Part 56
suiting the context better. St. Paul seems to be dweUing still on the rudimentary character of the law, as fitted
for an earher stage in the world's history" (Lightfoot, Comm. on Gal, 167).
In Col 2 8 AV Paul vprites, "Beware lest any man
spoil you .... after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ" ; and in ver 20, AV "Wherefore
if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the
world, why .... are ye subject to ordinances?" The meaning of the term here is the elements of reh-
gious training, the ceremonial precepts of the Jewish Law. In Col and Gal the meaning is that the systems of the false teachers, both in Colossae and in
Galatia, laid stress on Jewish ritual, ceremonial law
and ascetic observances—things of this world, be-
longing to the visible sphere, things elementary,
and intended, so far as the Jewish Law is concerned,
simply as a preparation for the commg of Christ.
Such were the rudiments of the world, so far as their
source was Jewish. On their heathen side they
were still more decidedly anti-Christian. Both of
these tendencies, Jewish and heathen, were not
according to Christ." For Christ HimseH who
atoned for sin, and who now lives and reigns, de-
livers believers from all such methods, as well as
from the need of them. John Ruthbrfurd
Ruler Ruth THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2626
Aram, term is used as an adj. (cf RVm); in Dnl 5 7 occurs the vb. sh'lat, "to have dominion," "he shall rule as the third in rank" (cf vs 16.29).
IS; cf Jer 33 26); to Pharaoh (Ps 105 20); to a wicked prince, a tjTant (Prov 28 15; cf Isa 14 5; 49 7); to the theocratic king,
1. In the the Messiah (Mic 5 2); it is often OX used in general (Prov 6 7; 23 1; 29 12; Eccl 10 4; Isa 16 1, etc).
(11) ]^'^ , mdghen, "shield" : "Her rulers [shields] dearly love shame" (Hos 4 18). Perhaps we ought, to read (with LXX) migg"'ondm, "their glory," and to translate it "they love shame more than their glorj'"; they would rather have a good (!) time than a good name.
(2) T"?;, naghldh, "leader," "noble" (nobles), "prince." In a number of instances RV renders
it "prince," where AV has ruler (1 S 25 30; 2 S 6 21; 1 K 1 35, etc). It is used of Azrikam having charge of the palace of King Ahaz (2 Ch 28 7, "governor" of the house, AV); of Azariah (Seraiah, Neh 11 11), who is called the "ruler of the house of God" (1 Ch 9 11; cf 2 Ch 31 13); he was the leader of a division or group of priests. In 2 Ch 35 8 the names of three others are given (Hilkiah, Zechariah and Jehiel).
(1) apx"**', drckon, used of the "rulers" of the Spartans (1 Mace 14 20) and, in a general sense, of the priest Mattathias (1 Mace 2 17). AV 9 Tn thp has the word also in a general sense in ^. XII uie g.j, ^^ jg ^-^y "mighty man"). ^P^** (2) Tjyoii/i-ei'o?, higoumenos, "one leading the way." A quite general term, Sir 10 2 (ruler of a eitv) ; 17 17 (of gentile nations) ; 46 18 (of the Tyrians). Also 3 17 AV (BV "he that ruleth"), and 32 1 RV ("ruler o/ a /easf." AV "master").
(.3) OL ^e-yicTTai-eg, hoi megistdnes, a rare word found only in the pi., for "rulers of the congregation" (Sir 33 18). The same word in Mk 6 21 is tr-i "lords." (4) 2 Mace 4 27 AV for en-ipx"?, epdrchos (RV "governor").
(3) ^<^^CD, nasV, "prince" (so Nu 13 2, AV "ruler"); generally speaking, the nasi' is one of the public authorities (Ex 22 28) ; the rulers of the congregation (Ex 16 22; ef 34 31); "The rulers brought the onyx stones" (Ex 35 27), as it was to be expected from men of their social stancling and financial abihty: "when a ruler [the head of a tribe or tribal division] sinneth" (Lev 4 22).
(5) AV inserts the word without Gr equivalent in 1 Mace 6 14; 11 57; 2 Maee 13 2.
(1) (Spxwi drchon, "a person in authority," "a magistrate," "a judge," "a prince"; a councillor, a member of the supreme council of
(4) ')3D , ^dghdn, the representative of a king or a prince; a vice-regent; a governor; then, in the times of Ezra and Nehemiah, a leader or principal of the people of Jerus under the general supervision of these two men. The EV renders it "ruler" (Ezk 23 12.23), "deputy" (Jer 51 23.28.57), and, in most ca.ses, "ruler" with "deputy" in m (Ezr 9 2; Neh 2 16; 4 14.19; 5 7.17; 7 5; 12 40; 13 11; Isa 41 25; Ezk 23 6) always used in pi.
3. In the the Jews; a man of influence. "There NT came a ruler" (Mt 9 IS), meaning a ruler of the synagogue (cf Mk 5 22; Lk 8 41); see (2) below; "one of the rulers of the Pharisees" (Lk 14 1), perhaps a member of the Jewish council belonging, at the same time, to the Pharisees, or, more probably, one of the leading Pharisees; "the chief priests and the rulers" (Lk 23 13..35; 24 20; cf Jn 3 1; 7 26.48; 12 42; Acts 3 17; 4 5.8; 13 27; 14 5); the rulers were, wdth the chief priests and the scribes, members of the Sanhedrin, either of two councils of the Jews (the Great and the Lesser) ; they were lay-members' (elders); "before the rulers" (Acts 16 19), the pohce magistrates {praetores, "praetors") of the city of Philippi; "Thou shalt not speak evil of a ruler of thy people" (Acts 23 5; cf Ex 22 2S, nasi'; see 1, [3] above), a magistrate, a person in authority
(•5) r^P. bmn, "a judge" or "magistrate" (Isa 1 10; 3 6.7; 22 3; Mic 3 1.9); "a military chief" (Josh 10 24).
(6) rril , rodheh, one having dominion: "There
is httle Benjamin their ruler" (Ps 68 27); the meaning is obscure; still we may point to the facts that Saul, the first one to conquer the heathen (1 S 14 47 f), came of this the smallest of aU the tribes, and that within its boundaries the temple of Jeh was erected.
(cf Acts 7 27.35; Rom 13 3, the pubhc authorities); "the rulers of this world" (1 Cor 2 6.8), persons being mentally superior to their fellow-men, and so having great influence in shaping their opinions and directing their actions.
(7) "Til, rozen, a "dignitary," a "prince." "The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against Jeh" (Ps 2 2); in the NT the word is rendered drchonles (Acts 4 26).
(2) dpxi-o-viidyujyos, archisundgogos, "ruler of the synagogue." He was the presiding officer of a board of elders, who had charge of the synagogue. Sometimes they, also, were given the same name (cf "one of the rulers of the synagogue," Mk 5 22.35; Lk 8 41.49; in Mt 9 18 Jairua is simply called archon); the ruler mentioned in Lk 13 14 was, of course, the president of the board (cf Acts 18 l7, Sosthenes), whUe in Acts 13 15 the phrase "rulers of the synagogue" simply signifies the board. It was a dehberative body, but at the same time responsible for the maintenance of good order in the synagogue and the orthodoxy of its members; having, therefore, disciphnary power, they were authorized to reprimand, and even to excommunicate, the guilty ones (cf Jn 9 22; 12 42; 16 2).
