zay

Shabbath – day of rest, to cease, desist, rest, to complete.

The following passages are those that are pertinent to the understanding of what Shabbath is, what is permissible or not permissible, and what our views of Shabbath should be. I have tried to include the whole context, so that you could see what the subject matter is, not what a verse taken out of context could be implied. Also, the necessary terms are defined, for better understanding.

Sabbathoth - plural of shabbath.

Melakah - work, occupation, service.

Maasheh - deed, action, work, thing made, manufactured, product, practice, occupation.

Bereshiyth [Genesis] 2:1,2, "¹ and the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their armies. ² and elohiym completed by the seventh day, his work which he had made, and he rested (Hebrew - shabbath) on the seventh day from all his work (melakah) which he had made. ³ and elohiym blessed the seventh day and set it apart, because on it he rested (shabbath) from all his work which elohiym had created and made."

Shemoth [Exodus] 16:23-26,29, " then he said to them, 'this is what YHWH meant, tomorrow is a shabbath, a shabbath qodesh to YHWH. 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 mosheh had ordered, and it did not become foul nor was there any worm in it. mosheh said, 'eat it today, for today is a shabbath to YHWH; today you will not find it in the field. six days you will gather it, but on the seventh day, shabbath, there will be none.' " " 'see, YHWH has given you the shabbath; 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.' "

Shemoth 20:8-11, " ' remember the shabbath day, to keep it qadesh. ⁹ six days you will labor and do all your work, ¹⁰ but the seventh day is a shabbath of YHWH your elohey; in it you will not do any work (melakah), you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your ger who stays with you. ¹¹ for in six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore YHWH blessed the shabbath day and made it qadesheh (set apart).' "

Shemoth 23:12, " ' six days you are to do your work (maasheh), but on the seventh day you will cease (shabbath) so that your ox and your donkey may refresh, and the son of your female slave, and the ger.' "

Shemoth 31:13-17, " '¹³ but as for you, speak to the sons of yisrael, saying, "you will surely observe my shabbethoth; for a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that i am YHWH who sets you apart. ¹⁴ therefore you are to observe the shabbath, for it is set apart to you. everyone who defiles it will surely be put to death; for whoever does any work (melakah) on it, that person will be cut off from among his people. ¹⁵ for six days work (melakah) may be done, but on the seventh day there is a shabbath of complete rest, set apart to YHWH; whoever does any work (melakah) on the shabbath day will surely be put to death. ¹⁶ so the sons of yisrael will observe the shabbath, to celebrate the shabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual beriyth. ¹⁷ it is a sign between me and the sons of yisrael forever; for in six days YHWH made the heavens and earth, but on the seventh day he ceased, and was refreshed.' "

Shemoth 35:2,3, " ' for six days work (melakah) may be done, but on the seventh day you will have a set apart shabbath of complete rest to YHWH; whoever does any work (melakah) on it will be put to death. ³ you will not kindle a fire in any of your dwellings on the shabbath day.' "

Wayiqqra [Leviticus] 16:29-31, (Yom Kippuriym) " '²⁹ and it will be for a eternal rule, in the seventh month, in the tenth of the month, you will humble yourself and do no work (melakah), the native, and the ger who is staying in your midst. ³⁰ for on this day he will atone for you, to cleanse you from all your sins you will be clean before YHWH. ³¹ it is a shabbath of rest to you, and you will humble yourself. it is a eternal rule.' "

Wayiqqra 19:3,30, " '³ each man of you will fear his mother and his father, and observe my shabbathoth; i am YHWH your elohey.' " " '³⁰ you will observe my shabbathoth; and you will revere my miqdash. i am YHWH.' "

Wayiqqra 23:3, 24, 32, 39 " '³ work (melakah) is to be done six days, and in the seventh day will be a shabbath of rest, a set apart gathering; you will do no work (melakah); it is a shabbath to YHWH in all your bathey.' " " '²⁴speak to the sons of yisrael, saying, in the seventh month, on the first of the month, a shabbath will be to you, a call to a memorial, a set apart gathering.' " " '³² it is a shabbath of rest to you, and you will humble your nafeshoth in the ninth of the month at evening; from evening until evening you will keep your shabbath.' " " '³⁹ and on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you gather the increase of the land, you will celebrate the feast of YHWH seven days; on the first day a shabbath, and on the eighth day a shabbath.' "

Wayiqqra 25:2-8, " '² speak to the sons of yisrael, and say to them, when you come into the land which i am giving to you, then the land will keep a shabbath to YHWH. ³ you will sow your field six years, and you will prune your vineyard six years, and will gather its produce. ⁴ and in the seventh year will be a shabbath of rest to the land, a shabbath to YHWH. you will not sow your field, and you will not prune your vineyard. ⁵ you will not reap that which grows of itself of your harvest; and you will not gather the grapes of your unkept vine; it will be a year of rest to the land. ⁶ and the shabbath of the land will be to you for food, to you, and to your male slave, and to your female slave, and to your hired one, and to your tenant, those living among you; ⁷ and to your livestock, and to the animal in your land, all its produce will be for food. ⁸ and you will number to yourself seven shabbathoth of years, seven years times seven, and all the days of the seven shabbathoth of years will be to you forty nine years.' "

