ul. These, obviously, were the two chief taboo days of the
month; the fact that new moon stands first is doubtless due to its
position in the month.

+609+. It is uncertain whether the Babylonian full-moon day was ritually
particularly important, and it is not clear how the Hebrews came to
invest this day, if it was their sabbath, with peculiar significance. In
the earlier legal documents it is merely a restrictive period--man and
beast are to rest from toil;[999] in later codes religious motives for
the observance of the day are introduced--first, gratitude to Yahweh for
the rescue of the nation from Egyptian bondage, and then respect for the
fact that Yahweh worked in creating the world six days and stopped work
on the seventh day.[1000] In the sixth century we find the sabbath
elevated to the position of specific sign of Yahweh's protective
relation to the people, and still later it is regarded as a day of
joyous obedience to divine law.[1001] Thus, the process of moralization
of the day was probably a long-continued one.[1002]

+610+. In the various experimental divisions of the month, as we have
seen, a week of seven days has been approached independently in several
places (Babylonia, Hawaii, Java, Ashantiland). The basis of this
division is doubtless the quartering of the lunation, and it has been
reenforced, probably, by considerations of convenience--seven is an
intermediate number, six days of work and one of abstinence and rest
(holiday) commends itself as a practical arrangement. It appears among
the Hebrews as early as the eighth century B.C.;[1003] it may have been
derived from or suggested by Babylonian usage, or it may have been an
ancient Hebrew custom--data on this point are lacking. In any case the
Jewish genius for religious organization seized on the seven-day scheme
and wove it into the system of worship. A more important step taken by
the Jews was the ignoring of lunar phases (except, of course, new moon
as the beginning of the month) and reckoning the week and the seventh
day (the sabbath) in a continuous line. We have noted cases in which
lunar phases were ignored, but this Jewish arrangement appears to be
unique, and its simplicity and convenience have commended it to the
world.

+611+. _Lucky and unlucky days._ The malefic influences emanating from
various objects and resident in the air attached themselves to certain
days, and out of the vast mass of experiences in every community there
gre