What does it mean to honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy? At the very least, we can conclude that it means to take God at his word and make his seventh day Sabbath a special day in our lives and in our communities. When God commanded Isra'el to mark out the Sabbath, it often envisioned one or many of the following terms: “remember,” “keep,” “observe,” “bless,” “sanctify,” “celebrate,” “sign,” as well as others I may have missed in this brief word study. The reasons for Isra'el marking out the Sabbath are numerous, but perhaps the two most well known are:ġ) To remember that God is the creator (Ex 20:11)Ģ) To remember that Isra'el was rescued from Egypt (Deut 5:15) God also declared the seventh day Sabbath to be a “sign” (Hebrew=אוֹת oat) between Isra'el and himself, to expressly declare to the world that it is God who sanctifies Isra'el (Ex 31:13 and Ez 20:12, 20). What is more, we find that God himself “blessed” (Hebrew=בָּרַךְ barakh) the seventh day and made it holy” (Gen 2:2), a day which we know to be the Sabbath day. The original Hebrew word “shamar” actually implies “guarding.” Within close proximity of “remembering,” and “keeping/observing” the Sabbath, we also find verses such as Ex 20:8 commanding us to likewise keep it “holy” (Hebrew=קָדַשׁ kadash), and Ex 31:16 commanding us to “celebrate” (NIV, NASB) it (Hebrew=עָשָׂה asah). You can see from above that “keep” and “observe” share the same root Hebrew word “shamar,” yet are translated with two differing English words. “Observe” (Hebrew=שָׁמַר shamar) the Sabbath (Deut 5:12).“Remember” (Hebrew=זָכַר zakhar) the Sabbath (Ex 20:8).I will list a few more familiar ones, along with the original Hebrew root verb used to describe the action listed in the Torah: However, there are quite a few verses commanding us to single out the Sabbath in special ways. I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, Or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly Īnd I will make you ride on the heights of the earth If you honor (Hebrew=כָּבַד kavad) it, not going your own ways, “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,Īnd the holy (Hebrew=קָדוֹשׁ kadosh) day of the Lord honorable Ariel HaNaviy Messianic Jew and Torah Teacher with Messianic Congregation 'The Harvest' Using the TaNaKH (OT), I could not find a verse that simply commands us to “Honor the Sabbath day and keep it holy,” (with the original Hebrew words כָּבַד kavad for “honor” and the word קָדוֹשׁ kadosh for “holy”), although Is 58:13-14 probably comes the closest since it employs both of these words across two verses:
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