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When we are asked by leaders in our congregations to do something or to believe something in regards to Scripture, we should always be like the Bereans and test everything against Scripture itself (Acts 17:11)... the whole of Scripture (2 Tim 3:16-17). If a person feels "led by the spirit" to speak, behave, or believe a certain way, they should test that spirit (1 John 4:1) and see whether what that spirit is telling them to do agrees or disagrees with Scripture.

Let us take a journey together through Scripture and see what it says about the matter of the Sabbath... a "walk in the Word" so to speak. As we take this walk, may we say, believe, and do what is right, be merciful in our speech and actions, and walk humbly with the Lord (Micah 6:8).

If you find a verse that is not referenced regarding the Sabbath and think it should be, please contact the author.

Scriptural quotations are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted. Bolded text or other emphases in the Scriptural references are the author's.

If you have not done so already, you may want to read the introduction to this study.

Let's start with the first reference in Scripture to the Sabbath:

Exodus 16

Exodus 16:22-30

Now on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for each one. When all the leaders of the congregation came and told Moses, then he said to them, "This is what the LORD meant: Tomorrow is a sabbath observance, a holy sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over put aside to be kept until morning." So they put it aside until morning, as Moses had ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it. Moses said, "Eat it today, for today is a sabbath to the LORD; today you will not find it in the field. "Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the sabbath, there will be none." It came about on the seventh day that some of the people went out to gather, but they found none. Then the LORD said to Moses, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions? "See, the LORD has given you the sabbath; therefore He gives you bread for two days on the sixth day. Remain every man in his place; let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." So the people rested on the seventh day.

 

This is where we start our Sabbath fact list:

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The first reference to the Sabbath day for Israel is found in Exodus 16.
  • The Israelites were given the Sabbath prior to the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai.
  • The Sabbath day was on the seventh day of the week. (Exodus 16:22-23, 30)
  • The Sabbath day was a holy day. (Exodus 16:22-23)
  • G-d provided a double portion on the sixth day in preparation for the Sabbath. (Exodus 16:29)
  • Food preparation should be performed on the sixth day in advance of the Sabbath. (Exodus 16:23)
  • There was no provision of manna on the seventh day. (Exodus 16:25)
  • Everyone should remain "in his place" on the seventh day. (Exodus 16:29)

 

We see in Exodus 12:18 and Leviticus 23:5 that Pesach [Passover] is on the 14th day of the first month. That marked the day the Israelites fled from Egypt in haste. Shavuot [Pentecost] is 50 days later (Leviticus 23:15-16). It is traditionally held that the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai occurred on Shavuot… seven weeks after the exodus from Egypt. This means the Israelites were celebrating the Sabbath for several weeks prior to the giving of the Law at Mt. Sinai. It is there that we find the next reference to the Sabbath:

 

Exodus 20

Exodus 20:8-11

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy."

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • G-d commanded:
    • Israel should remember the Sabbath day. (Exodus 20:8)
    • Israel should keep the Sabbath day holy. (Exodus 20:8)
    • Israel should labor for six days (Exodus 20:9) but not do any work on the seventh day. (Exodus 20:10)
    • Israel's children, servants, animals, or visitors should not work on the seventh day. (Exodus 20:10)
  • The reason that Israel is to honor a specific day is because G-d made all of creation in six days and ceased from his work of creating on the seventh day and made that day holy.
    • G-d blessed the seventh day. (Exodus 20:11)
    • G-d made the seventh day holy. (Exodus 20:11)

 

The commandment regarding the Sabbath has three parts:

  1. remember it
  2. keep it holy
  3. do no work on it

Remember

The American Heritage® Dictionary provides this definition for "remember":

  1. To recall to the mind; think of again.
  2. To recall to the mind with effort: finally remembered the address.
  3. To retain in the memory: Remember your appointment.
  4. To keep (someone) in mind as worthy of consideration or recognition. 1

 

The Hebrew word translated as "remember" in this verse is zakar (Strong's #2142). It encapsulates all of the definitions above… especially the fourth definition: to keep in mind as worthy of consideration or recognition. Here are the first five instances in Scripture where this word is used:

  • G-d remembers Noah (Genesis 8:1)
  • G-d remembers the covenant with Noah (Genesis 9:15-16)
  • G-d remembers Abraham during the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19:29)
  • G-d remembers Rachel and opens her womb (Genesis 30:22)

 

Keep it holy

The Hebrew word translated as "holy" in Exodus 20:8 is qadash (Strong's #6942). It is the verb form of a word which means "apartness", "sacredness", or "consecrated". If something is sacred or consecrated then it is set apart for a special purpose. If a person has silverware that is only used for a special day each year then that silverware is qadash for that day. If a person has a certain shirt they wear for special occasions then that shirt is qadash for that special occasion. You wouldn't work in the garden with that shirt or wear it to change the oil in your car. It is a special shirt and you would take care to keep it from becoming dirty or suffering any damage.

The oppose of holy is unholy. Many people think that unholy means "evil" or "wicked". It does not. The opposite of holy is "common"… something that is not consecrated or sanctified. Things that we use every day are common. They are not wicked… they are just not holy or sanctified for any specific purpose. When we treat something in a special way that is not common (like our special shirt above) then it is consecrated.

In an even greater manner, the Sabbath is to be treated in as special to make sure it is not treated as common. It is sanctified not for our purposes but for G-d's purposes. When we treat the Sabbath day like every other day (by doing the things we might normally do), then we profane the Sabbath day and violate G-d's commandment. The Sabbath is a day of remembering G-d's work of creation and setting it apart as special. Part of that special treatment is ceasing from our labors.

 

You shall not do any work

The Hebrew word in Exodus 20:10 translated into English as "work" is melakhah (Strong's #4399, plural melakhot). What is this "work" that we should stop doing? Is it our professional employment? What if a person works in an accounting office during the week, ceases from his accounting work on the Sabbath and then changes the oil in his car or mows the lawn? Is he obeying the commandment?  Scripture does not explicitly answer these examples.

 

The Exodus passage gives us a reason why we should cease from our labors:

Exodus 20:11

For [because] in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

 

This is a reference back to Genesis-

Genesis 2:2 (YLT)

and God completed by the seventh day His work [melakhah] which He had made, and ceased by the seventh day from all His work [melakhah] which He had made.

 

This passage speaks of G-d's work of creating and G-d's ceasing ("shabbat-ing" if you will) from that work. Part of the traditional understanding of work/melakhah is that it has to do with creating or exercising control or dominion over one's environment. G-d provided the example for us on the seventh day of creation and ceased creating and exercising control over the universe He had just created. We should note, however, that He did not cease to sustain it.

