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Abstract
This study presents indicators from the narrative ofExodus 3, which in their entirety may
suggest the notion of Sabbath rest among the Israelite slaves in Egypt. One such indicator
is the verb shabbatT‘to cease’. a verb that marks the seventh day of the creation week with
the quality of divine Sabbath rest. Its particular form and use ؛١ ١Exod. 5.5 entails various
semantic notions, sueh as the in d ic a tio n that the Israelites ceased from their slave labors
regularly. In addition, contextual, structural, and discourse elements allow for a reading
that is indeed telling with regard to the Israelites’ social status and the ﻤ ﺼ ﺈofa؛ ﻣpossible
أ؛
Sabbath cessation under an oppressive regime, pinally. certain verbal expressions link
w ith Sabbath texts of the Pentateuch such as Exod. 2 3 .1 2 , a Sabbath text that is embedded
in the exodus narratives of slavery and freedom. All these indicators when taken together
allow for a Sabbath-motivated reading ofExodus 5. Tire implications of such a reading
tell o fa world that tongs for freedom, restored identities, and renewed relationships.
1 Introduction
Only th o sew h o have not ceased to he human in spile o f dehum anizing
conditions carry I'ortlt the vision offreedom into an enslaved world. The
Hebrew Bible Iclls o f M oses as such an individual. Right there in the
m idst o f slavery he sets the ground m arker for Israel's freedom trail:
'M oses, why are you freeing the people?... You even m ade ihcm l'csl
(,shabbat) from their labors!' (Exod. 5.4-5), is the Egyptian m onarch’s
bew ildered question. Slaves wlto are free? fo r Pharaoh this is an
incom prehensible thought. M oses knows 01'no limits, fo r him, Sabbath is
the divine insigne for freedom founded in crcalion and reinforced in the
redemptive event o fthe exodus (Exod. 20.8-12; 3 1 .12-17;Deut. 5.12-15).
To cease from work on the seventh day m eans to choose freedom over
slavery, to m aster w ork time for the sake o f divine time.
Pharaoh, on the other hand, in realizing that he lost control over his
enslaved subjects and their time m anagem ent, ordered an additional time-
consum ing workload to their labor. According to Exod. 5.5, the despot
used language elsewhere found in texts o f the seventh day w hen he
charged Moses for having authorized the Israelite slaves to cease/rest
( ) ט ב תfrom work (cf. Gen. 2.2-3; Exod. 16.20; 23.12).
Interpreters o fth e biblical text have recognized the peculiarity o fth e
term shabbat in the narrative o f Israel's oppression in Egypt and have
expressed their views either by linking the slaves' resting from w ork to
Sabbath rest ؛or by ignoring the language o fth e text and its undertones
altogether.2
1. See Exod.R. 1.27-28. 32: 5.18; 17.3; b. Shab.% lb\T m \O R 430; Sefer Shibolei
Haleket, Seder Pesah 205; ٠٤Abrahani Joshua Heschef Heavenly Torah; As Refracted
through the Generations (London: Continuum. 2005), p. 445. See also Morris Jastrow Jr.
‘The Original Character ofthe Hebrew Sabbath’, The American أ م/«'ا،ا/ ofTheology 2/2
(1898). pp. 312-53; Frank Michaeli. Le Livre de l'Exod: Commentaire de L Ancien
Testament, II (Neuchâtel ؛Delachaux هNiestlé, 1974). pp. 64-65; Patrick D. Miller, Jr,
‘The Human Sabbath: A study in Deuteronomie Theology’, The Princeton Seminary
Bulletin 6/2 (1985), pp. 81-97; Walter A. Elwell ,Baker Theological Dictionary ofthe
Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996).p. 697; William هPropp,Exodus 1-18(AB,2;
N^w York: Doubleday, 1999). p. 254; James K. Bruckner, New International Biblical
Commentary: Exodus (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 2008). p. 58.
2. See, e.g., C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch. The Pentateuch (BCOT, 1; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1952); Brevard s. Childs, The Book o f Exodus: A Critical, Theological
Commentary (OTL: Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1974); Frank B. Gaebelein (ed.).
The Expositor 's Bible Commentary ؛II (Grand Rapids, MJ: Zondervan. 1992); Walter
Brueggemann, The صﺀofExodus: Introduction, Commentary and Reflections (New
F r ey Sabbath in Egypt? 251
the m ain issue oeeui's in V. 5, where the MT reads: 'the ه ﺀ د إo fth
د اe اhind'
ﺀ
(also 4QExodb). The LXX lacks the phrase 'o fth e land', and the Samaritan
Pentateueh has They are o i'^reatcr num ber than the people o fth e land .
