# Why is 7 "God's number" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 2, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203 "2003-06-02T19:55:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/1 "2003-06-02T19:55:38Z")
I mean, I’m pretty sure that there isn’t something in the Bible that says this outright. I think it’s just an interpretation/overstatement of the point that it occurs a lot. A friend was asking if there is any certain quote that states this theory outright? ---
**Author:** ![gypsymoth3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@gypsymoth3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gypsymoth3)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/2 "2003-06-02T20:08:17Z")
i’m not sure, but i know it is the number of perfection. i’ve heard that 6 is man’s # and that almost everything on earth is based on it. ---
**Author:** ![gypsymoth3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@gypsymoth3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gypsymoth3)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/3 "2003-06-02T20:08:17Z")
i’m not sure, but i know it is the number of perfection. i’ve heard that 6 is man’s # and that almost everything on earth is based on it. ---
**Author:** ![kgriffey79](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/2bfe46/32.png) [@kgriffey79](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kgriffey79)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/4 "2003-06-02T20:24:45Z")
No cite, but a Catholic education speaking. A loose theory I heard in school was that the mark of the beast is 666. And 7 is the number that 6 can’t be, so logically it would be a great number or some nonsense like that But more likely, we have 7 sacraments, 7 deadly sins, 7 sorrows of mary. Stuff like that that repeats over and over in the bible. (forgive 7 x 70 times) [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11151a.htm](http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11151a.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Engywook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bc8723/32.png) [@Engywook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Engywook)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/5 "2003-06-02T20:53:04Z")
6 is composed of the two lowest primes: 2 \* 3. The 2 symbolizes man’s ability to be split in half. The 3? That’s just a nice mystical number, required for any creation to have a spark. 7 is also prime. It doesn’t depend on any other numbers for its existence. The same thing could be said of 5, but the issue there is that it’s lower than man and thus became the Last Value Meal at the Garden of Eden. The final reconciliation of God and Man, of course, is 6 \* 7. 1. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2003, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/6 "2003-06-02T22:55:52Z")
The biblical writer(s) use numbers thematically. There are seven days of creation, and hence seven is viewed as a “magical” number, a number of completion. Seven days in the week (on account of seven days of creation), Joshua’s men circle the city of Jericho seven times, etc. Consequently, when you see the number “7” in the bible, it implies wholeness, completeness. Six is thus necessarily incomplete, falling one short of wholeness. The other “magic” numbers in the bible include: - Three – three angels visit Abraham, three patriarchs, and the Trinity in the Christian bible, among others. - Ten is also a number of completion: Ten commandments, ten generations from Adam to Noah, ten generations from Noah to Abraham, ten plagues in Egypt, etc. - Forty is a number that indicates generational change, or the “remaking” of the world. The number 40 implies that the world (the generation) has totally changed. Thus, 40 days and 40 nights for Noah’s Flood, 40 days that Moses is on Mt Sinai, 40 years in the wilderness, etc. Each of those indicate that some monumental event has changed the world, or that the old way/generation has died out and a new way/generation is begun. The New Testament also echoes this by having Jesus spend 40 days in the wilderness, with the same symbolic implication. ---
**Author:** ![gypsymoth3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@gypsymoth3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gypsymoth3)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/7 "2003-06-03T02:14:41Z")
isn’t 12 special too? 12 apostles, 12 tribes of israel, etc. i think there’s more 12’s, but i can’t remember right now. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/8 "2003-06-03T03:25:26Z")
_If man is 5 and the devil is 6, then that must make me 7_ – Bloodhound Gang, “Fire Water Burn” ---
**Author:** ![Desmostylus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@Desmostylus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desmostylus)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/9 "2003-06-03T03:36:20Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mr2001 \* > \*\*_If man is 5 and the devil is 6, then that must make me 7_ > – Bloodhound Gang, “Fire Water Burn” \*\* Quoting a bit more of that: > [@](#): > > I’m not black like Barry White no I am white like Frank Black is, > So if man is five and the devil is six than that must make me seven, > This honkey’s gone to heaven, That was just a cheap joke about another song, _Monkey Gone To Heaven_ by the Pixies: > [@](#): > > if man is 5 > then the devil is 6 > then god is 7 > this monkey’s gone to heaven And Frank Black at the time went by the name “Black Francis”, and was the guy who wrote and sang the song. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/10 "2003-06-03T08:18:20Z")
There were **six** days of creation. On the seventh day, God rested. ---
