 1Samuel 3, 6, 1Kings 19, 2Kings 11, 12, 20, 1Chronicles 28, 2Chronicles 23, 31, Job 4, 7, 18, Psalm 135, 145, Isaiah 9, 26, 57, 59, Jeremiah 15, 16, 37, Ezekiel 26, 29, Daniel 1, 10, Joel 3, Zechariah 1 and 14 contain 21 verses in the King James translation.
In the New Testament, the chapters Romans 5, 10, 12, 1Corinthians 4, 2Corinthians 5, 12, Galatians 2, Ephesians 3, Philippians 3, 1Timothy 6, 2Peter 1, 1John 4, 5, Revelation 9, 16, 19 and 22 have 21 verses in the KJV.
The last King of Judah, Zedekiah, began his reign when he was only 21 years old (2Kings 24:18). He was placed on the throne as a "puppet" king by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, who in 597 B.C. conquered Jerusalem and took the then-king Jehoiachin as prisoner. Zedekiah's reign lasted eleven years until 586 B.C., when Jerusalem and its beloved temple were leveled and destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.