(Note: I have substituted "The Scriptures" translation for the KJV in some instances because of the KJV habit of hiding the Name of our Elohim which is contrary to the third commandment. YY)
Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their array.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day Elohim completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.
Gen 2:3 And Elohim blessed the seventh day and set it apart, because on it He rested from all His work which Elohim in creating had made.
While the word Sabbath does not appear in the English text, it appears in the original Hebrew twice, where it is translated “he rested.” The idea of rest in the Hebrew word shabbath is a late one, and dependent on the concept of the Sabbath day rather than the other way around. The original, earlier meaning of the word is to cease, as in Genesis 8:29. The textual use of the word suggests that it also means “to sabbatize” or “to celebrate Sabbath”.
The Sabbath was necessary to preserve the week in ancient times when printed calendars were not available. Unless people were marking off the weeks by the celebration of a certain day of the week, there could be no week. The week is not reflected in nature, as are the lunar month and the solar year. So the week is dependent on the Sabbath. So every mention of the week in the book of Genesis is an indication of the Sabbath.
The week is mentioned several times in the Flood story in Genesis 6-9, and is probably evident even more, since the dates of the Flood story generally align with the week. The term “week” was so deeply impressed on the language of the time that it was even applied to periods of seven years as in Genesis 29:27.
The word “rest” in Exodus 5:5 is shabbath in Hebrew. (Exo 5:5) And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens. This verse suggests that during the period of slavery in Egypt the people were deprived of Sabbath rest. The first thing Moses did upon returning to Egypt was to make a Sabbath reform. This is what irritated the Pharaoh. He complained that the people were observing Sabbath instead of working.
A candid reading of the Hebrew Bible makes it very clear that the Sabbath goes back to creation, whether or not that is clear in the biased translations that we have. But the first mention of the Sabbath in the KJV is still before the giving of the law on Mount Sinai. Therefore, the claim that the Sabbath was first given in the Sinai covenant with the Jews falls flat in any case.
Exo 16:23 And he said to them, “This is what יהוה has said, ‘Tomorrow is a rest, a Sabbath set-apart to יהוה. That which you bake, bake; and that which you cook, cook. And lay up for yourselves all that is left over, to keep it until morning.’ ”
Exo 16:24 And they laid it up till morning, as Mosheh commanded. And it did not stink, and no worm was in it.
Exo 16:25 And Mosheh said, “Eat it today, for today is a Sabbath to יהוה, today you do not find it in the field.
Exo 16:26 “Gather it six days, but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there is none.”
Exo 16:27 And it came to be that some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather, but they found none.
Exo 16:28 And יהוה said to Mosheh, “How long shall you refuse to guard My commands and My Torot1? Footnote: 1Torot - plural of Torah, teaching.
Exo 16:29 “See, because יהוה has given you the Sabbath, therefore He is giving you bread for two days on the sixth day. Let each one stay in his place, do not let anyone go out of his place on the seventh day.”
From this text we can be certain of the following claims:
1) Yahuwah commanded Sabbath observance;
2) Yahuwah marked the day of the Sabbath by performing the quadruple miracle of the manna: it was twice as abundant on the sixth day, the double portion did not spoil, no manna fell on the seventh day, and manna saved over on the first to the fifth days spoiled;
3) some people ignored the Sabbath and were blamed for doing so;
4) the people were not to go out and gather manna on the Sabbath.
From this we can draw the following conclusions.
1) The facts that the manna came in a double portion on the sixth day, that no manna fell on the seventh day, that the manna spoiled if saved over on other days, and that the manna did not spoil on the seventh day, demonstrates that the Sabbath is a particular day of the week and not one in seven to be chosen by an individual or a church.
2) Yahuwah demanded obedience in regard to Sabbath-keeping. It was not optional.
There are four prominent arguments against the observance of the Sabbath based on the Hebrew Scriptures. They are that
1) it refers to one day in seven,
2) that it is optional,
3) that is is a temporary ceremonial legislation, and
4) that it was for the Jews only. This text clearly demolishes the first two of these.
