'Seven' in the Bible

But the Lord said to him, "All right then, if anyone kills Cain, Cain will be avenged seven times as much." Then the Lord put a special mark on Cain so that no one who found him would strike him down.

If Cain is to be avenged seven times as much, then Lamech seventy-seven times!"

You must take with you seven of every kind of clean animal, the male and its mate, two of every kind of unclean animal, the male and its mate,

and also seven of every kind of bird in the sky, male and female, to preserve their offspring on the face of the earth.

For in seven days I will cause it to rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the ground every living thing that I have made."

And after seven days the floodwaters engulfed the earth.

He waited seven more days and then sent out the dove again from the ark.

He waited another seven days and sent the dove out again, but it did not return to him this time.

Then Abraham set seven ewe lambs apart from the flock by themselves.

Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs that you have set apart?"

He replied, "You must take these seven ewe lambs from my hand as legal proof that I dug this well."

Since Jacob had fallen in love with Rachel, he said, "I'll serve you seven years in exchange for your younger daughter Rachel."

So Jacob worked for seven years to acquire Rachel. But they seemed like only a few days to him because his love for her was so great.

Complete my older daughter's bridal week. Then we will give you the younger one too, in exchange for seven more years of work."

Jacob had marital relations with Rachel as well. He loved Rachel more than Leah, so he worked for Laban for seven more years.

So he took his relatives with him and pursued Jacob for seven days. He caught up with him in the hill country of Gilead.

But Jacob himself went on ahead of them, and he bowed toward the ground seven times as he approached his brother.

seven fine-looking, fat cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds.

Then seven bad-looking, thin cows were coming up after them from the Nile, and they stood beside the other cows at the edge of the river.

The bad-looking, thin cows ate the seven fine-looking, fat cows. Then Pharaoh woke up.

Then he fell asleep again and had a second dream: There were seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, healthy and good.

Then seven heads of grain, thin and burned by the east wind, were sprouting up after them.

The thin heads swallowed up the seven healthy and full heads. Then Pharaoh woke up and realized it was a dream.

Then seven fat and fine-looking cows were coming up out of the Nile, and they grazed in the reeds.

Then seven other cows came up after them; they were scrawny, very bad-looking, and lean. I had never seen such bad-looking cows as these in all the land of Egypt!

The lean, bad-looking cows ate up the seven fat cows.

I also saw in my dream seven heads of grain growing on one stalk, full and good.

Then seven heads of grain, withered and thin and burned with the east wind, were sprouting up after them.

The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. So I told all this to the diviner-priests, but no one could tell me its meaning."

The seven good cows represent seven years, and the seven good heads of grain represent seven years. Both dreams have the same meaning.

The seven lean, bad-looking cows that came up after them represent seven years, as do the seven empty heads of grain burned with the east wind. They represent seven years of famine.

Seven years of great abundance are coming throughout the whole land of Egypt.

But seven years of famine will occur after them, and all the abundance will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will devastate the land.

Pharaoh should do this -- he should appoint officials throughout the land to collect one-fifth of the produce of the land of Egypt during the seven years of abundance.

This food should be held in storage for the land in preparation for the seven years of famine that will occur throughout the land of Egypt. In this way the land will survive the famine."

During the seven years of abundance the land produced large, bountiful harvests.

Joseph collected all the excess food in the land of Egypt during the seven years and stored it in the cities. In every city he put the food gathered from the fields around it.

The seven years of abundance in the land of Egypt came to an end.

Then the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had predicted. There was famine in all the other lands, but throughout the land of Egypt there was food.

These were the sons of Bilhah, whom Laban gave to Rachel his daughter. She bore these to Jacob, seven in all.

When they came to the threshing floor of Atad on the other side of the Jordan, they mourned there with very great and bitter sorrow. There Joseph observed a seven day period of mourning for his father.

Now a priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and began to draw water and fill the troughs in order to water their father's flock.

Seven full days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.

For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast. Surely on the first day you must put away yeast from your houses because anyone who eats bread made with yeast from the first day to the seventh day will be cut off from Israel.

For seven days yeast must not be found in your houses, for whoever eats what is made with yeast -- that person will be cut off from the community of Israel, whether a foreigner or one born in the land.

For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord.

Bread made without yeast must be eaten for seven days; no bread made with yeast shall be seen among you, and you must have no yeast among you within any of your borders.

You must also do this for your oxen and for your sheep; seven days they may remain with their mothers, but give them to me on the eighth day.

You are to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread; seven days you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you, at the appointed time of the month of Abib, for at that time you came out of Egypt. No one may appear before me empty-handed.

"You are to make its seven lamps, and then set its lamps up on it, so that it will give light to the area in front of it.

"You are to make the altar of acacia wood, seven feet six inches long, and seven feet six inches wide; the altar is to be square, and its height is to be four feet six inches.

The length of the courtyard is to be one hundred fifty feet and the width seventy-five feet, and the height of the fine twisted linen hangings is to be seven and a half feet, with their bronze bases.

The priest who succeeds him from his sons, when he first comes to the tent of meeting to minister in the Holy Place, is to wear them for seven days.

"Thus you are to do for Aaron and for his sons, according to all that I have commanded you; you are to consecrate them for seven days.

For seven days you are to make atonement for the altar and set it apart as holy. Then the altar will be most holy. Anything that touches the altar will be holy.

"You must keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread. For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you; do this at the appointed time of the month Abib, for in the month Abib you came out of Egypt.

