וְה֖וּא עָבַ֣ר לִפְנֵיהֶ֑ם וַיִּשְׁתַּ֤חוּ אַ֙רְצָה֙ שֶׁ֣בַע פְּעָמִ֔ים עַד־גִּשְׁתּ֖וֹ עַד־אָחִֽיו׃
And he himself passed on before them and bowed to the ground seven times until he approached his brother.
Torah Temimah points to Bereishis Rabbah 78:8.
Sefaria · Bereishis Rabbah 78:8
וישתחו ארצה שבע פעמים — כנגד שבע מזבחות שבנה אברהם, או כנגד שבעת הרקיעים.
“And he bowed to the ground seven times” — corresponding to the seven altars that Avraham built, or corresponding to the seven firmaments.
The Midrash offers symbolic explanations for the seven prostrations.
Derash on the number seven (Bereishis Rabbah).
Yaakov’s seven bows carry symbolic weight linked to the number seven in the tradition of the fathers.