ZAYIN - the sword or plow
Zayin has the honor of being the 7th letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It also has the value of 7 when used as a number.
In the sacred script used for temple scrolls, it is so honored by having a "crown" of three horns or thorns on top of the letter. There are also 6 other letters in which part of their make-up is shaped like a zayin. Those also have this "crown of 3 thorns", making 7 letters in all with the 3 pronged crown (also called tagin).
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The ancient letter zayin was a picture of a sword or plow. A related word found in scripture is "zan" or "zuwn" which means "plump or nourished", probably from the idea of bursting or splitting open from plumpness. Considering the relationship often referred to in scripture between these two objects, the sword and the plow(one splits open the earth, the other splits open its victim) already there is a hint of a "double-edge" quality to the zayin. The idea of the two-edged Word of God is that of revealing or "splitting open" of the heart. Either it "plowed" open the heart, making it "fallow ground" (HOS 10:12) or it is a "sword" cutting to the "quick" (ACT 7:54,57).
Seven in Hebrew is the word "sheva". It also means to take an oath or swear(make a covenant). God literally "SEVENED" with Abraham when He made His covenant with him. It comes from a root which means full or complete(similar to plumpness). A covenant was made by splitting open the sacrificed animals (possibly the source of our idioms to "cut a deal" and "strike a bargin).
Gen 26:3 Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these countries, and I will perform the
OATH (Strong's 7650 & 7621) which I sware unto Abraham thy father;
The seventh day was made holy and set apart as a covenant sign of God's people. It is symbolic of a "final" rest for God's people, the "fullness" of the "sheva" or
covenant. To the unbeliever, it will mean the sword of
judgment. There is only one word with the same gematria as zayin, the word v'ani, which means "and I". The first two times in occurs in scripture, it is God speaking. In Gen 6:17 about
judgment and in Gen 9:9,11 about
the covenant!
The final promise or "plumpness" of the covenant is eternal dwelling WITH God, intimacy, as the bride......the "and I"...
the 7th feast is the feast of tabernacles which is also a type of the final "dwelling with God in intimacy".
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