The number "666" or "616" is taken from the passage in Rev. 13:18, Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six. and has been arguably the most contested verse of the New Testament. The source of the problem is whether it is to be interpreted Literally or Figuratively, and if ...
A variant spelling (NRW QSR) adds up to 616, and this number is found in some ancient manuscripts of Revelation. Nero was famous for persecuting Christians, again strengthening his identification with the beast (see the Roman historians Tacitus, Annals 15:44, and Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars, “Nero” 16).
The Greek gematria value of Nero Caesar (Νέρων Καῖσαρ) would be 1,005, but the Grecized Hebrew (נרון קסר) value equates to 666 as indicated above. Metzger elaborates: When Greek letters are used as numerals the difference between 666 and 616 is merely a change from ξ to ι (666 = χξς and 616 = χις).
There is an argument and case to be made for 616. But most text critics (and all published editions that I know of) go with 666 as the proper/better reading. 616 is usually noted in the margin or as a footnote. The Difficulty of Minuscules In about the 700's the script moved away from Uncials (all capital letters) to lowercase letters.
“There is no way,” you think to yourself as you finish reading the text your friend sent you, saying she finally chose 6/16 as her wedding date. This is the third time you’ve seen the number 616 in ...