Henry Ernest Dudeney/Puzzles and Curious Problems/144 - Biblical Arithmetic/Solution

by : $144$

 * Biblical Arithmetic

Solution
There were $7$ in the Sunday school class.

Proof
Let us gird up our armour and proceed.

From Genesis $35 : 23$:
 *  had $12$ sons while living in Aram-Naharaim.

From Joshua $6 : 15$:
 * On the $7$th day, the army got up at daybreak. They marched slowly around the same as they had done for the past $6$ days, except on this day they went around $7$ times.

From Ruth $3 : 15$:
 * [] also said, "Bring me the shawl you are wearing and hold it out." When she did so, he poured into it $6$ measures of barley and placed the bundle on her.

From Esther $9 : 10$:
 * ... the $10$ sons of son of Hammedatha, the enemy of the Jews.

From Genesis $7 : 2$:
 *  Take with you $7$ pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate

(Technically this is $14$, but the answer given in the book reveals that $7$ is what is meant.)

From $\text {II}$ Kings $2 : 17$:
 * And they sent $50$ men, who searched for $3$ days but did not find him.

From Genesis $41 : 46$:
 *  was $30$ years old when he entered the service of king of Egypt.

From $\text I$ Samuel $17 : 14$:
 * Then [] took his staff in his hand, chose $5$ smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd's bag and, with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.

From John $11 : 18$:
 * Now was nigh unto, about $15$ furlongs off.

From Acts $27 : 29$:
 * Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they cast $4$ anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.

From Genesis $7 : 13$:
 * In the selfsame day entered Noah, and Shem, and Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the $3$ wives of his sons with them, into the ark

That makes $8$, then.

It remains to perform the arithmetic.

Hence: