The number 2000 symbolizes a great epoch or age in Jewish tradition, where world history is divided into three periods of 2000 years each.
In the Talmud (Sanhedrin 97a) world history is described as consisting of three epochs of 2000 years: 2000 years of chaos (tohu), 2000 years of Torah, and 2000 years of the Messiah's time. The number thus represents a complete divine era and a transition between different phases in God's plan for humanity. In practical biblical use the number also appears as a measure of distance, for example the 2000 cubits that the Israelites were to keep between themselves and the ark of the covenant (Joshua 3:4), which marks holy separation and reverence for God's presence. The Talmudic division in Sanhedrin 97a is based on a beraita that states: "Six thousand years shall the world exist – two thousand with chaos, two thousand with Torah, and two thousand with the days of the Messiah." The 2000 years of Torah are counted from the time of Abraham, when he began to spread knowledge of God. The 2000 cubits mentioned in Joshua 3:4 also formed the basis in rabbinic tradition for the concept of 'tehum shabbat' (Sabbath boundary), the maximum distance one could travel outside a city's limits on the Sabbath (Eruvin 51a). The number 2000 as 2×1000 can be seen as an intensified form of the number 1000, which itself symbolizes a great, complete quantity. Thus, 2000 represents double completeness and a full period in God's plan of salvation.*