Texts in Conversation
Exodus 20 grounds Sabbath observance in creation, explaining rest as a pattern set when the world was made in six days and completed by divine rest on the seventh. Deuteronomy 5 reshapes the command, instead connecting Sabbath to Israel’s memory of slavery and the need to give rest to servants.
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Exodus 20:11
Hebrew Bible
8 “Remember the Sabbath day to set it apart as holy. 9 For six days you may labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; on it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, or your male servant, or your female servant, or your cattle, or the resident foreigner who is in your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them, and he rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that you may live a long time in the land the Lord your God is giving to you.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Deuteronomy 5:15
Hebrew Bible
13 You are to work and do all your tasks in six days, 14 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. On that day you must not do any work, you, your son, your daughter, your male slave, your female slave, your ox, your donkey, any other animal, or the resident foreigner who lives with you, so that your male and female slaves, like yourself, may have rest. 15 Recall that you were slaves in the land of Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there by strength and power. That is why the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. 16 “Honor your father and your mother just as the Lord your God has commanded you to do, so that your days may be extended and that it may go well with you in the land that he is about to give you. 17 “You must not murder.
Date: 6th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... In striking contrast to the earlier books of the Torah, particularly those parts reflecting the priestly viewpoint,” Deuteronomy emphasizes God’s transcendence. He is near to Israel (4:7), but only in a spiritual sense, since He is not physically present on earth. While passages in Exodus describe the sanctuary as God’s dwelling, Deuteronomy speaks of Him as dwelling in heaven ... Deuteronomy also describes God in less physical terms than do the earlier books of the Torah. In the Decalogue it eliminates the statement of Exodus 20:11 that God rested on the seventh day; it states instead that the purpose of the Sabbath is to enable servants to rest, and adds a reminder that God freed Israel from slavery in Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:14-15). But avoidance of physical anthropomorphism does not mean that Deuteronomy conceives of the Lord as impassive. To Deuteronomy, as to the Bible as a whole, He is a feeling God. He is “drawn in love” to Israel (7:7; 10:15) and is merciful (4:31). Yet He also becomes angry at sin (7:4; 29:26; 31:17) and “jealous,” like a burning fire, in defense of His claim to Israel’s sole allegiance (4:24; 5:9; 6:15) ..."
Tigay, Jeffrey H.
Deuteronomy: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation
(p. xiii) Jewish Publication Society, 1996
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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