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The Significance of Biblical Numbers

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The people of ancient Mesopotamia loved mathematics.  To a degree, they invented it.  Mathematics is a fundamental aspect of civilization, and civilization began in Mesopotamia.  Even as simple a task as employing workmen to dig an irrigation ditch needs basic mathematics.  However, to the Mesopotamian people, mathematics had more than just utilitarian value.  Numbers had meaning.   

 In our own times we are familiar with the notion that the physical world can be described in mathematical terms.  The formulas of Newton, Einstein and others possess beauty and simplicity as expressions of the thoughts of God with respect to the physical world.  Less well known is that the Mesopotamian people also expressed the spiritual world in numerical terms.

 It was mentioned in the essay of Genesis chapter 1 that the natural world in ancient Mesopotamia was conceptualized in terms of the numbers 6 and 60.¹  We have vestiges of this system even today in our 24 hour day (6 x 4) and 12 month year (6 x 2).  There is no intrinsic reason why there should be 24 hours in a day.  It is an artificial construct based on Mesopotamian ideas.  A sexagesimal system, i.e. a number system based on 60 (6 x 10), was also used in the ancient world.  We also have vestiges of this in our 60-minute hour, 360-degree circle (60 x 6), and 180-degree triangle (60 x 3).  

The number 7

 One level above the natural world is number 7, and this number represents the perfection of the Divine.  

 One might assume from reading the Bible that Judaism invented the concept of number 7, but this is unlikely.  The ziggurat in Babylon had seven stories and the temple to the god Marduk was on the seventh.  Number 7 is also found several times in tablet XI of the Gilgamesh myth, which contains the well-known Mesopotamian flood story. This particular flood lasted 7 days, there were 7 days between the boat coming to rest on a mountain and a dove being released, and a pair of 7 jars was offered for a sacrifice.  It is possible that these first two 7’s had no more significance than being the period of a week, but the pair of jars indicates that number 7 had religious significance. 

 To bow to someone seven times would be to acknowledge his divine status.  The Amarna letters were diplomatic letters written between the administration of the 18^th Dynasty of ancient Egypt and their representatives in Canaan and Amurra.  One of the vassal sovereigns begins his letter with the sentence “I bow to my lord 7 times…..”  In this way he is acknowledging the divine nature of Pharaoh and his subservience to him.   

 This leads to the question  - how did the ancients come up with the importance of number 7?  Most likely it comes from the 4 phases of the roughly 28-day cycle of the moon.  That the cycle of the moon formed the basis of months is acknowledged in the Mesopotamian myth Enuma Elish, which predated the giving of the Torah by several hundred years, although it is difficult to tell from the wording of this myth whether it is describing a 7-day week or some form of religious occasion:

He [Marduk] made the crescent moon appear, entrusted night [to it]

And designated it the jewel of the night to mark out the days.

“Go forth every month without fail in a corona,

At the beginning of the month, to glow over the land.”

………

On the seventh day the crown is half.

The fifteenth day (sabattu) shall always be the mid-point, the half of each   month.²

 By contrast, in Genesis chapter I, it is not a pagan god who creates the moon and the basis of time, but Elokim.   Thus Elokim creates the universe in 6 days as a manifestation of his control over the physical world and He sanctifies His seventh day of rest as the Sabbath.³ 

 In the previous chapter it was discussed that the final paragraph of Genesis I, which became part of the Friday night sanctification ceremony or Kiddush, has a sentence structure based the number 7.³   Moreover, this entire paragraph contains 35 words, i.e. 5 x 7.   The first sentence of Genesis I also contains 7 Hebrew words and 28 letters (7 x 4), while the next sentence, verse 2, contains 14 words (2 x 7).   Thus, the sentence structure itself describes God’s control over the physical world.

 From this point onwards, number 7 in the Torah becomes a leitmotif for involvement of God and acknowledgement of His sovereignty over all creation.  

 This is apparent in the Noah story.  Noah enters the ark after being told that the flood will begin in 7 days (Genesis 7:4).  He is asked to bring 7 pairs of pure animals and birds into the ark to be used for sacrifices and food (Genesis 7:2-3), and he later sends out a dove from the ark at 7-day intervals to ascertain whether the waters of the Flood have subsided (Genesis 8:10 and 12).

