The Hebrew word SEVEN is SHABBAT. And long before history was written, the seventh day of the week had significance for the Hebrew people. Writers attributed that special day to a desire for servants's need for rest.
When the people of Judah (southern Israel) were expelled to Babylonia, the religious authorities were pressed to retain their national customs lest the people become domesticated to their captors' ways. They focused on circumcision and Shabbat as irreducible elements in their religious practice.
However, since the Hebrews had no account of the world's creation, they adopted the Babylonian story of creation arising in eight acts. But in order to fit the time-honored seventh-day of rest, they condensed the creation sequence into six days, with two acts of creation squeezed into two separate days. That account, although a bit clumsy, survived as the opening chapter of Genesis.
In order to reinforce the Shabbat element in their history, the writers inserted seventh-day observances into David's story, for example. And that practice resounded into the Jesus story as well. The Christian heritage followed that pattern of weekly-day-of-rest, and western civilization followed suit, despite the oddities that causes in the calendar. The world has adopted that rhythm, so we have today a religion-based order of days.
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