Agnostic.com

12 2

Why does the number seven appear in the Bible 735 times. I'm counting on you to explain its popularity.

waitingforgodo 8 Feb 15
Share

Enjoy being online again!

Welcome to the community of good people who base their values on evidence and appreciate civil discourse - the social network you will enjoy.

Create your free account

12 comments

Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.

1

3, 5, 7, and other prime numbers in those times were considered to be special and Have "magical" powers. Silly I know but that is just how superstitions are.

The mystical nature of prime numbers is unlikely to have been posited before 500 BCE by Greek mathematicians, 17 centuries after the seven days became popular. Why is it that every prime number greater than the first two is either one less or one more than a number divisible by six?

@waitingforgodo Well the problem with this thesis is that the center of research and knowledge during that age was Alexandra and most of that knowledge was burned by Christian fanatics under orders from the Patriarch Cyril after the public murder and rape of Hypatia so we have no real way of knowing just how much was really lost.

@waitingforgodo In any case the Greeks did know and understand prime numbers.
[hellenicaworld.com]

1

As is the case with social media, the number of times a meme is regurgitated is of less importance than its origin, and in this instance I think it's likely tied to the creation myth.

Allowing some light raillery of your esteemed self I'd say your contention is petitio principii. The creation myth on the seven clay tablets of the Enūma Eliš is dated to 1900BCE whereas Babylonians counting from the new moon the 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th days as holy days is dated to their Gutian dynasty of 2200BCE.

@waitingforgodo The Jews when writing their new religion after being expelled from Palestinian by the Assyrians stole much of their ideas from the Babylonians. Much of Leviticus and the 10 commandments all come from there.

1

Again it is a Hebrew pun
Seven in Hebrew is either Sheev-ah (M) or sheh-vah ( F) however Shehah means to experience, experienced, OR known in the biblical sense.
Which fits in nicely with the ancient beliefs that god masturbated the universe in to existence, so it is no wonder the lord rested on the seventh day.

So we are all God's ejaculate?!! And here I thought we were all made of stars. Thank you for introducing me to a new concept! 😉

2

One is singular and therefore special for that reason. The primes two, three, and five all produce products less than ten when multiplied together, while four, six, eight, and nine are products. Seven therefore, for people who count in tens, seems to have no obvious role, and stands apart. This must have made it seem mysterious and strange, which therefore was bound to make it the symbol of strangeness and mystery, used for impact and seeming holiness.

"The primes two, three, and five all produce products less than ten when multiplied together, while four, six, eight, and nine are products." So much for 2x5 and 3x5.

Seven days in the week may have come from counting according to the quarter moon, half moon etc.

Speaking of prime numbers isn't it spooky that prime numbers bigger than three are always one less or one more than a number divisible by six. You heard it here first. It's a miracle.

@waitingforgodo Sorry, when I said, "all produce products less than ten ", I meant all 'can' produce products of ten or less.

The moon theory does not appeal much, since a lunar month is actually nearer to twenty nine and a half days, it is more likely that the cerimonial month of twenty eight days, was made to fit the magic four and seven numbers rather than the other way round.

4

Who the fuck cares?

Not a Snman.

@waitingforgodo english please

@Mofo1953 Sn man.

@waitingforgodo english please

@Mofo1953
SN internet slang = Say Nothing

@LenHazell53 i don't speak internet. I speak english, spanish, portuguese, italian and latin though.

@Mofo1953 here is an English word "Abbreviation"

@LenHazell53 abbreviation is english. SN as Say Nothing is no recognized abbreviation or acronym in the english language at all. Even in snapchat it doesn't mean what you claim it means, albeit snarkily, as it stands for Screen Name. [acronyms.thefreedictionary.com]

0

Fave sporting team is the Goat Herds. At least I think they're called the Goat Herds, that's what the crowd roars when they play and there's a mob of them loose in my top paddock training. The proclivity towards the number seven could be due to counting by moon cycles hence seven days in a week. Come in spinner.

5

Er, just out of curiosity here, are you getting so bored and desperate with this self-isolation stuff that all you can find to do is read through the Goat-herders Guide to the Galaxy and find ALL the repetitions of numerals, etc, etc?

4

I cannot think of a more boring or pointless thing to do than think about something like this, even if in quarantine.

@AnneWimsey quite right inner moment of whimsy I plagiarised the post about the number forty. Nonetheless the reason for the number of days in a week is similarly quite the thriller and I would note that while e^i*pi + 1 means 0 to me, there is money in numbers. All the best Anne.

@waitingforgodo knitting? Parchesi? Online Scrabble?

ai

2

Consider this: 1/7 equals 0.142857142857 with the six digits repeating forever.

As it happens, the number 142857 factors out to be =3 times 3 times 3 times 11 times 13 times 37. Curious and surprising. Do other repeating fractions generate interesting numbers?

2

Might want to look over this:

[en.m.wikipedia.org]

Word Level 8 Feb 15, 2021

Great link. It's religious but the topic of the post is the number 7 and the Bible. I don't think there's a scientific reason for there to be seven days. I could be wrong. [atlasobscura.com]

2

Many cultures have "magic" numbers that they favor. Prime numbers seem to be popular, but other numbers will do.

Have you considered the popularity in our culture, with its base-ten numbering system, of decades, centuries, etc? 50-year anniversaries are a big deal, but why not 49? There is nothing more special about the one number than the other, after all.

The culture(s) that created the bible had the hots for the number seven. Nothing more than that.

5

Perhaps ,"craps" was popular back then? SEVEN-ELEVEN. LOL. Roll em, daddy needs a new oxen.

Write Comment
You can include a link to this post in your posts and comments by including the text q:576650
Agnostic does not evaluate or guarantee the accuracy of any content. Read full disclaimer.