Wayiqqra 26:2,34,35, " '² you will observe my shabbathoth, and revere my miqdash; i am YHWH.' " " '³⁴ then the land will enjoy its shabbathoth, all the days of the desolation. and you will be in the land of your enemies; then the land will enjoy rest, and will enjoy its shabbathoth. ³⁵ it will rest all the days of the desolation, that which it has not rested in your shabbathoth while you lived on it.' "

BeMidbar [Numbers] 15:32-35, " ³² and the sons of yisrael were in the wilderness, and they found a man gathering wood on the day of the shabbath. ³³ and those that found him gathering wood brought him near to mosheh, and to aharon, and to all the assembly. ³⁴ and they placed him in ward, for it had not been explained what would be done to him. ³⁵ and YHWH said to mosheh, 'the man will certainly be put to death, all the assembly will stone him with stones, at the outside of the camp.' "

HaDebariym [Deut.] 5:12-15, " '¹² observe the day of the shabbath, to set it apart, as YHWH your elohey commanded you. ¹³ six days you will labor, and do all your work (melakah). ¹⁴ and the seventh day, a shabbath to YHWH your elohey; you will not do any work (melakah), you, and your son, and your daughter, and your man servant, and your handmaid, and your ox, and your ass, and all your cattle, and your ger who is within your gates; so that your man servant, and your handmaid will rest like yourself. ¹⁵ and you will remember that a servant you were in the land of mitsrayim, and YHWH your elohey brought you out there, by a strong hand, and by a stretched out arm; therefore YHWH your elohey commanded you to keep the day of the shabbath.' "

NechemYahu [Nehemiah] 9:13,14, " ' and you came down on mountain siynay and spoke

with them from the heavens, and gave them upright judgments and true thoroth, good rules and commands. ¹⁴ and you made your set apart shabbath known to them, and you commanded commands, rules, and thorah, to them by the hand of your servant mosheh.' "

NechemYahu 10:31(32), " 'and if the people of the land should bring goods or any food to sell on the shabbath, we would not take from them on the shabbath, or on the set apart day. and they would forego the seventh year, and the interest of every hand.' "

NechemYahu 13:15-22, " ' in those days i saw in yahudah ones treading wine presses on the shabbath, and bringing in sheaves and loading asses; and also wine, grapes, and figs, and all burdens, which they brought into yerushalaim on the shabbath. and i testified against them on the day they sold food. ¹⁶ men of tsur also lived in it, who brought fish and all wares, and were selling on the shabbath to the sons of yahudah, even in yerushalaim. ¹⁷ and i contended with the nobles of yahudah and said to them, "what is this evil thing that you do, defiling the shabbath day? ¹⁸ did not your fathers do this, and did not our elohey bring all this evil on us and on this city? yet you bring more wrath on yisrael by defiling the shabbath." ¹⁹ and it happened, when the gates of yerushalaim began to be dark before the shabbath, i commanded that the gates should be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened until after the shabbath. and i stationed some of my servants at the gates, so that there should be no burden brought in on the shabbath. ²⁰ and the merchants and sellers of all the wares stayed the night outside yerushalaim once or twice. ²¹ then i testified against them and said to them, "why are you staying around the wall? if you do it again, i will send a hand against you." from that time they did not come on the shabbath. ²² and i said to the lewiym that they should be cleansing themselves, and they should come guarding the gates, to set apart the day, the shabbath.' "

Thehilliym [Psalm] 92:1, " ¹ a mizmor, a song for the day of the shabbath. it is good to give thanks to YHWH, and to sing praises to your name, elyon."

YeshaYahu [Isaiah] 56:2,4,6, " ' blessed is the man who does this, and the son of a man who lays hold on it; keeping shabbath, from defiling it; and keeping his hand from doing every evil. ³ and do not let the son of the foreigner speak, he who joins himself to YHWH, saying, separating YHWH separates me from his people; and not do let the eunuch say, look, i am a dried tree. ⁴ for so says YHWH to the eunuchs who keep my shabbathoth and chooses things i am pleased with, and takes hold of my beriyth. ⁵ i, even i will give to them in my beyth and in my walls a hand and a name better than sons and than daughters; i will give them an everlasting name which will not be cut off. ⁶ and the sons of the alien who join themselves on YHWH to serve him, and to love the name YHWH, to be his servants, everyone who keeps from defiling the shabbath, and takes hold of my beriyth, ⁷ even them i will bring to my set apart mountain and make them joyful in my beyth of prayer. their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar, for my beyth will be called a beyth of prayer for all the peoples.' "

