Sabbath
שַׁבָּת · shab.bat · H7676σάββατον · sabbaton · G45212 other spellings151 mentions in 22 books, most in Luke (19)
Who they were
The Sabbath is the seventh day of the week, set apart by God as a holy day for rest and worship. The word "Sabbath" comes from the Hebrew word "shabbat," meaning "to cease" or "to rest." The observance of the Sabbath was instituted by God at creation (Genesis 2:2-3) and later codified in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:8-11).
On the Sabbath, the Israelites were to refrain from all work and dedicate the day to God (Exodus 31:14-15; Leviticus 23:3). The Sabbath was a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, reminding them of their deliverance from slavery in Egypt (Deu.5.15). Specific regulations governed Sabbath observance, such as the prohibition of kindling a fire (Exodus 35:3) and the requirement to prepare food in advance (Exodus 16:23).
In the New Testament, Jesus affirmed the Sabbath as a day for doing good and ministering to others (Matthew 12:1-13; Luke 13:10-17). He declared Himself the Lord of the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8) and taught that the Sabbath was made for man's benefit (Mrk.2.27). After Jesus' resurrection, the early church began to gather on the first day of the week, Sunday, to commemorate His resurrection (Act.20.7; 1Co.16.2).
The Sabbath remains an important concept in Christian theology, with some denominations continuing to observe the seventh-day Sabbath, while others view Sunday as a day of rest and worship. The principle of setting apart time for rest and devotion to God continues to be an essential aspect of Christian faith and practice.
Article: STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0
Every mention
151 references, counted from STEPBible, Tyndale House Cambridge · CC BY 4.0 · verse text: World English Bible (public domain)
Exodus13 mentions
Exodus 16:23He said to them, “This is that which Yahweh has spoken, ‘Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy Sabbath to Yahweh. Bake that which you want to bake, and boil that which you want to boil; and…Exodus 16:25Moses said, “Eat that today, for today is a Sabbath to Yahweh. Today you shall not find it in the field.Exodus 16:26Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath. In it there shall be none.”Exodus 16:29Behold, because Yahweh has given you the Sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days. Everyone stay in his place. Let no one go out of his place on the seventh…Exodus 20:8“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.Exodus 20:10but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock…Exodus 20:11for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.Exodus 31:13“Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Most certainly you shall keep my Sabbaths; for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am…Exodus 31:14You shall keep the Sabbath therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among…Exodus 31:15Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to Yahweh. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death.Exodus 31:16Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.Exodus 35:2‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of solemn rest to Yahweh: whoever does any work in it shall be put to death.Exodus 35:3You shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations on the Sabbath day.’”
Leviticus17 mentions
Leviticus 16:31It is a Sabbath of solemn rest to you, and you shall afflict your souls. It is a statute forever.Leviticus 19:3“‘Each one of you shall respect his mother and his father. You shall keep my Sabbaths. I am Yahweh your God.Leviticus 19:30“‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and reverence my sanctuary; I am Yahweh.Leviticus 23:3“‘Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation; you shall do no kind of work. It is a Sabbath to Yahweh in all your dwellings.Leviticus 23:11He shall wave the sheaf before Yahweh, to be accepted for you. On the next day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.Leviticus 23:15“‘You shall count from the next day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering: seven Sabbaths shall be completed.Leviticus 23:16The next day after the seventh Sabbath you shall count fifty days; and you shall offer a new meal offering to Yahweh.Leviticus 23:32It shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for you, and you shall deny yourselves. In the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall keep your Sabbath.”Leviticus 23:38in addition to the Sabbaths of Yahweh, and in addition to your gifts, and in addition to all your vows, and in addition to all your free will offerings, which you give to Yahweh.Leviticus 24:8Every Sabbath day he shall set it in order before Yahweh continually. It is an everlasting covenant on the behalf of the children of Israel.Leviticus 25:2“Speak to the children of Israel, and tell them, ‘When you come into the land which I give you, then the land shall keep a Sabbath to Yahweh.Leviticus 25:4but in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of solemn rest for the land, a Sabbath to Yahweh. You shall not sow your field or prune your vineyard.Leviticus 25:6The Sabbath of the land shall be for food for you; for yourself, for your servant, for your maid, for your hired servant, and for your stranger, who lives as a foreigner with you.Leviticus 26:2“‘You shall keep my Sabbaths, and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am Yahweh.Leviticus 26:34Then the land will enjoy its Sabbaths as long as it lies desolate and you are in your enemies’ land. Even then the land will rest and enjoy its Sabbaths.Leviticus 26:35As long as it lies desolate it shall have rest, even the rest which it didn’t have in your Sabbaths when you lived on it.Leviticus 26:43The land also will be left by them, and will enjoy its Sabbaths while it lies desolate without them; and they will accept the punishment of their iniquity because they rejected my…
Numbers3 mentions
Numbers 15:32While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.Numbers 28:9“‘On the Sabbath day, you shall offer two male lambs a year old without defect, and two tenths of an ephah of fine flour for a meal offering mixed with oil, and its drink offering:Numbers 28:10this is the burnt offering of every Sabbath, in addition to the continual burnt offering and its drink offering.
