Shabbat Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Hebrew Bible=== {{Main|Biblical Sabbath}} Sabbath is given special status as a holy day at the very beginning of the [[Torah]] in Genesis 2:1-3.<ref>{{Bibleverse||Genesis|2:1–3|HE}}</ref> It is first commanded after [[The Exodus]] from Egypt, in Exodus 16:26<ref>{{Bibleverse||Exodus|16:26|HE}}</ref> (relating to the cessation of [[manna]]) and in Exodus 16:29<ref>{{Bibleverse||Exodus|16:29|HE}}</ref> (relating to the distance one may [[Biblical mile|travel by foot]] on the Sabbath), as also in Exodus 20:8-11<ref>{{Bibleverse||Exodus|20:8–11|HE}}</ref> (as one of the [[Ten Commandments]]). Sabbath is commanded and commended many more times in the Torah and [[Tanakh]]; double the normal number of animal [[korban|sacrifices]] are to be offered on the day.<ref>''Every Person's Guide to Shabbat'', by Ronald H. Isaacs, Jason Aronson, 1998, p. 6</ref> Sabbath is also described by the prophets [[Isaiah]], [[Jeremiah]], [[Ezekiel]], [[Hosea]], [[Amos (prophet)|Amos]], and [[Nehemiah]]. [[File:Шабатна кибритна кутија - Shabbat matchbox holder.jpg|right|thumb|A silver matchbox holder for Shabbat from [[North Macedonia]] ]] The longstanding Jewish position is that unbroken seventh-day Shabbat originated among the Jewish people, as their first and most sacred institution.<ref name=landau>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/sabbath00land/sabbath00land_djvu.txt|title=The Sabbath|author=Landau, Judah Leo|publisher=Ivri Publishing Society, Ltd |access-date= 2009-03-26|location=[[Johannesburg, South Africa]]|pages=2, 12}}</ref> The origins of Shabbat and a seven-day week are not clear to scholars; the [[Moses |Mosaic]] tradition claims an origin from the Genesis creation narrative.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pcea.org.au/articles/the_westminster_confession/the_origin_of_the_sabbath/|title=The Origin of the Sabbath|author=Graham, I. L.|publisher=[[Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia]]|date=2009 |access-date= 2009-03-26 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081203162529/http://www.pcea.org.au/articles/the_westminster_confession/the_origin_of_the_sabbath/ |archive-date= December 3, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter-url= http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/303554/Jewish-religious-year/34908/The-Sabbath|title=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|chapter=Jewish religious year: The Sabbath|date=2009 |access-date= 2009-03-26|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online|quote=According to biblical tradition, it commemorates the original seventh day on which God rested after completing the creation. Scholars have not succeeded in tracing the origin of the seven-day week, nor can they account for the origin of the Sabbath.}}</ref> The first non-Biblical reference to Sabbath is in an [[ostracon]] found in excavations at [[Mesad Hashavyahu]], which has been dated to approximately 630 BCE.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cojs.org/cojswiki/Mezad_Hashavyahu_Ostracon%2C_c._630_BCE|title=Mezad Hashavyahu Ostracon, c. 630 BCE |access-date=2012-09-12 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130130125324/http://www.cojs.org/cojswiki/Mezad_Hashavyahu_Ostracon%2C_c._630_BCE |archive-date= 2013-01-30}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page