 The number 7 is also buried within the text of the Noah story in ways that are not immediately apparent.  The theme of the following paragraph is the “covenant” that Elokim makes with Noah, with the rainbow being the reminder of God’s promise to preserve humanity.⁴  The word “covenant” is repeated 7 times:

"And Elokim spoke to Noah, and to his sons with him, saying: And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your seed after you; And with every living creature that is with you, of the bird, of the cattle, and of every beast of the earth with you; from all that go out of the ark, to every beast of the earth. And I will establish my covenant with you; nor shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; nor shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.  And Elokim said, This is the sign of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for everlasting generations;  I set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a sign of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud; And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.  And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between Elokim and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.  And Elokim said to Noah, This is the sign of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." (Genesis 9:8-17)

 The significance of number 7 was well known to the patriarchs and Jacob’s son Joseph.  Abraham and the Philistine king Abimelech swore a non-aggression pact over 7 ewes, thereby consummating Abraham’s first territorial claim to the Land of Israel (Gen 21:28-33)⁵  Jacob worked for Laban for two 7-year periods for his two wives Leah and Rachel, perhaps anticipating thereby the role of their progeny in building up the Jewish people (Genesis 31:41).  

 Jacob bows down 7 times on approaching Esau as they began their rapprochement, demonstrating the importance of number 7 in the ancient world.  

"And he went on ahead of them and bowed earthward seven times until he reached his brother……..”  (Genesis 33:3). 

 Jacob then makes the following speech to his brother:

 “If I have now found favor in your eyes, then accept my tribute from me, inasmuch as I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of a Divine being, and you have been appeased by me.” (Genesis 33:10)

Jacob knew how to appease his brother, and one way was to bestow on him absolute homage in the way a human would approach a god or someone with semi-divine status.  

Through the medium of Pharaoh’s dreams and the significance of code number 7, Joseph divined he would have a critical role in furthering G-d’s plans for humanity.  The 7 healthy cows and 7 good ears of grain represented 7 years of plenty brought by God, while the 7 gaunt cows and 7 thin ears of wheat that followed represented 7 years of God-brought famine.

 Not surprisingly, the number 7 is found in the temple service in acts of dedication to G-d.  YKVK dwelt among the Jewish people in the Holy of Holies and it was appropriate that He have a table and a light.⁶  This menorah was dedicated to God and had 7 branches.  The leper is cleansed with 7 sprinklings of blood from a sacrificial bird, (Leviticus 14:7) and undergoes a purification process on the 7^th day. (Leviticus 14:9)  The red heifer’s blood is sprinkled towards the Tabernacle 7 times. (Numbers 19:4)    

 According to the Bible, even prior to the arrival of the Israelites, the land of Canaan functioned on the basis of number 7.  Seven Canaanite nations were to be destroyed by the Israelite army, indicating God’s role in apportioning national boundaries within the community of nations (see chapter 4).  There are also 7 primary agricultural species in Israel, indicating God’s role in preparing the agricultural bounty of the land for the people of Israel.

The number 8

 If number 7 is the domain of the holy, then one above 7, i.e. number 8, represents an even stronger bond of dedication to God.  This number may well be uniquely Jewish.  The significance of number 8 is first revealed when Abram is told to circumcise his son on the 8^th day from birth as a demonstration of his commitment to the covenant (Genesis 17:12).  At this time, his name is changed from Avram (father of Aram) to Avraham (father of a multitude) and Sarei his wife from my princess to Sarah (princess to all nations of the world) (Genesis17:5 and 15).  

 Circumcision was never an exclusively Jewish practice.  Scenes have been recovered from ancient Egypt of individual and group circumcision.  Circumcision may have been practiced among the priests of Egypt and may already have had a spiritual connotation.  Islam also practices circumcision following in the footsteps of its spiritual forefather Ishmael (Genesis 17:25),and this is often done in the newborn period.  However, it is only the Jewish people who circumcise their sons in on the 8^th day of life, thereby engraving their dedication to the covenant in the flesh of their offspring. 

 Number 8 is found in the laws of the sacrificial offerings.  An animal cannot be sacrificed until it is at least 8 days of age (Leviticus 22:26).  An eight-day period was also important in the consecration of the Tabernacle.  Moses brought daily sacrifices during the first seven days of the ceremony and on the 8^th day these functions were handed over to Aaron and his sons.   An eight-day sanctification period was also the model for the Hasmoneans when they re-dedicated the Temple following its defilement by the Greeks.  This may be one reason, apart from the availability of pure oil, that the festival of Chanukah lasts for 8 days.  