Deuteronomy3 mentions
Deuteronomy 5:12“Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy, as Yahweh your God commanded you.Deuteronomy 5:14but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God, in which you shall not do any work—neither you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor…Deuteronomy 5:15You shall remember that you were a servant in the land of Egypt, and Yahweh your God brought you out of there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm. Therefore Yahweh your God…
2 Kings5 mentions
2 Kings 4:23He said, “Why would you want to go to him today? It is not a new moon or a Sabbath.” She said, “It’s all right.”2 Kings 11:5He commanded them, saying, “This is what you must do: a third of you, who come in on the Sabbath, shall be keepers of the watch of the king’s house;2 Kings 11:7The two companies of you, even all who go out on the Sabbath, shall keep the watch of Yahweh’s house around the king.2 Kings 11:9The captains over hundreds did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded; and they each took his men, those who were to come in on the Sabbath with those who were to go out on…2 Kings 16:18He removed the covered way for the Sabbath that they had built in the house, and the king’s outer entrance to Yahweh’s house, because of the king of Assyria.
1 Chronicles2 mentions
1 Chronicles 9:32Some of their brothers, of the sons of the Kohathites, were over the show bread, to prepare it every Sabbath.1 Chronicles 23:31and to offer all burnt offerings to Yahweh on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, in number according to the ordinance concerning them, continually before Yahweh;
2 Chronicles6 mentions
2 Chronicles 2:4Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, to dedicate it to him, to burn before him incense of sweet spices, for the continual show bread, and for the burnt…2 Chronicles 8:13even as the duty of every day required, offering according to the commandment of Moses on the Sabbaths, on the new moons, and on the set feasts, three times per year, during the feast of…2 Chronicles 23:4This is the thing that you must do: a third part of you, who come in on the Sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be gatekeepers of the thresholds.2 Chronicles 23:8So the Levites and all Judah did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded. They each took his men, those who were to come in on the Sabbath, with those who were to go out on the…2 Chronicles 31:3He also appointed the king’s portion of his possessions for the burnt offerings: for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, for the new moons…2 Chronicles 36:21to fulfill Yahweh’s word by Jeremiah’s mouth, until the land had enjoyed its Sabbaths. As long as it lay desolate, it kept Sabbath, to fulfill seventy years.
