Dear Brent,
"Behold," Bahá'u'lláh further explains in the Kitáb-i-Badi', one of His works refuting the arguments of the people of the Bayan, "behold, how immediately upon the completion of the ninth year of this wondrous, this most holy and merciful Dispensation, the requisite number of pure, of wholly consecrated and sanctified souls had been most secretly consummated." (Quoted in The World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 124)
Looking at the Persian original, I see that "requisite number" has no parallel there. The original sentence might be translated literally as: "Thus at the year nine of this wondrous, holy and merciful dispensation - at that very moment the innermost secret (sirri sirr) of the holy, sanctified and pure souls was brought to perfection/completion (takmil shudand)." No mention is made of a quantity, precise or otherwise. Given this, I don't think there is likely any relationship between this passage of the Kitab-i Badi` and the Judeo-Islamic traditions about the hierarchies of the saints.
Love,
Vahid
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