 

Exodus 31

Exodus 31:13-16

"But as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, 'You shall surely observe My sabbaths; for this is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you. 'Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people. 'For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to death. 'So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.'

 

Let's update our fact list:

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath is a sign between G-d and Israel throughout their generations. (Exodus 31:13)
  • The Sabbath serves to inform Israel that it is the LORD who sanctifies them. (Exodus 31:13)
  • The Sabbath is holy to the Israelites. (Exodus 31:14)
  • The Sabbath is the seventh day. (Exodus 31:15)
  • Everyone who profanes the Sabbath shall be put to death and cut off from among his people. (Exodus 31:15)
  • The Sabbath is a perpetual [eternal] covenant for Israel. (Exodus 31:16)

 

The Hebrew word translated as "sign" in this passage is ot [pronounced with a long "o" like boat]. Strong's concordance lists it as #226 and provides this definition:

a signal (literally or figuratively), as a flag, beacon, monument, omen, prodigy, evidence, etc.: - mark, miracle, (en-) sign, token.

Ot is first used in Genesis chapter 1:

Genesis 1:14-15

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so.

 

The stars in heaven are "a sign"? That is quite a sign!

NASA estimates that there are 1021 (1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 !!!) stars in the universe [http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/970115.html]. Most of them are much larger and much more powerful than our own sun. The sense of "sign" is not something insignificant like a street sign or a billboard. This is a huge, flashing, blinking, neon-lit, attention-grabbing kind of sign taking up the entire night sky and filling the universe!

Given the powerful nature of this sign, it appears that G-d does not want the message it is sending to be distorted in any way. Thus He commands that anyone who profanes the Sabbath should be put to death and his message-distorting activities should be ceased.

The Sabbath is called "a perpetual covenant" in Exodus 31:16. It is a special gift bestowed upon Israel before the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai and thus stands on its own.

 

Exodus 35

Exodus 35:2-3

For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you shall have a holy day, a sabbath of complete rest to the LORD; whoever does any work on it shall be put to death. You shall not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath day."

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath is the seventh day. (Exodus 35:2)
  • The Sabbath is a holy day. (Exodus 35:2)
  • The Sabbath is a complete rest to the LORD. (Exodus 35:2)
  • Whoever does any work [melakhah] on it shall be put to death. (Exodus 35:2)
  • Fires should not be kindled in any of the Israelite dwellings on the Sabbath day. (Exodus 35:3)

 

The book of Exodus has quite a bit to say about the Sabbath! Let's move on to Leviticus...

 


 

Leviticus 16

The next reference to Sabbath is found in Leviticus 16:31 but does not refer to the weekly Sabbath. It is a special annual Sabbath called Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. The verse tells us this:

Leviticus 16:31

"It is to be a sabbath of solemn rest for you, that you may humble your souls; it is a permanent statute.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Sabbath can refer to the weekly event or the annual day of Yom Kippur. (Lev 16:31)

 

It is here that we discover there is more than one kind of Sabbath. The first is the weekly cessation from work and a day of holiness and the second is an annual day of rest and holiness. This ties in well with the next passage:

 

Leviticus 19

Leviticus 19:3

'Every one of you shall reverence his mother and his father, and you shall keep My sabbaths; I am the LORD your God.

 

Scripture tells us that for no other reason than "I am the LORD your G-d" we shall reverence our father and mother and keep His Sabbaths [plural]. Because of the Leviticus 16 verse above we know that this refers not only to the weekly Sabbath but the annual Sabbath of Yom Kippur. Later in the same chapter we find this:

Leviticus 19:30

'You shall keep My sabbaths and revere My sanctuary; I am the LORD.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbaths should be kept because G-d is the LORD our G-d. (Lev 19:30)
  • The Sabbaths are associated with G-d's sanctuary (Lev 19:30)

 

Leviticus 23

Leviticus chapter 23 contains what is known as "G-d's calendar". In it are a list of G-d's moedim or "appointed times". The very first of these appointed times is the weekly Sabbath:

Leviticus 23:2-4

"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'The LORD'S appointed times [moedim] which you shall proclaim as holy convocations--My appointed times [moedim] are these: For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath [shabbat] of complete rest [shabbaton], a holy convocation. You shall not do any work; it is a sabbath to the LORD in all your dwellings. These are the appointed times [moedim] of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The seventh day Sabbath is the first among G-d's appointed times [moedim]. (Lev 23:3)
  • You shall not do any work on the Sabbath. (Lev 23:3)
  • The Sabbath is a day to the Lord in all your dwellings (Lev 23:3)

 

The Sabbath is used as a point of timing or reference in regards to some of the other moedim:

Leviticus 23:11

'He shall wave the sheaf before the LORD for you to be accepted; on the day after the sabbath the priest shall wave it. [The Feast of First Fruits]

Leviticus 23:15

'You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete sabbaths. [Shavuot, Feast of Weeks, Pentecost]

Leviticus 23:16

'You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the LORD. [Shavuot, Feast of Weeks, Pentecost]

Leviticus 23:32

"It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath." [Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement]

Leviticus 23:37-38

'These are the appointed times of the LORD which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the LORD--burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each day's matter on its own day-- besides those of the sabbaths of the LORD, and besides your gifts and besides all your votive and freewill offerings, which you give to the LORD.

 

Leviticus 24:8

The next reference to the Sabbath is found in Leviticus 24 where an interesting picture is painted in Scripture:

Leviticus 24:2-9

"Command the sons of Israel that they bring to you clear oil from beaten olives for the light, to make a lamp burn continually. Outside the veil of testimony in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall keep it in order from evening to morning before the LORD continually; it shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations. He shall keep the lamps in order on the pure gold lampstand before the LORD continually. Then you shall take fine flour and bake twelve cakes with it; two-tenths of an ephah shall be in each cake. You shall set them in two rows, six to a row, on the pure gold table before the LORD. You shall put pure frankincense on each row that it may be a memorial portion for the bread, even an offering by fire to the LORD. Every sabbath day he shall set it in order before the LORD continually; it is an everlasting covenant for the sons of Israel. It shall be for Aaron and his sons, and they shall eat it in a holy place; for it is most holy to him from the LORD'S offerings by fire, his portion forever."