Nehemiah10 mentions
Nehemiah 9:14and made known to them your holy Sabbath, and commanded them commandments, statutes, and a law, by Moses your servant,Nehemiah 10:31and if the peoples of the land bring wares or any grain on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy from them on the Sabbath, or on a holy day; and that we would forego the seventh…Nehemiah 10:33for the show bread, for the continual meal offering, for the continual burnt offering, for the Sabbaths, for the new moons, for the set feasts, for the holy things, for the sin offerings…Nehemiah 13:15In those days I saw some men treading wine presses on the Sabbath in Judah, bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of burdens which they brought…Nehemiah 13:16Some men of Tyre also lived there, who brought in fish and all kinds of wares, and sold on the Sabbath to the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem.Nehemiah 13:17Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, “What evil thing is this that you do, and profane the Sabbath day?Nehemiah 13:18Didn’t your fathers do this, and didn’t our God bring all this evil on us and on this city? Yet you bring more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”Nehemiah 13:19It came to pass that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened until after…Nehemiah 13:21Then I testified against them, and said to them, “Why do you stay around the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on, they didn’t come on the Sabbath.Nehemiah 13:22I commanded the Levites that they should purify themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the Sabbath day. Remember me for this also, my God, and spare me…
Isaiah6 mentions
Isaiah 1:13Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me. New moons, Sabbaths, and convocations— I can’t stand evil assemblies.Isaiah 56:2Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who holds it fast; who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”Isaiah 56:4For Yahweh says, “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, choose the things that please me, and hold fast to my covenant,Isaiah 56:6Also the foreigners who join themselves to Yahweh to serve him, and to love Yahweh’s name, to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it, and holds fast my covenant,Isaiah 58:13“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy of Yahweh honorable, and honor it, not doing your own…Isaiah 66:23It shall happen that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh will come to worship before me,” says Yahweh.
Jeremiah4 mentions
Jeremiah 17:21Yahweh says, “Be careful, and bear no burden on the Sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem.Jeremiah 17:22Don’t carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath day. Don’t do any work, but make the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers.Jeremiah 17:24It will happen, if you diligently listen to me,” says Yahweh, “to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but to make the Sabbath day holy, to do no work…Jeremiah 17:27But if you will not listen to me to make the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates…
Ezekiel15 mentions
Ezekiel 20:12Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am Yahweh who sanctifies them.Ezekiel 20:13“‘“But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They didn’t walk in my statutes and they rejected my ordinances, which if a man keeps, he shall live in them. They greatly…Ezekiel 20:16because they rejected my ordinances, and didn’t walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols.Ezekiel 20:20Make my Sabbaths holy. They shall be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am Yahweh your God.’Ezekiel 20:21“‘“But the children rebelled against me. They didn’t walk in my statutes, and didn’t keep my ordinances to do them, which if a man does, he shall live in them. They profaned my Sabbaths.…Ezekiel 20:24because they had not executed my ordinances, but had rejected my statutes, and had profaned my Sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers’ idols.Ezekiel 22:8You have despised my holy things, and have profaned my Sabbaths.Ezekiel 22:26Her priests have done violence to my law and have profaned my holy things. They have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they caused men to discern between…Ezekiel 23:38Moreover this they have done to me: they have defiled my sanctuary in the same day, and have profaned my Sabbaths.Ezekiel 44:24“‘“In a controversy they shall stand to judge. They shall judge it according to my ordinances. They shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts. They shall make my…Ezekiel 45:17It shall be the prince’s part to give the burnt offerings, the meal offerings, and the drink offerings, in the feasts, and on the new moons, and on the Sabbaths, in all the appointed…Ezekiel 46:1“‘The Lord Yahweh says: “The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new…Ezekiel 46:3The people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before Yahweh on the Sabbaths and on the new moons.Ezekiel 46:4The burnt offering that the prince shall offer to Yahweh shall be on the Sabbath day, six lambs without defect and a ram without defect;Ezekiel 46:12When the prince prepares a free will offering, a burnt offering or peace offerings as a free will offering to Yahweh, one shall open for him the gate that looks toward the east; and he…
Matthew9 mentions
Matthew 12:1At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.Matthew 12:2But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”Matthew 12:5Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath day the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?Matthew 12:8For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”Matthew 12:10And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” so that they might accuse him.Matthew 12:11He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t he grab on to it and lift it out?Matthew 12:12Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.”Matthew 24:20Pray that your flight will not be in the winter nor on a Sabbath,Matthew 28:1Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.
