ἐνενήκοντα G1768
ninety (the cardinal number)
The indeclinable Greek numeral for ninety, appearing exclusively in the parables of the lost sheep. In both Matthew 18:12-13 and Luke 15:4-7, the shepherd leaves the ninety-nine in safety to search for the one that has strayed. The number's sole narrative function in the NT is to dramatize the value God places on each individual—the ninety-nine safe sheep make the rescue of the one all the more striking.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The cardinal number ninety, used in the NT only within the compound 'ninety-nine' in the parable of the lost sheep. All four occurrences (Matt 18:12-13; Luke 15:4, 7) present the ninety-nine as the flock left behind while the shepherd pursues the single lost one. Spanish 'noventa' and French 'quatre-vingt-dix' (literally 'four-twenty-ten') render the number straightforwardly, though the French vigesimal construction is a curiosity. The theological weight lies not in the number itself but in the contrast it creates. 4×
AR["التِّسْعِينَ", "تِسْعَةً-وَ", "تِسْعَةٍ-وَ"]·ben["নব্বই"]·DE["ἐνενήκοντα"]·EN["ninety"]·FR["quatre-vingt-dix"]·heb["הַתִּשְׁעִים־וְתֵשַׁע", "תִּשְׁעִים-וְ-", "תִּשְׁעִים־וְתֵשַׁע"]·HI["नब्बे", "निन्यअनवे"]·ID["sembilan-puluh"]·IT["enenekonta"]·jav["sangang-dasa", "sangang-puluh"]·KO["아흔"]·PT["noventa"]·RU["девяноста", "девяносто"]·ES["noventa"]·SW["tisini"]·TR["doksan"]·urd["ننانوے", "نوے"]
Related Senses
H3605 1. all, every, whole (5352×)H0259 1. one (cardinal numeral) (940×)H8147 1. cardinal number two (666×)G3956 1. all (collective plural) (616×)H3967 1. cardinal numeral hundred (550×)H1419a 1. great, large (general quality) (486×)H7969 1. cardinal number three (431×)H0505 1. cardinal number thousand (427×)H7651 1. seven (cardinal number) (393×)G1520 1. cardinal number one (339×)H6240 1. ten (cardinal number) (334×)H6242 1. twenty (cardinal number) (315×)H2568 1. cardinal number five (309×)H0702 1. four (cardinal number) (277×)G3956 2. every, each (distributive) (227×)H8337 1. six (cardinal number) (215×)G3956 3. all things, everything (substantive) (211×)G3956 4. (187×)H6235 1. ten (177×)G3173 1. great in size or extent (176×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἐνενήκοντα, οἱ, αἱ, τά, indeclinable, ninety, Refs 8th c.BC+; compare ἐνήκοντα, ἐννήκοντα. (ἐννεν- frequently in codices, but Inscrr. have ἐνεν- Refs