 

The elements of the tabernacle picture Messiah but none more so than the lamp stand (since Messiah is the Light of the World – John 8:12) and the table of bread (since Messiah is the Bread of Life- John 6:35). Here we see that every Sabbath that Aaron and his sons are supposed to light the menorah and set the bread before the Lord continually. It is their duty to put forth these elements that picture Messiah and to continue doing so on the Sabbath day.

When all other work ceases that work continues.

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The lamp and the bread [both pictures of Messiah] are to be set before G-d on the Sabbath day. (Lev 24:8)

 

Leviticus 25

The next chapter of Leviticus tells us about another type of Sabbath. The Sabbath of the Land:

Leviticus 25:2-13

"Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you come into the land which I shall give you, then the land shall have a sabbath to the LORD. 'Six years you shall sow your field, and six years you shall prune your vineyard and gather in its crop, but during the seventh year the land shall have a sabbath rest, a sabbath to the LORD; you shall not sow your field nor prune your vineyard. Your harvest's aftergrowth you shall not reap, and your grapes of untrimmed vines you shall not gather; the land shall have a sabbatical year. All of you shall have the sabbath products of the land for food; yourself, and your male and female slaves, and your hired man and your foreign resident, those who live as aliens with you. Even your cattle and the animals that are in your land shall have all its crops to eat.

 

You are also to count off seven sabbaths of years for yourself, seven times seven years, so that you have the time of the seven sabbaths of years, namely, forty-nine years. You shall then sound a ram's horn abroad on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the day of atonement you shall sound a horn all through your land. You shall thus consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim a release through the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you, and each of you shall return to his own property, and each of you shall return to his family. You shall have the fiftieth year as a jubilee; you shall not sow, nor reap its aftergrowth, nor gather in from its untrimmed vines. For it is a jubilee; it shall be holy to you. You shall eat its crops out of the field. On this year of jubilee each of you shall return to his own property.

Here again we find another picture of Messiah: the Sabbath of the Land and the Jubilee (Hebrew: Yovel). The seven-year rest of the Land shows that even the Land that was cursed because of Adam's sin is given rest. The 50 year Yovel is the year that the Land is returned to its original owner (good news to the poor who cannot redeem it) and the year that captives are set free (Luke 4:16-21)

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Land of Israel has a Sabbath every 7 years (the Sh'mittah year). (Lev 25:2)
  • The Yovel year every 50th year is a special Sabbath year where the Land is returned to its original owners, captives are released, and crops are not harvested. (Lev 25:8-13)

 

Leviticus 26

Leviticus 26 contains additional references to the Sabbath:

Leviticus 26:2

'You shall keep My sabbaths and reverence My sanctuary; I am the LORD.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbaths are associated with G-d's sanctuary (Lev 26:2)
  • The Sabbaths should be kept because G-d is the LORD. (Lev 26:2)

 

Leviticus 26:34-35, 43

'Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies' land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it.

For the land will be abandoned by them, and will make up for its sabbaths while it is made desolate without them. They, meanwhile, will be making amends for their iniquity, because they rejected My ordinances and their soul abhorred My statutes.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths. (Lev 26:34-35)
  • The Land will have its Sabbaths while the Israelites are in captivity away from the land because they rejected G-d's ordinances and statutes. (Lev 26:43)

 

Leviticus, too, has told us much about the Sabbath. The next reference to the Sabbath is found in Numbers 15...

 


 

Numbers

Numbers 15

Numbers 15:32-36

Now while the sons of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering wood on the sabbath day. Those who found him gathering wood brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation; and they put him in custody because it had not been declared what should be done to him. Then the LORD said to Moses, "The man shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp." So all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Gathering wood on the Sabbath is a violation of the commandments regarding the Sabbath day and is punishable by death. (Numbers 15:32-36)

 

Numbers 28

The last two references to Shabbat in Numbers are found in chapter 28:

Numbers 28:9-10

Then on the sabbath day two male lambs one year old without defect, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering, and its drink offering: This is the burnt offering of every sabbath in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.

 

These two verses refer to the twice-daily sacrifices offered in the Tabernacle/Temple and points out how two lambs are to be brought for the sacrifices on the Sabbath. The picture of Messiah and the Lamb of G-d and His association with the Sabbath is made here again.

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath day sacrifices in the Tabernacle are noted to be unblemished lambs. (Numbers 28:9-10)

 

Deuteronomy 5

Deuteronomy 5 contains the next references to the Sabbath. We are given reminders there regarding the holiness and purpose of the Sabbath day:

Deuteronomy 5:12-15

'Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the LORD your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to observe the sabbath day.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • G-d commanded:
    • Israel should observe the Sabbath day. (Deut 5:12)
    • Israel should keep the Sabbath day holy. (Deut 5:12)
    • Israel should labor for six days (Deut 5:13) but not do any work on the seventh day. (Deut 5:14)
    • Israel's children, servants, animals, or visitors should not work on the seventh. day (Deut 5:14)
    • The reason that Israel is to honor a specific day is because G-d brought the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm (Deut 5:15)

 

With much that has already been said earlier in the Torah, we continue to add more and more to our Sabbath fact list. The next section of Scripture we shall examine is the Writings and Prophets (Neviim and Ketuvim).

 


 

The next several instances of shabbat in Scripture are simply references to that day in a generic sense. Those passages contain no instruction regarding the Sabbath itself. Those instances include:

  • 2 Kings 4:23
  • 2 Kings 11:5
  • 2 Kings 11:7
  • 2 Kings 11:9
  • 2 Kings 16:18

 

1 Chronicles

In 1 Chronicles we see that the descendants of Kohath have been given the responsibility for preparing the showbread every Sabbath:

1 Chronicles 9:32

Some of their relatives of the sons of the Kohathites were over the showbread to prepare it every sabbath.

 

Chapter 23 tells us more about the Levite clans:

1 Chronicles 23:30-31

They are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the LORD, and likewise at evening, and to offer all burnt offerings to the LORD, on the sabbaths, the new moons and the fixed festivals in the number set by the ordinance concerning them, continually before the LORD.

 

After these verses we again encounter a series of passages that provide no instruction or details regarding the observance of the Sabbath day itself:

  • 2 Chronicles 2:4
  • 2 Chronicles 8:13
  • 2 Chronicles 23:4
  • 2 Chronicles 23:8
  • 2 Chronicles 31:3

 

2 Chronicles

2 Chronicles 36:20-21 tells us that the prophecy in Leviticus 26:43 was fulfilled:

2 Chronicles 36:20-21

Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete.

