Sabbath

 

Genesis chapter 2, vs 1 - 3

2:1 ויכלו השמים והארץ וכל-צבאם

2:2 ויכל אלהים ביום השביעי מלאכתו אשר עשה וישבת ביום השביעי מכל-מלאכתו אשר עשה

2:3 ויברך אלהים את-יום השביעי ויקדש אתו כי בו שבת מכל-מלאכתו אשר-ברא אלהים לעשות

… the heavens and the earth were all completed in their vast array … and … on the seventh day … God finished the work that He had been doing … so … on the seventh day He rested from all of His work … God blessed the seventh day and made it holy … for … on that day He rested from all the work of creating that which He had done …

 

… in verses 2 + 3 our English verb … rested … is Hebrew verb … SHABATH … also spelled in English as SHABAT …  שבת  … Strong# Hebrew 7673 … the best literal meanings include … to rest … or … to cease from … the foundation for SHABATH is Hebrew verb … SHAV … שב … the best literal meanings include … to return … or … to come back … the root of SHAV is found in two Hebrew verbs ,,, the first is … YASHAB … Strong# Hebrew 3427 … שב י  … the best literal meanings include … to sit … or … to dwell … or … to abide … the second verb is … SHUV … Strong# Hebrew 7725 … ב ו ש … the best literal meanings include … to return … or … to turn back … to restore … this analysis helps to better understand the core action indicated by SHABATH … however … there is one additional consideration at the glyph meaning level … the Hebrew glyph … TAV … has as one of its best literal meanings … covenant … so … we find the core meaning of SHABATH to be … rest in the covenant … or … return to the covenant … or … abide in the covenant …

 

Genesis chapter 2, vs 21 - 24

2:21 ויפל יהוה אלהים תרדמה על-האדם ויישן ויקח אחת מצלעתיו ויסגר בשר תחתנה

2:22 ויבן יהוה אלהים את-הצלע אשר-לקח מן-האדם לאשה ויבאה אל-האדם

2:23 ויאמר האדם זאת הפעם עצם מעצמי ובשר מבשרי לזאת יקרא אשה כי מאיש לקחה-זאת

2:24 על-כן יעזב-איש את-אביו ואת-אמו ודבק באשתו והיו לבשר אחד

… the LORD ( YHVH ) God caused Adam to fall into a deep sleep and while he slept God took one of Adam’s ribs and then closed up the flesh … then … the LORD ( YHVH ) made a woman from the rib He had taken from Adam … and … God brought her to Adam … Adam said … this is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh … she will be called Eve for she was taken out of Adam … this is why a man will leave his father and mother to unite with his wife and they become one flesh …

 

… note that the day of God’s rest separates the creation of the first woman from the rest of creation …

 

… as we consider Genesis chapter 2, vs 21 - 24 … it is not a coincidence that all of the physical creation which we know as our world and universe is separated from the creation event which made Eve … so … the sequence of events which take us to our current time period by the Bible’s chronology is … (1) precreation where God alone exists in eternity … (2) the creation of the spiritual realm … (3) the creation of the physical realm with includes Adam … (4) the creation of Eve the first woman … (5) Adam and Eve make an unfortunate decision … and … here we are … the Seventh Day of Creation … the very first Sabbath is bracketed by the creation of man and the creation of woman … we are where we are in this world now because Adam and Eve elected to leave the Sabbath of God’s rest and peace in Eden … though this is a study for another day … it requires mentioning at this point in this study because God did not need to rest on the Seventh Day of creation … the Sabbath is an intentional construction to facilitate our continued contact with God during our lives on earth … and … the relationship of a man and a women in marriage is a built in integral component of that construction …

 

Exodus chapter 20, vs 8 - 11

20:8 זכור את-יום השבת לקדשו

20:9 ששת ימים תעבד ועשית כל-מלאכתך

20:10 ויום השביעי שבת ליהוה אלהיך לא-תעשה כל-מלאכה אתה ובנך-ובתך עבדך ואמתך ובהמתך וגרך אשר בשעריך

20:11 כי ששת-ימים עשה יהוה את-השמים ואת-הארץ את-הים ואת-כל-אשר-בם וינח ביום השביעי על-כן ברך יהוה את-יום השבת ויקדשהו

… remember to keep the Sabbath day holy … for six day you will labor and do all your work … but … the seventh day is the Sabbath to the LORD ( YHVH ) our God … on this day … you will do no work … not you or your son or your daughter or your male and female servants … not your animals or any foreigner residing in your towns … because … the LORD ( YHVH ) made the heavens the earth the sea and all that is in them … then … on the seventh day He rested … the LORD ( YHVH ) has blessed the Sabbath and made it holy …

  

Exodus chapter 16, vs 23 - 26 + 28 - 30

16:23 ויאמר אלהם הוא אשר דבר יהוה שבתון שבת-קדש ליהוה מחר את אשר-תאפו אפו ואת אשר-תבשלו בשלו ואת כל-העדף הניחו לכם למשמרת עד-הבקר

