Seven, the Biblical Number

Biblical authors employed the number 7 in numerous ways to express the ideas of completion, perfection, and holiness and to highlight keywords or elements within a text.

Dr.

Elaine Goodfriend

Dr.

Elaine Goodfriend

Categories:

Bereshit

Shabbat

Numbers can carry significance beyond their arithmetic value. Examples in contemporary English are how “a million” can express abundance, “a ten” can mean excellence, or “a hundred times” can mean frequently. So too, several numbers in the Bible have symbolic value. The most popular of these is the number seven.

Seven in Narrative

The number 7 comes up explicitly in many narratives:

Creation—God creates for six days, and on the seventh day God rests, blessing and sanctifying the seventh day.^[1]

Noah’s Animals—Noah must bring seven pairs of clean animals on the ark.^[2]

Days—Narratives often mark the passing of a short time with seven days. For example, God warns Noah that the flood will come in 7 days,^[3] seven days separate the blood and frogs plague, etc.^[4]

Years—Narratives that wish to mark the passing of a long time sometimes use seven years. For example, Jacob works for Rachel and Leah for seven years each,^[5] the good and bad years in Egypt each last seven years, etc.^[6]

Progeny—Job (twice) has seven sons as does the barren woman in Channah’s poem.^[7] Reuel has seven daughters.^[8]

Punishment—Cain is given a seven-fold punishment, as are the Israelites if they sin.^[9] Lamech even suggests that seventy-seven-fold is sometimes appropriate.^[10]

Testimony—Abraham gives Abimelech seven sheep as a sign that Abraham is to maintain possession of Beersheba (“Well of Oath/Well of Seven” a play on words).^[11]

Consecration—When Moses consecrates Aaron and his sons for priesthood, they must remain in the Tabernacle area for seven days^.[12]

Seven in Laws and Rituals

The dominance of 7 is perhaps even clearer in laws and rituals:

Festivals—Shabbat is every seven days; Shavuot is seven weeks after the Matzot Festival; the 1st, 10th, 15th, and 22nd of the seventh month are festive or sacred days. Also, the festivals of Matzot and Sukkot are seven days long.^[13]

Shemitah—Every seven years, debts are canceled, and the land must lie fallow.^[14] After seven cycles of seven years pass, the jubilee year is declared.^[15]

Slaves—Hebrew slaves are to be freed on the seventh year.^[16]

Newborns—Animals are ready for sacrifice after seven days have passed.^[17] Boys are circumcised after seven days have passed.^[18]

Impurity— A mother of a male is impure for seven days, and twice that for a female.^[19] The period for testing skin disease (tzaraʾat) is seven days.^[20]

Purification—Rituals of purification make use of seven sprinklings or immersions,^[21] and seven-day periods.^[22]

Sacrifices—Many sacrificial rituals involve seven animals.^[23]

Menorah—The lampstand in the Tabernacle has seven lamps.^[24]

Seven-Fold Keywords

The seven-fold occurrence of a word in a biblical passage may also have significance, perhaps indicating a deliberate attempt by the author to highlight a “keyword” or “theme” in the text.^[25]

Cain and Abel—Genesis 4 uses the name Abel seven times, as well as the word אח “brother” seven times.^[26] Moreover, Cain’s line lasts seven generations.^[27]

Abraham and Abimelech—Genesis 21:22–34 employs the names of its two protagonists, Abraham and Abimelech, seven times each in the chapter about their oath in Beersheba.^[28]

Finding Rebecca—Genesis 24 contains seven uses of the verb ה.ל.כ, “to go,” in connection with Rebecca, highlighting the importance of the action, because the fate of Abraham’s line of descent hinges on whether Rebecca will “go” with his servant back to the land of Canaan.^[29]

Jacob works for Laban—Genesis 29 finds its keyword in the root ע.ב.ד, “work,” “labor,” which occurs seven times in the narrative.^[30]

Jacob’s Pact with Laban—Genesis 31:44–54 repeats the word גַּל, “heap of (memorial) stones,” seven times.^[31]

