the Week of Proper 28 / Ordinary 33
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Bible Dictionaries
Seven
American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
or As from the beginning this was the number of days in the week, so it often has in Scripture a sort of emphasis attached to it, and is very generally used as a round or perfect number. Clean beasts were taken into the ark by sevens, Genesis 7:1-24 . The years of plenty and famine in Egypt were marked by sevens, Genesis 41:1-57 . With the Jews, not only was there a seventh day Sabbath, but every seventh year was a Sabbath, and after every seven times seven years came a jubilee. Their great feasts of unleavened bread and of tabernacles were observed for seven days; the number of animals in many of their sacrifices was limited to seven. The golden candlestick had seven branches. Seven priests with seven trumpets went around the walls of Jericho seven days, and seven times on the seventh day. In the Apocalypse we find seven churches mentioned, seven candlesticks, seven spirits, seven stars, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven thunders, seven vials, seven plagues, and seven angels to pour them out.
Seven is often put for any round or whole number, just as we use "ten" or "a dozen;" so in Matthew 12:45 1 Samuel 2:5 Job 5:19 Proverbs 26:16,25 Isaiah 4:1 Jeremiah 15:9 . In like manner, seven times, or sevenfold, means often, abundantly, completely, Genesis 4:15,24 Leviticus 26:24 Psalm 12:6 79:12 Matthew 18:21 . And seventy times seven is a still higher superlative, Matthew 18:22 .
These files are public domain and are a derivative of the topics are from American Tract Society Bible Dictionary published in 1859.
Rand, W. W. Entry for 'Seven'. American Tract Society Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ats/s/seven.html. 1859.
