The Sabbath - Respite in God
The Sabbath - Respite in God

Summary/Abstract: The word Sabbath according to the Hebrew Bible means to cease, to terminate, to conclude, to end. The first biblical reference to the obligation to observe the Sabbath appears in the book of Exodus. According to the book of Exodus, “to rest” means to stop one kind of activity in order to become dedicated to another. In addition to the cessation of the mainly agricultural activities, the daily sacrificial burnt offering was required (holocaust) and in addition to that, two lambs had to be sacrificed. Jesus harshly criticised any kind of exaggeration involving this particular day and presented himself as the Lord of the Sabbath (Mk. 2,28), not hesitating o heal the sick and exorcise the possessed during Sabbath day. In the apocryphal writings, the world’s history is divided in well defined periods of time in which the events unroll according to God’s precise plans. As a holy day, Sabbath was seen by some as an eruption of the sacred time in the heart of the profane time. Therefore ceasing any impious activity equals to stopping the profane time.

• Details
• Contents