(8) "IW , sar, "chief," "head"; prince, king; a nobleman having judicial or other power; a royal officer. RV renders it frequently "prince": "rulers over my cattle" ("head-shepherds," Gen 47 6); "rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds," etc (Ex 18 21); they had to be men of good character because they were endowed with judicial power (ver 22); in Dt 1 15 the rendering of EV is "captains," etc; they were military leaders.
chariots" (1 K 9 22); the rulers of Jezreel (2 K 10 1) were, presumably, the ruler of the palace of the king and the ruler of the city of Samaria (cf ver 5). It is difficult to explain why they should be called the rulers of Jezreel; both LXX and Vulg omit the word; "the rulers of the substance which was king David's" (1 Ch 27 31) overseers of the royal domain; "The rulers were behind aU the house of Judah" (Neh 4 16), the officers were ready to assume active command in case of an attack.
(3) apxiTpiKXtvos, architrihlinos, the ruler ("steward," RVm) of the feast (Jn 2 8.9). See separate article.
(4) Koaij.oKp6.Tup, kosmokrdtor, a "world-ruler" (Eph 6 12). The angels of the devU (Mt 25 41; 12 45) or Satan, the prince of this world (Jn 12 31), participate in his power; they are his tools, their sphere of action being "this darkness," i.e. the morally corrupt state of our present existence.
(9), (10) "VoblC, shiUmi, "a commander," "an officer": "the rulers of the provinces" (Dnl 3 2 f);
(5) woXirdpxv^, politdrches; the prefect of a city (Acts 17 6.8). Luke being the only one of the Bib. authors to hand down to us this word, it is a
U"!?!? , shallU, "a person in power," "a potentate" (Dnl 2 10) ; there seems to be little doubt that the
2627 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Ruler Ruth
rus" [Job 8 11]; "papyrus," AV "rush" [Isa 18
noteworthy tact that, in rohitively modern times, a Gr inscription was discovered containing this very word and, moreover, having reference to the city of Thessalonica {AJT, 1898, II, 598-643). Here
2); "rushes" [35 7]): This is ahnost certainly the famous papyrus, C'yperus papyrus (N.O. Cypera-
ceae), known in Arab, as habir (whence comes our word "paper"). This plant, the finest of the sedges, flourishes plentifully m Upper Egypt; in Pal there is a great mass of it growing in the marsh to the N. of Lake Huleh, and it also occurs on the Lake of Galilee and the Jordan. Light boats of plaited papyrus have been used on the Nile from ancient times and are mentioned by many writers
it was where Paul and Silas preiiched the gospel so successfully that the Jews, "being moved with jealousy," caused Jason and certain brethren to be dragged before the rulers of the city (epi toils politdrchas). These magistrates suffered themselves to be made the tools of the unscrupulous Jews by demanding and getting security from Jason and the rest.
William Baur RULER OF THE FEAST (apxirplKXivos, arcUtrlklinos; AV governor) : The word occurs in the NT in the account of the wedding feast in Cana of Galilee (Jn 2 8.9). According to Ecclus (32 1) it was customary to appoint a "master of the ceremonies" from among the invited guests. It was his duty to determine the places of the guests, to see that the ordinary rules of etiquette were observed, etc, and generally to supervise the arrangements. RVm "steward" is possible if the "governor of the feast" meant the "head waiter" (Merx renders "head servant of the feast"), and not one of the guests appointed for the purpose. But the context is in favor of the view that the person in question was one of the prominent guests—an intimate friend or relative of the host. See Ruler, 2, (2). T.Lewis
(cf Ex 2 3; Isa 18 2).
(2) (li^5S5 , 'aghmon, "rope," m "Heb 'a rope of
rushes,' " AV "hook" [.lob 41 2); "[burning] rushes," AV "caldron" [Job 41 20]; "rush," AV "bulrush"
[Isa 58 5]; "rush" in Isa 9 14; 19 15, used of the humble and lowly folk as contrasted with the "palm branch," the highest class): The word 'aghmon comes from QJb? , 'ogham, meaning a marsh (see Pools), being transferred from the place of the things growing there. The word doubtless includes not only the rushes—of which there are several kinds in Pal—but also members of the sedge family, the Cyperaceae. See also Reed.
E. W. G. Masterman RUST, rust (nsbn , hel'ah; ppw<ris, hrosis)
Strictly speaking rust is the red oxide of iron formed by the corrosion of that metal, but by extension it has come to mean corrosion produced on any metal. Hel'ah is tr'^ "rust" in Ezk 24 11.12. This rendering is probably based on ver 11. Copper caldrons are still used in Bible lands. Such vessels must be constantly watched when on the fire to guard against the possibility of their becoming dry.
RULER OF THE SYNAGOGUE. See Ruler,
3, (1), (2). RULERS OF THE CITY. See Ruler, 1, (8), 2,
(2), 3, (5). RUMAH, roo'ma (rTall, rumah; B, 'Po\j|ia, Rhoumd, A, 'Pu|ia, Rhumd): To this place belonged Pedaiah whose daughter Zebudah (RV "Zebidah") entered the harem of Josiah, king of Judah, and became the mother of Jehoiakim (2 K 23 36). Jos {Ant, X, V, 2) calls the place Abouma, but this
If this should happen the contents, whatever they may be, and the vessel itself will be injured. The copper of the caldron oxidizes and scales off in black or brownish scales, or rust. Us, ids, was used in Gr to denote the corroding of metals. In Jas 5 3 occurs, "Your gold and your silver are rusted; and their rust .... shall eat your flesh as fire." The writers must have had in mind the actions of chemicals upon these metals which formed some such compound as the caustic silver nitrate.
is an obvious clerical error for Arouma. This sug-
gests a possible identification with Arumah (Jgs 9 41), which lay not far from Shechem. Another possible identification is with the Rumah mentioned by Jos (BJ, III, vii, 21) in Galilee (cf Neubauer, Geog. du Talm, 203), which may be identical with the modem Khirbet Eumeh, about 3 miles N. of Seffuriyeh. Some, however, would identify Rumah' with Dumah of Josh 15 52, where the sub-
Brosis, lit. "eating," which occurs in Mt 6 19.
20, may refer to the diseases which attack such vegetation as wheat, grapes, cucumbers, etc. In no country is the saying "where moth and rust consume" (Mt 6 19) more true than in Syria. Any metal subject to corrosion seems to rust faster in that country than anywhere else. There are also many rusting fungi which the people have not learned to destroy and which do much damage to the crops. See also Scum. James A. Patch
stitution of r for d is supported by the LXX {Rheuma), possibly represented by the modern Domeh, about 13 miles S.E. of Beit Jihrin. This of course was in the territory of Judah, and no question of jus connuhium is involved, such as might arise in the
case of a GaUlean site. W. Ewma
RUTH, rooth (nil , ruth; 'Pov9, Rhouth) : The name Ruth is found in the OT only in the book which is so entitled. It is a contraction for re'uth (PW)), perhaps signifying "comrade," "compan-
RUMP, rump: AV uses this word as tr of Tnt^
'alyah (Ex 29 22; Lev 3 9; 7 3; 8 25; 9 19), where RV correctly renders "fat tail." Reference
ion" (fem.; cf Ex 11 2, "every woman of her neighbor"). OHL, 946, explains the word as an abstract noun = "friendship." The Book of Ruth details the history of the one decisive episode owing to which Ruth became an ancestress of David and of the royal house of Judah. From this point of view
is here had to the broad tail of the Syrian sheep, which occasionally weighs as much as 20 lbs., and
is considered one of the daintiest portions of mutton.
It was one of those portions of the peace and tres-
pass offering which were not eaten by the priest or
the sacrificer, but which with other choice portions were waved before the Lord and wholly burnt on the
its pecuhar interest hes in the close friendship or alhance between Israel and Moab, which rendered such a connection possible. Not improbably also there is an allusion to this in the name itself.
altar as a sweet savor unto Jeh.
RUNAGATE, run'a-gat: A runaway: "The runa-
gates continue in scarceness" (Ps 68 6, Prayer Book
The history hes in the period of the Judges (1 1), at the close of a great famine in the land of Israel.
Version, RV "The rebellious dwell in a parched
land").