YeshaYahu 58:13, " ' if you turn away your foot from the shabbath, doing what you please on my set apart day, and call the shabbath a delight, to the set apartness of YHWH honored; and will honor him from doing your own ways, from finding your own pleasure or speaking your word; ¹⁴ then you will delight yourself in YHWH. and i will cause you to ride on the heights of the earth, and make you eat with the inheritance of your father yaaqob. for the mouth of YHWH has spoken.' "

YirmeYahu [Jeremiah] 17:21,22,24,27, " '²¹ so says YHWH, take heed for the sake of your lives, and do not carry a burden on the shabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of yerushalaim. ²² and do not carry a burden from your bathey on the shabbath day, nor do any work (melakah), but keep the shabbath day set apart, as i commanded your fathers. ²³ but they did not obey nor bow down their ear, but they made their neck stiff, not to hear, nor to receive instruction. ²⁴ and it will be, if you carefully listen to me,' says YHWH, 'to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the shabbath day, but keep the shabbath day set apart, to do no work (melakah) in it, ²⁵ even kings and rulers sitting on the throne of dawiyd will enter into the gates of this city, riding on chariots and on horses, they and their rulers, the men of yahudah, and those living in yerushalaim. and this city will be inhabited forever. ²⁶ and they will come from the cities of yahudah, and from the places about yerushalaim, and from the land of benyamin, and from the lowland, and from the mountains, and from the south, bringing burnt offerings, and sacrifices, and grain offerings, and incense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the beyth YHWH. ²⁷ but if you will not listen to me to keep the shabbath day set apart, and to not carry a burden and enter at the gates of yerushalaim on the shabbath day, then i will kindle a fire in her gates. and it will devour the palaces of yerushalaim; it will not be put out.' "

Yechezqel [Ezekiel] 20:12-24, " ' and i also gave them my shabbathoth to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that i am YHWH who sets them apart. ¹³ but the beyth yisrael rebelled against me in the wilderness. they did not walk in my rules, and they despised my judgments, which if a man does them he will even live by them. and they greatly defiled my shabbathoth. then i said, "i will pour out my fury on them in the wilderness, to consume them." ¹⁴ but i worked for the sake of my name, that it should not be defiled in the eyes of the goyim, before whom i brought them out, in their eyes. ¹⁵ and i also lifted up my hand to them in the wilderness, that i would not bring them into the land flowing with milk and honey which i had given; it is the honor to all the lands, ¹⁶ because they despised my judgments, and they did not walk in my rules, and they defiled my shabbathoth; for their heart went after their idols. ¹⁷ and my eye spared them, from destroying them, and i did not make an end of them in the wilderness. ¹⁸ but i said to their sons in the wilderness, "do not walk in the rules of your fathers and do not keep their judgments, and do not defile yourselves with their idols. ¹⁹ i am YHWH your elohey, walk in my rules, and keep my judgments, and do them. ²⁰ and set apart my shabbathoth, and they will be a sign between me and you, that you may know that i am YHWH your elohey." ²¹ but the sons rebelled against me. they did not walk in my rules, and they did not observe my judgments, to do them, which if a man does them, he will live by them. they defiled my shabbathoth. then i said i would pour out my fury on them, to fulfill my anger against them in the wilderness. ²² but i withdrew my hand and acted the sake of my name, that it should not be defiled in the eyes of the goyim, from whom i brought them out in their eyes. ²³ and i lifted up my hand to them in the wilderness, to scatter them among the goyim and sow them among the lands, ²⁴ because they had not done my judgments and had despised my rules and had defiled my shabbathoth. and their eyes were after the idols of their fathers.' "

Yechezqel 22:8,26, " ' you have despised my set apart things and have defiled my shabbathoth.' " " ' her kohaniym have violated my thorath and have defiled my set apart things. they have not discerned between the set apart and the common, and between the unclean and clean they have not taught. and they have hidden their eyes from the shabbathoth, and i am defiled among them.' "

Yechezqel 23:38, " ' even still they have done this to me, they have defiled my miqdash in that day, and have defiled my shabbathoth.' "

Yechezqel 44:24, " ' and in a dispute, they will stand to judge, they will judge it by my judgments. and they will observe my thoroth and my rules in my appointed feasts, and they will set apart my shabbathoth.' "

Amos 8:5, " '⁴ hear this, you who swallow up the poor, even to make the humble of the land to cease, ⁵ saying, "when will the new moon have passed, so that we may buy grain? or the shabbath, so that we may open the wheat," making smaller the ephah, and making greater the sheqel, and to falsify the deceitful balances, ⁶ in order to buy the helpless with silver, and the poor for a pair of sandals, and sell the chaff of the wheat? ⁷ YHWH has sworn by the pride of yaaqob, surely i will not ever forget all their works.' "

Those things which are specifically listed in the above verses, of what is not permitted on Shabbath: no cooking, no gathering, no sowing, no pruning, no work, no fires kindled, no gathering wood, no buying or trading, no pressing wine, harvesting, or loading, no selling or fishing, no carrying burdens or loads, and not going your own way.

Commands specifically mentioned in respect to attitude toward Shabbath: set it apart, guard it, it is a sign, do no evil on it, and call the Shabbath a delight.