The number 5 symbolizes God’s grace, goodness and favor toward humans and is mentioned 318 times in Scripture. Five is the number of grace, and multiplied by itself, which is 25, is ‘grace upon grace’ (John 1:16). The Ten Commandments contains two sets of 5 commandments. The first five commandments are related to our treatment and relationship with God, and the last five concern our relationship with others humans.
Appearances of the number five
There are five primary types of offerings God commanded Israel to bring to him. They are the Burnt Offering (Leviticus 1; 8:18 – 21; 16:24), Sin (Leviticus 4; 16:3 – 22), Trespass (Leviticus 5:14 – 19; 6:1 – 7; 7:1 – 6), Grain (Leviticus 2) and Peace Offering (Leviticus 3; 7:11- 34).
The Book of Psalms is divided into five major sections. Section 1 (Psalm 1 to 41) refers to the Passover, Israel’s beginning, and the start of the God’s plan of salvation that centers around Christ. Section 2 (42 to 72) sings about a unified Israel in the land and pictures the creation of the New Testament Church. Section 3 (73 to 89) bemoans the destruction of both God’s Temple and Jerusalem. This section also hints at prophecies regarding the End Time Great Tribulation. Section 4 (90 to 106) rejoices over the 1,000 reign of Jesus and shows Israel gathered again. Section 5 (107 to 150) pictures a time when Judah (representing all Israel) shall again be delivered.
There are five books of God’s Law (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) commonly referred to as the Pentateuch (‘Penta’ means five).
Five is the symbol of human microcosm. The number of the human being. Human forms—the pentagon when arms and legs are out stretched. The pentagon is endless —sharing the symbolism of perfection and power of the circle. Five is a circular number as it produces itself in its last digit when raised to its own power. The pentacle, like the circle symbolizes whole, the quincunx being the number of its center and the meeting point of heaven, earth, and the four cardinal points plus the center point.
Five is also representative of the Godhead – Central Creator of the four fours plus itself equalling five. Five is the marriage of the hieros gamos as combination of feminine and the masculine. Feminine being even, as 2, in frequency and masculine being odd as 3 in frequency = 5.
The number five symbolizes meditation; religion; versatility. It represents the five senses (taste, touch, smell, sight, hearing) everywhere except in the East. In the East there are six—the extra being Mind. We find meanings to five in the five petaled flower, five pointed leaves–especially the ROSE. The Rose has much symbolism, but also the lily, vine, all of which represent the microcosm.
The five pointed star depicts individuality and spiritual aspiration, and education when it points upward. The five pointed star pointing downward represents witchcraft, and it is used in black magic. Noted: There is a very broad difference between witchcraft and black magi
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The number five formed the first counting process from which all else came.
Buddhist: belief the heart has four directions– the heart center makes five, symbolizing, universality. This idea is also symbolized by the Sacred Mountains surrounded by the four islands. There are five Dhyani Buddhas: Vairocana, the Brillant, who is represented by the wheel, the witness; Akshobhya, the Imperturbable, with vajra, the East and blue; Ratnasambhava, the Jewel-born, jewel, south, yellow; Amitabha, Boundless Light, lotus, West, red; Amoghasiddhi, Infallible Success, sword, North, green.
Chinese: There are five elements. Five atmospheres; conditions; planets; sacred mountains; grains, colors, tastes, poisons; powerful charms; cardinal virtues; blessings; eternal ideas; relations to human kind.
Christian: Five depicts human beings after the Fall in the Garden of Eden. There are five senses; five points to the cross; wounds of Christ; fishes feeding five thousand; and books of Moses.
Egyptian: There are five different crocodiles of the Nile river .and 5 guardians of crocodiles.
Graeco-Roman: Five is the nuptial number of love and union.. It is the number of Venus. Venus years are completed in groups of five. Apollo as god of light has five qualities: omniscience, omnipresence; omnipotence, eternity, and unity.
Hebrew: Five represents strength and severity; radical intelligence. In kabbala five represence fear.
Hindu: Five is the quinary groups of the world; the five elements of the subtle and coarse states; their primary colors; of senses; five faces of Siva and the twice-five incarnations of Vishnu.
Islamic: There are five pillars of religion; five Devine Presences; five fundamental dogmas; five actions; and five daily times of prayer.
Parsee: Five is a significant number in Parsee and Mandaean rites – possibly connected with the five sacred intercalary days of light.
Pythagorean: Hieros, gamos, the marriage of heaven, earth. It represents Apollo as God of light and his five qualities.
The Hamsa (Arabic ): خمسة khamsah, Hebrew: חַמְסָה, also Romanized khamsa, meaning lit. “five”) is a palm-shaped amulet popular throughout the Middle East and North Africa , and commonly used in Jewelry and wall hangings. Depicting the open right hand, an image recognized and used as a sign of protection in many societies throughout history, the hamsa is believed to provide defense against the evil eye.
