It's funny the way ancient people gave numbers a mystical significance. To me, a number is just a number, one of the many nuts and bolts that hold the science of mathematics together. I suppose that, because ancient people didn't have TV or social media, they had to come up with something to occupy their minds as they gazed up into the desert sky at night. I don't know all the legend connected with ancient numerology, but I have heard or read about a few of them.
For the Hebrews, seven was their lucky number, and six was their unlucky number. Thirteen didn't become unlucky until the early Christians made a big deal about there having been thirteen people sitting at the table for the Last Supper, the Twelve Apostles and Jesus. When Judas Iscariot got busted and ran out of the room in embarrassment, that made it twelve, but I don't think that had anything to do with it. I seem to remember reading somewhere that six was the lucky number of the Babylonians, who were the primary enemies of Israel at the time most of the Old Testament was being put together. This might be why the Jews considered six to be unlucky, and is almost certainly why the Mark of the Beast spoken of in the Biblical book of Revelation was 666. I'm not sure why the Babylonians made six their lucky number. Maybe their creation myth had the world being made in six days, with no day of rest at the end. All ancient people had their holy days but, as far as I know, the Hebrews were the first to have one every week.
Something that I noticed when I used to hang around with folksingers and story tellers is what I call "The Rule of Threes". It seems like every important thing that happens in one of those old stories happens three times. The hero tries to do something difficult and fails, then he tries it again and fails, then he tries it the third time and is successful. This is a recurring theme in Celtic, Appalachian, and Native American stories, although I don't remember that being a feature in any Biblical stories. It's common knowledge that Jesus rose from the dead after three days but, if you do the math, that's not how it happened. Jesus was crucified on Friday afternoon. The three women couldn't wash the body before Jesus was placed in the tomb, as was the custom, because the Sabbath was about to begin at sunset. They went out to the tomb to do the job on Sunday morning, but the stone had been rolled away and Jesus had already risen and was gone. This means that Jesus was actually dead for less than two days, Friday afternoon till Sunday morning. The confusion originates with the scriptural statement that Jesus rose on "the third day", Friday being the first day, Saturday being the second day, and Sunday being the third day. That doesn't mean He was dead for three days because it was from late Friday till early Sunday, which is less than 48 hours.
I don't know if there is any mystical significance to the six pack because beer also comes in a 12 pack, a 24 pack, and a 30 pack. While it's true that all those numbers are divisible by six, they are also divisible by three. When I buy a 30 pack of beer, I'd like to believe that I am paying homage to the Rule of Threes rather than to the Mark of the Beast, but that's just me.
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