'Three' in the Bible

Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

On that very day Noah entered the ark, accompanied by his sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth, along with his wife and his sons' three wives.

The Lord said to him, "Take for me a heifer, a goat, and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon."

Abraham looked up and saw three men standing across from him. When he saw them he ran from the entrance of the tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, "Quick! Take three measures of fine flour, knead it, and make bread."

He saw in the field a well with three flocks of sheep lying beside it, because the flocks were watered from that well. Now a large stone covered the mouth of the well.

She became pregnant again and had another son. She said, "Now this time my husband will show me affection, because I have given birth to three sons for him." That is why he was named Levi.

Three days later Laban discovered Jacob had left.

In three days, when they were still in pain, two of Jacob's sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brothers, each took his sword and went to the unsuspecting city and slaughtered every male.

After three months Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar has turned to prostitution, and as a result she has become pregnant." Judah said, "Bring her out and let her be burned!"

On the vine there were three branches. As it budded, its blossoms opened and its clusters ripened into grapes.

"This is its meaning," Joseph said to him. "The three branches represent three days.

In three more days Pharaoh will reinstate you and restore you to your office. You will put Pharaoh's cup in his hand, just as you did before when you were cupbearer.

When the chief baker saw that the interpretation of the first dream was favorable, he said to Joseph, "I also appeared in my dream and there were three baskets of white bread on my head.

Joseph replied, "This is its meaning: The three baskets represent three days.

In three more days Pharaoh will decapitate you and impale you on a pole. Then the birds will eat your flesh from you."

He imprisoned them all for three days.

He gave sets of clothes to each one of them, but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces of silver and five sets of clothes.

The woman became pregnant and gave birth to a son. When she saw that he was a healthy child, she hid him for three months.

"The elders will listen to you, and then you and the elders of Israel must go to the king of Egypt and tell him, 'The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. So now, let us go three days' journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.'

So Moses extended his hand toward heaven, and there was absolute darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days.

No one could see another person, and no one could rise from his place for three days. But the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.

Then Moses led Israel to journey away from the Red Sea. They went out to the Desert of Shur, walked for three days into the desert, and found no water.

If he does not provide her with these three things, then she will go out free, without paying money.

"Three times in the year you must make a pilgrim feast to me.

At three times in the year all your males will appear before the Lord God.

"They are to make an ark of acacia wood -- its length is to be three feet nine inches, its width two feet three inches, and its height two feet three inches.

"You are to make an atonement lid of pure gold; its length is to be three feet nine inches, and its width is to be two feet three inches.

"You are to make a table of acacia wood; its length is to be three feet, its width one foot six inches, and its height two feet three inches.

You are to make a surrounding frame for it about three inches broad, and you are to make a surrounding border of gold for its frame.

Six branches are to extend from the sides of the lampstand, three branches of the lampstand from one side of it and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it.

Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on one branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms are to be on the next branch, and the same for the six branches extending from the lampstand.

Each frame is to be fifteen feet long, and each frame is to be two feet three inches wide,

The hangings on one side of the gate are to be twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases.

On the second side there are to be hangings twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases.

Its length is to be a foot and a half and its width a foot and a half; it will be square. Its height is to be three feet, with its horns of one piece with it.

The Levites did what Moses ordered, and that day about three thousand men of the people died.

At three times in the year all your men must appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel.

For I will drive out the nations before you and enlarge your borders; no one will covet your land when you go up to appear before the Lord your God three times in the year.

Bezalel made the ark of acacia wood; its length was three feet nine inches, its width two feet three inches, and its height two feet three inches.

He made an atonement lid of pure gold; its length was three feet nine inches, and its width was two feet three inches.

He made the table of acacia wood; its length was three feet, its width one foot six inches, and its height two feet three inches.

He made a surrounding frame for it about three inches wide, and he made a surrounding border of gold for its frame.

Six branches were extending from its sides, three branches of the lampstand from one side of it, and three branches of the lampstand from the other side of it.

Three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on the first branch, and three cups shaped like almond flowers with buds and blossoms were on the next branch, and the same for the six branches that were extending from the lampstand.

He made the incense altar of acacia wood. Its length was a foot and a half and its width a foot and a half -- a square -- and its height was three feet. Its horns were of one piece with it.

with hangings on one side of the gate that were twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases,

and for the second side of the gate of the courtyard, just like the other, the hangings were twenty-two and a half feet long, with their three posts and their three bases.

"'When you enter the land and plant any fruit tree, you must consider its fruit to be forbidden. Three years it will be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten.

I will command my blessing for you in the sixth year so that it may yield the produce for three years,

If the person is one month old up to five years old, the conversion value of the male is five shekels of silver, and for the female the conversion value is three shekels of silver.

So they traveled from the mountain of the Lord three days' journey; and the ark of the covenant of the Lord was traveling before them during the three days' journey, to find a resting place for them.

Now a wind went out from the Lord and brought quail from the sea, and let them fall near the camp, about a day's journey on this side, and about a day's journey on the other side, all around the camp, and about three feet high on the surface of the ground.

The Lord spoke immediately to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam: "The three of you come to the tent of meeting." So the three of them went.

Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, "What have I done to you that you have beaten me these three times?"