 The Biblically-mandated festival of Shemini Atzeres follows directly on the heels of the 7-day festival of Succot (Tabernacles).  There is discussion in the Jewish oral tradition as to whether Shemini Atzeres is as an extension of Succot or is a separate festival in its own right.⁷  From consideration of the significance of number 8 it can be appreciated why the Jewish tradition concluded that Shemini Atzeres is, in the main, a separate festival unto itself.    Similarly, the festival of Shavuotis celebrated the day after a 49-day period (i.e. 7 x 7) of harvesting the barley crop, the first day of this 7-week period being counted from the second day of Passover.  It is noteworthy that neither of these festivals has any specific ritual.⁸  A likely reason for this follows directly from the meaning of number 8, since intensifying one’s attachment to G-d has no need of anything external.  To the contrary, it would be a distraction. 

 The “shmitta year” or fallow period for the land follows a pattern of a cycle of 6 + 1.  The Jewish people are God’s tenants in the land of Israel.  For 6 years they have unrestricted use of the agricultural produce from the land, save for tithes and obligatory gifts to the poor such as the forgotten sheath and gleanings.  However, on the 7^th year the land is left fallow, thereby acknowledging that God is the true landlord.  In the Jubilee year, the 50^th year, which is one year following seven 7-year cycles, in the ultimate demonstration of God’s ownership, all land is returned to its original tribal owners:

You shall sanctify the fiftieth year and proclaim freedom throughout the land for all its inhabitants; it shall be the Jubilee Year for you, you shall return each man to his ancestral heritage and you shall return each man to his family……...  The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is Mine; for you are sojourners and residents with Me. (Leviticus 25:10 and 23).  

The number 40

 The number 40 signifies rebirth, regeneration and new possibilities.  It is also associated in the Torah with closeness to God.  

 It seems likely that the significance of number 40 was well known in the ancient world.  Hence, Jacob was embalmed in Egypt for 40 days in preparation for the world-to-come:

"And forty days were fulfilled for him; for such is the period of the embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned him for seventy days." (Genesis 50:3) 

 From where would the significance of number 40 have been derived?   It may have been derived from the weeks of a normal pregnancy.  The ancient world would have known that the time from a woman’s last period to the time of birth was on the average 40 weeks.  We now know, of course, that the first two of these 40 weeks is the time to ovulation and not conception, but even today a full-term pregnancy is considered to be 40 weeks.

 The concept of number 40 is first introduced by the Torah in the Noah story:

"Thus all that came, came male and female of all flesh, as Elokim had commanded him, and YKVK shut him in.  And the flood was on the earth forty days ……" (Genesis 7:16-17)

 It is unusual for the two names of God, Elokim and YKVK, to be present within a single sentence, but it makes considerable sense in this instance.  Elokim is the transcendent aspect of the God of creation who arranges for all animals in the world to come of their own accord in pairs to the ark so that animal life can continue after the Flood.  YKVK, on the other hand, is the immanent aspect of God who in an embracing manner shuts Noah and his family into the ark and protects them as the primordial aspects of creation, the deep waters from below the earth and the waters above it, cover the land.  During these 40 days, a new beginning for mankind is in the making.  

 Number 40 is found again in the Torah when Moses ascends Mount Sinai, and a new relationship is forged between God and the Jewish people based on the revelation of the Torah.  During this time, Moses is suspended in an almost angelic state as he is incubated with God in preparation for the birth of a new stage in the development of the Jewish nation:  

"……  and I remained on the mountain for forty days and forty nights; bread I did not eat and water I did not drink." (Deuteronomy 9:9)

 In a soon to follow section of the Torah, spies are sent out by Moses to survey the Land of Israel and they do so for forty days and nights.  This was the beginning of the conquest and marked another new stage in the development of the Jewish nation.  It takes place under God’s protection and at a level beyond the natural.  However, the Jewish people are unable to raise themselves to this spiritual level.  The spies issue an adverse report and they will now need to start anew and elevate their faith by spending 40 years in the wilderness in close proximity to God.  During this time the Torah relates: 

