Cesc

The numbers 7, 12 and 40 are used often in the Bible, apparantly as "special" numbers. Why are they "special"?


Here's what I think:

7
This number is special and originally because of two reasons, and two only, it has become especially venerated:
- There are 7 luminaries. This is the main reason by far.
- The moon. Divided into 14 parts/phases/days, 7 parts per week.

Additionally:
- The Pleiades, looks like 7 stars and played an immense role by its perceived influence in bringing springtime to the world each year (Note Job 38:31: "the sweet influences of the Pleiades")
- There are some mathematical properties of the number 7 that sets it apart. Most notably, its the only number which cannot be produced by either dividing or multiplying another number between 1 and 10, thus the "virgin number".



12
This number is special as one particular conseqence of the sexagesimal number system:
- The 12 constellations or months.

Additionally:
- The 12-hour day.



40
The number of a period for trial, challenge or receiving.
- Comes from the 40 weeks of gestation, pregnancy.


The number 3 is important because of alot of reasons of course because its a nice, neat number and triangular form. Most notably, important because of the union of male and female, their interaction and its result, man-woman-offspring, the generative principle. And also it was important as the "male triad" (the male sexual organ...)

Roger Pearse

Thank you for sharing your opinions. Would you perhaps document these assertions from ancient literature?

Cesc

I think first of all, the significance of these numbers in the Bible stems from exactly the same reasons that made them significant (except 40) throughout the whole ancient world.

And I think my assertions can be backed up by not ancient litterature alone, but rather ancient litterature in connection with ancient symbology or the overall study of the archaic understandings of fertility and astronomical matters, which must be the two things that were the hardest for the ancients to explain/understand and the most important to them. Life and the forces of nature (which were 'evidently' controlled overwhelmingly by the movements in heaven).

For example, at some point humans found out there were precisely 7 lights in the heavens that were different from all the other unexplainable tens of thousands of lights. They didn't just shrug their shoulders and move along without trying explain that fact.

And I base my above assertions on the idea that the most basic reasons for the significances of these numbers must originally come from the things that are constant in nature, that never changes and which are not man-made. I mean isn't it the most likely that first the 7 luminaries were discovered and then the number seven took on lots of divine meanings. Instead of the other way around. Afterall, the world had been designed by divine forces and there had to be some point to the designs, it couldn't just be arbitrary. The job of the wise men was to understand and explain this divine design of the Creator, incl. the 12 houses of the sun and the 7 luminaries. If this is how the Creator had chosen to make it then there had to be something divine about it.

Roger Pearse

Evidence?

Which ancient literature, specifically?

In this forum, we generally prefer specifics, you know.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

Cesc

What I mean is that 12 was a significant number in the cultures where they had divided heaven into 12 parts, and likewise with cultures who had discovered 7 luminaries.


Well, you're quoting out of context. So specifically I mean all the litterature of the ancient world. I meant "the overall study of the archaic understandings of fertility and astronomical matters".

For example, do I have a "primary source" to back up the assertion that the reason there are 12 Olympians is ultimately because there are 12 zodiacal houses? No.

mg01

40 is an idiom that just means "a lot" or "more than you can count" or when referencing years or time, "a long time". It rained for 40 days, Soloman was king for 40 years, Ali Baba and the 40 thieves. (I'm told 40 is an important milestone birthday for Jews today.)

70 is an amplification of 7 in a process known from both the bible and ugarit. Sometimes a zero is added and sometimes the number repeated. Its basically a numeric bicolon. (Thus the seven and seventy seven in the Cain and Abel story.) 70 refers to a large group, often a family. El had 70 children, 70 of Joseph's family descended into Egypt. (I had a manager from Lebanon that would always say "we have 700 things to do" based on the same exaggeration.)

3 is tied to the three days of the new moon which reappears as the new crescent after being consumed by the sun. The lunar and solar cycles are the most ancient form of the dying/rising god cycle.

12 is of course 12 lunar cycles per solar cycle. There was a measument system from mesopotamia that "divided things by 12".

Seven is the sun, moon, mercury, venus, mars, jupiter, and saturn. Compare the latin names to the days of the week in french/spanish/german. The English names come from the Germanic versions of the same things. (Frig, Thor, Twir, Woten)

In North American myths 4 was commonly found based off the 4 primary directions.

Anat

I think there may have been other factors, more related to mathematics and psychology, for why some of these numbers are significant.

3 is the smallest number that can count as 'many' in the 'one, two, many' counting system. Semitic languages have different forms for nouns representing a pair of objects vs plural, making 3 the smallest number that is a true plural. Also in story telling it is convenient and psychologically pleasing to follow a 'rule of threes' whereby the third attempt to do something or the third person to act is successful.

7 complements 3 to 10, thus in a decimal system (natural to a species that counts on 10 fingers) if 3 is significant, 7 would also be so, regardless of whether it relates to anything in the natural world or not. But it helps to also have 7 significant objects that make a natural group

12 is a conventient number because of its many divisors. It can be viewed as four threes, three fours, six pairs. See for example the description of the 12 tribes encamped in groups of 3 in the 4 compass directions around the tabernacle in Numbers.

Roger Pearse

You've read all the literature of the ancient world, have you?

But actually I don't think I need say more, need I? I prefer facts to speculation, myself.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

Cesc

You're quoting out of context once again.

judge

How is there 12 lunar cycles per soloar cycle? There are 13 lunar months (or close to) each solar year aren't there?

Here is a related discussion for anyone interested from the S & S forum, a short while ago.

Why do we have 12 months in a year