Judah’s Plea to Joseph—Genesis 44:18–34 uses the word “father,” אָב, fourteen times. Sarna notes in his commentary on Gen 45:3 that this element ultimately causes Joseph to lose his composure in the narrative.^[32]

Moses’ Birth and Youth—Exodus 2 features the word יֶלֶד, “child,” seven times in vv. 1–10, and אִישׁ, “man,” seven times in vv. 11–22. Both terms refer to Moses, first as an endangered Hebrew child, and then as an aggressive, seemingly-Egyptian “man.”^[33]

Splitting the Sea—Exodus 14 uses the word יָד, “hand,” seven times as the keyword in Israel’s last encounter with Pharaoh at the Reed Sea. יָד in the Exodus narrative symbolizes God’s wondrous might.^[34]

Mount Sinai—Exodus 19 and 24, the literary frame for the legal material in chapters 20–23, each have seven instances of the root ד.ב.ר (“speak” as a verb and “word” as a noun). Further, the verb י.ר.ד, “descend,” occurs seven times in chapter 19, while its antonym ע.ל.ה/י, “ascend,” appears seven times in chapter 24.^[35]

Curses—Leviticus 26:14–45 warns Israel that it will be punished seven-fold for “walking with hostility towards God,” a loose translation of ה.ל.כ קֶרִי. The noun קֶרִי is used seven times in the section.^[36]

Red Heifer—Numbers 19 has 7-fold use of 7 different subjects:^[37]

The cow and/or its ashes;^[38]
Burnt items;^[39]
Sprinkling;^[40]
Persons who wash;^[41]
Contaminated items;^[42]
Those that are purified;^[43]
Priests. ^[44]

Transjordanian Tribes—Numbers 32 presents the seven-fold recurrence of five key terms:

“Gad and Reuben,” in this order;
אֲחֻזָּה and נַחֲלָה, “land-holding” and “inheritance”;
ע.ב.ר, “to cross,” the Jordan River;
ח.ל.ץ, “be equipped” or “vanguard”;
לִפְנֵי יְ־הוָה, “before YHWH.”

These five terms can summarize the chapter: If Gad and Reuben cross the Jordan as the vanguard before YHWH (the Ark), they will receive the land-holdings that they desire.^[45]

Repentance—Deut 30:1–10, about circumcision of the heart, includes the seven-fold use of the verbal forms of שׁ.ו.ב.^[46] In chapter 30, the word לֵב, “heart,” appears seven times.^[47]

Elements Occurring in Sevens

In addition, seven may serve as a structural or organizational principle that governs the number of elements included in a passage.^[48]

The ancestors of Israel—Israel has seven ancestors: three patriarchs and four matriarchs.

Seventy Nations—Genesis 10 includes seventy peoples in its “Table of Nations.”^[49]

YHWH’s Call to Abram—God’s call to Abram in Genesis 12:2–3 includes seven elements:

וְאֶֽעֶשְׂךָ֙ לְג֣וֹי גָּד֔וֹל

I will make you a great nation,

וַאֲבָ֣רֶכְךָ֔

I will bless you,

וַאֲגַדְּלָ֖ה שְׁמֶ֑ךָ

I will make your name great,

וֶהְיֵ֖ה בְּרָכָֽה׃

You will be a blessing,

וַאֲבָֽרֲכָה֙ מְבָ֣רְכֶ֔יךָ

I will bless those who bless you,

וּמְקַלֶּלְךָ֖ אָאֹ֑ר

He who curses you I will curse,

וְנִבְרְכ֣וּ בְךָ֔ כֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּחֹ֥ת הָאֲדָמָֽה׃

All of the families of the earth will bless themselves by you.

The number 7 in this context conveys the comprehensiveness of God’s endowments to Abraham.

Melchizedek blesses Abraham—Genesis 14:19–20 contains two seven-word blessings.^[50]

YHWH’s Revelation in Egypt—Exodus 6:6–8 employs seven first-person verbs as YHWH emphatically declares to Moses an intention to redeem Israel and bring them to the land promised to the patriarchs.^[51]

The Creation Story: Seven Examples of Seven

Genesis 1:1–2:4 abounds with examples of both words and elements that recur seven times or in multiples of seven.