"You shall remember the entire road on which YKVK your God led you these forty years in the wilderness so as to afflict you, to test you, to know what is in your heart, whether you would observe His commandments or not. He afflicted you and let you hunger, then He fed you the manna that you did not know, nor did your forefathers know, in order to make you know that not by bread alone does man live, rather by everything that emanates from the mouth of God does man live.  Your garment did not wear out upon you and your feet did not swell these forty years.  You shall know that just as a father will chastise his son, so YKVK your God chastises you." (Deuteronomy 8:2-5)

The number 70

 In chapter 10 of Genesis number 70 is introduced.  The number 70 represents completeness by virtue of differences.⁹   Chapter 10 introduces the number 70 in a listing of the 70 names of the nations of the world descended from Shem, Ham and Yaphet, the three sons of Noah.¹⁰  The 70 nations of the world, which includes the descendants of Shem, possessed all the national characteristics necessary to make up global mankind.  

 We are told later in Genesis that those from Jacob’s household who went down with him from Canaan to Egypt were 70.

“All of the people of Jacob’s household who came to Egypt – seventy” (Genesis 45:27)

 The 70 individuals from Jacob’s household had all the attributes needed to form the nation Israel.  Similarly, the 70 elders appointed by Moses were a perfect representative body for the 12 tribes of Israel (Numbers 11:16). 

Conclusions

 It seems clear that many of these number associations were well known in the ancient world.  The Bible “plugged into” this system and developed a monotheistic edifice using these numbers.

 Nevertheless, there may be more to it than this.  Circumcision on the 8^th day of life is not an artificial system that fits awkwardly into the development of the newborn, but is the time by which physiological coagulation problems in the newborn have usually resolved and vitamin K levels are at their maximum levels in the newborn.  The Bible did not invent seven prime agricultural species that grow in the Land of Israel.  They already existed.   A seven-day week fits nicely into life circumstances and has been adopted throughout the world.  In other words, these number associations fit perfectly into our world.  It seems almost as if God designed His universe not only with mathematical templates for the physical world but also with numerical templates for the spiritual.

 References

1.Why was number 6 considered representative of the physical world?  Perhaps it was realized that 6 is a unique number, being the only number that is both the sum and product of the three consecutive numbers 1, 2 and 3.

2.  The Epic of Creation. Tablet 5 in Myths from Mesopotamia. Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh and Others by Stephanie Dalley. Oxford University Press, 2008, p 256

3.  A Commentary on the Book of Genesis, Part One, From Adam to Noah by Umberto Cassuto, Seventh paragraph, The Seventh Day; End of Section, p61, The Magnes Press, Jerusalem, reprinted 1998

4.   A Commentary on the Book of Genesis, Part Two, From Noah to Abraham by Umberto Cassuto, Twelfth paragraph, The Sign of the Covenant, p134, The Magnes Press, Jerusalem, reprinted 1998. 

5.The name Beersheba could mean the “well of seven” or the “well of swearing”.  The Biblical commentator Sforno explains that this gift was a symbolic act testifying to the agreement of the parties, but he does not explain why 7 ewes were used.  The commentator Rabbi Hirsch finds within the word “shavua” or “oath” the meaning of “giving oneself up to the seven” i.e. to God, in this case if the parties abrogate their oaths.(see commentary of Hirsch to 21:23).

6.   Commentary of Sforno to Exodus 25:23

7.   TB Succhah 47a and b, and Succah 55b.

8.  The linking of the Jewish festival Simchat Torah with Shemini Atzeret is a Rabbinic innovation dating from the Medieval period.

9.  TB Sanhedrin 2a.  The Artscroll Stone Edition of the Chumash published by Mesorah Publications Ltd, p 791 writes “In a general way, the number seventy represents all the different aspects of human mentality, just as the entire human race is composed of the seventy primary nations enumerated in Genesis 10. Thus a body of seventy sages can be expected to consider all possibilities and render just decisions.” (Ramban, R’ Bachya)

10.There are actually 74 names in this chapter.  Shem, Ham and Yaphet are the progenitors of all these races and would not therefore be considered among the 70.  The Philistines could be considered a mixed race. (Pesikta Zutresa; Torah Sheleimah 9:110).  Alternatively, Nimrod could be considered an individual and not a nation.