Origin of the 7-day week
The week is the only unit of ancient time that has no explainable origin other than God himself. The origin of the 7-day week can only be attributed to 'religion' - to God's instruction to mankind to rest every 7th day. The 7-day week is not of natural origin, because there is no observable natural pattern to base it on. As we attempt to find some natural occurrence to base a week on, we might as well choose a 5-day week or an 11-day week. The 7-day week just doesn't make sense from any naturally observable phenomena.
Some have theorized that the 7-day week is based on the observation of 7 "wanderer planets" (6 planets plus the moon thrown in for an even 7). This theory makes no sense. The ancients knew the difference between the moon and the planets. That's why the ancient month is based solely on the moon's cycle. To then turn around and include the moon as a wandering planet (and the basis for a 7-day week) would be double-counting the moon but single-counting the 6 wanderer planets. The ancients were smarter than that.
There is no rational reason for ancient cultures to impose a repeating pattern of 7 days on top of the natural day/month/year rhythms they observed. First, the 7-day week doesn't even remotely fit those natural patterns. Those who think that lunar months are about 28 days (an even multiple of 7 days) should live in Israel or an Islamic country for 10 years and then tell me which day of the week the annual lunar-based (month-based) feasts fall on. The answer is...'it varies, because the lunar monthly cycle and the weekly 7-day cycle are completely out of sync.' The lunar month is not 28 days, but 29.53 days, so after just two months, you're over half a week off! Certainly nobody who has ever lived according to lunar calendars would try to propose a correlation between weeks and months. Only armchair theorists who live in the modern Gregorian calendar with its manufactured 'months' could try to make such a correlation.
Some might suggest that the 7-day week is based on the "28-day" menstrual cycle. But menstrual cycles are not constant. Length variations of less than 4 days are unusual. And there may be limited evidence that the menstrual cycle is more closely linked to the lunar cycle.
Some have theorized that the 7-day week is based on the observation of 7 "wanderer planets" (6 planets plus the moon thrown in for an even 7). This theory makes no sense. The ancients knew the difference between the moon and the planets. That's why the ancient month is based solely on the moon's cycle. To then turn around and include the moon as a wandering planet (and the basis for a 7-day week) would be double-counting the moon but single-counting the 6 wanderer planets. The ancients were smarter than that.
There is no rational reason for ancient cultures to impose a repeating pattern of 7 days on top of the natural day/month/year rhythms they observed. First, the 7-day week doesn't even remotely fit those natural patterns. Those who think that lunar months are about 28 days (an even multiple of 7 days) should live in Israel or an Islamic country for 10 years and then tell me which day of the week the annual lunar-based (month-based) feasts fall on. The answer is...'it varies, because the lunar monthly cycle and the weekly 7-day cycle are completely out of sync.' The lunar month is not 28 days, but 29.53 days, so after just two months, you're over half a week off! Certainly nobody who has ever lived according to lunar calendars would try to propose a correlation between weeks and months. Only armchair theorists who live in the modern Gregorian calendar with its manufactured 'months' could try to make such a correlation.
Some might suggest that the 7-day week is based on the "28-day" menstrual cycle. But menstrual cycles are not constant. Length variations of less than 4 days are unusual. And there may be limited evidence that the menstrual cycle is more closely linked to the lunar cycle.