 

Nehemiah

Nehemiah 9:14

"So You made known to them Your holy sabbath, And laid down for them commandments, statutes and law, Through Your servant Moses.

 

In chapter 10 Nehemiah records a group of people who "separated themselves from the peoples of the lands to the Law of G-d…" (Neh 10:28) "… to keep and to observe all of the commandments of G-D our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes…" (Neh 10:29). As part of their plans for obedience to G-d's Law they included this:

Nehemiah 10:31

As for the peoples of the land who bring wares or any grain on the sabbath day to sell, we will not buy from them on the sabbath or a holy day; and we will forego the crops the seventh year and the exaction of every debt.

 

Their understanding of the Sabbath includes the idea that buying wares or food (grain) on the Sabbath is contrary to G-d's Law.

Nehemiah 10:33

for the showbread, for the continual grain offering, for the continual burnt offering, the sabbaths, the new moon, for the appointed times, for the holy things and for the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and all the work of the house of our God.

 

The Sabbath, the burnt offerings, the new moon festival, appointed times, the holy things, and the sin offerings, and atonement are all associated together with the "work of the house of our G-d" in this passage.

Nehemiah 13:15-22

In those days I saw in Judah some who were treading wine presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sacks of grain and loading them on donkeys, as well as wine, grapes, figs and all kinds of loads, and they brought them into Jerusalem on the sabbath day. So I admonished them on the day they sold food. Also men of Tyre were living there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem. Then I reprimanded the nobles of Judah and said to them, "What is this evil thing you are doing, by profaning the sabbath day? Did not your fathers do the same, so that our God brought on us and on this city all this trouble? Yet you are adding to the wrath on Israel by profaning the sabbath." It came about that just as it grew dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and that they should not open them until after the sabbath. Then I stationed some of my servants at the gates so that no load would enter on the sabbath day. Once or twice the traders and merchants of every kind of merchandise spent the night outside Jerusalem. Then I warned them and said to them, "Why do you spend the night in front of the wall? If you do so again, I will use force against you." From that time on they did not come on the sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves and come as gatekeepers to sanctify the sabbath day. For this also remember me, O my God, and have compassion on me according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness.

 

Here Nehemiah records a number of activities that are transgressions of the Sabbath:

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Violations of the Sabbath include these activities that profane (Nehemiah 13:17) the day:
    • Treading the wine press. (Nehemiah 13:15)
    • Bringing in sacks of grain. (Nehemiah 13:15)
    • Loading burdens (sacks of grain) onto animals. (Nehemiah 13:15)
    • Selling food (Nehemiah 13:15)
  • The Levites were to purify themselves and serve as gatekeepers to sanctify the Sabbath day (Nehemiah 13:22)

 

Isaiah

PLEASE NOTE:
The passages found in Isaiah regarding the "Sabbath" may be referring to a specific Sabbath: Yom Kippur.  We note the following passages with the caveat that they may be specifically referring to Yom Kippur and not the weekly Sabbath.

 

Isaiah 1:13 mentions the Sabbath when G-d declares that He cannot endure iniquity and the solemn assembly.

Isaiah 56

Isaiah 56 reveals some blessings associated with the Sabbath:

Isaiah 56:1-7

Thus says the LORD, "Preserve justice and do righteousness, For My salvation is about to come And My righteousness to be revealed. How blessed is the man who does this, And the son of man who takes hold of it; Who keeps from profaning the sabbath, And keeps his hand from doing any evil. " Let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, "The LORD will surely separate me from His people." Nor let the eunuch say, "Behold, I am a dry tree." For thus says the LORD, "To the eunuchs who keep My sabbaths, And choose what pleases Me, And hold fast My covenant, To them I will give in My house and within My walls a memorial, And a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off. Also the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD, To minister to Him, and to love the name of the LORD, To be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath And holds fast My covenant; Even those I will bring to My holy mountain And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples."

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Justice, G-d's righteousness, G-d's salvation are associated with the Sabbath. (Isaiah 56:1-2)
  • There is blessing given to those who keep from profaning the Sabbath and keeps his hand from doing any evil. (Isaiah 56:2)
  • The foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord should not think he is separate from G-d's people. (Isaiah 56:3)
  • To those who keep the sabbaths, choose what pleases G-d, and hold fast to G-d's covenant they will receive:
    • G-d's house (Isaiah 56:5)
    • Within G-d's house: a memorial (Isaiah 56:5)
    • A name better than that of sons and daughters, an everlasting name which will not be cut off. (Isaiah 56:5)
  • To those who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, and keeps from profaning the Sabbath while holding fast to His covenant:
    • They will be brought to G-d's holy mountain (Isaiah 56:7)
    • G-d will make them joyful in His house of prayer. (Isaiah 56:7)
    • Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be acceptable on His altar. (Isaiah 56:7)

 

Isaiah 58

Isaiah 58 provides exhortation and encouragement regarding the Sabbath:

Isaiah 58:13-14

"If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot From doing your own pleasure on My holy day, And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, And honor it, desisting from your own ways, From seeking your own pleasure And speaking your own word, Then you will take delight in the LORD, And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Blessings are to be found:
    • If we:
      • turn our feet from doing our own pleasure on G-d's holy Sabbath day (Isaiah 58:13)
      • call it a delight (Isaiah 58:13)
      • call it honorable (Isaiah 58:13)
      • honor it (Isaiah 58:13)
      • desisting from our own ways (Isaiah 58:13)
      • desisting from seeking our own pleasure and speaking our own word (Isaiah 58:13)
    • THEN:
      • We will take delight in the LORD (Isaiah 58:14)
      • G-d will make us ride on the heights of the earth (Isaiah 58:14)
      • G-d will feed us with the heritage of Ya'akov our father (Isaiah 58:14)
    • For the mouth of the LORD has spoken. (Isaiah 58:14)

 

Isaiah 66

Isaiah 66 includes prophecy of the world to come:

Isaiah 66:23-24

"And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me," says the LORD. "Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind."

 

After the world is destroyed by fire and the new heavens and the new earth are formed (verse 22) all mankind will be observing the new moon feasts and the weekly Sabbath and using those cycles to mark the time when they will come to bow down before G-d.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • In the world to come the Sabbath will be observed and used to mark time (Isaiah 66:23-24)

 

Jeremiah 17

 

Jeremiah 17 provides some additional insight into actions that are prohibited on the Sabbath. Jeremiah warns the kings and inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem:

Jeremiah 17:21-27

'Thus says the LORD, "Take heed for yourselves, and do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem. You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I commanded your forefathers. Yet they did not listen or incline their ears, but stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction.