**Author:** ![rekkah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rekkah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rekkah)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/11 "2003-06-03T11:01:08Z")
I was always taught that the number three represents God (the Holy Trinity) and the number four represents the world (the four corners of the world). Therefore, the number seven is good because it represents the combination of God and the world (which fits with the idea of wholeness or completeness). 666 is the number of the devil because it’s incomplete 6 times over. ---
**Author:** ![SirMuffinMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ab992/32.png) [@SirMuffinMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirMuffinMan)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/12 "2003-06-03T11:04:42Z")
Well…why is 6 the Devil’s number?? Some questions just don’t seem to have a logical answer, though the SDMB have sure had a good crack at it… ---
**Author:** ![elfje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/13 "2003-06-03T12:43:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Engywook \* > \*\*6 is composed of the two lowest primes: 2 \* 3. The 2 symbolizes man’s ability to be split in half. The 3? That’s just a nice mystical number, required for any creation to have a spark. > 7 is also prime. It doesn’t depend on any other numbers for its existence. The same thing could be said of 5, but the issue there is that it’s lower than man and thus became the Last Value Meal at the Garden of Eden. > > The final reconciliation of God and Man, of course, is 6 \* 7. > > 1. \*\* and it so happens, that the answer to the question on Life, the Universe and Everything is 42 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![elfje](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19b73/32.png) [@elfje](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfje)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/14 "2003-06-03T12:44:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kgriffey79 \* > \*\*No cite, but a Catholic education speaking. > > A loose theory I heard in school was that the mark of the beast is 666. And 7 is the number that 6 can’t be, so logically it would be a great number or some nonsense like that > > But more likely, we have 7 sacraments, 7 deadly sins, 7 sorrows of mary. Stuff like that that repeats over and over in the bible. (forgive 7 x 70 times) > > [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11151a.htm](http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11151a.htm) \*\* the Jewish were the first to introduce a 7 day week. That’s their legacy. Before that I think the months were calculated in 3 sets of 10 days. ---
**Author:** ![rekkah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@rekkah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rekkah)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/15 "2003-06-03T12:47:00Z")
Three times over. 666 is incomplete three times over, damnit. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![hazeleyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/34f0e0/32.png) [@hazeleyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazeleyes)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/16 "2003-06-03T14:25:05Z")
there is a Chinese saying goes like this: to save somebody’s life is better than to bulit “A Seven-tier pagoda(A religious building of the Far East, especially a many-storied Buddhist tower, erected as a memorial or shrine.)” I also remember that there is a place called “seventh heaven”,the farthest of the concentric spheres containing the stars and constituting the dwelling place of God and the angels in the Moslem and cabalist systems. but I don’t know why God choose ‘7’.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/17 "2003-06-03T18:21:12Z")
Yeah, this pretty much confirms what I thought. I was raised in the church from day one, and went to a Bible-type college, and couldn’t remember anything concrete on this. It appears there isn’t anything. Thanks for the attempts, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/18 "2003-06-03T18:39:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rekkah \* > \*\*Three times over. 666 is incomplete three times over, damnit. > \*\* The “number of the beast” is not incompleteness three times over. The “number of the beast” is generally accepted to be DCLXVI (although one footnote claims it might be DCXVI), which is not anything “three times over”. If one were to try to portray incompleteness three times over, one would speak of III groups of VI rather than DCLXVI. Now, it should be noted, most interestingly, that DCLXVI does happen to be a “perfectly descending” number. That is, it begins with the largest of the included characters and then descends through each successive cahracter. DXCVI is also a descending number, but it is “imperfect” in that it lacks a character. So why not use M? This is because a myriad (or milles) is itself a “perfect” or “complete” number, thus inappropriate for representing the state of being the height of imperfection. ---
**Author:** ![dwc1970](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a183cd/32.png) [@dwc1970](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwc1970)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/19 "2003-06-03T20:13:17Z")
This thread reminded me of the following by [George Carlin](http://www.xs4all.nl/~jcdverha/scijokes/1_13.html): > [@](#): > > The Nobel Prize in mathematics was awarded yesterday to a California professor who has discovered a new number. The number is “bleen”, which he says belongs between six and seven. ---
**Author:** ![Thylacinewas\_taken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c67d28/32.png) [@Thylacinewas\_taken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacinewas_taken)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203/20 "2003-06-04T00:02:52Z")
7 is also an important number for Muslims. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-7-gods-number/179203.md?page=2)