Ehmelech, a native of Bethlehem, had,
1. History with his wife Naomi and two sons, taken refuge in Moab from the famine. There, after an interval of time which is not more
RUNNER, run'er. See Games.
RUSH: (1) (X^il, gome'; vdwvpos, pdpuros, "bul-
rushes," m "papyrus" [Ex 2 3]; "rush," m "papy-
precisely defined, he died (1 3), and his two sons,
Sabbath THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2628
Ruth
liaving married women of Moab, in the course of a further ten j'ears also died, and left Orpah and Ruth widows (1 5). Naomi then decided to return
become obsolete. The narrative is brief and told without affectation of style, and on that account
will never lose its interest. It has preserved moreover the memory of an incident, the national significance of which may have passed away, but to which value will alwaj's be attached for its simplicity and natural grace.
to Pal, and her two daughters-in-law accompanied her on her way (1 7). Orpah, however, turned back and only Ruth remained with Naomi, journeying with her to Bethlehem, where they arrived "in the beginning of barley harvest" (1 22). The piety and fidelity of Ruth are thus early exhibited in the course of the narrative, in that she refused to abandon her mother-in-law, although thrice exhorted to do so by Naomi herself, on account of her own great age and the better prospects for Ruth in her own country. Orpah yielded to persuasion, and returned to Moab, but Ruth remained with Naomi.
For the literature, see Ruth, Book of.
A. S. Geden RUTH, BOOK OF: The place which the Book
of Ruth occupies in the order of the books of the
Eng. Bible is not that of the Heb
1. Order in Canon. There it is one of the five the Canon m'ghillolh or Rolls, which were ordered to be read in the synagogue on 5 special occasions or festivals during the year.
At Bethlehem Ruth employed herself in gleaning in the field during the harvest and was noticed by Boaz, the owner of the field, a near kinsman of her father-in-law EUmelech. Boaz gave her permission to glean as long as the harvest continued; and told her that he had heard of her fiUal conduct toward her mother-in-law. Moreover, he directed the reapers to make intentional provision for her by dropping in her way grain from their bundles (2 15 f). She was thus able to return to Naomi in the evening with a whole ephah of barley (ver 17). In answer to questioning she explained that her success
In printed edd of tlie OT the m'ghiUoth are usually arranged In the order : Cant, Ruth, Lam, Eccl, Est. Ruth occupied the second position because the booli was appointed to be read at the Feast of Weeks which was the second of the 5 special days. In Heb MSS, however, the order varies considerably. In Spanish MSS generally, and in one at least of the Ger. school cited by Dr. Ginsburg {Intro to the Heb Bible, London, 1897, 4), Ruth precedes Cant; and in the former Eccl is placed before Lam. The m'gh Moth constitute the second portion of the kHhuhhlm or Haglographa, the third great division of the books of the Heb Scriptures. The Talm, however, dissociates Ruth altogether from the remaining m^ghilldth, and places it first among the Haglographa, before the Book of Fss. By the Gr translators the book was removed from the position which it held in the Heb Canon, and because it described events contemporaneous with the Judges, was attached as a kind of appendix to the latter work. This sequence was adopted in the Vulg, and so has passed into aU modern Bibles.
in gleaning was due to the good-will of Boaz, and the orders that he had given. She remained accordingly and gleaned with his maidens throughout the barley and wheat harvest, making her home with her mother-in-law (2 23). Naomi was anxious for the remarriage of Ruth, both for her sake and to secure compliance with the usage and law of Israel; and sent her to Boaz to recall to him his duty as near kinsman of her late husband EUmelech (3 If). Boaz acknowledged the claim and promised to take Ruth in marriage, failing fulfilment of the legal duty of another w'hose relationship was nearer than that of Boaz himself (3 8-13). Naomi was confident that Boaz would fulfil his promise, and advised Ruth to lAait in patience.
The book is written without name of author, and there is no direct indication of its date. Its aim is to record an event of interest and im-
2. Authorportance in the family history of David, ship and and incidentally to illustrate ancient Purpose custom and marriage law. There is no ground for supposing, as has been suggested, that the writer had a polemical purpose
in view, and desired to show that the strict and stern action taken by Ezra and Nehemiah after the return in forbidding mixed marriages was not justi-
fied by precedent. The narrative is simple and direct, and the preservation of the tradition which
Boaz then adopted the customary and legal measures to obtain a decision. He summoned the near kinsman before ten elders at the gate of the city, related to him the circumstances of Naomi's return, with her desire that Ruth should be married and settled with her father-in-law's land as her marriageportion, and called upon him to declare his inten-
it records of the descent of Israel's royal house from a Moabite ancestress was probably due in the first instance to oral communication for some considerable time before it was committed to writing. The Book of 1 S also indicates a close relation between David and Moab, when during the period of his outlawry the future king confided his father and mother to the care of the king of Moab
tions. The near kinsman, whose name and degree of relationship are not stated, declared his inability to undertake the charge, which he renounced in legal form in favor of Boaz according to ancient custom in I.srael (4 6ff). Boaz accepted the charge thus transferred to him, the elders and bystanders bearing witness and pronouncing a formal blessing upon the union of Boaz and Ruth (4 9-12). Upon the birth of a son in due course the women of the city congratulated Naomi, in that the continuance of her family and house was now assured, and the latter became the child's nurse. The name of Obed was given to the boy; and Obed through his son Jesse became the grandfather of David (cf Mt 1
(1 S 22 3f), and so far supports the truth of the tradition which is embodied in the Book of Ruth.
With regard to the date at which the narrative was committed to writing, it is evident from the position of the Book of Ruth in the
3. Date of Heb Canon that the date of its comComposition position is subsequent to the close of the great period of the "earlier prophets." Otherwise it would have found a natural place, as was assigned to it in the Gr Bible, together with the Book of Jgs and other historical writings, in the second division of the Heb Scriptures. In the opening words of the book also, "It came to pass in the days when the judges judged" (Ruth 1 1), the writer appears to look back to the period of the Judges as to a comparatively distant epoch. The character of the diction is pure and chaste; but has been supposed in certain details, as in the presence of so-called Aramaisms, to betray a late origin. The reference to the observance of marriage customs and their sanctions "in former time in Israel"
5.6; Lk 3 31.32). Thus the life and history of Ruth are important
in the eyes of the narrator because she forms a link in the ancestry of the greatest
2. Interest king of Israel. From a more modern and Tmpoint of view the narrative is a simple portance of idyllic history, showing how the faiththe Nanaful loving service of Ruth to her tive mother-in-law met with its due reward in the restored happiness of a peaceful and prosperous home-life for herself. Incidentally are illustrated also ancient marriage customs of
(4 7) does not necessarily imply that the composition of Ruth was later than that of Dt, in which the laws and rights of the succession are enjoined, or
Israel, which in the time of the writer had long since
2629 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Ruth Sabbath
ancestress of the royal house of David. The writer desires to show in the person and example of Ruth that a sincere and generous regard for the claims of duty and affection leads to prosperity and honor; and at the same time that the principles and recompense of righteous dealing are not dependent upon race, but are as valid for a Moabit-
that the writer of the former work was acquainted with the latter in its existing form. Slight differences of detail in the procedure would seem to suggest the contrary. On the other hand, the motive of the book in the exhibition of the ancestry of David's house would have lost its significance and raison d'etre with the death or disappearance of the last ruler of David's line in the early period of the return from Babylon (cf Zee 4 9). The most probable date therefore for the composition of the book would be in the later days of the exile, or immediately after the return. There is no clue to the authorship. The last four verses, giving the genealogy from Perez to David (cf 1 Ch 2 4-15; Mt 1 3-6; Lk 3 31-33), are generally recognized as a later addition.
ess as for a Jew. There is no distinctive doctrine taught in the book. It is primarily historical, recording a decisive incident in the origin of David's house; and in the second place ethical, indicating and enforcing in a well-known example the advantage and importance of right dealing and the observance of the dictates of filial duty. For de-
tailed contents see preceding article.
