Exodus 31:13

31:13 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep my Sabbaths, ¹  for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you. ² 

Nehemiah 9:14

9:14 You made known to them your holy Sabbath; you issued commandments, statutes, and law to them through ³  Moses your servant.

Isaiah 58:13-14

58:13 You must ⁴  observe the Sabbath ⁵ 

rather than doing anything you please on my holy day. ⁶ 

You must look forward to the Sabbath ⁷ 

and treat the Lord’s holy day with respect. ⁸ 

You must treat it with respect by refraining from your normal activities,

and by refraining from your selfish pursuits and from making business deals. ⁹ 

58:14 Then you will find joy in your relationship to the Lord, ¹⁰ 

and I will give you great prosperity, ¹¹ 

and cause crops to grow on the land I gave to your ancestor Jacob.” ¹² 

Know for certain that the Lord has spoken. ¹³ 

Ezekiel 20:12

20:12 I also gave them my Sabbaths ¹⁴  as a reminder of our relationship, ¹⁵  so that they would know that I, the Lord, sanctify them. ¹⁶ 

[31:13]  ¹ sn The instruction for the Sabbath at this point seems rather abrupt, but it follows logically the extended plans of building the sanctuary. B. Jacob, following some of the earlier treatments, suggests that these are specific rules given for the duration of the building of the sanctuary (Exodus, 844). The Sabbath day is a day of complete cessation; no labor or work could be done. The point here is that God’s covenant people must faithfully keep the sign of the covenant as a living commemoration of the finished work of Yahweh, and as an active part in their sanctification. See also H. Routtenberg, “The Laws of Sabbath: Biblical Sources,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 41-43, 99-101, 153-55, 204-6; G. Robinson, “The Idea of Rest in the OT and the Search for the Basic Character of Sabbath,” ZAW 92 (1980): 32-42; M. Tsevat, “The Basic Meaning of the Biblical Sabbath, ZAW 84 (1972): 447-59; M. T. Willshaw, “A Joyous Sign,” ExpTim 89 (1978): 179-80.

[31:13]  ² tn Or “your sanctifier.”

[9:14]  ³ tn Heb “by the hand of.”

[58:13]  ⁴ tn Lit., “if you.” In the Hebrew text vv. 13-14 are one long conditional sentence. The protasis (“if” clauses appear in v. 13), with the apodosis (“then” clause) appearing in v. 14.

[58:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “if you turn from the Sabbath your feet.”

[58:13]  ⁶ tn Heb “[from] doing your desires on my holy day.” The Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a supplies the preposition מִן (min) on “doing.”

[58:13]  ⁷ tn Heb “and call the Sabbath a pleasure”; KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV “a delight.”

[58:13]  ⁸ tn Heb “and [call] the holy [day] of the Lord honored.” On קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, “holy”) as indicating a time period, see BDB 872 s.v. 2.e (cf. also Neh 8:9-11).

[58:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “and you honor it [by refraining] from accomplishing your ways, from finding your desire and speaking a word.” It is unlikely that the last phrase (“speaking a word”) is a prohibition against talking on the Sabbath; instead it probably refers to making transactions or plans (see Hos 10:4). Some see here a reference to idle talk (cf. 2 Sam 19:30).

[58:14]  ¹⁰ tn For a parallel use of the phrase “find joy in” (Hitpael of עָנַג [’anag] followed by the preposition עַל [’al]), see Ps 37:4.

[58:14]  ¹¹ tn Heb “and I will cause you to ride upon the heights of the land.” The statement seems to be an allusion to Deut 32:13, where it is associated, as here, with God’s abundant provision of food.

[58:14]  ¹² tn Heb “and I will cause you to eat the inheritance of Jacob your father.” The Hebrew term נַחֲלָה (nakhalah) likely stands by metonymy for the crops that grow on Jacob’s “inheritance” (i.e., the land he inherited as a result of God’s promise).

[58:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” The introductory כִּי (ki) may be asseverative (as reflected in the translation) or causal/explanatory, explaining why the preceding promise will become reality (because it is guaranteed by the divine word).

[20:12]  ¹⁴ sn Ezekiel’s contemporary, Jeremiah, also stressed the importance of obedience to the Sabbath law (Jer 17).

[20:12]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to become a sign between me and them.”

[20:12]  ¹⁶ tn Or “set them apart.” The last phrase of verse 12 appears to be a citation of Exod 31:13.