Khamsa is an Arabic word that literally means “five”, but also “the five fingers of the hand”. It may also be taken as a reference to the primary number itself.
Early use of the hamsa has been traced to ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq). A universal sign of protection, the image of the open right hand is seen in Mesopotamian artifacts in the amulets of the Qāt Istar / Inana .
Other symbols of divine protection based around the hand include the Hand-of-Venus (or Aphrodite ),, the Hand-of-Mary, that was used to protect women from the evil eye, boost fertility and lactation, promote healthy pregnancies and strengthen the weak, and in the Buddha’s gesture (mudra) of teaching and protection. In that time, women were under immense pressure and expectation to become mothers. The women’s upbringing was centered on becoming a mother as an exclusive role, and it indicated child bearing as necessary. In addition, it was also thought marriage was a sense of protection for both the man and woman.
One theory postulates a connection between the khamsa and the Mano Pantea (or Hand-of-the-All-Goddess), an amulet known to ancient Egyptians as the Two Fingers. In this amulet, the Two Fingers represent Isis and Osiris, and the thumb, their child Horus and it was used to invoke the protective spirits of parents over their child. Another theory traces the origins of the hamsa to Carthage ( Phoenicia) where the hand (or in some cases vulva) of the supreme deity Tanit was used to ward off the evil eye.
This relates to the belief that God exists in everything. Another meaning of this symbol relates to the sky god, Horus. It refers to the eye of Horus, which means man cannot escape from the eye of conscience. It says that the sun and moon are the eyes of Horus. The Hand of Fatima also represents femininity, and is referred as the woman’s holy hand. It is believed to have extraordinary characteristics that can protect people from evil and other dangers.
The hamsa’s path into Jewish culture, and its popularity particularly in Sephardic and Mizrahi Jewish communities, can be traced through its use in Islam. Many Jews believe that the five fingers of the hamsa hand remind its wearer to use their five senses to praise God. This “favourite Muslim Talisman ” became a part of Jewish tradition in North African and Middle Eastern Muslim countries. The symbol of the hand appears in Kabbalistic manuscripts and amulets, doubling as the Hebrew letter “Shin”, the first letter of “Shaddai”, one of the names referring to God.
The khamsa holds recognition as a bearer of good fortune among Christians in the region as well. Levantine Christians call it the hand of Mary (Arabic: Kef Miryam, or the “Virgin Mary’s Hand”). Well after the end of Islamic rule in Spain, its use was significant enough to prompt an episcopal committee convened by Emperor Charles V to decree a ban on the Hand of Fatima and all open right hand amulets in 1526.
In the Shia tradition they call it chaf al abbas / the hand of abbas. Because the uncle of the prophet got killed and his hands decapitated . And I dont know why and what the relation to this hand s, they just made it up.
The Hand (Khamsa), particularly the open right hand, is a sign of protection that also represents blessings, power and strength, and is seen as potent in deflecting the evil eye. One of the most common components of gold and silver Jewelry in the region, historically and traditionally, it was most commonly carved in jet or formed from silver, a metal believed to represent purity and hold magical properties. It is also painted in red (sometimes using the blood of a sacrificed animal) on the walls of houses for protection, or painted or hung on the doorways of rooms, such as those of an expectant mother or new baby.
The hand can be depicted with the fingers spread apart to ward off evil, or as closed together to bring good luck. Highly stylized versions may be difficult to recognize as hands, and can consist of five circles representing the fingers, situated around a central circle representing the palm.
Used to protect against evil eye, a malicious stare believed to be able to cause illness, death or just general unluckiness, hamsas often contain an eye symbol. Depictions of the hand, the eye or the number five in Arabic (and Berber) tradition are related to warding off the evil eye, as exemplified in the saying khamsa fi ainek (“five [fingers] in your eye”). Raising one’s right hand with the palm showing and the fingers slightly apart is part of this curse meant “to blind the aggressor”. Another formula uttered against the evil eye in Arabic, but without hand gestures, is khamsa wa-khamis (“five and Thursday”). As the fifth day of the week, Thursday is considered a good day for magic rites and pilgrimages to the tombs of revered saints to counteract the effects of the evil eye.
Due to its significance in both Arabic and Berber culture, the hamsa is one of the national symbols of Algeria and appears in its emblem It is also the most popular among the different amulets (such as the Eye and the Hirz — a silver box containing verses of the Quran ) for warding off the evil eye in Egypt. Egyptian women who live in baladi (“traditional”) urban quarters often makekhamaysa, which are amulets made up of five (khamsa) objects to attach to their children’s hair or black aprons. The five objects can be made of peppers, hands, circles or stars hanging from hooks. The widespread use of the talisman by Jews from Islamic countries was considered good luck to use of the hamsa has become more common.
Thank you for reading.
Steve Ramsey, PhD.
Calgary, Canada.