Literature.—Eng. comm.s. upon the Book of Ruth are natarall.v not numerous. Cf G. W. Thatcher, "Judges and Kuth," in [New] Century Bible; R. A. Watson, in Expositor" fi Bible; the most recent critical comm. is by L. B. Woifeuson in AJSL. XXVII (.July, 1911), 28.5 ft, who defends the early date of the book. See also the relevant arts, in Jew Eric, HUB, EB, and Driver, LOT, 6, 454 If. A. S. Geden RYE, ri. See Spelt.
The ethical value of the Book of Ruth is considerable, as setting forth an example of stedfast fihal piety. The action of Ruth in 4. Ethical refusing to desert her mother-in-law Teaching and persevering in accompanying her to her own land meets with its due reward in the prosperity and happiness which become hers, and in the honor which she receives as
SABANNEUS, sab-a-ne'us (B, SapawaioBs, Sabannaious, A, Bavvaioiis, BannaiotXs; AV Bannaia, following the Aldine) : One of the sons of Asom who had married
SABACHTHANI, sa-biik'tha-ne. Lama Sabachthani.
See Eli, Eli,
' 'strange wives' ' ( 1 Esd 9 33) = "Zabad" in Ezr 10 33.
SABACO, sab'a-ko, SABAKON, sab'a-kon. See So.
SABANNUS, sa-ban'nus (Sdpawos, Sdbannos; AV Sabban): The father of Moeth, one of the Levites to whom the silver and gold were delivered
SABAEANS, sa-be'anz ("'S31i5 , sh'bha'lm [Joel
3 8 AV], "'SID , .fbha'un; 'Za.^a.dy., Sahadm,
2£ptt£(n, Sehaeim [Isa 45 14]; O'^XIID ,
(1 Esd 8 63). "MoeththesonofSabannus" stands
1. Forms of read ^dbha'im, but rendered as though the Word from .sdbha', "to imbibe," hence "drunkards"; otvufi^voi, oinomenoi, "wine-drunken" [Ezk 23 42 AV]) : "Sabaeans" is
in the position of "Noadiah the son of Binnui,"
in Ezr 8 33.
SABAOTH, sab'a-oth, sa-ba'oth. See God, Names OF, III, 8; Lord or Hosts.
also the tr of the name of the country itself (i'?!?
sh'bha') in Job 1 15; 6 19. This last, which is the root of sh'hha'im, is regarded by Arabists as coming from that root with the meaning of "to
SABAT, sa'bat: AV = RVSaphat, (2) (q.v.).
SABATEUS, sab-a-te'us (A, SaPParaCas, Sab-
take captive," though seba'a, "he raided" (cf Job
balaias, B, 'Apratos, Abtaios; AV Sabateas) : One of the Levites who "taught the law of the Lord" to the multitude (1 Esd 9 48) = "Shabbethai" in Neh 8 7.
1 15), has aiso been suggested. As Sheba is said m Gen 10 7; 10 28; and 25 3
respectively to have been (1) a son of Raamah, the
4th son of Cush; (.2) the 10th son of
2. Two Joktan, son of Eber; (3) the 1st son
, (SaPaOos, Sdbathos; AV Sabatus): An Israelite who put away his "strange wife" (1 Esd 9 28)="Zabad" in Ezr 10 27.
SABATHUS, sab'a-thus
Different of Jokshan, 2d son of Abrahani and Races Keturah, at least two nationahties of
this name are implied. The former
were identified by Jos (Ant, II, x, 2) with the tall
SABATUS, sab'a-tus: AV = RV Sabathds (q.v.).
people of Saba in Upper Egypt, described by him
as a city of Ethiopia, which Moses, when m the
SABBAN, sab'an: AV = RV Sabannus (q.v.).
service of the Egyptians, besieged and captured.
It is the Sem Sabaeans, however, who are the best known, and the two genealogies attributed to them
SABBATEUS, sab-a-te'us (SaPParatos, Sab-
balaios; AV Sabbatheus) : One of the three (or rather two, for "Levis" = Levite) "assessors" in the investigation held concerning "foreign wives"
(Joktan-Eber and Jokshan-Abraham)
3. Semitic seem to imply two settlements in the Sabaeans land regarded as that of their origin.
(1 Esd 9 14) = "Shabbethai the Levite" in Ezr 10
and Their As Ezekiel (27 23) mentions Haran Commerce (Hirran), Canneh (Kannah), and Eden
15. He is probably the "Sabateus," one of the Levites who expounded the Law (1 Esd 9 48), and so = the "Shabbethai" in Neh 8 7.
(Aden) as being connected with Sheba,
and these three places are known to have been in
Southern Arabia, their Sem parentage is undoubted. The Sabaeans are described as being exporters of
SABBATH, sab'ath (nSTlJ, shabbalh, |in31|5
gold (Isa 60 6; Ps 72 15), precious stones (Ezk 27
shabbdlkon; o-Apparov, sdbbalon, to, o-dppaxa, td
sdbbata; the y shdbhalh in Heb means "to desist," "cease," "rest"):
23), perfumes (Jer 6 20; Isa and Ezk), and it the
rendering "Sabaeans" for Joel 3 (4) 8 be correct,
the Sebaim, "a nation far off," dealt m slaves.
I. Origin of the Sabbath
See Seba; Sheba; Table of Nations.
1. The Biblical Account
T. G. Pinches
2. Critical Theories
Sabbath THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2630
II. History of the Sabbath after Moses
was one of the institutions which he gave to Israel. From the daj-s of Moses until now the holy Sabbath has been kept by devout Israelites.
1. In the OT
2. In the Intcr-Testamental Period 3. Jestis and the Sabbath 4. Paul and the Sabbath Literature
"The older theories of the origin of the Jewish Sabbath (connecting it with Egypt, with the day of Saturn, or in general with the
The Sabbath was the day on which man was to leave off his secular labors and keep a day holy to Jeh.
2. Critical seven planets) have now been almost Theories entirely abandoned [see Astbonomy,
/. Origin of the Sabbath.—The sketch of creation in Gen 1 1—2 3 closes with an impressive account of the hallowing of the
I, 5]. The disposition at present is to regard the day as originally a lunar festival, similar to a Bab custom (Schrader, Stud. u. Krit., 1874), the rather as the cuneiform documents appear to contain a term sahattu or sahaltum, identical in form and meaning with the Heb word sahhathon." Thus wrote Professor C. H. Toy in 1899 {JBL, XVIII, 190). _ In a syUabary (II R, 32, 16o, 6) sahaltum is said to be equivalent to iim n'CLh libbi, the natural tr of which seemed to be "day of rest of the heart." Schrader, Sa3rce and others so understood the phrase, and naturally looked upon sabattum as equivalent to the Heb Sabbath. But Jensen and others have shown that the phrase should be rendered "day of the appeasement of the mind"
1. The 7th day, because on it God rested from Biblical all the work which He had made Account creatively. The word "Sabbath" does not occur in the story; but it is recognized by critics of every school that the author (P) means to describe the Sabbath as primeval. In Ex 20 8-11 (ascribed to JE) the reason assigned
for keeping the 7th day as a holy Sabbath is the fact that Jeh rested after the six days of creative activity. E.x 31 17 employs a bold figure, and describes Jeh as refreshing Himself ("catching His breath") after six days of work. The statement that God set apart the 7th day for holy purposes in honor of His own rest after six days of creative activ-
(of an offended deity). The reference is to a day of atonement or pacification rather than a day of rest, a day in which one must be careful not to arouse the anger of the god who was supposed to preside over that particular day. Now the term sabattum has been found only 5 or 6 t in the Bab inscriptions and in none of them is it connected with the 7th day of a week. There was, however, a sort of institution among the superstitious Babylonians that has been compared with the Heb Sabbath. In certain months of the year (Elul, Marcheshvan) the 7th, 14th, 19th, 21st and 28th days were set down as favorable daj^s, or unfavorable days, that is, as days in which the king, the priest and the physician must be careful not to stir up the anger of the deity. On these days the king was not to eat food prepared by
ity is boldly challenged by many modem scholars as merely the pious figment of a priestly imagination
of the exile. There are so few hints of a weekly Sabbath before Moses, who is comparatively a modem character, that argumentation is alrnost excluded, and each student will approach the question with the bias of his whole intellectual and spiritual history. There is no distinct mention of the Sabbath in Gen, though a 7-day period is referred to several times (Gen 7 4.10; 8 10.12; 29 27 f). The first express mention of the Sabbath
is found in Ex 16 21-30, in connection with the giving of the manna. Jeh taught the people in the wilderness to observe the 7th day as a Sabbath of
rest by sending no manna on that day, a double supply behig given on the 6th day of the week. Here we have to do with a weekly Sabbath as a day of rest from ordinary secular labor. A little later the Ten Words were spoken by Jeh from Sinai
fire, not to put on royal dress, not to ride in his chariot^ etc. As to the 19th day, it is thought that
it was mcluded among the unlucky days because it was the 49th (7 times 7) from the 1st of the preceding month. As there were 30 days in the month,
it is evident that we are not dealing with a recurring 7th day in the week, as is the case with the Heb Sabbath. Moreover, no proof has been adduced that the term sabattum was ever appUed to these dies nefasti or unlucky days. Hence the assertions of some Assyriologists with regard to the Bab origin of the Sabbath must be taken with several grains of salt. Notice must be taken of an ingenious and able paper by Professor M. Jastrow, which was read before the Eleventh International Congress of Orientalists in Paris in 1897, in which the learned author attempts to show that the Heb Sabbath was originally a day of propitiation like the Bab sabattum {AJT, II, 312-52). He argues that the restrictive measures in the Heb laws for the observance of the Sabbath arose from the original conception of the Sabbath as an unfavorable day, a day in which the anger of Jeh might flash forth against men. Although Jastrow has supported his thesis with many arguments that are cogent, yet the reverent student of the Scriptures wiU find it difficult to
in the hearing of all the people, and were afterward written on the two tables of stone (Ex 20 1-17; 34 1-5.27 f). The Fotu-th Commandment enjoins upon Israel the observance of the 7th day of the week as a holy day on which no work shall be done
by man or beast. Children and servants are to desist from aU work, and even the stranger within the gates is required to keep the day holy. The reason assigned is that Jeh rested on the 7th day and blessed it and hallowed it. There is no hint that the restrictions were meant to guard against the wrath of a jealous and angry deity. The Sabbath was meant to be a blessing to man and not a burden. After the sin in connection with the golden calf Jeh rehearses the chief duties required of Israel, and again announces the law of the Sabbath (Ex 34 21, ascribed to J). In the Levitical legislation there is frequent mention of the Sabbath (Ex 31 13-16; 35 2f; Lev 19 3.30; 23 3..38). A wilful Sabbath-breaker was put to death (Nu 15 32-36). In the Deuteronomic legislation there is equal recognition of the importance and value of the Sabbath (Dt 5 12-15). Here the reason assigned for the observance of the Sabbath is philanthropic and humanitarian: "that thy man-servant and thy maid-servant may rest as well as thou." It is thus manifest that aU the Pentateuchal codes, whether proceeding from Moses alone or from many hands in widely different centuries, equally recognize the Sabbath as one of the characteristic institutions of Israel's religious and social life. If we cannot point to any observance of the weekly Sabbath prior to Moses, we can at least be sure that this
resist the impression that the OT writers without exception thought of the Sabbath not as an unfavorable or unlucky day but rather aa a day set apart
for the benefit of man. Whatever may have been the attitude of the early Hebrews toward the day which was to become a characteristic institution of Judaism in all ages and in aU lands, the organs of revelation throughout the OT enforce the observance of the Sabbath by arguments which lay emphasis upon its beneficent and humanitarian aspects.
We must call attention to Mcinhold's ingenious hypothesis as to the origin of the Sabbath. In 1894
2631 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Sabbath
Thcophilus G. Pinches discovered a tablet in wliich tlie term shapattu is applied to the 15th day of the month. Meinhold argues that shabaltu in Bab denotes the day of the full moon. Dr. Skinner thas describes Meinhold's theory: " He points to the close association ot new-moon and Sabbath in nearly all the pree.xiUc references (Am 8 5; Hos 2 11: Isa 1 13; 2 K 4 23 f ) ; and concludes that in early Israel, as in Babylonia, the Sabbath was the full-moon festival and nothing else. The institution of the weekly Sabbath he traces to a desire to compensate for the loss of the old lunar festivals, when these were abrogated by the Deutoronomic reformation. This innovation he attributes to Ezekiel; but steps toward it are found in the introduction of a weekly day of rest during harvest only (on the ground of Dt 16 8 f ; cf Ex 34 21), and in the establishment of the sabbatical year (Lev 25), which he considers to bo older than the weekly Sabbath" (ICC on Gen, p. 39). Dr. Skinner well says that Meinhold's theory involves great improbabilities. It is not certain that the Babylonians applied the term i-abattu to the l.'jth day of the month because it was the day of the full moon; and it is by no means certain that the early prophets in Israel identified Sabbath with the festival of the full moon.
tions as contrary to the spirit of the original law of the Sabbath. The rabbis seemed t» think that the Sabbath was an end in itself, an 3. Jesus in.stitution to which the pious Israelite and the must subject all his personal interests; Sabbath in other words, that man was made for the Sabbath: man might suffer hardship, but the institution must be preserved inviolate. Jesus, on the contrary, taught that the Sabbath was made for man's benefit. If there should arise a confhct between man's needs and the letter of the Law, man's higher interests and needs must take precedence over the law of the Sabbath (Mt 12 1-14; Mk 2 23—3 6; Lk 6 l-U; also Jn 5 1-18; Lk 13 10-17; 14 1-6). There is no reason to think that Jesus meant to discredit the Sabbath as an institution. It was His custom to attend worship in the synagogue on the Sabbath (Lk 4 16). The humane element in the rest day at the end of every week must have appealed to Hia sympathetic nature. It was the one precept of the Decalogue that was predominantly ceremonial, though it had distinct sociological and moral value. As an institution for the benefit of toiling men and animals, Jesus held the Sabbath in high regard. As the Messiah, He was not subject to its restrictions; He could at any moment assert His lordship over the Sabbath (Mk 2 28). The institution was not on a par with the great moral precepts, which are unchangeable. It is worthy of note that, while Jesus pushed the moral precepts of the Decalogue into the inner realm of thought and desire, thus making the requirement more difflcult and the law more exacting, He fought for a more hberal and lenient interpretation of the law of the Sabbath. Rigorous Sabbatarians must look elsewhere for a champion of their views.
The wealth of learning and ingenuity expended in the search for the origin of the Sabbath has up to the present yielded small returns.
//. History of the Sabbath after Moses.—The early prophets and historians occasionally make mention of the Sabbath. It is some-
1. In the times named in connection with the OT festival of the new moon (2 K 4 23; Am 8 5; Hos 2 11; Isa 1 13; Ezk 46 3). The prophets found fault with the worship on the Sabbath, because it was not spiritual nor prompted by love and gratitude. The Sabbath is exalted by the great prophets who faced the crisis of the Bab exile as one of the most valuable institutions in Israel's life. Great promises are attached to faithful observance of the holy day, and confession
is made of Israel's unfaithfulness in profaning the Sabbath (Jer 17 21-27; Isa 56 2.4; 58 13; Ezk 20 12-24). In the Pers period Nehemiah struggled earnestly to make the people of Jerus observe the law of the Sabbath (Neh 10 31; 13 15-22). With the development of the synagogue the Sabbath became a day of worship and of study of
The early Christians kept the 7th day as a Sabbath, much after the fashion of other Jews. Gradually the 1st day of the week came to be 4. Paul recognized as the day on which the and the followers of Jesus would meet for Sabbath worship. The resurrection of Our Lord on that day made it for Christians the most joyous day of all the week. When Gentries were admitted into the church, the question at once arose whether they should be required to keep the Law of Moses. It is the glory of Paul that he fought for and won freedom for his gentile fellow-Christians. It is significant of the attitude of the apostles that the decrees of the Council at Jerus made no mention of Sabbath observance in the requirements laid upon gentile Christians (Acts 15 28 f). Paul boldly contended that believers in Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile, were set free from the burdens of the Mosaic Law. Even circumcision counted for nothing,- now that men were saved by believing in Jesus (Gal 5 6). Christian liberty as proclaimed by Paul included all days and seasons. A man could observe special days or not, just as his own judgment and conscience might dictate (Rom 14 5 f) ; but in all such matters one ought to be careful not to put a stumblingblock in a brother's way (Rom 14 13 ff). That Paul contended for personal freedom in respect of the Sabbath is made quite clear in Col 2 16 f, where he groups together dietary laws, feast days, new moons and sabbaths. The early Christians brought over into their mode of observing the Lord's Day the best elements of the Jewish Sabbath, without its onerous restrictions. See further Lord's Day; Ethics of Jesus, I, 3, (1). Literature.—J. A. Hessey, Sunday, Its Origin, fft'jtory, and Present Obligation (Bampton Lects for 1860); Zahn, Geschichte des Honntags. 1878; Davis, Genesis and Semitic Tradiliun, 1894, 23-3.5; Jastrow, "The Original Character of the Heb Sabbath." AJT, II. 1898, 312-52; Toy, "The Earliest Form ot the Sabbath," JBL, XVIII,
the Law, as weU as a day of cessation
2. In the from all secular employment. That Inter-Testathe pious in Israel carefully observed mental the Sabbath is clear from the conduct Period of the Maccabees and their followers, who at first declined to resist the onslaught made by their enemies on the Sabbath
(1 Mace 2 29-38); but necessity drove the faith-
ful to defend themselves against hostile attack on the Sabbath (1 Mace 2 39-41). It was during the period between Ezra and the Christian era that
the spirit of Jewish legalism flourished. Innumer-
able restrictions and rules were formulated for the conduct of life under the Law. Great principles were lost to sight in the mass of petty details. Two
entire treatises of the Mish, Shahbath and 'Erubhln,
are devoted to the details of Sabbath observance. The subject is touched upon in other parts of the Mish; and in the Gemara there are extended dis-
cussions, with citations of the often divergent
opinions of the rabbis. In the Mish (Shahbath,
vii.2) there are 39 classes of prohibited actions
with regard to the Sabbath, and there is much hair-
spUtting in working out the details. The beginnmga
of this elaborate definition of actions permitted and
actions forbidden are to be found in the centuries immediately preceding the Christian era. The movement was at flood tide during Our Lord's
earthly ministry and continued for centuries after-
ward, in spite of His frequent and vigorous protests.
Apart from His claim to be the Messiah, there ia no subject on which Our Lord came into such sharp
conflict with the religious leaders of the Jews as
in the matter of Sabbath observance. He set Him-
self squarely against the current rabbinic restric-
Sabbath THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA 2632
' Wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.' Nay. consider whether this annexed reason intimates not that the day on this ground being hallowed before, therefore it was that God sent not down the manna on that day, and that He prohibited the people from seeking it" (Richard Baxter, Practieal Works, III, 774, ed 1707).
1899, 190-94; W. Lotz, Questionum de historia Sahbali libri duo, 188^; Nowack, Hebr. Arch., II, 1894. 140 fl; Driver, HDB, IV, 1902, 317-23; ICC, on "Gen," 1911, 3.5-39; Dillmann, Ex u. Ln", 1897,212-16; Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, II, 1883, 51-62, 777-87; Broadus, Comm. on M(, 256-61; -BB. IV, 1903, 4173-80; Gunkel. Gen'. 1910. 114-16; Meinhold, Sa66o( u. Woche im AT, 1905; Beer. Schabbalh, 1908.
casually added.
That the Sabbath was known to those who came out of Egypt, even before the giving of the Law at
John Richard Sampey
Se\'enth-Day Adventist Position The views entertained by Seventh-Day Adventists concerning the nature and obUgation of the Sabbath may conveniently be presented under three general divisions: (1) what the Bible says concerning the Sabbath; (2) what history says concerning the Sabbath; (3) the significance of the Sabbath.
Sinai, is shown from the experience with the manna, as recorded in Ex 16 22-30. The double portion on the sixth day, and its preservation, was the constantly recurring miracle which reminded the people
of their obligation to observe the Sabbath, and that the Sabbath was a definite day, the seventh day. To the people, first wondering at this remarkable occurrence, Moses said, "This is that which the Lord hath said. To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord" (ver 23 AV). And to some who went out to gather manna on the seventh da}', the Lord administered this rebuke: "How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?" (ver 28). All this shows that the Sabbath law was well understood, and that the failure to observe it rendered the people justly subject to Divine reproof.
(1) OT teaching.—In their views concerning the institution and primal obUgation of the Sabbath, Seventh-Day Adventists are in har-
1. What the mony with the views held by the Bible Says early representatives of nearly all the concerning evangelical denominations. The Sabthe Sabbath bath is coeval with the finishing of creation, and the main facts connected with establishing it are recorded in Gen 2 2.3. The blessing here placed upon the seventh day distinguishes it from the other days of the week, and the day thus blessed was "sanctified" (AV, RV "hallowed") and set apart for man.
At Sinai, the Sabbath which was instituted at creation, and had been observed during the intervening centuries, was embodied in that formal statement of man's duties usually designated as the "Ten Commandments." It is treated as an institution already well known and the command is, "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy" (Ex 20 8). In the 4th commandment the basis of the Sabbath is revealed. It is a memorial of the Creator's rest at the close of those six days in which He made "heaven and earth, the sea, and all that
That the Sabbath thus instituted was well known throughout the Patriarchal age is clearly estabhshed both by direct evidence and by necessary inference.
"If we had no other passage than this of Gen 2 3, there would be no difficulty in deducing from it a precept for the universal observance of a Sabbath, or seventh day, to be devoted to God as lioly time by all of that race for whom the earth and all things therein were specially prepared. The first men must have laiown it. The words, 'He hallowed it,' can have no meaning otherwise. They would be a blank unless in reference to some who were required to keep it holy" (Lange's Comm. on Gen 2 3. 1, 197). "And the day arrived when Moses went to Goshen to see tiis brethren, that he saw the children of Israel in their burdens and hard labor, and Moses was grieved on their account. And Moses returned to Egypt and came to the house of Pharaoh, and came before the king, and Moses bowed down before the king. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, I pray thee, my lord, I have come to seek a small request from thee, turn not away my face empty; and Pharaoli said unto liim. Speali:. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Let tliere be given unto thy servants the children of Israel who are in Goshen, one day to rest therein from their labor. And the king answered Moses and said. Behold I have lifted up thy face in this thing to grant thy request. And Pharaoh ordered a proclamation to be issued throughout Egypt and Goshen, saying. To you. all the children of Israel, thus says the king, for six days you shall do your work and labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest, and shall not perform any work; thus shall you do in all the days, as the king and Moses the son of Bathia have commanded. And Moses rejoiced at this thing which the king liad granted to him. and aU the children of Israel did as Moses ordered them. For this thing was from the Lord to the children of Israel, for the Lord had begun to remember the children of Israel to save them for the sake of their fathers. And the Lord was with Moses, and his fame went throughout Egypt. And Moses became great in the eyes of all the Egyptians, and in the eyes of all the children of Israel, seeking good for his people Israel, and speaking words of peace regarding them to the king" (Book of Jashar 70:41-51, pubUshed by Noah & Gould. New York, 1840).
in them is." For this reason "Jeh blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." This blessing was not placed upon the day at Sinai, but in the beginning, when "God blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it" (Gen 2 3). From the very nature of the basis of the Sabbath, as set forth in this commandment, both the institution itself and the definite day of the Sabbath are of a permanent nature. So long as it is true that God created heaven and earth, and all things therein, so long will the Sabbath remain as a memorial of that work; and so long as it is true that this creative work was completed in six days, and that God Himself rested on the seventh day, and was refreshed in the enjoyment of His completed work, so long will it be true that the memorial of that work can properly be celebrated only upon the seventh day of the week.
During all the period from the dehverance out of Egypt to the captivity in Babylon, the people of God were distinguished from the nations about them by the worship of the only true God, and the observance of His holy day. The proper observance of the true Sabbath would preserve them from idolatry, being a constant reminder of the one God, the Creator of all things. Even when Jerus was suffering from the attacks of the Babylonians, God assured His people, through the prophet Jeremiah, that if they would hallow the Sabbath day, great should be their prosperity, and the city should remain forever (Jer 17 18). This shows that the spiritual observance of the Sabbath was the supreme test of their right relation to God. In those prophecies of Isaiah, which deal primarily with the restoration from Babylon, remarkable promises were made to those who would observe the Sabbath, as recorded in Isa 66 1-7.
"Hence you can see that the Sabbath was before the Law of Moses came, and has existed from the beginning of the world. Esp. have the devout, who have preserved the true faith, met together and called upon God on this day" (Luther's Works. XXXV. p. 330). "Why should God begin two thousand years after (the creation of the world) to give men a Sabbath upon the reason of His rest from the creation of it. if He had never called man to that commemoration before '! And it is certain that the Sabbath was observed at the falling of the manna before the giving of the Law; and let any considering Christian judge .... (1) whether the not falling of manna, or the rest of God after the creation, was like to be the original reason of the Sabbath; (2) and whether, if it had been the first, it would not have been said, Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day; for on six days the manna fell, and not on the seventh; rather than 'for in six days God created heaven and earth, etc, and rested the seventh day.' And it is
(2) NT teaching.—From the record found in the four Gospels, it is plain that the Jews during all the previous centuries had preserved a knowledge both of the Sabbath institution and of the definite day.
2633 THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Sabbath
stitute a living testimony for the benefit of all who desire to know the truth of this matter.
It is equally plain that they had made the Sabbath burdensome by their own rigorous exactions concerning it. And Christ, the Lord of the Sabbath, both by example and by precept, brushed aside these traditions of men that He might reveal the Sabbath of the commandment as God gave it—
(2) Church hi-itory.—According to church history the seventh-day Sabbath was observed by the early church, and no other day was observed as a Sabbath during the first two or three centuries (see HDB, IV, 322 b).
In the oft-repeated letter of Pliny, the Rom governor of Bithynia, to the emperor Trajan, written about 112 AD, there occurs the expression, "a certain stated day," which is usually assumed to mean Sunday. With reference to this matter VV. B. Taylor, in Historical Comms., ch i, sec. 47, makes the following statement: "As the Sabbath day appears to have been quite as commonly observed at this date as the sun's day (if not even more so), it is just as probable that this "stated day' referred to by Pliny was the 7th day as that it was the 1st day; though the latter is generally taken for granted." "Sunday wa.s distinguished as a day of joy by the circumstances that men did not fast upon it, and that they prayed standing up and not kneeling, as Christ had now been raised from the dead. The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intentions of the apostles to establish a Divine command in this respect, far from them, and from the early apostolic church, to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday. Perhaps at the end of the 2d cent. , a false application of this kind had begun to take place; for men appear by that time to have considered laboring on Sunday as a sin" (Tertullian De Oral., c. 23). This quotation is taken from Rose's Meander. London, 1831, I, 33 f, and is the correct tr from Neander's first Ger. ed, Hamburg, 1826, I, pt. 2, p. 339. Neander has in his 2d ed, 1842, omitted the second sentence, in which he expressly stated that Sunday was only a human ordinance, l5ut he has added nothing to the contrary. "The Christians in the ancient church very soon distinguished the first day of the week, Sunday; however, not as a Sabbath, but as an assembly day of the chm-ch, to study the Word of God together and to celebrate the ordinances one with another: without a shadow of doubt this took place as early as the first part of the 2d cent." {Geschiefde den Sonnlags. 60).
blessing and not a burden. A careful reading of the testimony of the evangelists will show that Christ taught the observance of the commandments of God, rather than the traditions of men, and that the charge of Sabbath-breaking was brought against Him for no other reason than that He refused to allow the requirements of man to change the Sabbath, blessed of God, into a merely human institution, grievous in its nature, and enforced upon the people with many and troublesome restrictions.
All are agreed that Christ and His disciples observed the seventh-day .Sabbath previous to the crucifixion. That His followers had received no intimation of any proposed change at His death, is evident from the recorded fact that on the day when He was in the tomb they rested, "on the sabbath .... according to the commandment" (Lk 23 .56); and that they treated the following day. the first day of the week, the same as of old,
is further evident, as upon that day they came unto the sepulcher for the purpose of anointing the body of Jesus. In the Book of Acts, which gives a brief history of the work of the disciples in proclaiming the gospel of a risen Saviour, no other Sabbath is recognized than the seventh day, and this is mentioned in the most natural way as the proper designation of a well-known institution (Acts 13 14.27.42; 16 13; 18 4). In Our Lord's great prophecy, in which He foretold the experience of the church between the first and the second advent. He recognized the seventh-day Sabbath as an existing institution at the time of the destruction of Jerus (70 AD), when He instructed His disciples, "Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on a sabbath" (Mt 24 20). Such instruction given in these words, and at that time, would have been confusing in the extreme, had there been any such thing contemplated as the overthrow of the Sabbath law at the crucifixion, and the substitution of another day upon an entirely different basis.
Gradually, however, the first day of the week came into prominence as an added day. but finally by civil and ecclesiastical authority as a required observance. The first legislation on this subject was the famous law of Constantine, enacted 321 AD. The acts of various councils during the 4th and .5th cents, established the observance of the first day of the week by ecclesiastical authority, and in the great apostasy which followed, the rival day obtained the ascendancy. During the centuries which followed, however, there were always witnesses for the true Sabbath, although under great persecution. And thus in various lands, tile knowledge of the true Sabbath has been preserved.
