Understanding the Concept of Completing the Sabbath Week
The concept of completing the Sabbath week is rooted in biblical tradition and is understood differently across various Christian and Jewish interpretations. The biblical basis for the Sabbath and its related observances is found in the creation narrative, where God rests on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3) [1].
Understanding the Sabbath
The Sabbath is a day of rest, observed on the seventh day of the week, and its observance is a significant aspect of Jewish and some Christian traditions. The biblical commandment to observe the Sabbath is given in Exodus 20:8-11 and Deuteronomy 5:12-15. The Sabbath is considered a sign between God and the Israelites, symbolizing God's sanctification of the people [7].
Counting the Sabbath Weeks
The concept of completing the Sabbath week is related to the counting of seven Sabbaths, which is mentioned in Leviticus 23:15. This counting is associated with the festival of Pentecost or Weeks, which is celebrated on the fiftieth day after the Sabbath [2, 8].
Different traditions interpret the counting of the Sabbath weeks in various ways. The Jewish (Rabbinic) tradition understands the counting to begin on the second day of the Passover, while some Christian traditions have interpreted it differently [4].
Interpretations Across Traditions
The Reformed tradition, as represented by Calvin, understands the Sabbath as a sign of God's sanctification of the people, emphasizing the importance of resting from one's labors [7]. The Lutheran tradition, as seen in Keil & Delitzsch's commentary on Exodus, emphasizes the significance of observing the Sabbath as a commandment [6].
The Eastern Orthodox tradition, as represented by John Chrysostom, interprets the Sabbath in the context of the broader biblical narrative, highlighting its connection to creation and the life of the believer [3].
The Jewish (Rationalist) tradition, as represented by Abraham Ibn Ezra, understands the Sabbath as a day of rest and sanctification, emphasizing the importance of remembering and keeping it holy [5].
Shared Ground and Divergence
Despite the differences in interpretation, all these traditions agree on the significance of the Sabbath and its related observances in the biblical tradition. The divergence lies in how the counting of the Sabbath weeks is understood and applied.
The hermeneutical commitment to the biblical text and the historical context of the observances drives the differences in interpretation. The prior doctrinal premises of each tradition also shape their understanding of the Sabbath and its related practices.
The concept of completing the Sabbath week remains a rich and complex aspect of biblical tradition, with various interpretations across Jewish and Christian traditions. Understanding these differences provides insight into the diverse ways that communities of faith have engaged with the biblical text.
Sources
- Smith's Bible Dictionary “Smith's Bible Dictionary: Sabbath — (shabbath), "a day of rest," from shabath "to cease to do to," "to rest"). The name is applied to divers great festivals, but principally and usually to the seventh day of the week, the strict observance of which is enforced not merely in the general Mosaic code, but in the Decalogue itself. The consecration of the Sabbath was coeval with the creation. The first scriptural notice of it, though it is not mentioned by name, is to be found in (Genesis 2:3) at the close of the record of the six-days creation. There are not wanting indirect evidences of its obser”
- Leviticus “Leviticus 23:15 (BSB) — From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, you are to count off seven full weeks.”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on Galatians–Colossians–Thessalonians: Index of Scripture References Genesis 1:11 1:11 1:26 1:26 1:26 1:27 1:27 1:27 1:31 1:31 2:2 2:7 2:17 2:17 2:18 2:23 2:24 2:24 2:24 3:5 3:16 3:24 4 4:9 4:14 6:2 6:3 6:4 6:9 6:12 7:7 8:21 12:1 12:4 12:16 13:10 13:10-11 14:14 14:21-23 15:16 16:5 16:6 17:8 18:11 18:12 18:14 18:21 19:13 19:14 19:24 21:10 21:12 21:12 22:7-8 22:16 22:18 22:18 24:1-67 24:22 24:65 25:21 25:21 26:4 27:46 28:1 28:13 31:42 31:45 32:48 35:18 37:9-10 37:20 39:1 39:6 40:4 40:7 40:8 40:14-15 40:22 41 41:16 42:36 43:14 43:30 45:5 48:15-16 49:9 64:28 Exodus 2:11 2”
- Targum Jonathan (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Targum Jonathan, Targum Jonathan on II Samuel 16:12: It may be that the tear of my eye will be revealed before the LORD, and that the LORD will repay me with good for his cursing this day.””
- Sefaria (Jewish (Rationalist)) “Abraham Ibn Ezra on Exodus 20:8: REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY TO KEEP IT HOLY. The meaning of to keep it holy is explained by what follows, namely, Six days shalt thou labor. Scripture similarly explains the meaning of and hallowed it (v. 11) by going on to say that God rested on the seventh day from all of His work. The reason the sanctification of the Sabbath is here connected to the Lord blessed [ the sabbath day ], as it is in the chapter opening with the words were finished (Gen. 2:1), is that God sanctified this day and prepared it so that the souls 229 Of those who observe the Sabbath. woul”
- Exodus (Lutheran) “Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 31:12: (cf. Exo 35:2-3). God concludes by enforcing the observance of His Sabbaths in the most solemn manner, repeating the threat of death and extermination in the case of every transgressor. The repetition and further development of this command, which was included already in the decalogue, is quite in its proper place here, inasmuch as the thought might easily have occurred, that it was allowable to omit the keeping of the Sabbath, when the execution of so great a work in honour of Jehovah had been commanded. "My Sabbaths:" by these we are to understand the weekly”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 44: does any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever,” ( Exodus 31:13–17 ). Ezekiel is still more full, but the sum of what he says amounts to this: that the sabbath is a sign by which Israel might know that God is their sanctifier. If our sanctification consists in the mortification of our own will, the analogy between the e”
- Leviticus (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Leviticus 23:15: Ye shall count unto you - seven Sabbaths - That is, from the sixteenth of the first month to the sixth of the third month. These seven weeks, called here Sabbaths, were to be complete, i. e., the forty-nine days must be finished, and the next day, the fiftieth, is what, from the Septuagint, we call pentecost. See the note on Luk 6:1.”