But it will come about, if you listen attentively to Me," declares the LORD, "to bring no load in through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no work on it, then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this city will be inhabited forever. They will come in from the cities of Judah and from the environs of Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the lowland, from the hill country and from the Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the LORD.

But if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem and not be quenched."'"

 

We can see from history which of the two events actually occurred: the latter. And all because the Sabbath was not honored.

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Do not carry any load on the Sabbath (Jeremiah 17:21)
  • Do not bring a load out of your houses on the Sabbath (Jeremiah 17:22)
  • Do not do any work on the Sabbath day (Jeremiah 17:22)
  • Keep the Sabbath day holy (Jeremiah 17:22)
  • There is blessing in keeping the Sabbath day (Jeremiah 17:24-26)
  • There are consequences in violating the Sabbath day (Jeremiah 17:27)

 

What is the "load" mentioned in Jeremiah 17:21? The Hebrew word is massa (Strong's #4853). The NAS Exhaustive Concordance defines it as a load, burden, lifting, bearing, tribute. The word massa comes from a root word (nasa) that means to lift, carry, or take. There is no lower or upper limit defined in Scripture for a "load" using this word.

 

The first time massa is used in Scripture is in Exodus 23:5 where the Israelites are told to help an enemy with his donkey that has fallen under its load. This seems to imply some significant weight if a donkey has fallen under it. A donkey is not likely to fall under the weight of a pencil, wallet, or laptop computer as individual objects.

  

Lamentations 2

Lamentations 2:6

And He has violently treated His tabernacle like a garden booth; He has destroyed His appointed meeting place. The LORD has caused to be forgotten The appointed feast and sabbath in Zion, And He has despised king and priest In the indignation of His anger.

 

This passage in Lamentations speaks of the exile of the Israelites from the Land. During that time there was no one to observe the appointed feasts or the Sabbath in the Land.

The next major section of Scripture we will examine regarding the Sabbath is Ezekiel...

 


 

Ezekiel

Ezekiel 20

Ezekiel has words of judgment and condemnation for those who violate the Sabbath:

Ezekiel 20:10-14

"So I took them out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness. I gave them My statutes and informed them of My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live. Also I gave them My sabbaths to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them. But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live; and My sabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them. But I acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, before whose sight I had brought them out. Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land which I had given them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands, because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they even profaned My sabbaths, for their heart continually went after their idols. Yet My eye spared them rather than destroying them, and I did not cause their annihilation in the wilderness. I said to their children in the wilderness, 'Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers or keep their ordinances or defile yourselves with their idols. 'I am the LORD your God; walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and observe them. 'Sanctify My sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God.' But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to observe My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live; they profaned My sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness. But I withdrew My hand and acted for the sake of My name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out. Also I swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them among the lands, because they had not observed My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My sabbaths, and their eyes were on the idols of their fathers.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath was given by G-d (Ezekiel 20:12)
  • The Sabbath was given so that Israel would know that it was G-d who sanctified them (Ezekiel 20:12)
  • G-d's Sabbaths were greatly profaned by Israel as a result of rebellion (Ezekiel 20:13)
    • G-d resolved to annihilate Israel as a consequence (Ezekiel 20:13)
    • G-d acted for the sake of His name that it would not be profaned in the sight of the nations (Ezekiel 20:14)
  • Israel's violation of the Sabbath stemmed from idolatry (Ezekiel 20:16)
  • G-d commands the children of the idolatrous generation:
    • "Sanctify [His] Sabbaths" (Ezekiel 20:20)
    • The Sabbaths will be a sign between Israel and G-d (Ezekiel 20:20)
    • The Sabbaths will help Israel know that He is YHVH their G-d (Ezekiel 20:20)
  • The children also rebelled against G-d by profaning His Sabbaths (Ezekiel 20:21)
    • G-d resolved to pour out His wrath (Ezekiel 20:21)
    • G-d withdrew His hand and acted for the sake of His name that it should not be profaned (Ezekiel 20:22)
    • Israel would be scattered among the nations because they had profaned the Sabbaths (Ezekiel 20:24)

 

Young's Literal Translation provides some interesting insight for Ezekiel 20:16-

Ezekiel 20:16 YLT

Because against My judgments they did kick, And in My statutes they have not walked, And My sabbaths they have polluted, For after their idols their heart is going.

 

Imagine toddlers throwing a temper tantrum because they want their own way. They kick the floor or stomp their feet. They refuse to walk the way their parents command. Their tantrum pollutes the atmosphere of peace and order desired by their parents. As a result there is discipline (Ezekiel 20:13) tempered with mercy (Ezekiel 20:16).

 

Notice also the repetition of certain phrases in these passages:

 

Ezekiel 20:13- "But the house of Israel rebelled against Me in the wilderness. They did not walk in My statutes and they rejected My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live; and My sabbaths they greatly profaned. Then I resolved to pour out My wrath on them in the wilderness, to annihilate them.

 

Ezekiel 20:16- because they rejected My ordinances, and as for My statutes, they did not walk in them; they even profaned My sabbaths, for their heart continually went after their idols.

 

Ezekiel 20:21- "But the children rebelled against Me; they did not walk in My statutes, nor were they careful to observe My ordinances, by which, if a man observes them, he will live; they profaned My sabbaths. So I resolved to pour out My wrath on them, to accomplish My anger against them in the wilderness.

 

Ezekiel 20:24- because they had not observed My ordinances, but had rejected My statutes and had profaned My sabbaths, and their eyes were on the idols of their fathers.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Profaning the Sabbath is repeatedly associated with:
    • Rebellion against G-d (Ezekiel 20:13, 21)
    • Failing to walk in G-d's statutes (Ezekiel 20:13, 16, 21, 24)
    • Rejection of G-d's ordinances (Ezekiel 20:13, 16, 21, 24)

 

Ezekiel 22

Ezekiel 22 begins with a litany of charges against Jerusalem. Included in the charges is this:

Ezekiel 22:8

You have despised My holy things and profaned My sabbaths.

 

Later in the chapter, the priests are charged as well:

Ezekiel 22:26

Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.

 

Violation of the Law, profaning G-d's holy things, and failing to differentiate between the unclean and the clean are associated with the violation of G-d's Sabbaths.

Ezekiel 23:38

Again, they have done this to Me: they have defiled My sanctuary on the same day and have profaned My sabbaths.

