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Seven heavens
In ancient Near Eastern cosmology, the seven heavens refer to seven firmaments or physical layers located above the open sky. The concept can be found in ancient Mesopotamian religion, Judaism, and Islam. Some traditions complement the seven heavens with an idea of the seven earths or seven underworlds. These heavens or underworlds have been conceived of as realms with deities or celestial bodies (such as the classical planets and fixed stars).
Variants of the seven heavens tradition existed. Ancient Near Eastern cosmology more often described the number of heavens and earths as three, instead of seven. Seven as the number of heavens was the most popular value for Jewish cosmology, but depending on the text, the number ranged from 3 to 365.
The notion or belief in a cosmos structured or tiered into seven heavens likely originates or derives from the seven visible heavenly bodies (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Moon, and the Sun).
The concept of seven heavens as developed in ancient Mesopotamia where it took on a symbolic or magical meaning as opposed to a literal one. In the Sumerian language, the words for heavens (or sky) and Earth are An and Ki. The ancient Mesopotamians regarded the sky as a series of domes, usually three, but sometimes seven, covering the flat Earth.
Each dome was made of a different kind of precious stone. The lowest dome of the heavens was made of jasper and was the home of the stars. The middle dome of heaven was made of saggilmut stone and was the abode of the Igigi. The highest and outermost dome of the heavens was made of luludānītu stone and was personified as An, the god of the sky.
The celestial bodies were equated with specific deities. The planet Venus was believed to be Inanna, the goddess of love, sex, and war. The Sun was her brother Utu, the god of justice, and the Moon was their father Nanna.
Ordinary mortals could not go to the heavens because it was the abode of the gods alone. Instead, after a person died, his or her soul went to Kur (later known as Irkalla), a dark shadowy underworld, located deep below the surface of the Earth. Sumerian incantations of the late second millennium BCE make references to seven heavens and seven earths. One such incantation is: "an-imin-bi ki-imin-bi" (the heavens are seven, the earths are seven.)
The understanding that the heavens can influence things on Earth lent heavenly, magical properties to the number seven itself, as in stories of seven demons, seven churches, seven spirits, or seven thrones. The number seven appears frequently in Babylonian magical rituals. The seven Jewish and the seven Islamic heavens may have had their origin in Babylonian astronomy.
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Seven heavens
In ancient Near Eastern cosmology, the seven heavens refer to seven firmaments or physical layers located above the open sky. The concept can be found in ancient Mesopotamian religion, Judaism, and Islam. Some traditions complement the seven heavens with an idea of the seven earths or seven underworlds. These heavens or underworlds have been conceived of as realms with deities or celestial bodies (such as the classical planets and fixed stars).
Variants of the seven heavens tradition existed. Ancient Near Eastern cosmology more often described the number of heavens and earths as three, instead of seven. Seven as the number of heavens was the most popular value for Jewish cosmology, but depending on the text, the number ranged from 3 to 365.
The notion or belief in a cosmos structured or tiered into seven heavens likely originates or derives from the seven visible heavenly bodies (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, the Moon, and the Sun).
The concept of seven heavens as developed in ancient Mesopotamia where it took on a symbolic or magical meaning as opposed to a literal one. In the Sumerian language, the words for heavens (or sky) and Earth are An and Ki. The ancient Mesopotamians regarded the sky as a series of domes, usually three, but sometimes seven, covering the flat Earth.
Each dome was made of a different kind of precious stone. The lowest dome of the heavens was made of jasper and was the home of the stars. The middle dome of heaven was made of saggilmut stone and was the abode of the Igigi. The highest and outermost dome of the heavens was made of luludānītu stone and was personified as An, the god of the sky.
The celestial bodies were equated with specific deities. The planet Venus was believed to be Inanna, the goddess of love, sex, and war. The Sun was her brother Utu, the god of justice, and the Moon was their father Nanna.
Ordinary mortals could not go to the heavens because it was the abode of the gods alone. Instead, after a person died, his or her soul went to Kur (later known as Irkalla), a dark shadowy underworld, located deep below the surface of the Earth. Sumerian incantations of the late second millennium BCE make references to seven heavens and seven earths. One such incantation is: "an-imin-bi ki-imin-bi" (the heavens are seven, the earths are seven.)
The understanding that the heavens can influence things on Earth lent heavenly, magical properties to the number seven itself, as in stories of seven demons, seven churches, seven spirits, or seven thrones. The number seven appears frequently in Babylonian magical rituals. The seven Jewish and the seven Islamic heavens may have had their origin in Babylonian astronomy.