Exodus 34:21

34:21 “On six days ¹  you may labor, but on the seventh day you must rest; ²  even at the time of plowing and of harvest ³  you are to rest. ⁴ 

Exodus 23:12

23:12 For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, in order that your ox and your donkey may rest and that your female servant’s son and any hired help ⁵  may refresh themselves. ⁶ 

[34:21]  ¹ tn This is an adverbial accusative of time.

[34:21]  ² tn Or “cease” (i.e., from the labors).

[34:21]  ³ sn See M. Dahood, “Vocative lamed in Exodus 2,4 and Merismus in 34,21,” Bib 62 (1981): 413-15.

[34:21]  ⁴ tn The imperfect tense expresses injunction or instruction.

[23:12]  ⁵ tn Heb “alien,” or “resident foreigner.” Such an individual would have traveled out of need and depended on the goodwill of the people around him. The rendering “hired help” assumes that the foreigner is mentioned in this context because he is working for an Israelite and will benefit from the Sabbath rest, along with his employer.

[23:12]  ⁶ tn The verb is וְיִּנָּפֵשׁ (vÿyyinnafesh); it is related to the word usually translated “soul” or “life.”