chapter of the number seven. In Hebrew literary tradition the number seven was the number of perfection, the number of wholeness and of the divine. It was used in all sorts of literature to convey the theme. Indeed, the traditional Jewish menorah or seven-candle lampstand, the symbol of the modern state of Israel, comes from this same ancient biblical motif. The opening sentence of the Bible contains just seven words in Hebrew (though it obviously differs in translation). The crucial phrase “And