What Does 7 Mean in the Bible

One of the most significant numbers in the Bible is seven.  In fact, it is so significant that many people are drawn to it, as they would like to know what it means.

Therefore, I am going to share what I have learned from the Bible about this number with you.  I hope that you will find it to be both enriching and enlightening.

References to the number 7 appear in the Bible about 600 times as ’seven’ or ’seventh’. This number has significant meaning in the Bible because it relates to the creation account found in Genesis wherein it is referred to as the day when God had ‘rested’ from all of His work in creating the heavens and the earth and all of the inhabitants thereof (Genesis 2:1-3).

As a result of God resting ‘in’ this day, it was therefore ‘blessed’ and ’sanctified’ by God. Thus, it was made holy (Gen. 2:3).

The Hebrew word for sanctified is, ‘qadash’, which essentially means, ’set apart’. Hence, that which is ’sanctified’ is, in essence, ’set apart’ from all other things that are common to it.

Because the seventh day was both ‘blessed’ and ’sanctified’ by God, that means it was set apart as holy unto the LORD. Thus the seventh day is distinct from every other day of the weekly cycle and is therefore identified as the most significant day of the week according to the Bible.

Furthermore, because this day marked the completion of God’s work of creation, the number ’seven’ fosters the meaning of ‘completion’ or ‘perfection’ as it were, because what God had created was both complete and perfect. This idea is alluded to in the manner in which the Bible identifies God’s creation as having first been declared by God to be, ‘good’ (Gen. 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25), to having been acknowledged by God as, ‘very good’, upon His beholding of all that He had created regarding the heavens and the earth and all of the inhabitants thereof (Gen. 1:31).

The significance of this day is also noted by its inclusion in the Ten Commandments, which God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai (Ex. 20:8-11). God’s people were commanded to rest on this day as a continual reminder that they served the God who created the heavens and the earth: that is, the One and only true God whom they were to love and honor and live in obedience to, for the duration of their lives.

Conclusion:

The number seven in the Bible is the number of God; and it means: sanctified, holy, complete and perfect; it can also symbolize ‘rest’ within certain contexts such as the seventh day of the week.