Numbers
52 — one of the most frequent numbers in the classical works
97 mentions in 53 works — one of the most frequent numbers in the base. Where that comes from, and what the word “son” has to do with it.
How many times and where
Our base holds 8,629 attestations from 834 works. The number 52 is named 97 times in them, across 53 different works. It ranks eighth; ahead of it are 86 (155) and 13 (154). The earliest attestation is Yalkut Shimoni, around 1260. Of the 97 mentions, 89 match exactly and 8 use im hakolel.
Why 52 in particular
Because two very common Torah words land on 52: בן, “son” (324 occurrences, first at Genesis 4:25) and בכל, “in all” (140 occurrences, first at Genesis 9:2). A commentary working through genealogies or phrases with “all” runs into this number constantly. A number's frequency in the books is first of all the frequency of a word in the text, not a special property of the number.
What it does not mean
A frequent number is not a strong number. That 52 was written about most often does not mean anything different happens to a person whose name comes to 52. We count mentions, not influence. The same holds for rare numbers: 267 values in the base are named just once, and that says something about the books, not about people.
Check it yourself
The page for 52 shows Torah words with that value, attestations from the works, and the Torah page 52 falls on in the “Chumash 354” count. The full table is in the CSV, no sign-up.
Try it on your own name
Each article describes part of the method. The free calculation on the home page shows these numbers for your own name, with the arithmetic open under each one.