Seven heavens

For other uses, see Seventh Heaven (disambiguation).
Wood carving 1475; pointing to 7 celestial bodies consisted 5 planets that can be seen with naked eye, the Sun and the Moon, each floating in a heaven layer, (Arabic Felaq in ancient cosmology)

In mythological or religious cosmology, the seven heavens refer to seven levels or divisions of the Heavens. The concept, also found in the ancient Mesopotamian religions, can be found in Judaism and Islam; the Christian Bible does not mention seven levels of heaven. Some of these traditions, including Jainism, also have a concept of seven earths or seven underworlds both with the metaphysical realms of deities and with observed celestial bodies such as the classical planets and fixed stars.[1]

Beliefs in the plurality of the heavens were not restricted to the belief in seven heavens. Ancient near eastern cosmology largely accepted the existence of three heavens. In Jewish cosmologies (albeit absent from the Hebrew Bible), the number of heavens could range from 3 to 365, with 7 being the most popular figure.

  1. ^ Hetherington, Norriss S. (2014) [1993]. Encyclopedia of Cosmology: Historical, Philosophical, and Scientific Foundations of Modern Cosmology. Routledge Revivals. Routledge. pp. 267, 401. ISBN 978-1317677666.