Thousand
 

In an ancient Christian context. What does it stand for?

Kathrin,
I think the idea of a thousand could have been understood as "everything", or an infinite number. There is a verse in Psalms that states that "God owns the cattle on a thousand hills" which is really like saying "He owns everything"... so thousand could symbolize "all"... there is also verse in one of the NT Peter's letters, about "a thousand years is as a day to the Lord... so again the idea is a tiny compared to everything (or a multitude).