16:24 ויניחו אתו עד-הבקר כאשר צוה משה ולא הבאיש ורמה לא-היתה בו

16:25 ויאמר משה אכלהו היום כי-שבת היום ליהוה היום לא תמצאהו בשדה

16:26 ששת ימים תלקטהו וביום השביעי שבת לא יהיה-בו

16:28 ויאמר יהוה אל-משה עד-אנה מאנתם לשמר מצותי ותורתי

16:29 ראו כי-יהוה נתן לכם השבת על-כן הוא נתן לכם ביום הששי לחם יומים שבו איש תחתיו אל-יצא איש ממקמו ביום השביעי

16:30 וישבתו העם ביום השבעי

                                … note the ALEF-TAV in verse 23 …

… the LORD ( YHVH ) has taught us that tomorrow  את  is the Sabbath … the day of rest … the holy Sabbath to the LORD ( YHVH ) … today bake what you wish to bake and boil what you wish to boil … and … save what is left for tomorrow … so … as Moses said … they saved the manna that was left over for the Sabbath and it did not spoil for its use on the Sabbath … then on the Sabbath Moses said … eat the saved manna today for this is the Sabbath to the LORD ( YHVH ) … we will find no manna on the ground today … six days we are to gather manna but on the seventh day there will not be any …

 

Leviticus chapter 25, vs 1 - 7                            Shemitah

25:1 וידבר יהוה אל-משה בהר סיני לאמר

25:2 דבר אל-בני ישראל ואמרת אלהם כי תבאו אל-הארץ אשר אני נתן לכם ושבתה הארץ שבת ליהוה

25:3 שש שנים תזרע שדך ושש שנים תזמר כרמך ואספת את-תבואתה

25:4 ובשנה השביעת שבת שבתון יהיה לארץ שבת ליהוה שדך לא תזרע וכרמך לא תזמר

25:5 את ספיח קצירך לא תקצור ואת-ענבי נזירך לא תבצר שנת שבתון יהיה לארץ

25:6 והיתה שבת הארץ לכם לאכלה לך ולעבדך ולאמתך ולשכירך ולתושבך הגרים עמך

25:7 ולבהמתך ולחיה אשר בארצך תהיה כל-תבואתה לאכל

                                … note the ALEF-TAV at the beginning of verse 5 …

… on Mount Sinai the LORD ( YHVH ) said to Moses … speak to the people of Israel and say … when you enter the land that I give to you … the land itself must observe a Sabbath to the LORD ( YHVH ) … for six years you may … sow your fields … prune your vineyards … and … gather their crops … however … in the seventh year the land is to have a year that is a Sabbath rest … its Sabbath to the LORD ( YHVH ) …  את  … do not sow the land or tend your vines … the land is to have a year of rest … whatever the land yields during the Sabbath year by itself will be food for … yourself … your male and female servants … your hired workers … any temporary residents who live among you … your livestock … and … any wild animals that live on your land … whatever the land produces on its own may be eaten …

  

… during the Shemita Year … ( 1 ) the loan balance between each Hebrew ( Jewish ) debtor and their Hebrew ( Jewish ) creditor is … released … that is … the outstanding balance is forgiven … essentially … a scheduled loan amnesty every seven years … ( 2 ) all cultivated land is allowed to rest for one year … essentially a Sabbath rest for the land … (3) Hebrew ( Jewish ) folks serving other Hebrew ( Jewish ) folks as indentured servants are redeemed from that bondage … ( 4 ) the people of God during the Shemitah Year are released from their daily cares and concerns to focus on the LORD ( YHVH ) their God …

 

Luke chapter 6, vs 1 - 10                       Jesus Christ speaking

… one sabbath while Jesus Christ was going through the cornfields … His disciples plucked some heads of grain rubbed them in their hands and ate them … the Pharisees that were with them said … why are you doing what is not lawful on the Sabbath … Jesus answered … the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath … then … on another Sabbath … Jesus Christ entered a synagogue and was teaching … there was a man there whose right hand was withered … the Pharisees watched Him to see if He would cure a suffering person on the Sabbath so that they might find an accusation against Him … Jesus knew what they were thinking so He said to the man with the withered hand …  come and stand here … the man got up came to Jesus and stood there … Jesus said to those present … I ask you … is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath … to save life or to destroy it … He then said to the man with the withered hand … stretch out your hand … the man did so … and … his hand was restored …

 

Mark chapter 2, vs 27                             Jesus Christ speaking

… the Sabbath was made for mankind … not mankind for the Sabbath … the Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath …

 

Isaiah chapter 58. Vs 13 – 14               God speaking

58:13 אם-תשיב משבת רגלך עשות חפציך ביום קדשי וקראת לשבת ענג לקדוש יהוה מכבד וכבדתו מעשות דרכיך ממצוא חפצך ודבר דבר

58:14 אז תתענג על-יהוה והרכבתיך על-במותי ארץ והאכלתיך נחלת יעקב אביך כי פי יהוה דבר

… keep your feet from breaking the Savvath and from doing as you please on My Holy Day … call the Sabbath a delight and treat the LORD ( YHVH )’s day with honor … for … if you honor this day by not going your own way … by not doing as you please … and … by not speaking idle words … you will find joy in the LORD ( YHVH ) … and … I will cause you to ride in triumph on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob ... the LORD ( YHVH ) has spoken ...