Names and numbers in John

Anonymity is the norm of human enterprise. Being named is often to be shamed ("Judas" is an infamous name which means "celebrated" in Hebrew). We all have a name given to us, but some are "named" to show distinction ("Malchus" is a slave whose name means "king"). And then there's a name with a number: Matthew ends a chapter with "LORD" as book word 14166 and talk word 644 (23:39).

Every word in every book of the Greek Testament is numbered, therefore names acquire meaning if the numbers are distinctive. John uses "Pilate" twenty times and six are given unique numbers, with a preference for double-five endings: 13555 (18:37), 13655 (19:1), 13855 (19:12), 13990 (19:19), 14033 (19:21) and 14055 (19:22). There are two men with the name "Judas" in John, but the betrayer's name is book word 12955 at 18:5 and 9222 at 12:4 (five of the eight verses with his name have either 13, 18 or 26 words). Obviously, the author intends to show an affinity between these stellar characters. Although "Caesar" is used only three times, the middle one is book word 13880 at 19:12. "Thomas" is used six times in the original text and twice has unusual numbering: 8440 at 11:16 and 14966 at 20:26. The most extraordinary is a name used a single time in the Greek Testament. "Malchus" is book word 13040 at 18:10, which is the last word in a verse of 26 words.

Other anomalous names in the book of John are the characters Clopas, Lazarus, Nathaniel and Nicodemus. "Clopas" is a Hebrew name meaning "change" and, according to his number, is a man of great importance to the story. His name appears once in the Greek Testament as book word 14144; the husband of another aunt of Rabbi Jesus who is the middle of three women named Mary that stood by the cross of Jesus at 19:25. "Nicodemus" is a Greek name meaning "victorious people" and is used five times, once as book word 5688 at 7:50. "Nathaniel" is used five times in this book and nowhere else in the Greek Testament, but without any meaningful number; his Hebrew name means "given of God." Luke is the only synoptic author to use a "Lazarus" in a parable. John features him as the ultimate of seven signs.

The name of the most mysterious man in the Judeo-Christian Bible means "God has helped" in Hebrew. Chapter 11 is 57 verses of 946 words and the last 13 verses deal with the aftermath of the 44 verses. Even his name appears only 11 times and every noun, pronoun and verb describing him totals 44 (tentatively).

The Rabbi's diagnosis is that their friend Lazarus has been sleeping but he is going to out-hypnotise him. Disciples say: "Lord, if he has been sleeping he shall be saved." This must be the sole instance of him speaking euphemistically. It may be because it's personal, like Mary touching him in the tomb, or perhaps the author wished to dramatize the "death" of a revenant. Certainly John designed his book to emphasize the numerical association between the Rabbi and his friend Lazarus. Three times in this book, Rabbi Jesus calls someone by their name. The (now apparent) revenant responds to his name and exits his "burial" cave, but he remains oddly mute.

The next call-by-name is also in a tone of exasperation. The disciple Philip sets off a 256-word retort to an eight-word challenge at 14:8. Note that the length of the response is a multiple of eight and then marvel at the numerical significance of these three words: "thou have acknowledged me Philip! | ἔγνωκάς με, Φίλιππε!" First was the revenant Lazarus's silence and now the recalcitrant Philip also refuses to acknowedge him. The verb "ἔγνωκάς" is used of no one else in the gospels and is the eighth word of the verse and fortieth in the book (8x5=40). The pronoun "με" is the 88th and of the dozen times Philip's name is used, this is the eighth of eight in the nominative. The non-response of his friend to being "saved" and the absolute refusal to be acknowledged by another associate has provoked this outburst just before the Rabbi's final discourse of 14:23 to 16:16.

In 20:16, the tone of voices is dramatically different between "the couple in the cave." Mary Magdalene is desperate to locate, in her words, "the Lord of me | τὸν κύριόν μου" (20:13). He says: "Μαριάμ!" She says: "Ραββουνι!" Here again is a reminder of the knowledge of numbering. Eight times Rabbi Jesus has been addressed by his title but this last is the sole diminutive. Even the redactor is aware of this intimate relationship. In 11 verses of the tale of the adulterous wife, the pronoun is book word 5880 (8:10) and in his verb construction "the (she) said | ἡ δὲ εἶπεν," δὲ is book word 5888 (8:11). And the other woman in the Rabbi's life named Mary, his mother, who is giving the servants an order at the wedding in Cana, has the verb "said" as book word 888.

Four names are used five times in John: Nathaniel, Nicodemus (both only here in the Greek Testament), Caiaphas and Andrew, brother of the other Simon ("Peter"). "Andrew" is mentioned in every gospel and in three lists of apostles, lastly in the list of remaining disciples in Acts 1:13. His Greek name means "manly"; in 1:44 it's book word 688 in a note relating that Philip is from the same city. "Philip" is a Greek name meaning "fond of horses."

Philip's name has no significant number. Peter's name is used twice as often but has only one ominus number (13166) as the 17th (18:17). As chief priest of that year, "Caiaphas" is a Chaldean name meaning "the dell." Three of the five times his name is used are numerically mentionable: the last as 13370 at 18:28, also as 13090 at 18:13, but especially as book word 13099 (18:14).

Eleven times, the name of the Rabbi's best friend is used, the first as the fifth word of chapter 11. Four times it falls on relatively significant numbers (8422 at 11:14, 8240 at 11:2, 9440 at 12:17 and 9180 at 12:2). The fifth is remarkably relevant as it shares the numerical value of the six Greek letters of a Hebrew name meaning "he who saves." The sixth book of the Bible is Joshua. The Greek "Jesus | Ἰησοῦς" has the value of 888 and the name he calls to "a man in a cave" is book word 8880.

In Matthew's list of seven things coming out of the heart that make a man common (NRSV "defiled"), the second and third are two plural masculine nouns: wickednesses and murders. Significantly, "heart" is book word 8866 at 15:18, and in 15:19, "wickednesses" is talk word 44 and "murders" is book word 8880.

What relevance, if any, is there of that man's name in the last gospel published but the first written, and these accusations itemized in the last gospel written but the first published?