'Three' in the Bible

Then Enoch walked with God three hundred years after he became the father of Methuselah, and he had other sons and daughters.

So all the days of Enoch were three hundred and sixty-five years.

Noah became the father of three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

This is how you shall make it: the length of the ark three hundred cubits, its breadth fifty cubits, and its height thirty cubits.

On the very same day Noah and Shem and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark,

These three were the sons of Noah, and from these the whole earth was populated.

Noah lived three hundred and fifty years after the flood.

and Arpachshad lived four hundred and three years after he became the father of Shelah, and he had other sons and daughters.

and Shelah lived four hundred and three years after he became the father of Eber, and he had other sons and daughters.

When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he led out his trained men, born in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and went in pursuit as far as Dan.

So He said to him, “Bring Me a three year old heifer, and a three year old female goat, and a three year old ram, and a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

When he lifted up his eyes and looked, behold, three men were standing opposite him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth,

So Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah, and said, “Quickly, prepare three measures of fine flour, knead it and make bread cakes.”

He looked, and saw a well in the field, and behold, three flocks of sheep were lying there beside it, for from that well they watered the flocks. Now the stone on the mouth of the well was large.

She conceived again and bore a son and said, “Now this time my husband will become attached to me, because I have borne him three sons.” Therefore he was named Levi.

And he put a distance of three days’ journey between himself and Jacob, and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.

Now it was about three months later that Judah was informed, “Your daughter-in-law Tamar has played the harlot, and behold, she is also with child by harlotry.” Then Judah said, “Bring her out and let her be burned!”

and on the vine were three branches. And as it was budding, its blossoms came out, and its clusters produced ripe grapes.

Then Joseph said to him, “This is the interpretation of it: the three branches are three days;

within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head and restore you to your office; and you will put Pharaoh’s cup into his hand according to your former custom when you were his cupbearer.

When the chief baker saw that he had interpreted favorably, he said to Joseph, “I also saw in my dream, and behold, there were three baskets of white bread on my head;

Then Joseph answered and said, “This is its interpretation: the three baskets are three days;

within three more days Pharaoh will lift up your head from you and will hang you on a tree, and the birds will eat your flesh off you.”

So he put them all together in prison for three days.

To each of them he gave changes of garments, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five changes of garments.

The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was beautiful, she hid him for three months.

They will pay heed to what you say; and you with the elders of Israel will come to the king of Egypt and you will say to him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.’

Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go a three days’ journey into the wilderness that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God, otherwise He will fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”

We must go a three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He commands us.”

So Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness in all the land of Egypt for three days.

They did not see one another, nor did anyone rise from his place for three days, but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings.

Then Moses led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

If he will not do these three things for her, then she shall go out for nothing, without payment of money.

“Three times a year you shall celebrate a feast to Me.

Three times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord God.

Six branches shall go out from its sides; three branches of the lampstand from its one side and three branches of the lampstand from its other side.

Three cups shall be shaped like almond blossoms in the one branch, a bulb and a flower, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms in the other branch, a bulb and a flower—so for six branches going out from the lampstand;

“And you shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits.

The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits with their three pillars and their three sockets.

And for the other side shall be hangings of fifteen cubits with their three pillars and their three sockets.

So the sons of Levi did as Moses instructed, and about three thousand men of the people fell that day.

Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel.

For I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your borders, and no man shall covet your land when you go up three times a year to appear before the Lord your God.

There were six branches going out of its sides; three branches of the lampstand from the one side of it and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it;

three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a bulb and a flower in one branch, and three cups shaped like almond blossoms, a bulb and a flower in the other branch—so for the six branches going out of the lampstand.

Then he made the altar of burnt offering of acacia wood, five cubits long, and five cubits wide, square, and three cubits high.

The hangings for the one side of the gate were fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets,

and so for the other side. On both sides of the gate of the court were hangings of fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and their three sockets.

‘When you enter the land and plant all kinds of trees for food, then you shall count their fruit as forbidden. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it shall not be eaten.

then I will so order My blessing for you in the sixth year that it will bring forth the crop for three years.

But if they are from a month even up to five years old, then your valuation shall be five shekels of silver for the male, and for the female your valuation shall be three shekels of silver.

Thus they set out from the mount of the Lord three days’ journey, with the ark of the covenant of the Lord journeying in front of them for the three days, to seek out a resting place for them.

Suddenly the Lord said to Moses and Aaron and to Miriam, “You three come out to the tent of meeting.” So the three of them came out.

And the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was contrary to me.

But the donkey saw me and turned aside from me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, I would surely have killed you just now, and let her live.”

Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, but behold, you have persisted in blessing them these three times!