The angel of the Lord said to him, "Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Look, I came out to oppose you because what you are doing is perverse before me.

The donkey saw me and turned from me these three times. If she had not turned from me, I would have killed you but saved her alive."

Then Balak became very angry at Balaam, and he struck his hands together. Balak said to Balaam, "I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have done nothing but bless them these three times!

They traveled from Pi-hahiroth, and passed through the middle of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days' journey in the wilderness of Etham, and camped in Marah.

"You must give three towns on this side of the Jordan, and you must give three towns in the land of Canaan; they must be towns of refuge.

Then Moses selected three cities in the Transjordan, toward the east.

At the end of every three years you must bring all the tithe of your produce, in that very year, and you must store it up in your villages.

Three times a year all your males must appear before the Lord your God in the place he chooses for the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the Festival of Weeks, and the Festival of Temporary Shelters; and they must not appear before him empty-handed.

At the testimony of two or three witnesses they must be executed. They cannot be put to death on the testimony of only one witness.

you must set apart for yourselves three cities in the middle of your land that the Lord your God is giving you as a possession.

Therefore, I am commanding you to set apart for yourselves three cities.

and then you are careful to observe all these commandments I am giving you today (namely, to love the Lord your God and to always walk in his ways), then you must add three more cities to these three.

A single witness may not testify against another person for any trespass or sin that he commits. A matter may be legally established only on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

"Go through the camp and command the people, 'Prepare your supplies, for within three days you will cross the Jordan River and begin the conquest of the land the Lord your God is ready to hand over to you.'"

She told them, "Head to the hill country, so the ones chasing you don't find you. Hide from them there for three days, long enough for those chasing you to return. Then you can be on your way."

They went to the hill country and stayed there for three days, long enough for those chasing them to return. Their pursuers looked all along the way but did not find them.

After three days the leaders went through the camp

But stay about three thousand feet behind it. Keep your distance so you can see which way you should go, for you have not traveled this way before."

They returned and reported to Joshua, "Don't send the whole army. About two or three thousand men are adequate to defeat Ai. Don't tire out the whole army, for Ai is small."

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

Three days after they made the treaty with them, the Israelites found out they were from the local area and lived nearby.

Caleb drove out from there three Anakites -- Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, descendants of Anak.

Within Issachar's and Asher's territory Manasseh was assigned Beth Shean, Ibleam, the residents of Dor, En Dor, the residents of Taanach, the residents of Megiddo, the three of Napheth, and the towns surrounding all these cities.

Pick three men from each tribe. I will send them out to walk through the land and make a map of it for me.

from the tribe of Naphtali: Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge for one who committed manslaughter), Hammoth Dor, and Kartan, along with the grazing areas of each -- a total of three cities.

Caleb received Hebron, just as Moses had promised. He drove out the three Anakites.

Three hundred men lapped; the rest of the men kneeled to drink water.

The Lord said to Gideon, "With the three hundred men who lapped I will deliver the whole army and I will hand Midian over to you. The rest of the men should go home."

The men who were chosen took supplies and their trumpets. Gideon sent all the men of Israel back to their homes; he kept only three hundred men. Now the Midianites were camped down below in the valley.

He divided the three hundred men into three units. He gave them all trumpets and empty jars with torches inside them.

All three units blew their trumpets and broke their jars. They held the torches in their left hand and the trumpets in their right. Then they yelled, "A sword for the Lord and for Gideon!"

When the three hundred men blew their trumpets, the Lord caused the Midianites to attack one another with their swords throughout the camp. The army fled to Beth Shittah on the way to Zererah. They went to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.

Now Gideon and his three hundred men had crossed over the Jordan River, and even though they were exhausted, they were still chasing the Midianites.

Abimelech commanded Israel for three years.

he took his men and divided them into three units and set an ambush in the field. When he saw the people coming out of the city, he attacked and struck them down.

Israel has been living in Heshbon and its nearby towns, in Aroer and its nearby towns, and in all the cities along the Arnon for three hundred years! Why did you not reclaim them during that time?

He said to them, "Out of the one who eats came something to eat; out of the strong one came something sweet." They could not solve the riddle for three days.

Samson went and captured three hundred jackals and got some torches. He tied the jackals in pairs by their tails and then tied a torch to each pair.

Three thousand men of Judah went down to the cave in the cliff of Etam and said to Samson, "Do you not know that the Philistines rule over us? Why have you done this to us?" He said to them, "I have only done to them what they have done to me."

She said to him, "How can you say, 'I love you,' when you will not share your secret with me? Three times you have deceived me and have not told me what makes you so strong."

Now the temple was filled with men and women, and all the rulers of the Philistines were there. There were three thousand men and women on the roof watching Samson entertain.

His father-in-law, the girl's father, persuaded him to stay with him for three days, and they ate and drank together, and spent the night there.

Once she had weaned him, she took him up with her, along with three bulls, an ephah of flour, and a container of wine. She brought him to the Lord's house at Shiloh, even though he was young.

So the Lord graciously attended to Hannah, and she was able to conceive and gave birth to three sons and two daughters. The boy Samuel grew up at the Lord's sanctuary.

Don't be concerned about the donkeys that you lost three days ago, for they have been found. Whom does all Israel desire? Is it not you, and all your father's family?"