The symbolic number seven

THE SYMBOLISM OF THE NUMBER SEVEN

 Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

In the Ancient Near Eastern literature, numbers have mostly symbolic value. Take, for example , the number seven.

In Hebrew, seven is shivah (cf. Babylonian sebettu).  Its etymology is not clear. It is also not known how this word is related to sheva, which means “oath.” Is Beer-Sheva “The well of seven” or “The well of oath” (Gen. 21:31)?  Based on its usage in the Hebrew Bible, the number seven is said to stand for wholeness, fullness and completion. Examples:

In ancient Sumer, the ziggurat, namely, the stepped-tower of the city of Uruk, had 7 stories. The gates of Uruk had 7 bolts. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the goddess Ishtar summoned the Heavenly Bull who threatened the land with 7 years of famine. The number 7 played a similar role in Ugaritic literature.

In the Hebrew Bible, numbers are symbolic too.. They are not to be taken literally. For example, we are told that God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7 (Ex 20: 11). Noah brought in 7 pairs of clean animals into  the ark (Gen.7: 2). The ark rested on the mountains of Ararat in the 7^th month (Gen. 8:4). Abraham gave Abimelech 7 ewe lambs (Gen. 21: 28). Jacob served  Laban for 7 years to pay for Rachel (Gen.29: 20). He bowed down to his brother Esau 7 times (Gen.33:3). The siege of Jericho by Joshua lasted  7 days (Jos 6: 15). Job had 7 sons (Job 1:2). In the book of Esther, king Ahasuerus held  a banquet that lasted 7 days (1:5). The golden candlestick, the Menorah of the temple in Jerusalem  had 7 branches (Ex.25: 31ff).  Even multiples of 7 were symbolic, such as , 70 people went down to Egypt (Deut. 10: 22),  Solomon had 700 royal wives (IK 11:3), or Lamech, Noah’s father, lived 777 years (Gen. 5:31). Obviously ,that can’t be true!!!

Early Christians were also influenced by this trend. For instance, Jesus is said to have performed 7 miracles on the Holy Sabbath Day. The New Testament has 7 general epistles. The Book of Revelation talks about 7 churches in Asia.

We find the same in the Quran: it claims there are 7 heavens. Humans are created from 7 ingredients. Pilgrims are expected to go around the Ka’abah in Saudi Arabia  7 times.

So, when you read a number in Scriptures, don’t take it literally. Look for its symbolic significance.

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SONSINO'S BLOG: HOW MANY BOOKS IN THE BIBLE? WHOSE BIBLE?

SONSINO'S BLOG: HOW MANY BOOKS IN THE BIBLE? WHOSE BIBLE?:   Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D When someone, looking for an authoritarian source, tells you, “It is written in the Bible, “ you should ask, w...

HOW MANY BOOKS IN THE BIBLE? WHOSE BIBLE?

 Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

When someone, looking for an authoritarian source, tells you, “It is written in the Bible, “ you should ask, whose Bible?

Bibles are different; some have more texts than others.

The Samaritan Bible (c.1^st cent CE) has only the Pentateuch, namely, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is also quite different from the Pentateuch in the Hebrew Bible we have today.

Josephus, the Jewish historian, (1^st cent. CE), mentions only 22 books in the Bible  (See. Against Apion I, 37-43), but does not identify them. 2 Esdras 14:45, an apocryphal book written around 1 or 2 cent. CE, mentions 24 books, but does not list them.

According to Jewish (rabbinic) tradition the Hebrew Bible has 24 books, and is divided into three sections: Pentateuch (5 books), Prophets (8 books), and Writings (11 books) (See discussion in the Talmud, BB14 b/15a and Taanit 8a; also Midrash Rabba to Numbers 7, in 14:18). Yet, the Jewish Publication Societies’ Hebrew and English Bible, contains 39 books. (Here, some books are listed separately, and not combined as in the traditional Hebrew Bibles). It is estimated that the Pentateuch was canonized by 400 BCE, the Prophets by 200 BCE and the Writings by 90 CE (See, The Anchor Bible Dict. I , p. 841). The ancient Rabbis , who , according to tradition, finally closed the canon of the Hebrew Bible at the end of the 1sr cent CE in the city of Yavneh, had serious concerns about the inclusion of a number of books, such as Esther and Ecclesiastes, but finally accepted them as holy scriptures (See m Yad 3:5).