They journeyed from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness; and they went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham and camped at Marah.

You shall give three cities across the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan; they are to be cities of refuge.

Then Moses set apart three cities across the Jordan to the east,

“Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread and at the Feast of Weeks and at the Feast of Booths, and they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed.

On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness.

you shall set aside three cities for yourself in the midst of your land, which the Lord your God gives you to possess.

You shall prepare the roads for yourself, and divide into three parts the territory of your land which the Lord your God will give you as a possession, so that any manslayer may flee there.

Therefore, I command you, saying, ‘You shall set aside three cities for yourself.’

if you carefully observe all this commandment which I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in His ways always—then you shall add three more cities for yourself, besides these three.

“A single witness shall not rise up against a man on account of any iniquity or any sin which he has committed; on the evidence of two or three witnesses a matter shall be confirmed.

“Pass through the midst of the camp and command the people, saying, ‘Prepare provisions for yourselves, for within three days you are to cross this Jordan, to go in to possess the land which the Lord your God is giving you, to possess it.’”

She said to them, “Go to the hill country, so that the pursuers will not happen upon you, and hide yourselves there for three days until the pursuers return. Then afterward you may go on your way.”

They departed and came to the hill country, and remained there for three days until the pursuers returned. Now the pursuers had sought them all along the road, but had not found them.

At the end of three days the officers went through the midst of the camp;

They returned to Joshua and said to him, “Do not let all the people go up; only about two or three thousand men need go up to Ai; do not make all the people toil up there, for they are few.”

So about three thousand men from the people went up there, but they fled from the men of Ai.

It came about at the end of three days after they had made a covenant with them, that they heard that they were neighbors and that they were living within their land.

Caleb drove out from there the three sons of Anak: Sheshai and Ahiman and Talmai, the children of Anak.

Provide for yourselves three men from each tribe that I may send them, and that they may arise and walk through the land and write a description of it according to their inheritance; then they shall return to me.

From the tribe of Naphtali, they gave Kedesh in Galilee, the city of refuge for the manslayer, with its pasture lands and Hammoth-dor with its pasture lands and Kartan with its pasture lands; three cities.

Then they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses had promised; and he drove out from there the three sons of Anak.

He divided the 300 men into three companies, and he put trumpets and empty pitchers into the hands of all of them, with torches inside the pitchers.

When the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the pitchers, they held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands for blowing, and cried, “A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!”

Now Abimelech ruled over Israel three years.

So he took his people and divided them into three companies, and lay in wait in the field; when he looked and saw the people coming out from the city, he arose against them and slew them.

While Israel lived in Heshbon and its villages, and in Aroer and its villages, and in all the cities that are on the banks of the Arnon, three hundred years, why did you not recover them within that time?

So he said to them,“Out of the eater came something to eat,And out of the strong came something sweet.”But they could not tell the riddle in three days.

Samson went and caught three hundred foxes, and took torches, and turned the foxes tail to tail and put one torch in the middle between two tails.

Then she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have deceived me these three times and have not told me where your great strength is.”

His father-in-law, the girl’s father, detained him; and he remained with him three days. So they ate and drank and lodged there.

The Lord visited Hannah; and she conceived and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew before the Lord.

As for your donkeys which were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. And for whom is all that is desirable in Israel? Is it not for you and for all your father’s household?”

Then you will go on further from there, and you will come as far as the oak of Tabor, and there three men going up to God at Bethel will meet you, one carrying three young goats, another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a jug of wine;

The next morning Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the camp at the morning watch and struck down the Ammonites until the heat of the day. Those who survived were scattered, so that no two of them were left together.

And the raiders came from the camp of the Philistines in three companies: one company turned toward Ophrah, to the land of Shual,

The three older sons of Jesse had gone after Saul to the battle. And the names of his three sons who went to the battle were Eliab the firstborn, and the second to him Abinadab, and the third Shammah.

David was the youngest. Now the three oldest followed Saul,

When you have stayed for three days, you shall go down quickly and come to the place where you hid yourself on that eventful day, and you shall remain by the stone Ezel.

I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target.

When the lad was gone, David rose from the south side and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed three times. And they kissed each other and wept together, but David wept the more.

Then Saul took three thousand chosen men from all Israel and went to seek David and his men in front of the Rocks of the Wild Goats.

Now there was a man in Maon whose business was in Carmel; and the man was very rich, and he had three thousand sheep and a thousand goats. And it came about while he was shearing his sheep in Carmel

So Saul arose and went down to the wilderness of Ziph, having with him three thousand chosen men of Israel, to search for David in the wilderness of Ziph.