Genesis 1:1 contains seven words and twenty-eight letters.
Verse 2, the description of primal chaos, is described in fourteen words.
The word אֱלֹהִים “God” is found thirty-five times in Gen 1:1–2:3.
The term אֶרֶץ, “land,” appears twenty-one times in the passage, and so (together) do the terms רָקִיעַ “firmament” and שָׁמַיִם “heavens” in Gen 1:1–2:4a.
The root ח.י.ה, “animal” or “living,” is used seven times on days five and six of creation. So are the verbal and nominal forms of the roots ע.ו.ף, “bird” and “flying,” as well as ר.מ.שׂ, “creeping things,” or “creep.”
The seventh day, the focus of Gen 2:1–3, has thirty-five words. Verses 1–3a have three clauses, each with seven words, and the words “seventh day” are in the center of each clause.
The word טוב, “good,” also occurs seven times—the last occurrence in v. 31.

This is the strongest example of implicit 7s. According to Cassuto, “It is impossible to suppose that all of this is coincidental.”^[52]

Are Seven-Fold Keywords or Elements Always Intentional?

The examples listed above, which are not meant to be exhaustive, offer evidence that the biblical authors used the seven-fold repetition of a word or element as a device to emphasize keywords or themes.^[53] At the same time, Meir Bar Ilan, professor of Talmud at Bar Ilan University, cautions against counting elements in a text in order to arrive at an exegetically significant number, because this number is not intrinsic to the text and is rather “imported” by the reader.^[54] The count of words or elements may be coincidental and therefore not attributable to the intent of the author.

In addition, scholars sometimes err in their counting. For example, Sarna claims that in Melchizedek’s blessings (Gen 14:19–20), the name “Abram” occurs precisely seven times in the chapter, but it actually occurs eight times in seven verses.^[55]

Finally, sometimes whether any given element should be considered the same element or not for the purposes of counting to seven is subjective. For example, Sarna states that in the story of Leah’s bartering her mandrakes to Rachel in return for sex with Jacob (Gen 30:14–24), God is referred to seven times. Sarna argues that the text is saying that despite their best efforts to maximize their fertility, it is God who is in control. Thus, Sarna comments: “It can hardly be coincidental that God is mentioned seven times in all.”^[56] In this case, the name Elohim appears six times in vv. 17–23, while the Tetragrammaton is used in v. 24, making the argument that the name serves as a keyword less convincing.

Nevertheless, the overall trend seems to be clear. The biblical authors made extensive use of the number seven, both explicitly and implicitly, in narratives as well as in laws.

Ancient Near Eastern Background

Various factors may have contributed to the importance of the number 7. For example, Mesopotamian astronomers knew of seven heavenly bodies: Sun, Moon, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Mars, and Mercury. Because of the deification of astral bodies, 7 became identified with holiness and perfection. Francine Klagsbrun writes, “As a symbol of the heavens, the number seven came to stand for wholeness and harmony, even perfection.”^[57]

In addition, the appeal of 7 as a significant number may relate to its unique status among the digits from 1–10. Seven is a prime number. According to the standards of Babylonian mathematics, 7 is also the first “non-regular” number, because it is not divisible by 2, 3, or 5.^[58] In addition, 7 is unallied with any other number. The numbers 2, 4, 6, and 8—and indeed all even numbers—are “brothers,” as are 3, 6, and 9. The number 7, however, stands alone and can receive a distinctive meaning by virtue of its irregularity.^[59]

The Most Important Symbolic Number in the Bible

Although the numbers 1, 2, and 3 occur more frequently,^[60] the number 7 is the most important symbolic number in the Hebrew Bible.^[61] In many contexts, it conveys not just the number 7, but the idea of wholeness and perfection. As a result of the identification of the Israelite God with perfection, the number 7 has also come to represent holiness.^[62]

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Published

March 17, 2021

Last Updated

November 18, 2024

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Footnotes

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Published

March 17, 2021

Last Updated

November 18, 2024

[1] Genesis 2:3.

[2] Gen 7:2. Multiple pairs are needed because if there was only one pair of all animals on the ark, sacrifice would lead to the extinction of the ritually pure ones.

