As the earth spins, we have evening and morning, and we count a day; The phases of the moon count off the months. And the cycle of seasons count the years. But there is no natural phenomenon to account for a week having seven days. So why does it?
In ancient times, across the world, a ‘week’ could have various numbers of days, but first the Jews, then the Christians, and then the Muslims drew from the book of Genesis: six days of creation followed by a day of rest; and they read the instruction from God through Moses as recorded in the 4th Commandment: to make one day in seven holy, special, set apart; a day for God, a day for rest, the last day of the week.
You often hear people objecting to religious ideas spilling into the secular world, but I’ve never heard anyone complain about 7 days in a week. After their revolution, the French tried a metric week of 10 days (and 100 seconds in a minute and 100 minutes in an hour, and 10 hours in a day), but it didn’t last.
But how many people take a day of rest? How many mark one day as holy?
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labour and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God.” Exodus 20:8-10
Raymond