7842. 'Until the fourteenth of the month' means leading up to a holy state. This is clear from the meaning of 'the fourteenth day' as a holy state. 'Day' means a state, see above in 7831, while 'fourteen' has the same meaning as seven, and 'seven' means what is holy, see 395, 433, 716, 881, 5265, 5268. For multiple numbers have meanings similar to those of their factors, 5291, 5335, 5708. This explains why the Passover had to begin on the fourteenth day of the month, continue for seven days, and end on the twenty-first day, which too means what is holy, because that number is the product of three multiplied by seven. That was why there had to be a holy convocation on the first day of the Passover, and a holy convocation on the twenty-first day [of the month], verse 16.

433. 'Cain's being avenged sevenfold' means that it was utterly forbidden to violate separated faith meant by Cain. See what has been shown at verse 15. 'Seventy-sevenfold' means that it was something even more inviolable on account of which condemnation follows the number seven is a holy number is that the seventh day means the celestial man, the celestial Church, the celestial kingdom, and in the highest sense the Lord Himself. Consequently whenever the number seven occurs in the Word it means that which is holy or utterly inviolable. And this holiness or inviolability has reference to, or else is determined by, the subject being dealt with. The same applies to the meaning of the number seventy consisting of seven ages (saecule), ¹ for in the Word an age (saeculum) is a span of ten years. When anything extremely holy or utterly inviolable needed to be expressed people used the phrase 'seventy-sevenfold', as the Lord did, when He said that people were to forgive their brother not seven times but seventy times seven, Matthew 18:21-22. By this He meant that they were to forgive as often as he sinned. Their forgiveness was to know no limits, that is, was to be eternal and timeless, which is holy. In the present instance his being avenged seventy-sevenfold means condemnation, for it was utterly and completely forbidden to violate.

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