A remnant of the word thousand signified.,I offer below.. Something a friend shared with me a few years ago. I have a longer version if interested?
A THOUSAND and TEN THOUSAND
The terms one thousand and ten thousand are employed many times in Scripture, in varying figurative senses, to describe large numbers or vast periods of time. The expressions are also commonly used to symbolically describe great pictures of immeasurable vastness.
The first time the actual term ‘‘a thousand’’ is used in a figurative sense in Scripture is found in Deuteronomy 1:10-11where Moses is seen speaking to the children of Israel, saying, ““The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. (The Lord God of your fathers make you A THOUSAND times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!).””
Moses, here, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit employs the term ‘‘a thousand’’ to reveal the immense prosperity he desires for the people of God. This expression again does not in any way denote an exact ‘‘thousand’’ but rather explains in a figurative sense the deep sense of spiritual increase he wishes to see bestowed on his kindred from the providential hand of the God of his fathers. This passage is not intending to limit God's blessing to an expansion of only one thousand times. Rather it is a figurative way of saying that God is the source of ALL increase and ALL blessing.
The Psalmist says, whilst exalting the Word of God in Psalm 119:72, ““The law of thy mouth is better unto me than THOUSANDS of gold and silver.”” Here he is simply highlighting the unfathomable riches of God’s eternal truth, in stark contrast to the temporal satisfaction of worldly possessions and worldly gain. That’s why Christ asked in Mark 8:36-37, ““For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?””
Isaiah 7:22-24 says, ““And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is left in the land. And it shall come to pass in that day, that every place shall be, where there were A THOUSAND vines at A THOUSAND silverlings (or, for the price of a thousand bits of silver), it shall even be for briers and thorns.””
The term ““a thousand”” is here used as a symbol (rather than an exact amount) to impress a scriptural truth, indicating the grave consequence of disobedience –– briers and thorns would replace the many fruitful vines.
Moses again employs ‘‘a thousand’’ in Deuteronomy 7:9 saying, ““Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to A THOUSAND generations.”” This reading expressly reveals that God is a covenant keeping God. Moses is specifically testifying to the unfailing faithfulness of God and to the continuous bountiful mercies He bestows upon His people. Psalm 119:90 says, ““Thy faithfulness is unto all generations.”” He is here, in some way, articulating the reality of His perpetual blessings and the enormity of His love towards His elect. The term ““a thousand”” is here used as an indeterminate number, evidently indicating all generations.
Psalm 89:4 says, ““Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations.””
A thousand generations is therefore simply used here as a figure or symbol to represent all generations, it unquestionably cannot be limited to, or specifically relate to, a fixed number. This is highlighted when we discover the small amount of generations that have hitherto passed in this world.
Genesis 5:1-32 tells us that (1) Adam begat (2) Seth begat (3) Enos begat (4) Cainan begat (5) Mahalaleel begat (6) Jared begat (7) Enoch begat (8) Methuselah begat (9) Lamech begat (10) Noah begat (11) Shem. There is therefore eleven generations from Adam to Shem.
Genesis 11:1-32 says, (1) Shem begat (2) Arphaxad begat (3) Salah begat (4) Eber begat (5) Peleg begat (6) Reu begat (7) Serug begat (8) Nahor begat (9) Terah begat (10) Abram. There is therefore ten generations from Seth to Abraham.
Matthew 1:17 completes the remainder of the equation from Abraham to Christ, stating, ““So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
Therefore:
Adam to Shem = 11 generations.
Shem to Abraham = 10 generations.
Abraham to David = 14 generations.
David to ““the carrying away into Babylon”” = 14 generations.
““The carrying away into Babylon”” unto Christ = 14 generations.
11 + 10 + 14 + 14 + 14 = 63 generations.
This is just a rough generational list, however, Luke accurately traces the exact direct generational lineage from Adam to Christ in Luke 3:23-38, and arrives at 76 generations. Moreover, just over 2,000 years have now elapsed from Christ to our present day; therefore, allowing approximately for a 40-year generation (2000 divided by 40), we have only reached an additional 50 generations today. We have consequently only approximately exhausted 126 generations roughly 874 short of the precise 1000 generations mark, which the literalists would have us believe.
