Bible stories Quote by Michael Ben Zehabe
““About 4,400 years ago 8 people stepped off Noah’s ark. According to the United Nations Population Growth Statistics, the world’s population grows at about .47% per year. That is the growth rate for all civilizations who kept records. Suppose you put $8.00 in the bank 4,400 years ago and received .47% a year. How much money would you have? What a coincidence! It would be about $7,000,000,000. That’s kind of odd, because 4,400 years ago 8 people stepped off the ark and now we have about 7,000,000,000 people on planet earth. God’s math works! Compound interest is something we teach to seventh-graders. You don’t have to be a professor to figure this out. A twelve-year-old can do the calculation. Ask any seventh-grader, the algebraic equation looks like this: A=P (1+r/n)t . . . where "A " is the ending amount (about 7,000,000,000 in this case), "P " is the beginning amount (8 in this case), "r " is the interest rate (.47% in this case), "n " is the number of compoundings a year (1 in this case), and "t " is the total number of years (4,400 in this case).””
About This Quote
Source Speech: Online video or podcast, date unknown
The quote illustrates how exponential growth, even at a tiny rate, can produce massive numbers over long periods, using biblical and population analogies to make the math relatable.
In simple terms: Small growth rates become huge over millennia.
Recognize power of compounding.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- teaching middle school
- public speaking
- religious discussion
- financial literacy
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How does understanding compounding change your view of long‑term planning?
- What other real‑world phenomena illustrate exponential growth?
The analogy may oversimplify complex demographic history and ignores variables like mortality and migration.