Exodus 31:17

31:17 It is a sign between me and the Israelites forever; for in six days ¹  the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’” ² 

Genesis 2:2-3

2:2 By ³  the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, ⁴  and he ceased ⁵  on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing. 2:3 God blessed the seventh day and made it holy ⁶  because on it he ceased all the work that he ⁷  had been doing in creation. ⁸ 

Psalms 95:4-7

95:4 The depths of the earth are in his hand, ⁹ 

and the mountain peaks belong to him.

95:5 The sea is his, for he made it.

His hands formed the dry land.

95:6 Come! Let’s bow down and worship! ¹⁰ 

Let’s kneel before the Lord, our creator!

95:7 For he is our God;

we are the people of his pasture,

the sheep he owns. ¹¹ 

Today, if only you would obey him! ¹² 

Mark 2:27-28

2:27 Then ¹³  he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for people, ¹⁴  not people for the Sabbath. 2:28 For this reason the Son of Man is lord ¹⁵  even of the Sabbath.”

Acts 20:7

20:7 On the first day ¹⁶  of the week, when we met ¹⁷  to break bread, Paul began to speak ¹⁸  to the people, and because he intended ¹⁹  to leave the next day, he extended ²⁰  his message until midnight.

[31:17]  ¹ tn The expression again forms an adverbial accusative of time.

[31:17]  ² sn The word “rest” essentially means “to cease, stop.” So describing God as “resting” on the seventh day does not indicate that he was tired – he simply finished creation and then ceased or stopped. But in this verse is a very bold anthropomorphism in the form of the verb וַיִּנָּפַשׁ (vayyinnafash), a Niphal preterite from the root נָפַשׁ (nafash), the word that is related to “life, soul” or more specifically “breath, throat.” The verb is usually translated here as “he was refreshed,” offering a very human picture. It could also be rendered “he took breath” (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 345). Elsewhere the verb is used of people and animals. The anthropomorphism is clearly intended to teach people to stop and refresh themselves physically, spiritually, and emotionally on this day of rest.

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “on/in the seventh day.”

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “his work which he did [or “made”].”

[2:2]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term שָׁבַּת (shabbat) can be translated “to rest” (“and he rested”) but it basically means “to cease.” This is not a rest from exhaustion; it is the cessation of the work of creation.

[2:3]  ⁶ tn The verb is usually translated “and sanctified it.” The Piel verb קִדֵּשׁ (qiddesh) means “to make something holy; to set something apart; to distinguish it.” On the literal level the phrase means essentially that God made this day different. But within the context of the Law, it means that the day belonged to God; it was for rest from ordinary labor, worship, and spiritual service. The day belonged to God.

[2:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “God.” The pronoun (“he”) has been employed in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “for on it he ceased from all his work which God created to make.” The last infinitive construct and the verb before it form a verbal hendiadys, the infinitive becoming the modifier – “which God creatively made,” or “which God made in his creating.”

[95:4]  ⁹ tn The phrase “in his hand” means within the sphere of his authority.

[95:6]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “kneel down.”

[95:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “of his hand.”

[95:7]  ¹² tn Heb “if only you would listen to his voice.” The Hebrew particle אִם (’im, “if”) and following prefixed verbal form here express a wish (cf. Ps 81:8). Note that the apodosis (the “then” clause of the conditional sentence) is suppressed.

[2:27]  ¹³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[2:27]  ¹⁴ tn The Greek term ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpos) is used twice in this verse in a generic sense, referring to both men and women, thus “people.”

[2:28]  ¹⁵ tn The term “lord” is in emphatic position in the Greek text.

[20:7]  ¹⁶ sn On the first day. This is the first mention of a Sunday gathering (1 Cor 16:2).

[20:7]  ¹⁷ tn Or “assembled.”

[20:7]  ¹⁸ tn The verb διαλέγομαι (dialegomai) is frequently used of Paul addressing Jews in the synagogue. As G. Schrenk (TDNT 2:94-95) points out, “What is at issue is the address which any qualified member of a synagogue might give.” Other examples of this may be found in the NT in Matt 4:23 and Mark 1:21. In the context of a Christian gathering, it is preferable to translate διελέγετο (dielegeto) simply as “speak” here. The imperfect verb διελέγετο has been translated as an ingressive imperfect.

[20:7]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 628 s.v. μέλλω 1.c.γ has “denoting an intended action: intend, propose, have in mind…Ac 17:31; 20:3, 7, 13ab; 23:15; 26:2; 27:30.”

[20:7]  ²⁰ tn Or “prolonged.”