The Religion and Philosophy of the Veda and Upanishads v1.c11.s2.35

v1.c11.s2.35

³ The nearest approach to it is the fact that in certain months the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28th were days of penance and sacred duties, perhaps based on a fourfold division of a lunar month; Zimmer, *Die Keilinschriften und das alte Testament*³, p. 592; Jastrow, AJT. ii. 312–52; E. Schürer, ZfNTW. 1905, pp. 1–71; Reinach, *Cultes*, ii. 443–6; Hehn, *Siebenzahl und Sabbat* (Leipziger Semit. Studien, ii), but see Meyer, *Gesch. des Alt.*³ I. ii. pp. 587, 588, who much more plausibly holds that the sacredness of seven is due to its own character; von Schroeder (*Arische Religion*, i. 426–9), following F. v. Andrian (*Mitteil. der Anthropol. Gesellschaft in Wien*, xxxi. 225–74), holds that in the Aryan period a set of nine gods was, under Babylonian influence, reduced to seven. On the Celtic nine-night week, see Rhys, *Celtic Heathendom*, pp. 360 ff. See also Güntert, *Der arische Weltkönig*, pp. 178 ff.