[3] Gen 7:4. Later in the narrative Noah sends off the dove in seven-day increments (Gen 8:10, 12). Other narratives in Genesis that use this are when Laban chases Jacob for seven days and catches up with him in Gilead (Gen 31:23), and when the Egyptians mourn Jacob at Goren HaAtad for seven days (Gen 50:10).

[4] Exod 7:25. Other narratives in the Bible that use seven days are, Judg 14:17; 1 Sam 10:8; 11:3; 13:8; 31:13; 1 Kgs 20:29; 2 Kgs 3:9; Job 2:13; and Esth 1:5.

[5] Gen 29:20, 27, 30.

[6] Gen 41. Other biblical narratives with 7 years are Judg 6:1; 12:9; 2 Sam 24:13; 1 Kgs 6:38; and 2 Kgs 8:1–3.

[7] 1 Sam 2:5; Job 1:2; 42:13; and Ruth 4:15. David sacrifices seven of Saul’s descendants (2 Sam 21:6) though this was not all of them.

[8] Exod 2:16.

[9] Gen 4:15, 24; Lev 26:18, 21, 24, 28. See also Prov 6:31.

[10] Gen 4:24

[11] Gen 21:28–30.

[12] Lev 8:35.

[13] The festivals of Unleavened Bread and Tabernacles are seven days (Exod 12:15; 34:18; Lev 23:6, 34).

[14] Exod 23:10–11; Lev 25:4–7; Deut 15:1–6.

[15] Lev 25:8–13.

[16] Exod 21:2; Deut 15:12.

[17] Exod 22:29; and Lev 22:26.

[18] Gen 17:12; Lev 12:2–3. For circumcision as sacrifice, see Robert G. Hall, “Circumcision,” ABD 1:1028. He notes that early Jewish sources see circumcision in this light.

[19] Lev 12:2, 5.

[20] See Leviticus 13–14, and a related element in Num 12:14.

[21] Lev 4:6, 17; 14:7, 16, 27, 51; 16:14; Num 19:4; and 2 Kings 5:10.

[22] Lev 15:13, 28; Num 19:11, 14, 16; and 31:19.

[23] Num 23:1, 29; 28:11, 19, 27; 29:2, 8, 32, 36; 1 Chron 15:26; and 2 Chron 29:21.

[24] Exod 25:37; 37:23; and Num 8:2.

[25] The accounting of instances of seven-fold repetition is not always clear, however. For example, Genesis 6–8 presents the keyword תֵּבָה, “ark,” the vehicle for the salvation of humankind. Nahum M. Sarna writes that this keyword appears seven times here in the instruction to build an ark (6:13–22) and seven times again when the water subsides (8:1–14). See Nahum M. Sarna, Genesis, The JPS Torah Commentary (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1989), 52. While this is true, the noun appears eight times in chapter 7 and twice more when Noah and his family are told to leave the ark (8:15, 19). In addition, numbers other than seven may also govern such keywords. For example, Genesis 37–45 narrates the events from the sale of Joseph into Egyptian slavery until he reveals his identity to his brothers. Sarna identifies כֶּסֶף, “silver,” as the keyword for this narrative, noting that the biblical author uses the word twenty times to highlight the theme of “measure for measure”: “The brothers had sold Joseph into slavery for 20 pieces of silver, and now he harasses and tests them with silver” (Genesis, 303).

[26] Also appearing seven times is the word שֵׁם “name.” Certainly, the term “brother” provides a key concept for this narrative of the first homicide which was also fratricide; why “name” would be a keyword is less clear.

[27] Sarna adds that the number of named souls mentioned in all, from Adam to Lamech’s offspring, is 14 (Genesis, 31). To arrive at 14, Sarna excludes Eve and Cain’s wife (who is not named), and includes three women, Adah and Zillah (the wives of Lamech), and Naamah, Lamech’s daughter. Seth, who first appears in v. 25, is also excluded, because he is not in Cain’s line.

