Today in the Bible

The word for “week” in Hebrew is “shavu’a” (“shah-voo-ah” – שָׁבוּעַ); the plural is “shavu’ot” (“shah-voo-oat” – שָׁבֻעֹת).  A day is linked to the natural revolution of the Earth, a month is determined by the natural cycle of the Moon, but why does a week consist of seven days?  There is no known natural cycle of the firmament to tell us that; its measurement comes from God’s act of creation.

For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day… – Exodus 20:11

It is interesting that – though people may choose to define the beginning and ending of a day differently, they may choose to define the beginning and ending of a month differently, and they may choose to define the beginning and ending of a year differently – you rarely hear of anyone arguing about the definition of a week.  Ancient Rome did function in an eight-day cycle for a while, but even they adopted the seven-day week.  You would think that the definition of a week would be the one thing that people would take liberty with; especially people who don’t believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Now that we know how the week came to be seven days long, let’s look at how God refers to the days of the week. If you look up the scriptures in row one (below), you’ll see that they are from the creation narrative. The second row shows how God referred to each day, from the very beginning – He just gave them a number. The third row shows how each day is referred to on the Hebrew calendar. Again, the days are in an ordinal number format – rishon means first, sheni means second, etc. The exception being “Shabbat” which is named after God’s Sabbath rest on the seventh day.

Genesis 1:5	Genesis 1:8	Genesis 1:13	Genesis 1:19	Genesis 1:23	Genesis 1:31	Genesis 2:2
First Day	Second Day	Third Day	Fourth Day	Fifth Day	Sixth Day	Seventh Day
Yom Rishon	Yom Sheni	Yom Shelishi	Yom Ravi’i	Yom Chamishi	Yom Shishi	Yom Shabbat
Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Sun	Moon	Tiw	Woden	Thor	Frigg	Saturn

Next, the fourth row portrays how the days of the week are listed on the calendar we use in the United States today. As you can see, we have deviated from the original naming convention. So, where did the names of the days of the week that we use here in the States come from?  It’s worth exploring.  We casually toss out words like Wednesday or Thursday, but if we consider where they come from, we may think a little differently about using them.  The names of the days of the week that we use are based upon the Sun, Moon, and planets, which, in turn, were named after pagan gods.  Naming the planets after a nation’s gods goes way back.  The Sumerians, Babylonians, and Greeks did it first; then the Romans later adopted it.  They changed the names to Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn – their gods.  The planets of Uranus and Neptune weren’t discovered until many centuries later, so they are not included.  As the Roman Empire spread, so did their calendar; each culture replacing the Roman names with their own corresponding gods.

Sunday

Sunday is obviously named after the Sun; though there are many cultures today which have named it after the Lord’s Day (Resurrection Day); even Russia does this – but the United States does not.

Monday

Monday is pretty straight forward, it is named after the Moon in most cultures.  This can be seen in the Romance languages, for example, in French it is called “lundi” – from “luna.”  Moon Day.

Tuesday

The name for this day originated with the planet Mars, the god of war.  In French it is called “mardi” – i.e. Mars Day.  When the Roman Empire expanded northward those cultures replaced Mars with the name of their gods; in this case Tiw – the god of single combat, and law and justice in Norse mythology.  Tiw’s Day.

Wednesday

Wednesday had its origins in the god Mercury.  In French it is called “mercredi.”  Mercury was associated with the god Woden of the Anglo-Saxons.  Woden’s Day.

Thursday

The name for this day originated with the planet Jupiter.  In French it is called “jeudi.”  Jupiter was associated with the god Thor, from Old English/Old Norse.  Thor’s Day.

Friday

Friday originated with the planet Venus.  In French it is called “vendredi.”  Venus was the goddess of love, which was associated with the Germanic goddess, Frigg.  Frigg’s Day.

Saturday

The name Saturday obviously originates from the god Saturn.  The story goes, there was no Germanic god which corresponded to Saturn, so the original name stuck.  Saturn’s Day.

If we think about it, the naming of the days of the week “seem” to try to follow God’s pattern.  We are using the Sun (the greater light), the Moon (the lesser light), and the planetary objects for timekeeping.  However, it’s been twisted away from what God created.  We have replaced what should be a recollection the Creator with an invoking of the names of pagan gods.

Then God said, “Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth”; and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the fourth day. – Genesis 1:14-19 (NKJ)