 

Samaria and Jerusalem (Ezekiel 23:4) are charged with several things including profaning G-d's sabbaths. They are described as "lewd women" (Ezekiel 23:44).

 

Ezekiel 44 provides a picture of the Millennial Kingdom which includes instructions to priests:

Ezekiel 44:24

"In a dispute they shall take their stand to judge; they shall judge it according to My ordinances. They shall also keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed feasts and sanctify My sabbaths.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath [and other appointed feasts] will be celebrated in the Kingdom. (Ezekiel 44:24)

 

Ezekiel 45 speaks of the prince's responsibilities in the Millennial Kingdom-

Ezekiel 45:17

"It shall be the prince's part to provide the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the drink offerings, at the feasts, on the new moons and on the sabbaths, at all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel; he shall provide the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel."

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The prince will provide the burnt offerings for the Sabbath. (Ezekiel 45:17)

 

Ezekiel 46 relates activities that are specific to the Sabbath day-

Ezekiel 46:1-5

'Thus says the Lord GOD, "The gate of the inner court facing east shall be shut the six working days; but it shall be opened on the sabbath day and opened on the day of the new moon. The prince shall enter by way of the porch of the gate from outside and stand by the post of the gate. Then the priests shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate and then go out; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening. The people of the land shall also worship at the doorway of that gate before the LORD on the sabbaths and on the new moons. The burnt offering which the prince shall offer to the LORD on the sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish; and the grain offering shall be an ephah with the ram, and the grain offering with the lambs as much as he is able to give, and a hin of oil with an ephah.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The east-facing door to the inner court of the Temple shall be shut except on the Sabbath day and the day of the new moon. (Ezekiel 46:1)
  • The people of the land will worship at the doorway of the east gate before the Lord on the Sabbaths and new moons. (Ezekiel 46:3)
  • There are specific offerings to be made by the prince on the Sabbath day. (Ezekiel 46:4-5)

 

Ezekiel 46:12 uses the activities of the offerings made on the Sabbath day as a reference for some non-Sabbath offerings-

Ezekiel 46:12

"When the prince provides a freewill offering, a burnt offering, or peace offerings as a freewill offering to the LORD, the gate facing east shall be opened for him. And he shall provide his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he does on the sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and the gate shall be shut after he goes out.

 

Hosea

Hosea 2:11


"I will also put an end to all her gaiety, Her feasts, her new moons, her sabbaths And all her festal assemblies.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The blessing of the Sabbath is stripped from Israel because of her idolatry. (Hosea 2:11)

 

Amos

Amos 8:4-6

Hear this, you who trample the needy, to do away with the humble of the land, saying, "When will the new moon be over, So that we may sell grain, And the sabbath, that we may open the wheat market, To make the bushel smaller and the shekel bigger, And to cheat with dishonest scales, So as to buy the helpless for money And the needy for a pair of sandals, And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?"

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Those who seek for a speedy end of the Sabbath to engage in commerce are equated with those who lie, cheat, and trample the needy. (Amos 8:4-6)

 

That concludes what the Tanakh has to say about the Sabbath. Let's move on to the Gospels...

 


 

Matthew

Matthew 12

Matthew 12:1-8

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath." But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. But if you had known what this means, 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,' you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

 

The point of this passage focuses on the priority of commandments. It appears that (in Messiah's day) picking heads of grain to eat was considered "work" and therefore forbidden on the Sabbath. Messiah responds to the Pharisees' question by noting the priority of commandments: sustaining life (e.g. by eating) is of greater importance than not working on the Sabbath. To prove His point he provides two examples of compassionate behavior that serve to sustain life instead of destroying it on the Sabbath:

  • David's eating of bread from the Tabernacle
  • Levitical service in the Temple

 

Yeshua declares His authority in these matters by stating "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." Note that He did not abolish the Sabbath or change it in any way. He simply clarified a misconception regarding its priority in regards to other commandments.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Sustaining life (e.g. by eating) is of greater priority than avoiding work on the Sabbath. (Matthew 12:1-8)
  • Yeshua (the Son of Man) is Lord of the Sabbath. (Matthew 12:8)

 

In the next few verses, Yeshua points out that healing on the Sabbath is also lawful. Rather than abolishing the Law He clarifies what is permitted within the boundaries of the Law.

Matthew 12:10-12

And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?"--so that they might accuse Him. And He said to them, "What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Healing on the Sabbath is lawful. (Matthew 12:10-12)
  • It is lawful to do good by helping others on the Sabbath. (Matthew 12:12)

 

Matthew 24

Matthew 24 is a chapter loaded with end-times prophecy given by Messiah Himself. Messiah warns that when the abomination of desolation is seen standing in the holy place then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. (Matthew 24:15-16). In verse 20 He makes this statement:

Matthew 24:20

"But pray that your flight will not be in the winter, or on a Sabbath.

 

What is Messiah's point? Why would it matter if their flight occurred in the winter or on a Sabbath? Because in both scenarios their flight would be negatively impacted! In winter the cold, harsh conditions would restrict those who were fleeing. On a Sabbath there is only a certain distance that a person should walk (e.g. Acts 1:12) to meet the commandment of Exodus 16:29. If Messiah "fulfilled the Law" in such a way that the Sabbath commandments were no longer relevant then why would He make mention of this? The answer is found in Matthew 5:

Matthew 5:17-19

"Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

 

Messiah is the Greatest in the kingdom of heaven so He neither annulled the commandments nor taught others to do the same.

Matthew 28:1 uses the Sabbath as a reference to when "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave" where Messiah had been left. This is the last passage in the book of Matthew to reference the Sabbath.

 

Mark

Mark 1

Mark 1:21 tells us that Messiah taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath.

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Messiah taught in synagogues on the Sabbath. (Mark 1:21)

 

Mark 2

Mark 2:23-28 is the parallel passage of Matthew 12 where the Pharisees challenge Yeshua about His disciples picking heads of grain on the Sabbath.

Mark 2:23-28

And it happened that He was passing through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples began to make their way along while picking the heads of grain. The Pharisees were saying to Him, "Look, why are they doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" And He said to them, "Have you never read what David did when he was in need and he and his companions became hungry; how he entered the house of God in the time of Abiathar the high priest, and ate the consecrated bread, which is not lawful for anyone to eat except the priests, and he also gave it to those who were with him?" Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

 

This passage reiterates the points of the verses in Matthew and adds an additional piece of information: the Sabbath was made for man.

