The number of man and imperfection
The number six is man's number. Man was created on the sixth day (Gen 1:26–31), and six days of work were given before the Sabbath. The number represents human striving that falls short of divine perfection (seven). In the Bible, six is repeatedly linked to human power and pride – Goliath was six cubits and a span tall and described with six pieces of armor (1 Sam 17:4–7), and Nebuchadnezzar's image was sixty cubits high and six cubits wide (Dan 3:1). Tripled as 666, it becomes in Revelation an expression of complete human rebellion against God: "it is the number of a man" (Rev 13:18). The Hebrew letter vav (ו) has the numerical value of 6. Vav functions as a conjunction ("and") in Hebrew and thus binds the earthly together – a fitting role for the number of man. In Kabbalistic tradition, the number six corresponds to the six directions of physical space (up, down, north, south, east, west) and is linked to the sefirah Tiferet, which represents beauty and the harmony between grace and judgment. Many interpreters see the deliberate accumulation of sixes in the dimensions of Nebuchadnezzar's statue as a literary device pointing forward to 666 in Revelation, emphasizing the connection between human pride and idolatry. Early Christian interpreters such as Irenaeus (c. 180 AD) discussed various calculations of 666 and warned against speculating too freely, but affirmed that the number points to the sum of human imperfection.*