He made its seven lamps, its trimmers, and its trays of pure gold.

He made the altar for the burnt offering of acacia wood seven feet six inches long and seven feet six inches wide -- it was square -- and its height was four feet six inches.

The curtain for the gate of the courtyard was of blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and fine twisted linen, the work of an embroiderer. It was thirty feet long, and like the hangings in the courtyard, it was seven and a half feet high,

The priest must dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of it seven times before the Lord toward the front of the veil-canopy of the sanctuary.

and that priest must dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle some of the blood seven times before the Lord toward the front of the veil-canopy.

Next he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and so anointed the altar, all its vessels, and the wash basin and its stand to consecrate them.

And you must not go out from the entrance of the Meeting Tent for seven days, until the day when your days of ordination are completed, because you must be ordained over a seven-day period.

You must reside at the entrance of the Meeting Tent day and night for seven days and keep the charge of the Lord so that you will not die, for this is what I have been commanded."

"Tell the Israelites, 'When a woman produces offspring and bears a male child, she will be unclean seven days, as she is unclean during the days of her menstruation.

"If it is a white bright spot on the skin of his body, but it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and the hair has not turned white, then the priest is to quarantine the person with the infection for seven days.

The priest must then examine it on the seventh day, and if, as far as he can see, the infection has stayed the same and has not spread on the skin, then the priest is to quarantine the person for another seven days.

If, however, the priest examines it, and there is no white hair in it, it is not deeper than the skin, and it has faded, then the priest is to quarantine him for seven days.

If, however, the priest examines it and there is no white hair in the bright spot, it is not deeper than the skin, and it has faded, then the priest is to quarantine him for seven days.

But if the priest examines the scall infection and it does not appear to be deeper than the skin, and there is no black hair in it, then the priest is to quarantine the person with the scall infection for seven days.

then the individual is to shave himself, but he must not shave the area affected by the scall, and the priest is to quarantine the person with the scall for another seven days.

The priest is to examine and then quarantine the article with the infection for seven days.

the priest is to command that they wash whatever has the infection and quarantine it for another seven days.

and sprinkle it seven times on the one being cleansed from the disease, pronounce him clean, and send the live bird away over the open countryside.

"The one being cleansed must then wash his clothes, shave off all his hair, and bathe in water, and so be clean. Then afterward he may enter the camp, but he must live outside his tent seven days.

Then the priest is to dip his right forefinger into the olive oil that is in his left hand, and sprinkle some of the olive oil with his finger seven times before the Lord.

and sprinkle some of the olive oil that is in his left hand with his right forefinger seven times before the Lord.

then the priest is to go out of the house to the doorway of the house and quarantine the house for seven days.

He must then take the piece of cedar wood, the twigs of hyssop, the scrap of crimson fabric, and the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the slaughtered bird and in the fresh water, and sprinkle the house seven times.

"'When the man with the discharge becomes clean from his discharge he is to count off for himself seven days for his purification, and he must wash his clothes, bathe in fresh water, and be clean.

"'When a woman has a discharge and her discharge is blood from her body, she is to be in her menstruation seven days, and anyone who touches her will be unclean until evening.

and if a man actually has sexual intercourse with her so that her menstrual impurity touches him, then he will be unclean seven days and any bed he lies on will be unclean.

"'If she becomes clean from her discharge, then she is to count off for herself seven days, and afterward she will be clean.

Then he is to take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the eastern face of the atonement plate, and in front of the atonement plate he is to sprinkle some of the blood seven times with his finger.

Then he is to sprinkle on it some of the blood with his finger seven times, and cleanse and consecrate it from the impurities of the Israelites.

"When an ox, lamb, or goat is born, it must be under the care of its mother seven days, but from the eighth day onward it will be acceptable as an offering gift to the Lord.

Then on the fifteenth day of the same month will be the festival of unleavened bread to the Lord; seven days you must eat unleavened bread.

You must present a gift to the Lord for seven days, and the seventh day is a holy assembly; you must not do any regular work.'"

"'You must count for yourselves seven weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day you bring the wave offering sheaf; they must be complete weeks.

Along with the loaves of bread, you must also present seven flawless yearling lambs, one young bull, and two rams. They are to be a burnt offering to the Lord along with their grain offering and drink offerings, a gift of a soothing aroma to the Lord.

"Tell the Israelites, 'On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Temporary Shelters for seven days to the Lord.

For seven days you must present a gift to the Lord. On the eighth day there is to be a holy assembly for you, and you must present a gift to the Lord. It is a solemn assembly day; you must not do any regular work.

"'On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you gather in the produce of the land, you must celebrate a pilgrim festival of the Lord for seven days. On the first day is a complete rest and on the eighth day is complete rest.

On the first day you must take for yourselves branches from majestic trees -- palm branches, branches of leafy trees, and willows of the brook -- and you must rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days.

You must celebrate it as a pilgrim festival to the Lord for seven days in the year. This is a perpetual statute throughout your generations; you must celebrate it in the seventh month.

You must live in temporary shelters for seven days; every native citizen in Israel must live in temporary shelters,

"'You must count off seven weeks of years, seven times seven years, and the days of the seven weeks of years will amount to forty-nine years.

"'If, in spite of all these things, you do not obey me, I will discipline you seven times more on account of your sins.

"'If you walk in hostility against me and are not willing to obey me, I will increase your affliction seven times according to your sins.

I myself will also walk in hostility against you and strike you seven times on account of your sins.