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Sustaining life is of greater priority than avoiding work on the Sabbath. (Mark 2:23-28)
  • The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. (Mark 2:27)
  • Yeshua (the Son of Man) is Lord of the Sabbath. (Mark 2:28)

 

Mark 3

Mark 3:2-5 is the parallel of the passage in Matthew 12 where Yeshua healed a man's hand on the Sabbath.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Healing on the Sabbath is lawful. (Mark 3:2-5)
  • It is lawful to do good by helping others on the Sabbath. (Mark 3:2-5)

 

Mark 6

Mark 6:2 also tells us that Messiah taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Messiah taught in synagogues on the Sabbath. (Mark 6:2)

 

Mark 16

Mark 16:1-2 uses the Sabbath as a reference to when Mary Magdalene and other women brought spices to anoint the body of Messiah:

Mark 16:1-2

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, so that they might come and anoint Him. Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

 

In examining this passage you should note that the word "week" is highlighted. The Greek word sabbaton is used in the passage and is translated in the NASB as "week". Here is the Young's Literal Translation so that we can see the word usage better:

Mark 16:1-2 YLT

And the sabbath having past, Mary the Magdalene, and Mary of James, and Salome, bought spices, that having come, they may anoint him, and early in the morning of the first of the sabbath, they come unto the sepulchre, at the rising of the sun, and they said among themselves, `Who shall roll away for us the stone out of the door of the sepulchre?'

 

Mark, a devote Jew, referenced the days of the week as did other Jews: as a day in reference to the Sabbath. What we call "Sunday" is "one of the Sabbath". What we call "Monday" is "two of the Sabbath", etc. An example of this phrasing is found in a traditional recitation that precedes a daily reading from the Psalms:

HaYom yom rishon bashabat, shevo hayu halevi'im omerim bevayt hamikdash.

"This day is the first day of the Sabbath, on which the Levites would recite in the Holy Temple…"

Here is a list of the traditional Psalms that are read on each day of the week:

1st day of the Sabbath: Psalm 24

2nd day of the Sabbath: Psalm 48

3rd day of the Sabbath: Psalm 82

4th day of the Sabbath: Psalm 94

5th day of the Sabbath: Psalm 81

6th day of the Sabbath: Psalm 93

Sabbath: Psalm 92

 

Mark is simply using conventional Hebrew references to the days of the week. Mark 16:2 and other passages use this nomenclature. In these passages the word "week" will be highlighted.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath is used as a reference point to describe the days of the week. (Mark 16:2)

 

Mark 16:9 is the next passage where this convention:

Mark 16:9

Now after He had risen early on the first day of the week, He first appeared to Mary Magdalene, from whom He had cast out seven demons.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath is used as a reference point to describe the days of the week. (Mark 16:9)

 

Luke

Luke 4

Luke 4:16

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Messiah taught in synagogues on the Sabbath. (Luke 4:16)

 

Luke 4:31

And He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and He was teaching them on the Sabbath;

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Messiah taught in synagogues on the Sabbath. (Luke 4:31,33)

 

Luke 6

Luke 6:1-5

Now it happened that He was passing through some grainfields on a Sabbath; and His disciples were picking the heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands, and eating the grain. But some of the Pharisees said, "Why do you do what is not lawful on the Sabbath?" And Jesus answering them said, "Have you not even read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him, how he entered the house of God, and took and ate the consecrated bread which is not lawful for any to eat except the priests alone, and gave it to his companions?" And He was saying to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."

 

Luke 6:1-5 is the parallel passage for Matthew 12 and Mark 2 where the Pharisees challenge Yeshua about His disciples picking heads of grain on the Sabbath. This passage reiterates the previous points of this event.

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Sustaining life (e.g. by eating) is of greater priority than avoiding work on the Sabbath. (Luke 6:1-5)
  • Yeshua (the Son of Man) is Lord of the Sabbath. (Luke 6:5)

 

Luke 6:6-10 is the parallel of the passages in Matthew 12 and Mark 3 where Yeshua healed a man's hand on the Sabbath.

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Healing on the Sabbath is lawful. (Luke 6:6-10)
  • It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. (Luke 6:9-10)

 

Luke 13

Luke 13:10 again informs us that Messiah taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath.

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Messiah taught in synagogues on the Sabbath. (Luke 13:10)

 

This particular passage, however, has some additional insight regarding healing on the Sabbath:

Luke 13:10-17

And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your sickness." And He laid His hands on her; and immediately she was made erect again and began glorifying God. But the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the crowd in response, "There are six days in which work should be done; so come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day." But the Lord answered him and said, "You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall and lead him away to water him? And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?" As He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire crowd was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Healing on the Sabbath is lawful. (Luke 13:10-17)
  • Prohibition of healing on the Sabbath is hypocritical. (Luke 13:15)
  • Taking care of animals on the Sabbath is permitted. (Luke 13:15)
  • The healing of a woman held in bondage by Satan is appropriate on the Sabbath. (Luke 13:16)

 

Luke 14

Luke 14:1-5

It happened that when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching Him closely. And there in front of Him was a man suffering from dropsy. And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?" But they kept silent. And He took hold of him and healed him, and sent him away. And He said to them, "Which one of you will have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?"

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Messiah went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread (Luke 14:1)
  • Healing on the Sabbath is lawful. (Luke 14:3-4)
  • Pulling a son or ox out of the well (as an example of doing good) is allowed on the Sabbath day. (Luke 14:5)

 

Luke 18

In Luke 18 we find another instance of sabbaton being translated as week:

Luke 18:12

'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.'

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath is used as a reference point to describe the days of the week. (Luke 18:12)

 

Luke 23

Luke 23:54-56

It was the preparation day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. Now the women who had come with Him out of Galilee followed, and saw the tomb and how His body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and perfumes. And on the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The women who had come with Messiah out of the Galilee saw the tomb and how His body was laid before the Sabbath. (Luke 23:55)
  • The women prepared spices and perfumes for Messiah's body before the Sabbath. (Luke 23:55)
  • The women who had come with Messiah out of the Galilee rested on the Sabbath day according to the commandment. (Luke 23:56)

 

Luke 24

Luke 24:1

But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath is used as a reference point to describe the days of the week. (Luke 24:1)

 