Exo 20:8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to set it apart.
Exo 20:9 “Six days you labour, and shall do all your work,
Exo 20:10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath1 of יהוה your Elohim. You do not do any work – you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.
Exo 20:11 “For in six days יהוה made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore יהוה blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart.
These words make up part of the Decalogue which is described as having been spoken directly and publicly by Yahuwah Himself to the entire group of people, numbering millions, who had left Egypt. We can be certain of the following claims in this passage:
1) The commandment refers to the weekly cycle, not just one day of it;
2) the commandment specifies six days for work and the Sabbath as marked by the appearance of manna to be without work;
3) the commandment prohibits superiors laying any obligations on inferiors on the Sabbath;
4) inferiors are defined as children, employees, foreigners, and domestic animals, all of which have non-negotiable rights to be free of obligations on the Sabbath;
5) the Sabbath must be remembered during the six preceding days, so that work is organized and planned throughout the week to prevent the temptation to take care of unforeseen contingencies on the Sabbath;
6) the property owner is responsible to see that the Sabbath is kept by all those who enter on his property;
7) the divine right of imposing the Sabbath is based on the claim of divine sovereignty implied in creatorship, and having marked, blessed, and made the day sacred from creation.
From this text we can draw the conclusions that
1) the obligations and blessings of the Sabbath extend beyond the mere circumstances of the giving of the manna;
2) that the social contracts of families, employees, relations with strangers, and the use of domestic animals for labor are valid;
3) that the Sabbath is not for Israel alone, but applies to foreigners and animals;
4) that the Sabbath relates to the basic process of earning a living;
5) that the Sabbath limits the authority of superiors over inferiors.
This text demolishes the final two arguments against the Sabbath based on the Hebrew Scriptures. It is clearly a social and moral institution rather than a ceremonial one, because it affirms the rights of subordinates and limits the powers of superiors. It clearly extends beyond mere Jewish rights to human rights in general. It guarantees not only human rights, but animal rights. Given that working for a living is not limited to one tribe or people, but is a universal human necessity, to deny the non-negotiable rights implied in the Sabbath to non-Jews is incredibly biased.
While the nature of the Sabbath is obviously universal, the same can be said for its extention in time. The Sabbath cannot be logically abrogated as long as humankind is constrained to obtain food. Many consider that the Sabbath ended at the crucifixion of Christ. However, since the crucifixion of Christ did not relieve humankind of the obligation to obtain food, it cannot by nature relieve humankind of the necessity of resting from such labors as well.
Exo 31:13 “And you, speak to the children of Yisra’ĕl, saying, ‘My Sabbaths you are to guard, by all means, for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, to know that I, יהוה, am setting you apart.
Exo 31:14 ‘And you shall guard the Sabbath, for it is set-apart to you. Everyone who profanes it shall certainly be put to death, for anyone who does work on it, that being shall be cut off from among his people.
Exo 31:15 ‘Six days work is done, and on the seventh is a Sabbath of rest, set-apart to יהוה. Everyone doing work on the Sabbath day shall certainly be put to death.
Exo 31:16 ‘And the children of Yisra’ĕl shall guard the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as an everlasting covenant."
The Sabbath has already been established by earlier texts as dating back to creation, as being a specific day of the week, of necessary obligation, a social rather than ceremonial institution for all humankind for all time. This passage gives the Sabbath a completely new dimension. The new claims found in this passage are
1) that the Sabbath is a sign between Yahuwah and Israel;
2) the Sabbath functions to make Israel know that Yahuwah sanctifies or sets them apart;
3) the death penalty is to be given for Sabbath-breaking;
4) the Sabbath is a perpetual covenant with Israel;
5) the new details in regard to the Sabbath given here relate specifically to Israel. Foreigners and animals are not included, as mentioned in the Decalogue.
On the basis of this information, we can draw the conclusion that there are universal aspects of the Sabbath, as mentioned in the Decalogue, and aspects of the Sabbath that are particularly applicable to Israel only. The particular is noted to be perpetual, which implies that the general must also be perpetual. The fact that there are universal and permanent aspects of the Sabbath and particular and possibly temporary aspects of the Sabbath has contributed to confusion. Christians have often been led unthinkingly to dispense with the universal and permanent on the basis of the particular and temporary.
