(All verses quoted in this study are taken from the New King James Version, if not otherwise mentioned.)
What is
Sabbath
“Shabbat” is the original Hebrew word for the
English word Sabbath. The root word is Shin-Beit-Tav which means “to cease, to
end, to rest.” It is the seventh day after six days of work. Jews and some
sects of Christians observe the Sabbath every week as a day of rest and
worship.
Two themes govern the Jewish Sabbath: to remember
and to observe. It is a commemoration of God’s six-day creation of the universe
and their freedom from Egyptian slavery.
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 the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall
do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor
your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your
gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and
all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the
Sabbath day and hallowed it.
Deuteronomy
5:15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your
God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm;
therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, on which the Israelites were to rest, in remembrance that God created the universe in six days and then “rested” on the seventh day. It is a remembrance of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Sabbath is a “sign” of the covenant between Israel and God (Exodus 31:13). There were special commands given to Israel regarding a “sacred assembly” held on the Sabbath (Leviticus 23:3). Sabbath observance was very important to the Israelites. According to the Mosaic law, anyone who dishonours the Sabbath would be put to death.