Mark12 mentions
Mark 1:21They went into Capernaum, and immediately on the Sabbath day he entered into the synagogue and taught.Mark 2:23He was going on the Sabbath day through the grain fields; and his disciples began, as they went, to pluck the ears of grain.Mark 2:24The Pharisees said to him, “Behold, why do they do that which is not lawful on the Sabbath day?”Mark 2:27He said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.Mark 2:28Therefore the Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.”Mark 3:2They watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath day, that they might accuse him.Mark 3:4He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath day to do good or to do harm? To save a life or to kill?” But they were silent.Mark 6:2When the Sabbath had come, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things?” and, “What is the wisdom that is given…Mark 15:42When evening had now come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,Mark 16:1When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint him.Mark 16:2Very early on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.Mark 16:9Now when he had risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.
Luke19 mentions
Luke 4:16He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.Luke 4:31He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. He was teaching them on the Sabbath day,Luke 6:1Now on the second Sabbath after the first, he was going through the grain fields. His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate, rubbing them in their hands.Luke 6:2But some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why do you do that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath day?”Luke 6:5He said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”Luke 6:6It also happened on another Sabbath that he entered into the synagogue and taught. There was a man there, and his right hand was withered.Luke 6:7The scribes and the Pharisees watched him, to see whether he would heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an accusation against him.Luke 6:9Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you something: Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm? To save a life, or to kill?”Luke 13:10He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath day.Luke 13:14The ruler of the synagogue, being indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the multitude, “There are six days in which men ought to work. Therefore come on those days and…Luke 13:15Therefore the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each one of you free his ox or his donkey from the stall on the Sabbath and lead him away to water?Luke 13:16Ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham whom Satan had bound eighteen long years, be freed from this bondage on the Sabbath day?”Luke 14:1When he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching him.Luke 14:3Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”Luke 14:5He answered them, “Which of you, if your son or an ox fell into a well, wouldn’t immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?”Luke 18:12I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get.’Luke 23:54It was the day of the Preparation, and the Sabbath was drawing near.Luke 23:56They returned and prepared spices and ointments. On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment.Luke 24:1But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they and some others came to the tomb, bringing the spices which they had prepared.
John11 mentions
John 5:9Immediately, the man was made well, and took up his mat and walked. Now that day was a Sabbath.John 5:10So the Jews said to him who was cured, “It is the Sabbath. It is not lawful for you to carry the mat.”John 5:16For this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus and sought to kill him, because he did these things on the Sabbath.John 5:18For this cause therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God.John 7:22Moses has given you circumcision (not that it is of Moses, but of the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a boy.John 7:23If a boy receives circumcision on the Sabbath, that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because I made a man completely healthy on the Sabbath?John 9:14It was a Sabbath when Jesus made the mud and opened his eyes.John 9:16Some therefore of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, because he doesn’t keep the Sabbath.” Others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” So there was division…John 19:31Therefore the Jews, because it was the Preparation Day, so that the bodies wouldn’t remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a special one), asked of Pilate that their legs…John 20:1Now on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene went early, while it was still dark, to the tomb, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.John 20:19When therefore it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and when the doors were locked where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the…
Acts10 mentions
Acts 1:12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away.Acts 13:14But they, passing on from Perga, came to Antioch of Pisidia. They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down.Acts 13:27For those who dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they didn’t know him, nor the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him.Acts 13:42So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.Acts 13:44The next Sabbath, almost the whole city was gathered together to hear the word of God.Acts 15:21For Moses from generations of old has in every city those who preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.”Acts 16:13On the Sabbath day we went outside of the city by a riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together.Acts 17:2Paul, as was his custom, went in to them; and for three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures,Acts 18:4He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded Jews and Greeks.Acts 20:7On the first day of the week, when the disciples were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day; and continued his speech until midnight.
1 Corinthians1 mention
Colossians1 mention
What the dictionary says
(Heb. verb shabbath, meaning “to rest from labour”), the day of rest.
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
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