[28] Sarna, Genesis, 149. “By accepting them as a gift, the king publicly acknowledges Abraham’s ownership of the well” (ibid.). Genesis 26:23–33 also uses the names Abraham and Abimelech seven times, and also focuses on the name Beersheba (Genesis, 188). As noted above, the narrative also highlights the number 7 directly, as it describes the covenant between the two men at Beersheba (“Well of the Oath/Well of the Seven”), named for the seven sheep employed in the making of the contract.

[29] Sarna, Genesis, 161.

[30] Sarna finds this ironic since Isaac’s blessing for Jacob included the element of his brothers’ service to him (Genesis, 203).

[31] Sarna does not mention this example. This narrative about the mutual non-aggression treaty between the two offers the basis for the place-name גַּלְעֵד, “memorial stones of the treaty” (v. 48), referring to גִּלְעָד “Gilead.”

[32] Sarna, Genesis, 308.

[33] Sarna does not mention this example. The plural of each word also appears in these passages: יְלָדִים in v. 6 and אֲנָשִׁים in v. 13.

[34] It is found in vv. 8, 16, 21, 26, 27, 30, and 31. See Nahum M. Sarna, Exodus, The JPS Torah Commentary (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1991), 75.

[35] Sarna, Exodus, 150. For the second root, Sarna’s count requires us to ignore the two uses of the root in v. 5 which are not about going up the mountain but offering a burnt offering (same root, different meaning). Sarna also focuses on repetition of a verbal root in his analysis of Exodus 12, a complex whole made up of various units, where he notes the seven-fold repetition of the root שׁ.מ.ר (“guard,” “observe”) (Exodus, 53). See vv. 6, 17 (2 times), 24, 25, and 42 (2 times). In vv. 6 and 42, nouns derived from the root are used, מִשְׁמֶרֶת and שִׁמֻּרִים.

[36] The seven-fold punishment is mentioned in vv. 18, 21, 24, and 28, and קֶרִי is used in vv. 21, 23, 24, 27, 28, 40, and 41. The phrase is unique to this chapter and Baruch Levine concludes that its meaning remains uncertain. See Baruch A. Levine, Leviticus, The JPS Torah Commentary (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1989), 186.

[37] Jacob Milgrom, Numbers, 437, echoing the halachic midrash Pesikta de-Rav Kahana (4:2), in the words of Rabbi Hanan bar Pazzi.

[38] Vs. 2, 5, 6, 9 (2 times), 10, 17. This is Milgrom’s count. I find 8 references, as v.10 mentions “the ash of the cow,” as does v.9.

[39] Including skin, flesh, blood, dung, cedar, hyssop, and crimson (vv.5-6).

[40] V.4.

[41] Milgrom’s counting is unclear. He writes, “person who wash (vv.7 [referring to three priests; vv.4,6,7], 8, 10, 19, 21.

[42] By a corpse in a tent: occupants, those who enter, open vessels, and in an open field: those who touch the corpse, someone who died naturally, a human bone, a grave (vv. 14-16).

[43] Tent, vessels, persons, one who touched a bone, one who was slain, one who died naturally, a grave (v.18).

[44] V.1, [Moses and Aaron], 3, 4, 6, 7 [two times]. Moses serves as the high priest in Exodus 29 and Leviticus 8.

[45] Jacob Milgrom, Numbers, The JPS Torah Commentary (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1989), 492.

[46] The nominal form שְׁבוּת is the eighth appearance of the root in this section

[47] This is the only example that I found in Deuteronomy. (Editor’s note: For an argument that this text is a later supplement to Deuteronomy, see Marc Zvi Brettler, “Is Israel’s Repentance a Foregone Conclusion?” TheTorah [2016].) Perhaps the lack of 7’s used this way in Deuteronomy is because in Genesis through Numbers, literary divisions are more easily discerned because chapters are generally narrative wholes, while in the legal sections, the text is divided by formulas such as, “and YHWH spoke to Moses.” Deuteronomy, on the other hand, lacks these literary characteristics; the demarcation between passages in Deuteronomy is less apparent so it is more difficult to decide where to begin counting to find seven-fold key words. Jeffrey H. Tigay notes, “Digressions into relatively unrelated subjects are frequent and it is not always clear where on sections ends and the next begins.” See Jeffrey H. Tigay, Deuteronomy, The JPS Torah Commentary (Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 1996), 446–450.

