The Number 17

Here are some discoveries that I made with regards to the most recent trip to Israel that God inspired. They revolve around the number 17.

Here is what I found:

  1. The trip begins on the 17th of Tammuz (Fast of Tammuz marking the breach of Jerusalem’s walls by the Romans in 70 A.D., prior to the destruction of the 2nd Temple)
  2. The trip ends on the 17th of Elul, exactly two Hebrew months later (The anniversary of the start of WWII in 1939 – (Sep 1)
  3. The first and last destinations on the trip were inspired exactly 17 weeks apart (Taupo & Tutukaka)
  4. There are 17 days between the first and second destinations on the trip
  5. The first visit to Israel is to last 17 days (Aug 11–28)
  6. The Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth was inspired on the 17th of Nisan (a potential resurrection date of Jesus), and was due to occur on August 17th
  7. The first and last inspired visits to Jerusalem were inspired exactly 17 weeks apart in the Hebrew calendar (18 Kislev – 19 Adar II, 5784)
  8. My departure date to Israel falls exactly 17 weeks to the day since Iran’s first attack on Israel on April 13. August 10 is the Sabbath Day, also known as “Shabbat Chazon”, or the “Sabbath of vision/prophecy”. It is based on the Haftarah reading of the day from Isaiah 1:1–27, based on Isaiah’s vision over Judah and Jerusalem. It is also known as the “black sabbath” – the saddest sabbath of the year, and is the last of a series of three sabbaths known as the “Three of Rebuke”.

Some of the biblical and non-biblical references to the number 17 include:

  • Noah’s Flood began on the 17th day of the 2nd month (Genesis 7:11), and the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat exactly five months later on the 17th day of the 7th month (Genesis 8:4).
  • Some believe that Jesus was raised from the dead on the 17th of Nisan – the same day that the ark rested on the mountains of Ararat in the Hebrew civil calendar.
  • Joseph, one of the 12 sons of Jacob was given his coat of many colours and sold into slavery by his brothers at the age of 17. He was reunited with them 22 years later in Egypt, where his father lived for another 17 years before his death at the age of 147 (Genesis 47:28).
  • The vote to create Israel in the United Nations occurred on the 17th of Kislev on November 30, 1947, Israeli time.

I'm not sure what all this means yet, but it seems to go beyond mere coincidence!

Itinerary: July–September 2024
 
Inspired: Dates: Location: Days:
Mar 19, 2024 Jul 23–24, 2024 Taupo, New Zealand 1
Apr 2, 2024 Aug 9–10 Auckland Airport 1
Apr 4, 2024 Aug 10–11 Transit 1
Apr 21, 2024 Aug 11–13 Ramallah, West Bank 2
Apr 6, 2024 Aug 13 Church of Nativity, Bethlehem –
Apr 3, 2024 Baptism @ Qasr al-Yahud
Jun 6, 2024 Western Wall, Jerusalem
Mar 8, 2024 Aug 13–16 Jerusalem, Israel 3
May 18, 2024 Aug 14 Mt. of Olives –
May 5, 2024 Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem
Apr 26, 2024 Capernaum, Galilee
May 3, 2024 Aug 15 Mt. of the Beatitudes, Capernaum –
Mar 31, 2024 Aug 16–17 Nazareth 1
Apr 24, 2024 Aug 17 Church of Annunciation, Nazareth –
Mar 21, 2024 Aug 17–18 Caesarea 1
Apr 2, 2024 Aug 20–21 Dead Sea 1
May 2, 2024 Aug 21–22 Jaffa 1
Apr 20, 2024 Aug 22 Mt. Carmel, Haifa –
Mar 29, 2024 Aug 23–26 Jerusalem 3
Apr 1, 2024 Aug 27–28 Eilat 1
Apr 9, 2024 Aug 28 Visit Auschwitz –
May 10, 2024 Aug 30 Visit Auschwitz –
Apr 27, 2024 Sep 2 Visit Auschwitz –
Apr 12, 2024 Sep 3 Visit Auschwitz –
May 15, 2024 Sep 5 Visit Auschwitz –
Apr 14, 2024 Sep 6 Visit Auschwitz –
Apr 2, 2024 Sep 10 Visit Auschwitz –
Mar 12, 2024 Sep 12 Visit Auschwitz –
Nov 30, 2023 Sep 13–16 Jerusalem, Israel 3
Apr 4, 2024 Sep 18–19 Transit 1
Nov 21, 2023 Sep 19–20 Tutukaka, New Zealand 1


TOTAL: 59

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