The number 16

Love, loving-kindness

Sixteen has no dedicated treatment in E. W. Bullinger's Number in Scripture; it does not appear among his numbered chapters at all. The "love" association carried by some number-meaning charts traces to later derivative lists, works like E. W. Vallowe's Biblical Mathematics (20th century), rather than to Bullinger or to a verse that names sixteen as love's number. No scripture anchors 16 to love the way Exodus 12:6 anchors 14 to Passover. What can be said honestly is only arithmetic: 16 is 4x4, the squared form of the number Bullinger elsewhere ties to the material creation, and 2 to the 4th power. Readers should hold the "love" label as popular tradition, not an attested one. Where the site displays it, it is a display label carried from an older derivative list, not a claim this page can source to Scripture or to Bullinger.

The mathematics

16 = 2⁴ = 4², and it is the only number anywhere that can be written as aᵇ = bᵃ with two different numbers: 2⁴ and 4² are both 16, and nothing else in arithmetic does this.
The smallest number with exactly five divisors: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16.

Every property here was checked before it was printed.

What they have said about this number

“The love of God.”

Troy Brewer, Numbers That Preach (2007)

In Hebrew and Greek

Hebrew

Shisha asar (שִׁשָּׁה עָשָׂר) - sixteen

Greek

Dekahexi (δεκαέξ) - sixteen

First occurrence

Genesis 46:18

These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, even sixteen souls.

The pattern in Scripture

16 characteristics of love (1 Cor 13:4-8)
16 judges in Israel
Jehoash reigned 16 years in Jerusalem

Key verses

Genesis 46:18

These are the sons of Zilpah, whom Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto Jacob, e...

Exodus 26:25

And they shall be eight boards, and their sockets of silver, sixteen sockets; two sockets under one ...

Exodus 36:30

And there were eight boards; and their sockets were sixteen sockets of silver, under every board two...

Numbers 26:22

These are the families of Judah according to those that were numbered of them, threescore and sixtee...

Numbers 31:40

And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the Lord’s tribute was thirty and two persons.

16:16 verses

Genesis 16:16

And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

Exodus 16:16

This is the thing which the Lord hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an ...

Leviticus 16:16

And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Isr...

Numbers 16:16

And Moses said unto Korah, Be thou and all thy company before the Lord, thou, and they, and Aaron, t...

Deuteronomy 16:16

Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall...