Dr. Walter
New Member
I realize the various views concerning the fourth commandment. There are some who believe it applies to Christians and some who believes it does not but the entire law has been done away completely. There are some who believe it refers to Saturday and others who believe it now applies to Sunday. There are some who believe every day is alike and Sunday worship is mere tradition without any Biblical command.
However, what I am trying to zero in on is the actual wording and meaning of the command as given by God to Moses in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.
My Hebrew is extremely rusty but using a concordance it appears to me that the term "seventh" and the term "Sabbath" do not represent the same Hebrew term and that each term used comes from an entirely different root.
Second, it would appear that the root term translated "week" in the Old Testament comes from the same root as translated "seventh" but not "Sabbath."
Third, the Hebrew term translated "week" is missing from the fourth commandment terminology as well as from the creation account terminology.
My position at this point, is that the term "week" is intentionally absent from both the fourth command and from the creation account and that the fourth command requires nothing more than six periods of "yom" (day) followed by a seventh period of "yom" (day) sabbath without any specific application to any particular "yom" or day of the week or any other date on the Jewish calander.
Now the Saturday Sabbatarian response to my conclusion is one of logic rather than one of scripture. By the use of logic they demand that the first seven days in Genesis form the basis of our week and therefore God designed the Sabbath to be the seventh day "of the week." Second, they respond that it must have application and the only logical appliation is the seventh day "of the week."
However, here is the problem with this very good sounding logic. The Sabbath command must be understood to be inclusive enough for God's application of the Sabbath and he does not restrict it to the seventh "yom" "of the week" but applies it to greater periods than the "day" of the week (seventh month, seventh year, fiftieth year, first, eighth, fifteenth, twenty-second days of the month, fiftieth day - Lev. 23, 25).
In addition, in the creation days of Genesis the term "day" is used for a twenty-four hour period as well as for an extended period of time greater than twenty-four hours and in direct connection with the Sabbath command.
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
4 ¶ These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
In Leviticus 23 the Sabbath command is applied far more times to those days in a month that would be regarded the "first day of the week" than the "seventh day of the week." In a typical lunar month the seventh, fourteenth, twenty-first and twenty-eighth days would correspond to the "seventh day of the week" application. However, in Leviticus 23 the first, eighth, fifteenth, twenty-second days of the month are Sabbaths. This is particularly seen in the seventh month as it begins with a sabbath observance upon the first day of the month.
Also, the seventh month of the civil year is also the first month of the religious year so what has been regarded as the seventh becomes the first. Adam was created upon the sixth day in creation so the seventh day became His first full day.
Leviticus 23 and 25 provide pictures of the New Covenant and in those pictures the preeminince of the first day sabbath of the week radically dominates.
My position is that God intentionally omitted the phrase "of the week" from the creation account and the fourth commandment because His intent is to apply it to other days than the seventh YOM "of the week" and to greater periods than to 24 hour "yom" but to months and years.
Therefore the Sabbatarian "logic" actually contradicts the Lord's actual application of the Sabbath command. The Sabbatarian logic would restrict the command to the seventh twenty four hour period "of the week" when actually God applies it to a "yom" of greater than 24 hour periods (month, year) and to different 24 hour days than the seventh day of the week (1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 50th 10th).
Therefore Moses intentionally omitted the words "of the week" from both the creation account and from the fourth commandment, not because it did not include it but because it was not to be restricted to it and the insertion of the words "of the week" would have restricted all application to the seventh day of the week and the Scriptures do not restrict the Sabbath command to the seventh day of the week.
However, what I am trying to zero in on is the actual wording and meaning of the command as given by God to Moses in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5.
My Hebrew is extremely rusty but using a concordance it appears to me that the term "seventh" and the term "Sabbath" do not represent the same Hebrew term and that each term used comes from an entirely different root.
Second, it would appear that the root term translated "week" in the Old Testament comes from the same root as translated "seventh" but not "Sabbath."
Third, the Hebrew term translated "week" is missing from the fourth commandment terminology as well as from the creation account terminology.
My position at this point, is that the term "week" is intentionally absent from both the fourth command and from the creation account and that the fourth command requires nothing more than six periods of "yom" (day) followed by a seventh period of "yom" (day) sabbath without any specific application to any particular "yom" or day of the week or any other date on the Jewish calander.
Now the Saturday Sabbatarian response to my conclusion is one of logic rather than one of scripture. By the use of logic they demand that the first seven days in Genesis form the basis of our week and therefore God designed the Sabbath to be the seventh day "of the week." Second, they respond that it must have application and the only logical appliation is the seventh day "of the week."
However, here is the problem with this very good sounding logic. The Sabbath command must be understood to be inclusive enough for God's application of the Sabbath and he does not restrict it to the seventh "yom" "of the week" but applies it to greater periods than the "day" of the week (seventh month, seventh year, fiftieth year, first, eighth, fifteenth, twenty-second days of the month, fiftieth day - Lev. 23, 25).
In addition, in the creation days of Genesis the term "day" is used for a twenty-four hour period as well as for an extended period of time greater than twenty-four hours and in direct connection with the Sabbath command.
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
4 ¶ These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens,
In Leviticus 23 the Sabbath command is applied far more times to those days in a month that would be regarded the "first day of the week" than the "seventh day of the week." In a typical lunar month the seventh, fourteenth, twenty-first and twenty-eighth days would correspond to the "seventh day of the week" application. However, in Leviticus 23 the first, eighth, fifteenth, twenty-second days of the month are Sabbaths. This is particularly seen in the seventh month as it begins with a sabbath observance upon the first day of the month.
Also, the seventh month of the civil year is also the first month of the religious year so what has been regarded as the seventh becomes the first. Adam was created upon the sixth day in creation so the seventh day became His first full day.
Leviticus 23 and 25 provide pictures of the New Covenant and in those pictures the preeminince of the first day sabbath of the week radically dominates.
My position is that God intentionally omitted the phrase "of the week" from the creation account and the fourth commandment because His intent is to apply it to other days than the seventh YOM "of the week" and to greater periods than to 24 hour "yom" but to months and years.
Therefore the Sabbatarian "logic" actually contradicts the Lord's actual application of the Sabbath command. The Sabbatarian logic would restrict the command to the seventh twenty four hour period "of the week" when actually God applies it to a "yom" of greater than 24 hour periods (month, year) and to different 24 hour days than the seventh day of the week (1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 50th 10th).
Therefore Moses intentionally omitted the words "of the week" from both the creation account and from the fourth commandment, not because it did not include it but because it was not to be restricted to it and the insertion of the words "of the week" would have restricted all application to the seventh day of the week and the Scriptures do not restrict the Sabbath command to the seventh day of the week.
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