The Protestant Bible has 66 books: 39 for the “Old Testament” (a Christian term) and 27 for the New Testament. The Catholic Bible, on the other hand, has 73 books: 46 for the Old Testament and 27 for the New Testament. There are a number of books called Apocryphal Books, such as Tobit, Judith, I and II Maccabees, written between 400 BCE and 1 cent. CE, that are not part of the Hebrew Bible and the Protestant Bible, but are included in the Catholic Bible.

It is in the Bible, you say! Whose Bible?

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WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM NOAH AND THE ARK?

 Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

Noah and the Ark is one of the most popular myths in the ancient Western world. The story of the Flood  is told in the Hebrew Bible, in the Book of Genesis (ch 6-9),  but it is based on a variety of similar stories found in the greater Ancient Near East (ANE). We now have a Sumerian, two Akkadian, a Hittite, and even a Hurrian version of this fascinating story.

The basic outline of the legend is this: at the beginning of time, God told Noah about the upcoming destruction of the world. Noah then built an ark and brought in his immediate family, a number of animals and food. They survived the devastating flood. The ark landed on a mountain, and God made a covenant with Noah, promising not to destroy the universe in the future.

Even though some people take this story literally, I believe this is not history but a myth. The miraculous aspect of the episode, including the placing of all the animals in one boat, and the destruction of all humanity except for one couple  strain the credulity of any critical mind. Furthermore, there are some differences between the biblical version and the myths found in other cultures of the ANE. Here are some:

1.     In the Bible, only one god decrees the Flood. In the others, we have a multiplicity of gods.

2.     In the Bible, the flood comes because of the depravity of the human race. In the others, it is not so clear. In the Atrahasis Epic, which is one of the two Akkadian texts, the rationale is that people are so noisy that the god Enlil cannot sleep!!

3.     In the Bible, Noah is chosen because he is deemed righteous. In the others, the hero’s character is irrelevant.

4.     In the Bible, Noah brings into the ark his immediate family. In the others, the hero brings in even different kinds of crafts people.

5.     In the Bible, the ark has  three stories and numerous cells. In the others, the ark is divided into six decks.

Obviously, there was a wide-range belief circulating in the entire region of the ANE that in ancient times  there was a devastating flood that caused great damage.

Is there a message attached to the myth? It is not clear. The Rabbis, however, have many suggestions. According to one of the commentators, Noah should be praised for taking care of everyone in the ark. He did not sleep day or night “occupied as he was  with feeding the creatures that were with him” ( The Book of Legends, p. 28). I would broaden the message, and based on the biblical claim that in Noah’s days, “the earth was filled with lawlessness” (hamas in Hebrew),   I would say that the editors of the Bible wanted to stress the need to avoid corruption in society and instead to pursue righteousness and wholeness in life.

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THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE BOOK OF ESTHER

 Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D

When we read a literary text today, we tend to view it from our own modern perspective. Take, for example, the case of The Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. When the text says, “And King Ahasuerus said to Queen Esther and Mordecai” (8:7), a contemporary reader might assume that he must have sent them a text message!!! As we would today.

The Book of Esther has gone through many levels of interpretation over the centuries. The text is colorful. It is the raison d'être of the festival of Purim. The Five Books of Moses does not mention it among the holy days. It does not include any clear reference to God. Though fasting is mentioned, no one in the text is seen praying. This is the only book not found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, maybe because the sect that lived in Qumran did not celebrate Purim.