John

John 5

John 5:5-18

A man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get well?" The sick man answered Him, "Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I am coming, another steps down before me." Jesus said to him, "Get up, pick up your pallet and walk." Immediately the man became well, and picked up his pallet and began to walk. Now it was the Sabbath on that day. So the Jews were saying to the man who was cured, "It is the Sabbath, and it is not permissible for you to carry your pallet." But he answered them, "He who made me well was the one who said to me, 'Pick up your pallet and walk.'" They asked him, "Who is the man who said to you, 'Pick up your pallet and walk'?" But the man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away while there was a crowd in that place. Afterward Jesus found him in the temple and said to him, "Behold, you have become well; do not sin anymore, so that nothing worse happens to you." The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well. For this reason the Jews were persecuting Jesus, because He was doing these things on the Sabbath. But He answered them, "My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working." For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Messiah healed on the Sabbath. (John 5:8-9)
  • Judaism in the first century prohibited carrying a pallet on the Sabbath. (John 5:10)
  • Certain Jews were persecuting Messiah because He healed on the Sabbath and told a man to pick up his pallet on the Sabbath. (John 5:16)
  • Messiah works on the Sabbath in the manner His Father works on the Sabbath. (John 5:17)
  • Messiah was breaking the Sabbath in the eyes of some Jews. (John 5:18)

 

John 7

John 7:14-24

But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach. The Jews then were astonished, saying, "How has this man become learned, having never been educated?" So Jesus answered them and said, "My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself. He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you carries out the Law? Why do you seek to kill Me?" The crowd answered, "You have a demon! Who seeks to kill You?" Jesus answered them, "I did one deed, and you all marvel. For this reason Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man. If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath so that the Law of Moses will not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath? Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment."

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • On the Sabbath a man is circumcised and the day is not violated. (John 7:22)
  • Making an entire man well on the Sabbath does not violate the Sabbath. (John 7:23)

 

John 9

John 9:13-16

They brought to the Pharisees the man who was formerly blind. Now it was a Sabbath on the day when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then the Pharisees also were asking him again how he received his sight. And he said to them, "He applied clay to my eyes, and I washed, and I see." Therefore some of the Pharisees were saying, "This man is not from God, because He does not keep the Sabbath." But others were saying, "How can a man who is a sinner perform such signs?" And there was a division among them.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Messiah healed a blind man on the Sabbath by making clay and putting it on his eyes. (John 9:14)
  • Some Jews thought that Messiah was not keeping the Sabbath. (John 9:16)
  • Some Jews thought Messiah was not from G-d because He did not keep the Sabbath according to their expectations and rules. (John 9:16)

 

John 19:31

John 19:31

Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Jews did not want bodies left on "the cross" [singular with the definite article] and asked Pilate that the legs of the men might be broken. (John 19:31)
  • The day Messiah died was the day before a "high Sabbath" [i.e. the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 12:15-20)]. (John 19:13)

 

John 20

John 20:1

Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already taken away from the tomb.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath is used as a reference point to describe the days of the week. (John 20:1)

 

John 20:19

So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, "Peace be with you."

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath is used as a reference point to describe the days of the week. (John 20:19)

 

Let's move on to the Acts and Epistles and see what they can tell us about the Sabbath...

 


Acts

Acts 1

Acts 1:12

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away.

 

This is the only passage of Scripture that uses the phrase "Sabbath day's journey". Israelites were permitted to travel 2,000 cubits on the Sabbath (Exodus 16: 29 and Numbers 35: 5), about 1.2 km. (3/4 mile), and the Mount of Olives was within this distance from Jerusalem (Acts 1: 12). 2

In Exodus and Numbers the distance was not fixed but later judicial ruling set the distance at 2,000 cubits.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath day had a proscribed distance to limit traveling on the day. (Acts 1:12)
  • After the resurrection of Messiah the disciples still kept within the boundaries proscribed for the Sabbath day's journey. (Acts 1:12)

 

Acts 13

Acts 13:14

But going on from Perga, they arrived at Pisidian Antioch, and on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Paul and his companions went to synagogue on the Sabbath. (Acts 13:14)

 

Acts 13:27

"For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The words of the prophets are read every Sabbath. (Acts 13:27)

 

Acts 13:42

As Paul and Barnabas were going out, the people kept begging that these things might be spoken to them the next Sabbath.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The people [men of Israel and G-d fearers (Acts 13:16)] begged Paul and Barnabas to speak again regarding the Messiah the next Sabbath. (Acts 13:42)

 

Acts 13:44

The next Sabbath nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath following Paul & Barnabas' first visit nearly the whole city assembled to hear the word of the Lord. (Acts 13:44)

 

Acts 15

Acts 15:21

"For Moses from ancient generations has in every city those who preach him, since he is read in the synagogues every Sabbath."

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Moses (the Law) is read in the synagogues of believers every Sabbath. (Acts 15:21)

 

Acts 16

Acts 16:13

And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to a riverside, where we were supposing that there would be a place of prayer; and we sat down and began speaking to the women who had assembled.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Paul, Luke, and their companions went to a riverside outside the gate of Philippi (Acts 16:11-12) on the Sabbath and began speaking to the women who had assembled. (Acts 16:13)

 

Acts 17

Acts 17:2-4

And according to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, "This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ." And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with a large number of the God-fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Paul reasoned with the men of the synagogue at Thessalonica (Acts 17:1) for three Sabbaths and some of the Jews and a large number of G-d fearing Greeks and a number of the leading women were persuaded . (Acts 17:2-4)

 

Acts 18

Acts 18:4

And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • Paul reasoned in the synagogue at Corinth (Acts 18:4) trying to persuade both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 18:4)

 

 

Acts 20:7

 

Acts 20:7

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath is used as a reference point to describe the days of the week. (Acts 20:7)

 

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 16:2

On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • The Sabbath is used as a reference point to describe the days of the week. (1 Corinthians 16:2)

 

 

Colossians 2:16

Colossians 2:16

Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • No one is to act as a judge when a believer keeps a Sabbath day. (Colossians 2:16)

 

Hebrews 4

Hebrews 4:9

So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God.

 

Sabbath Fact List:

  • There remains a Sabbath rest for the people of G-d. (Hebrews 4:9)

 

Congratulations!  That was a tremendous amount of information to read and consume.  The fact that you made it this far is a testimony to your perseverance.

From here you can move on to the summary of the Sabbath fact list we compiled.

 

 

Footnotes

1. Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Third Edition © 1996 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Electronic version licensed from INSO Corporation; further reproduction and distribution in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States. All rights reserved. [back]
2. Sabbath day's journey at http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O94-Sabbathdaysjourney.html [back]

Torah Portion

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Yom Rivi'i, 16 Nisan, 5784 - Chag Hamatzah

Wednesday, April 24, 2024

 

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