Library E. W. Bullinger Number in Scripture
Part II — Spiritual Significance
One Hundred and Twenty
is made up of three forties (3x40=120). Applied to time therefore it signifies a divinely appointed period of probation, Genesis 6:3.
Applied to persons it points to a divinely appointed number during a period of waiting, Acts 1:15.
It is a factor also in the number of those who returned from Babylon, 42,360, being 120 x 353.
It is also a factor of the number of the men who went up out of Egypt, 600,000, being 120 x 5000.
It is a factor also of the 144,000 who will be sealed from the Twelve Tribes of Israel to go unscathed through the great tribulation, 144,000, being 120 x 1200.
The unanimous voice of Jewish tradition agrees with the Talmud* that "the Great Synagogue" (Neh 10:1-10) consisted of 120 members. "It was called 'Great" because of the great work it effected in restoring the Divine law to its former greatness, and because of the great authority and reputation which it enjoyed." Its greatest work was in completing the Canon of the Old Testament. The Great Synagogue lasted about 110 years, from BC 410-300, or from the latter days of Nehemiah to the death of Simon the Just. It then passed into the Sanhedrim, when its whole constitution was changed.
* Jerusalem Berachoth, ii. 4; Jerusalem Megilla, i; Bab. Meg. 176.
E. W. Bullinger, Number in Scripture: Its Supernatural Design and Spiritual Significance, fourth edition revised (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1921). Public domain. Sectioned HTML transcription via Levend Water; bibliographic record and page scan of the 1894 edition from the Claremont School of Theology collection via Internet Archive.