[48] We find references to such compositional or editorial techniques in the commentaries of Jacob Milgrom, Umberto Cassuto, and especially Nahum Sarna.

[49] Japhet has fourteen descendants, Ham has thirty, and Shem has twenty-six, possibly evocative of Tetragram’s value in Gematria. Regarding the number seventy, Sarna writes, “In the biblical world, the number 70 is . . . used for rhetorical effect to evoke the idea of totality, of comprehensiveness on a large scale” (Genesis, 69).

[50] Sarna, Genesis, 102.

[51] Sarna, Exodus, 30.

[52] Commentary on Genesis (Jerusalem : Magnes, 1978), 5 (Hebrew).

[53] The examples in this article are all taken from the Torah, though in the notes I reference passages from other biblical works as well.

[54] Meir Bar Ilan, “Back to the Middle Ages: Secret Numbers in the Hebrew Bible,” Bet Mikra 58 (2013), 153–166.

[55] Sarna, Genesis, 102. The name is found in vv. 12, 13 (twice), 14, 19, 21, 22, and 23.

[56] Sarna, Genesis, 209.

[57] The Fourth Commandment: Remember the Sabbath Day (NY: Harmony, 2002), 49. See also Karl Menninger, Number Words and Number Symbols: A Cultural History of Numbers (NY: Dover, 1992), 182. A seven-day period was considered the basic passage of time (after a single day), and the 29.5 day lunar month, while a continuum, was divided by human convention into four distinct phases, each with seven days. Determining the passage of time via the lunar month is much easier than using the Sun. “The moon was Earth’s calendar and measured out months as history cycled along through time. Time is, in part, the moon’s invention” (Lance Morrow, “Neil Armstrong’s ‘Small Step’ Brought the Moon Down to Earth,” WSJ (July 20/21, 2019).

[58] Joran Friberg, “Numbers and Counting,” ABD 4:1144.

[59] Gad Ben-Ami Zarfati, “Number,” EM 5:182 [Hebrew]. This is evident in Gen 1:1–2:4, where the seven days of the week are structured into two corresponding triads, while the seventh day stands alone. Gary Rendsburg writes, “Finally, crowning the six days of creative activity is day seven, the Sabbath, which naturally lacks a corresponding day, for it has no equal” (How the Bible is Written, 32).

[60] The total number of appearances of each number in the biblical corpus is: 1 (699), 2 (768), 3 (430), 7 (394), 5 (344), 4 (317), 6 (216), 10 (176), 8 (108), 9 (58). This count refers only to masculine and feminine forms of the number, not compounded with tens and hundreds. Further, the number 1 is used for “first” as in Gen 1:4, while the other numbers have separate ordinal numbers.

[61] For the ubiquity of 7 in religion and folklore, see Annemarie Schimmel, The Mystery of Numbers (New York: Oxford, 1993), 127–155. John J. Davis writes: “It is the view of this writer that the only number used symbolically in the Scripture to any degree with discernible significance is the number 7” (Biblical Numerology: A Basic Study of the Use of Numbers in the Bible [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1968], 116–119).

[62] The use of 7 in such ways is not restricted to the Bible. The number 7 occurs frequently in world literature (Gad Ben-Ami Zarfati, “Mispar” [“Number”], EM 5:182). In Ancient Near Eastern literature, the Gilgramesh Epic (Akkadian) contains many examples of the number 7: the “Seven Counsellors” (Tablet I), the six days and seven nights that Enkidu has sex with Shamhat (Tablet I), the seven traps that Ishtar lays for her lion-lover and the seven leagues that Ishtar forced her horse-lover to race (Tablet VI), seven children as the attribute of an honored wife (Tablet VII), the six days and seven nights that Gilgamesh mourns before the body of Enkidu (Tablet X), the seven days of the flood (Tablet XI), and the seven days that Gilgamesh has to remain awake in order to be granted immortality (Tablet XI). The El-Amarna texts, containing letters from Canaanite vassals to the Pharaoh, begin with the formula, “I fall beneath the feet of my lord seven times and seven times” (“Tell El-Amarna,” COS 3:237–243).