The Decalogue is paraphrased in Moses' sermon in Deuteronomy 5, but in that case it is applied specifically to the experience of Israel. That aspect of the Sabbath is more clearly developed in the following verse.
Exo 35:2 “Work is done for six days, but on the seventh day it shall be set-apart to you, a Sabbath of rest to יהוה. Anyone doing work on it is put to death.
Exo 35:3 “Do not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the Sabbath day.”
The new information in this passage is the prohibition of kindling fire in the house on the Sabbath day. It is not clear whether this is a general or particular aspect of the Sabbath. The association with the death sentence, however, and the inclusion in the same context as the preceding mention, suggest this to apply specifically to Israel.
Lev 19:3 ‘Each one of you should fear his mother and his father, and guard My Sabbaths. I am יהוה your Elohim.
This is a reiteration of the positive commands in the Decalogue. All of the others are expressed as negatives. The universal and permanent aspects of the Sabbath are reaffirmed here.
Lev 19:30 ‘Guard My Sabbaths and reverence My set-apart place. I am יהוה.
This text is ambiguous. It is not clear whether it refers to the annual festivals, the weekly Sabbath, or to one or both. But as such it can be considered are affirmation of the weekly Sabbath.
Lev 23:3 ‘Six days work is done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, a set-apart gathering. You do no work, it is a Sabbath to יהוה in all your dwellings.
The new aspect of the Sabbath here is the holy convocation. Everything else mentioned places this text in the same category as the permanent and universal aspects of the Decalogue. On the other hand, the convocation appears to be a ceremonial act. Whether this applies to the Mosaic covenant alone or to all people at all times is not clear. But surely to gather on the Sabbath day is not only appropriate to the spirit of the day, but is facilitated by the fact that we are clearly told not to work at making a living on that day. We are freed to gather for worship.
Ceremonial obligations in reference to the Sabbath and the other annual feasts of the Mosaic covenant are mentioned in Leviticus 23 and Numbers 28:9,10. These include animal sacrifices, food and drink offerings. It is important to remember that such ceremonial obligations are described for the Sabbath in this text, because they became a point of contention in the early church. The annual festivals are referred to as Sabbaths here, as is the day of atonement in Leviticus 16, but these are distinct from the weekly Sabbath. Another ceremonial aspect of the Sabbath was the placing of the shewbread on the table in the sanctuary.
Lev 24:8 “On every Sabbath he is to arrange it before יהוה continually, from the children of Yisra’ĕl – an everlasting covenant.
The partition of the Promised Land included Sabbath rest of the land in the seventh year as described in Leviticus 25. This has no implication in regard to the weekly Sabbath. The same subject continues in the next chapter as well, but the weekly Sabbath is reaffirmed in verse two.
Lev 26:2 ‘Guard My Sabbaths and reverence My set-apart place. I am יהוה.
The final text in the books of Moses is a tragic story.
(Num 15:32 ) And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the Sabbath day.
The death sentence for Sabbath-breaking was confirmed by divine revelation and carried out in this case. The solemn obligation of the Sabbath was thus shown by the most telling possible case. Yahuwah was serious about the Sabbath as it was revealed in the books of Moses.
In summary, we can say that the books of Moses show the Sabbath to date from creation, to be a specific, non-moveable day of the week, the seventh, to be obligatory, to be a safe-guard for human and animal rights, to be universal and permanent, to demand that daily tasks be set aside and to provide a regular time when people are free from daily cares to gather for worship. Besides its universal and permanent aspects, it also had a particular and temporary application to Israel, a sign of the covenant specially made with Israel, by which the death sentence for Sabbath-breaking was legislated in addition to ceremonial aspects in additional animal sacrifices, food and drink offerings, and the changing of the shewbread in the tabernacle.
(Due to a slight mix-up, author name and permission to repost is pending.)
Yerushalayim Time