Word Study

This is not a sermon, but a word study...just for fun

A WORD STUDY ON
“THE SABBATH”

   First found in Exodus 16:23, the seventh day is described as a day of solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. From this beginning, the word Sabbath almost took on a life of its own as a host of laws and interpretations grew up and surrounded it. “Shabbath” is the main Hebrew word translated as Sabbath and occurs 107 times in the Old Testament. It derives from the Hebrew word Shabath which means to cease, desist, or rest, but also to celebrate . The Sabbath was a day of feasting, and also a day on which no work was to be done; so all food is prepared ahead of time. This position defended was by Gen. 2:1-3 in which God rests from creation. Israel rests because God rests . The Sabbath was seen as a sign between Yahweh and Israel, by which they might know that it is God that sanctifies them . As a feast day it included holy convocations, public worship, and worship in the home. While the Sabbath was a day of joy, it also carried the penalty of death if violated . So, it was a joyful day but also a commanded responsibility.
“Sabbaton” (Greek) was a day consecrated for rest and the worship of the Lord and was religiously the most important day of the week . The occurrences of the word in the New Testament are almost totally in the gospels and Acts, with only one occurrence on Colossians outside of those books. One other occurrence of Sabbath as the Greek word Sabbatismos is seen in Hebrews 4:9, where the people are called to enter into Sabbath rest .
   Defining what a Sabbath day of rest was brought Jesus into confrontation with the local religious leaders on no less than six occasions. One occasion involves the plucking of grain to eat, and the other five involved healings, three of which are recorded in John (John 5:1-17, John 7:21-24, John 9:1-34). In these Johannine scriptures, Jesus did not seek to annul observance of the Sabbath, but to promote the purpose of the law which was to bring about healing and wholeness .    John 7 verse 23 makes it clear that the Sabbath healing was not performed in order to overturn or break the Sabbath law, “but to accomplish the redemptive purpose towards which the law had pointed”. In John 9:1-34 the Sabbath healing is not only described, but followed by a discourse to help explain to the reader what the passage means to them. Thus the concept of the Sabbath as a day to promote healing is clearly seen in John .


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Keck L.E. (Ed) (1995). New Interpreter’s Bible Vol. IX. Nash ville, Tenn. Abingdon Press.

Louw, J.P.(Eds) (1988) Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains. New York, United Bible Societies

Strong, J. (1984) The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible and Concise Dictionary of the Hebrew Bible. Kansas City, Thomas Nelson Publishers.