A year is the time it takes the Earth to go round the Sun. A day is the time it takes the Earth to rotate on its own axis. A month, until we began messing about with the calendar, was the time it took the Moon to go through it's phases. The week appears to have no logical definition. Was seven days pre-Genesis? Or did the bible define the week?
2007-12-20 12:48:32 · 9 answers · asked by Ken G 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
The seven day week originated with the Babylonians.
Ancient Babylonian astrologers noticed that there were seven objects in the skies that appeared to move compared to the background of stationary stars: the sun, the moon, and the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. (The planets Uranus and Neptune and the dwarf planet Pluto were unknown to the ancients.) They associated these with various gods, and each of these gods were thought to reign over one day.
There have been cultures that used different systems, however. Until the 1st century, for example, the Romans used an 8-day nundinal cycle (sometimes called the "market week"), which they inherited from the Etruscans.
Today, the association with the planets still forms the basis for the names of our days: Sunday (the sun's day), Monday (the moon's day), Tuesday (Tyr's day, Mars), Wednesday (Wodan's day, Mercury), Thursday (Thor's day, Jupiter), Friday (Freya's day, Venus), and Saturday (Saturn's day).
2007-12-20 13:05:55 · answer #1 · answered by phoenixshade 5 · 5⤊ 0⤋
around seven hundred B.C.,the Babylonians devised a 7 day week to correspond to the main planetary gods. The Romans had struggled with an 8 day week for it slow, until eventually now ultimately adopting the center jap gadget from the third century onward. they only exchanged the names of the Babylonian gods for their very very own. The English named days that we've originated from the pagan Anglo-Saxons who borrowed the Romans gadget, and substituted their gods for the Romans. So the Babylonian Nergal day, their god of conflict, grew to advance into the Roman’s day for Mars, which in turn replaced into Anglicized by potential of the northern Europeans, into the day for Tiw - Tuesday. Babylonian = B Roman = R Saxon = S English = E sunlight B: Shamash, R: Sol, S: sunlight, E: Sunday Moon B: Sin, R: Luna, S: Moon, E: Monday Mars B: Nergal, R: Mars, S: Tiw, E: Tuesday Mercury B: Nabu, R: Mercurius, S: Woden, E: Wednesday Jupiter B: Marduk, R: Jove, S: Thor, E: Thursday Venus B: Ishtar, R: Venus, S: Frigg, E: Friday Saturn B: Ninturta, R: Saturnus, S: Saxon, E: Saturday desire that enables you out!
2016-10-02 04:49:28 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Bible defines the dawn of man, pre Babylon. The Babylonians have a flood story as do 40 tribes in the modern era. Only the Bible covers history pre the flood of Noah.. all that to say, Adam got there first. On the Seventh day God rested, is basis of one day of rest in 7.
2007-12-20 20:45:16 · answer #3 · answered by eastanglianuk1951 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
sun, moon, five planets visible to the naked eye. A day for each. At least, that appears to be what a lot of the websites I checked suggest as the most likely reason.
2007-12-20 13:01:40 · answer #4 · answered by busterwasmycat 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Hi. Bustersmycat make a good point! (Never thought about it.)
Saturn (Saturday)
Sun (Sunday)
Moon (Monday)
The other four seem to be named for ancient gods.
2007-12-20 13:09:03 · answer #5 · answered by Cirric 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
i know the day names were named by viking after thier Gods so maybe they only had 7 :)
2007-12-20 13:16:21 · answer #6 · answered by MICHAEL A 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It was six originally but there is always one that needs a day off
2007-12-20 12:53:21 · answer #7 · answered by golden 6 · 0⤊ 4⤋
the 7 day week was defined by god
2007-12-20 12:55:42 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 5⤋
well i'm a christian so i say that it was because of God... you knoe he created the world in six days and he rested on the seventh and thats why we sorta jus go to church and not do work on sunday ... well usually
2007-12-20 12:59:50 · answer #9 · answered by br_bu 2 · 0⤊ 5⤋