Topical Bible: Time: Computed by Weeks

◄ Time: Computed by Weeks ►

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In the biblical context, the concept of time computed by weeks is deeply rooted in the creation narrative and the subsequent practices of the Israelite community. The week, consisting of seven days, is a fundamental unit of time that is established in the opening chapters of Genesis and is consistently observed throughout the Scriptures.

Creation and the Seven-Day Week

The origin of the week is found in the creation account in Genesis. God created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh day, thereby instituting the seven-day week. Genesis 2:2-3 states, "And by the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing, and on that day He rested from all His work. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because on that day He rested from all the work of creation that He had accomplished." This divine pattern established the week as a cycle of work and rest, with the seventh day set apart as holy.

The Sabbath Commandment

The observance of the week is further reinforced in the Ten Commandments, where the Sabbath is instituted as a day of rest. Exodus 20:8-11 commands, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but He rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy." This commandment underscores the importance of the weekly cycle and the sanctity of the seventh day.

Weeks in Israelite Worship and Festivals

The concept of weeks also plays a significant role in the religious life of Israel, particularly in the observance of festivals. The Feast of Weeks, also known as Shavuot or Pentecost, is celebrated seven weeks after the Passover. Leviticus 23:15-16 instructs, "From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you are to count seven full weeks. You shall count fifty days until the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD." This festival marks the completion of the grain harvest and is a time of thanksgiving and offering to God.

Prophetic and Symbolic Use of Weeks

In prophetic literature, weeks are sometimes used symbolically to represent longer periods of time. The prophecy of Daniel 9:24-27 speaks of "seventy weeks" decreed for the people of Israel and the holy city, which is interpreted by many scholars as a symbolic period leading to the coming of the Messiah and the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan.

New Testament Observance

In the New Testament, the concept of the week continues to hold significance, particularly in the context of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The first day of the week, Sunday, becomes a day of worship and celebration for early Christians, commemorating the resurrection. John 20:1 notes, "Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance." This shift highlights the continued importance of the weekly cycle in Christian practice.

The computation of time by weeks, therefore, is a consistent and significant theme throughout the Bible, reflecting both the order of creation and the rhythm of worship and rest ordained by God.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

Daniel 10:2
In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Luke 18:12
I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Disagreement in Asia.
... Some fasted three, some six, some seven weeks, and so on. ... The time between Jesus'
death and his resurrection was very early computed as forty ...
/.../pamphilius/church history/chapter xxiv the disagreement in asia.htm

The Struggler;
... a sweating distemper, which, after his some weeks going about ... on a working day, in
the dark winter time. I also computed about three thousand that came to hear ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/the struggler.htm

The Jewish Institutions and Laws of Far Higher Antiquity than the ...
... In those "sixty and two weeks," as the prophet said, and ... And from this time till
the consulship in Rome of ... and Casian, a hundred and twenty years are computed. ...
/.../the stromata or miscellanies/chapter xxi the jewish institutions and.htm

The Prophet of the Highest.
... A long period, computed at four hundred years, had passed ... had such thoughts; and
from that time, the desire ... every indignity and torture, for some weeks, on May ...
//christianbookshelf.org/meyer/john the baptist/iv the prophet of the.htm

Demonstration v. --Of Wars.
... the death of Antiochus till the sixty-two weeks were fulfilled. ... and kings who stood
up at that time in the ... For the riches of God cannot be computed or limited. ...
/.../aphrahat/aphrahat select demonstrations/demonstration v of wars.htm

The Last Events in Galilee - the Tribute-Money, the Dispute by the ...
... lands might bring it before the Feast of Weeks, and those ... be a token in thine hand -
each time that thou ... that of the Christian, must not be computed by numbers ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter iii the last events.htm

That the Scriptures are Divinely Inspired.
... who shall rule My people Israel." [2720] The weeks of years ... not: and He does this
at one time in a ... or other, alleging that everyone's place is computed to him ...
/.../origen/origen de principiis/chapter i that the scriptures are.htm

Memoir of John Bunyan
... Thus was he for many weeks oppressed and cast down, and near to 'giving up ... had passed
pressed heavily upon him; he was humbled, and bemoaned the time that he ...
/.../bunyan/the works of john bunyan volumes 1-3/memoir of john bunyan.htm

Directions to Church-Wardens, &C.
... that be not paid within six weeks after conviction ... care, after having well surveyed
and computed the repairs ... conveniently they can, and within the time of their ...
/.../prideaux/directions to church-wardens/directions to church-wardens &c.htm

The Last Days of the Old Eastern World
... with a body of troops which tradition computed at 800,000 ... on the continent suffered
at the same time no less ... the rest of the world, capitulated a few weeks later ...
/.../chapter iithe last days of 2.htm