*** Welcome to piglix ***

Fifth Heaven


In religious or mythological cosmology, the seven heavens refer to the seven divisions of the Heaven, the abode of immortal beings, or the visible sky, the expanse containing the Sun, Moon and the stars. This concept dates back to ancient Mesopotamian religions and can be found in the Abrahamic religions such as Islam, Judaism and Christianity, a similar concept is also found in some Indian religions such as Hinduism. Some of these traditions, including Jainism, also have a concept of seven earths or seven underworlds.

The cross-cultural focus on the number seven may correspond to the seven classical planets: the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. These were the only objects in the sky visible to ancient astronomers (who had no telescopes) that move in predictable, repeated patterns (in contrast to comets) against the daily rotation of the fixed stars.

The idea of seven heavens was originated in ancient Mesopotamia. It was probably a symbolic concept. In Sumerian language, the words for heaven (or sky) and earth are An and Ki.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.)


...
Wikipedia

...