Translations agree on the MT for the reason that the LXX and the
Sam aritan Pentateueh are nneo 1'rob<^atC(:l by Hebrew m anuscripts.
From a source-critical perspective Exodus 5 contains j and E scetions'
that have been m erged in such a way that the narrative rcllcets unity, and
tire endeavor to divide the text is inessential for its analysis and under-
standing.8 Propp settles on there being orre source, 'm ost likely the
E lohist'.9 Sourec-eritieal analysis relevant 0 آthis study pertains to w hat is
regarded as redundancy <؛١ vv. 4 and 5: 'B ut the king o f Egypt said to
them, "M oses and A aron, w hy do you draw the people I'rom their work?
Get hack to your labors!” A gain Pharaoh said, "Look, the people o fth e
land are now m any, and you w ould have them ecasc from tlrcir labors!” '
( n a s b ) . However, the doublet theory طtírese verses m ay be questioned
because o f their different content. Propp even concludes that the redun-
dancy is 'illusory and آ سa valid source-criterion'.10
W ith regard to Exodus 5 as a record ol'lustoocal value, scholars have
recognized that tire text tells o f the lsr،rchtcs as doing the same work as
tire laborers who are portrayed in Egyptian inscriptions and relief
scenes. ؛؛This involves labor relations drat existed between m asters and
w orkers in term s 01' treatm ent o f the workers by their taskm asters and
I'orcmett, rest days granted to the slaves, corporal punishm ent, etc.12 Thus
the use 01' tire w o«l 'cease/rest I'ronr labor’ and dre concept o f rest for
labor gangs in a biblical text that reflects genuine life in ancient Egypt is
interesting and deserves to be researched
7. j and E seetions are represented by the titles ‘pharaoh’ (see vv. 1 ,2 ,5 ,6 , etc.) and
‘king of Egypt’ ( ٧. 4), and the seeniingly redundant phrases in vv. 4 and 5. See
B. Bäntseh. Exodus— Leviticus-Numeri (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck هRuprecht, 1903);
G, Fohren Überlieferung undGescliichte desExodus: Eme Analyse vonEx 1-15 (Berlin:
Alfred Töpelmann, 1964). pp. 45-49; Martin Noth. Exodus: A Commentary (OTL;
Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962).
8. Duri1am ,£؛to،Ä،s', p. 63; Childs. The Book o f Exodus, pp. 94-95; Propp concludes O il
one source, ‘most likely the Elohist’. See Propp. Exodus 1-18, p. 250.
9. Propp.Exodus 1-18, p. 250.
10. Propp. Exodus 1-18, p. 250.
11. See especially Hoffmeier. ﻣ ﺤ ﺬin Egypt, pp. 112-16; and Charles F. ^im s,
‘Bricks ־without Straw?’, Biblical Archaeologist 13/2 (1950). pp. 22-28.
12. See http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/workrelations.htn 1 .
aecessed 1 October 2012.
F r ey Sabbath in Egypt?
3. Unexpectedness in Exodns 5
Propp com m ents about the rare harm onious situation betw een Israel,
M oses, and Yahweh in Exod 4.31: 'T he narrative msts there but for a
m o m en t'.14 Y et it is tlu$ m om ent that provides the setting for M oses'
audience w ith Pharaoh (Exod. 5.1-5). Backed by a congregation bowing
in faith and devotion to God, tire leader voices Y ahw eh's explicit order to
send Israel o ff ¡uto the w ild e rn e s s .P h a ra o h 's rcaetion to the divine
im perative is not a response; it is آ سan ؛miuiry: it is a provocative attack:
'W ho is Y ahw eh... ? I do not know Y ahw eh’ (v. 2 ﻣ ﺮMoses and Aaron
offer m ore detailed information: 'The God o f the Hebrews has called on
us. Please, let us go a three d ay s'jo u rn ey into tire w ilderness that we m ay
sacrifice to Yahweh our G od' (v. 3).17
Again, P haraoh’s reaction is not a response ; لISآan open affront: 'A nd
the king o fE g y p t said to them: W hy, M oses and A aron, are you I'reciiig
( ) ת פ ר י ע וthe people I'roin its work? (v. 4). Note here, Ihe expression
'king o f Egypt’ and آ سthe title פ ר ע ה־, Phar aoh' But w hen the king
13. Benno Jacob’s masterful commentary on Exod . ئcalls attention to the stirring
opening seenes between Israel’s leaders and the king ofEgypt and the dramatic force that
this chapter conveys. See Benno Jacob. The Second Book o f the Bible: Exodus (trans.
Walter Jacob; Hoboken: KTAV. 1992). p. 112.
14. Propp. Exodus ] / 'أ, اp. 258.
15. Brueggemann comments that ،[t]he conventional reading. ‘Let my people go’,
sounds like a re ؟uest or a plea. In f؛،e). it is an imperative oil the lips ofYahweh, as though
Yahweh addresses a political subordinate (Pharaoh) who is expeeted to obey’. Walter
Brueggemann. ‘The Book ofExodus: Introduction. Commentary and Reflections’, in The
New Interpreter 's BibleTI (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), p. 726.
16. Brueggemann, ‘The Book of Exodus’, p. 726. The word ‘to know’ Yahweh is a
powerful Leitmotif \11 the exodus narration (Exod. 6 . 3 , 7 1 0 . 2 ;9.14,29 ;8.6.18 ;7
14.4,18).
17. Tater in the narrative, this elause will become a standard mocking by Pharaoh and
the reason for calling the people ‘shirkers’ or ‘weaklings’ (vv. 8. 17).
254 Journal f o r the Study o f the O ld Testament 39.3 ا.اﺋﺎر)ت
speaks he utters the verb ‘( פ ר עlead, aet as leader' / ‘let free, let g o ') in
tire m iddle o fh is interrogative outburst: ‘W hy, M oses and Aaron, do you
act as pharaoh in letting the people go free from its work? The pun is
obvious,18 and ؛٩ the brusque coin in and ‘Go to your hibors!’ لappears
آ as
if for a د ا ةsecond
ا ؛ اthe king had recognized the am biguity c f؛u$ own
w ords and m ust now dem onstrate his dictator role.
Pharaoh continues with another unexpected expression, ‘Look, many
already were/are the people o f tile land! And you m ade them rest
(٠ ١ ) from their labors!' (v. 5). Does tire despot rct'cr to a previous
record about the m ultitudes o f Hebrew slaves iir Egyptian annals (Exod.
؟ ر و إDoesﺀ ﺀhe recognize M oses as the survivor o f the cruel pogrom o f
the Hebrew m ale babies? Does h© denounce M oses as a dissident who
now controls the slaves by antboi'i/iirg tire n!timatc stop to labor gangs?20
W hatever the case m ay be, in the hearing o f a Hebrew audience o f the
text, the day called ט ב ת, ‘Shabbat '5 resounds in P haraoh's w ords.21
18. Propp. Exodus 1-18, p. 253. Martin Luther also reeognized Sabbath rest 11 ؛the
expression and rendered it by the word ‘feiern’ (celebrate) in the Gernian translation of the
Bible (Revidierte Fassung voll 1984).
19. Lilis is often understood as explaining the econoniic reasons for refusing to let the
people go. SeeNahuniM. Sarna,Exodus (The JPS Torah Commentary; Philadelphia: The
Jewish Publication Society, 1991), p. 28. ‘The sons oflsraep (Exod. 1.9) are replaced with
‘the people of the land’ (Exod. 5 .5 ), م؛ﻫﺄpossibly draws 011 a change in perspective
regarding the status of th e إ ا ﻫ ﺼ ﺄin ؛Egypt
ة ﺀover the course of their time of slavery. It
could imply that ‘the sons oflsrael’ had been integrated as slaves and had become in
Pharaoh’s eyes ‘the people of the land’ (Exod. 5.5) who are now regarded as Egyptians.
See Propp, Exodus 1—18, p. 254.
20. Houtman interprets Pharaoh’s words ill the sense that ‘Moses and Aaron are
troublemakers who incite the people to shirk their duty and stop working’. Lornelius
Houtman, Exodus 1 (؛ran؛؛. Johan Rebel and Sierd Woudstra: HCOT; Kämpen: Kok
Publishing House, 1993), p. 456.
2 إ. See 11. 1; e£ Waldemar Janzen, ه، ( مBelievers Church Bible Commentary;
©ntario: Herald Press, 1989), p. 398; Propp, Exodus 1-18, p. 254.
22. HALOT. II. p. 97Q; T. Kronhulrtt,‘ﺀ1 ﻢ'ر ق ﻫﺄ,ﺣS~1Zperac\ in TDOT, XII. pp. 98-
101 .