That the original Sabbath is to be observed, not only during the present order of things, but also
after the restoration when, according to the vision
of the revelator, a new heaven and a new earth will take the place of the heaven and the earth that now
In the creation of the heavens and the earth the foundation of the gospel was laid. At the close of His created work, "God saw everything
are, is clearly intimated in the words of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah: "For as the new heavens and the new earth, which 1 will make, shall remain before me, saith Jeh, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith Jeh" (Isa 66 22.2.3). Seventh-Day Adventists regard the effort to
3. The Sigthat he had made, and, behold, it was nificance of very good" (Gen 1 31). The Sabthe Sabbath bath was both the sign and the memorial of that creative power which
is able to make all things good. But man, made in the image of God, lost that image through sin. In the gospel, provision is made for the restoration of the image of God in the soul of man. The Creator
establish the observance of another day than the seventh by using such texts as Jn 20 19.26; Acts 20 7; 1 Cor 16 1.2; Rev 1 10 as being merely an
is the Redeemer and redemption is the new creation. As the Sabbath was the sign of that creative power which wrought in Christ, the Word, in the making
afterthought, an effort to find warrant for an observance established upon other than Bib. authority. During the last two or three centuries there has been a movement for the restoration of the origmal seventh-day Sabbath, not as a Jewish, but as a
of the heaven and the earth and all things therein, so it is the sign of that same creative power working through the same eternal Word for the restoration
of all things. "Wherefore if any man is in Christ, there is a new creation: the old things are passed away; behold, they are become new" (2 Cor 5 17 m). "For neither is circumcision anything, nor uncircumoision, but a new creation" (Gal 6
Christian, institution. This work, commenced and
carried forward by the Seventh-Day Baptists, has been taken up and pushed with renewed vigor by
the Seventh-Day Adventists during the present
1.5 m). "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God afore prepared that we should walk in them" (Eph 2 10). A concrete illustration of tills gospel meaning of the Sabbath is found in the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. The same creative power which wrought in the beginning was exorcised in the signs and miracles which preceded their dehverance, and in those miracles, such as the opening of the Red Sea, the giving of the manna, and the water from the rock, which attended the journeyings of the Israelites. In consequence of these manifestations of creative power in their behalf, the children of Israel were instructed to remember in their observance of the Sabbath that they were bondmen in the land of Egypt. Israel's deliverance from Egypt is the type of every man's deliverance from sin ; and the instruction to Israel concerning
generation, and the Bible teaching concerning the
true Sabbath is now being presented in nearly every
country, both civilized and uncivilized, on the face
of the earth.
(1) Josephus.—This summary of history must neces-
sarily be brief, and it will be impossible, for lack of space,
to quote authorities. Prom the testi-
c% Tin, J. mony of Jos it is clear that the Jews, as a 2. Wnat nation, continued to observe the seventhHistory day Sabbath until their overthrow, when
«!flv<! about Jerus was captured by Titus, 70 AD. As oays duuui
ggiQjjigg^ a^„jj individuals, scattered over the oaDDatn ^jjg f^^^ ^j ^jm earth, the Jews have preserved a knowledge of the original Sabbath, and the definite day, until the present time. They con-
i*uu*?"^T^'°^ THE INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPAEDIA Sabbatical Year 2634
invented a way of increasing this distance without technically infringing the Law, by depositing some food at the 2,000-cubit limit, before the Sabbath, and declaring that spot a temporary domicile. They might then proceed 2,000 cubits from this point without transgressing the Law.
the Sabbath shows its true significance in the gospel of salvation from sin, and the new creation in the image of God.
Furthermore, the seventh-day Sabbath is the sign of both the divinity and the deity of Christ. God only can create. He througli whom tliis woric
is wrougltt must be one with God. To this the Scriptures testify: "In the beginning was the Word, .... and the Word was God All things were made through him ; and without him was not anything made that hath been made." But this same A^'ord which was with God, and was God, "became flesh, and dwelt among us" (Jn 1 1.3.14). This is the eternal Son, "in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace" (Eph 17). To the Christian the Sabbath, which was the sign and memorial of that Divine power which wrought through the eternal Word in the creation of the heaven and the eartli, becomes the sign of the same power working through the same eternal Son to accomphsh the new creation, and is thus the sign of both the divinity and the deity of Christ.
And in some cases even this intricacy of preparation was unnecessary. If, for instance, the approach of the Sabbath found one on his journey, the traveler might select some tree or some stone wall at a distance of 2,000 paces and mentally declare this to be his residence for the Sabbath, in which case he was permitted to go the 2,000 paces to the selected tree or wall and also 2,000 paces beyond, but in such a case he most do the work thoroughly and must say; "Let my Sabbath residence be at the trunk of that tree." for if he merely said: "Let my Sabbath residence be under that tree," this would not be sufficient, because the expression would be too general and indefinite (Tract. 'Erubhin i 7). Other schemes for extending the distance have been devised, such as regarding the quarter of the town in which one dwells, or the whole town itself, as the domicile, thus allowing one to proceed from any part of the town to a point 2,000 cubits beyond
its utmost limits. This was most probably the case with walled towns, at least, and boundary stones have been found in the vicinity of Gaza with inscriptions supposed to mark these Hmits. The 2,000cubit limits around the Levitical cities (Nu 35 5) may have suggested the limit of the Sabbath day's journey also. The term came to be used as a designation of distance which must have been more or less definite. H. Porter
Inasmuch as the redemptive work finds its chiefest expression in the cross of Christ, the Sabbath, which
is the sign of that redemptive work, becomes the sign of the cross.
Seventh-Day Adventists teach and practise the observance of the Sabbath, not because they believe in salvation through man's effort to keep the law of God, but because they beheve in that salvation which alone can be accomplished by the creative power of God working through the eternal Son to create believers anew in Christ Jesus,
SABBATH, MORROW AFTER THE. Morrow after the Sabbath.
Seventh-Day Adventists believe, and teach, that the observance of any other day than the seventh as the Sabbath is the sign of that predicted apostasy in which the man of sin would be revealed who would exalt himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped.
See
SABBATH, SECOND AFTER THE FIRST (o-dpPaTov ScvTepoTrpwTov, sdbbaton deuteroprolon [Lk 6 1], ht. "the second-first sabbath," of RVm): We will mention only a few of the e.xplanations ehcited by this ex-pression. (1) It was the first Sabbath in the second year of a 7-year cycle comprising the period from one Sabbatic year to the other;
Seventh-Day Adventists believe, and teach, that the observance of the true Sabbath in this generation is a part of that gospel work which is to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.
SABBATH-BREAKING,' s.-brak'ing. See Crimes ; Punishments.
(2) the first Sabbath after the second day of Passover, i.e. the first of the seven Sabbaths the Hebrews were to "count unto" themselves from "the morrow after the sabbath" (the day after Easter) until Pentecost (Lev 23 15); (3) the first Sabbath in the Jewish ecclesiastical year (about the middle of March), the first Sabbath in the civil year (aljout the middle of September) being counted as the "first-first" Sabbath; (4) the term deuterdprotos,
SABBATH, COURT OF THE. Way.
See Covered
SABBATH, DAY BEFORE THE. Sec Day BEFORE THE SaBBATH.
SABBATH DAY'S JOURNEY, jur'ni (o-appdrou
686s, sahhnlou hodos) : I'sed only in Acts 1 12, where it designates the distance from Jerus to the Mount of Olives, to which Jesus led His disciples on the day of His ascension. The expression comes from rabbinical usage to indicate the distance a Jew might travel on the Sabbath without transgressing the Law, the command against working on that day being interpreted as including travel (see Ex 16 27-30). The limit set by the rabbis to the Sabbath day's jom-ney was 2,000 cubits from one's house or domicile, which was derived from the statement found in Josh 3 4 that this was the distance between the ark and the people on their march, this being assumed to be the distance between the tent.s of the people and the tabernacle during the sojourn in the wilderness. Hence it must have been allowable to travel thus far to attend the worship of the tabernacle. We do not know when this assumption in regard to the Sabbath day's journey was made, but it seems to have been in force in the time of Christ. The distance of the ]\'Iount of Olives from Jerus is stated in .Jos (AnI, XX, viii, 6) to have been five stadia or furlongs and in BJ, V, ii, 3, six stadia, the discrepancy being explainecl by supposing a different point of departure. This would make the distance of the Sabbath day's journey from 1,000 to 1,200 yds., the first agreeing very closely with the 2,000 cubits. The rabbis, however,