The Book of Esther celebrates the heroism of the beautiful Queen Esther and her adoptive cousin Mordecai living in Persia. The main motif is how Esther captured the heart of the king of Ahasuerus  through her charm , and saved her people from the vile machinations of the evil Haman on a day to be selected through the casting of lots (purim, in Hebrew). This is not history but a historical novel, even a farce, reflecting the tenuous life of the Jews in the diaspora. It was probably written sometime between 400 and 300 BCE.

Even after it became part of the Hebrew Scriptures, early translations, bothered by the lack of its religious tone, inserted texts to make up for it. For example, the LXX, the Greek translation of the Bible, created in the 3/2 cent. BCE, added a long prayer to Est. 4: 17, that concluded with “So Mordecai went and did all that Esther commanded him”. ( For the full English text of Mordecai and Esther’s prayers in the LXX, see The Jerusalem Bible, p. 561).

The ancient Rabbis had the same problem. They could not believe that God would be absent from any holy text, so they read into the text a reference to God. When Mordecai said to Esther (4:14): “if you keep silent in this crisis, relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another quarter.” For the Rabbis, “another quarter” (mimakom aher), had to be God! (See, Ibn Ezra, ad loc).  The Jewish historian Josephus (1^st cent. CE)  says the same thing. (See, Antiq. XI, 6/7). Similarly, the Rabbis were bothered by the fact that the study of Torah was not mentioned in the book. So, they said, “Just as Moses taught Torah to the Israelites, so did Mordecai” (Esther Rabba 5:6/2). Also , noting that prayers were not mentioned in the book, they added a long one to Esther’s statement in 4:15 (Esther Rabba, 8:7).

But that is not what the text says! We need to read classical texts , as much as possible, from the perspective of its author in order to give justice to his/her message.

By the way, at our Monday morning study group, we, a group of retired Rabbis,  just completed the study of Esther Rabba, a Rabbinic Midrash of Esther that was created in the Galilee around 500 CE. 

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NO MORE PROPHETS

Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D.

A prophet is more than a forecaster of future events. Technically speaking , in the Hebrew Bible, a prophet ( “navi”), is a mouthpiece of God. Prophets claimed they spoke in the name of God. And people around them believed it. The prophet Jeremiah makes a distinction between true and false prophets. According to him, false prophets “speak from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord” (23: 16).

Prophecy is well known in the Ancient Near East (ANE). In various Akkadian texts they are known, among others,  as mahhu (“ecstatic”), apilu (“answerer”), assinu (“cultic functionary”), or nabu (“ diviner”, parallel to the Hebrew term for prophet, navi).

Both in the ANE and specifically in ancient Israel, there were male and female prophets. The Hebrew Bible recognizes these female prophets: Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron (Ex.15:19), Deborah , also a judge, (Judg.4:4), Huldah (II K 22: 14), and an unnamed woman simply known as “a prophetess” in the book of Isaiah (8:3), probably, his wife. In Judaism , the prophet par excellence is Moses (Deut.18:18). Rabbis add, Sarah, Hannah, Abigayil, and Esther (b. Megillah, 14a). The last prophet in the Hebrew Bible is Malachi, (“my messenger”). We don’t know his real name.  Some claim that was indeed his name; others suggest it was Ezra or even Mordecai. He lived in the 5^th cent. BCE in the re-settled Judea when the second temple was rebuilt.

The New Testament knows of both male (for example, Agabus, Acts 11: 29) and female prophets (for example,  Anna, Luke 2:36-38). Some Christians  attribute prophetic roles to many individuals, including, Quintilla (3^rd cent CE), Joan of Arc (15^th cent.), and George Smith (19^th cent.). In Islam, only males are considered prophets, and Muhammad is viewed as the last one, “the seal of the prophets” (Sura 33:40). Judaism does not recognize Jesus or Mohammad as prophets.

Today, it is difficult to call anyone a prophet, for, not too many people believe a human being can be a mouthpiece of God. We can invoke God in our prayers and our deeds but beware of the person who claims he/she can speak in the name of God.

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