F r ey Sabbath in Egypt?
present, and future in the sense that M oses and A aron are responsible for
letting tire people go free t'roin their اا0 آا 'اrepeatedly or habitually
(iterative) and w ere continuing to do so (durative).“ The king then eon-
eludes with a strong imperative, 'Cío ( ל כ ו, qal im perative)to> our labors! ’
The im perative enforces the tim c/aspeet o f the yaqlîl verb irr the sense
that M oses and A aron have to get back to wtrcrc they b c lo u g - to their
labor gangs.24
The second speech starts with an interjection highlighting a nom inal
clause: Look, m any already were/are the people o f the land!’“ The
deictic stress ol'tfic interjection bound to the adjective-adverb combina-
tion ( ה ך ר ב י ם ע ת ה, Took, m any already’, note the m aqqef) signifies
P haraoh's em otional perception about tire great num ber o f people that has
been a problem already during his predecessor's time (Exod. 1.9).2ةThe
nom inal clause is tiren linked to a verbal clause w ith another lriplul verb.
ו ה ש ב תי ם, 'an d y o u cause them to cease, stop, rest'.“ Several observations
are hr order for the syntactic and semantic use o f ו ה ש ב ת ם:
23. Paul Joüon and T. Muraoka, A Grammar ofBiblical Hebrew (Rome: Editrice
Pontificio Iatituto Bíblico, 2006), pp. 338-39. Cf. Propp.E.ro،»« 1—18, p. 253.
24. The NKÏV and NASB render the imperative, ‘Get back to أ/أاه labors!’, which
underscores the view that the people had been freed of labor in the past.
25. Cf. Sarna, Exodus, p. 28.
26. The Masoretic aceents tiflia and merkha in the phrase הן־רבים עתהhighlight the
exclamation and vividly eonvey the emotional aspeet in Pharaoh’s speech. See Arnold and
Choi, A Guide ؛٠Biblical Hebrew Syntax, pp. 157-58; Raymond 1). Hoop, ‘Stress and
Syntax; Music and Meaning: The Purpose and Function of the Masoretic Aceentuation
System’, JNSL 34/2 (2008), pp. 99-121. The accents bind the words ‘many’ and ‘now’
together for stress, syntax, and recitation reasons. The accents may also graphically show
corresponding hand gestures in the recitation o f the Hebrew text in front of an audience.
See the explanation given to the Masoretic signs for musical recitation, http://
www.rakkav.com/biblemusic/pages/handsofdavid.htm, accessed 30 September 2012.
27. The root טבתtakes the meaning To cease, stop, rest, stand still, remove, come to
an end, take a holiday’. See HALOT. II. pp. 1407-12. For a diseussion concerning the
origin of the verb טבתand the relation to the ا1 اه1 טב ת, see E. Haag, ‘ טב תsäbäf, in
TDOT, XIV, p. 385; Gnana Robinson, Tile Origin andDevelopment ofthe OldTestament
Sabbath: A Comprehensive Exegetical Approach (Bern: Peter Lang. 1988); idem, ‘The
Idea ofRest in the Old Testament and the Search for the Basic Character o ft؛،®Sabbath’,
7AIV 92 (1980), pp. 32-42; c f . ﻋﻤﻮام؛ ال : Andrea sen. The Old Testament Sabbath: A
Tradition-Historicallnvestigation (Missoula, MT: Society ofBiblical Literature Scholars
Press, 1972). pp. 94-121; GerhardF. Hasel, ‘Sabbath’, in.45D,V. pp. 850-51; idem, ‘The
Sabbath in the Pentateuch’, in Kenneth A. strand (ed.). The Sabbath اﺀ'ﺀScripture and
History (Washington, DC: Review & Herald Publishing. 1982), pp. 21-43.
Journal fo r the Study o fth e O ld Testament 39.3 ( رات1ائ
a co m p leted ؛Kllou 1آلthe sense that the leaders had allowed the people to
cease/rest from labor in the p،ast.^ Such ceasing muy have happened at
least once w hen Exod. 4.31 m entions that the people bowed down and
w orshiped after Closes and A aron had spoken to them about G od's
intention o f deliverance. Thus, Pharaoh expressed his indignation toward
M oses and Aaron, because they had authorized the Israelites to rest from
their labors, and not because they will do so at some point طthe future.
(2) The ltipltil stem o f the verb ט ב תirr Exod. 5.5 is unique irr the
Hebrew Bible in that it has an accusative oftlre person ' t h e m' ( ) א ת םand
is associated w ith a w ord for w ork w ith the preposition ‘from ' ()מ ן.
H A L O T identifies this form as To allorv to rest from their forced labor’.34
Nowhere else is the hiphil o f ט ב תconnected to rest from w ork.35
(3) O ftlre 71 occurrences ot ' יבבתthere are only tw o places where the
Hebrew Bible associates this verb wlllt a w ord for w ork with the
preposition 'fro m ' () מ ן, and this is in Gen. 2.2-3 and Exod. 5.5. On the
seventh day o f the creation w eek God rested 't'rom all his w o rk ’
() מ כ ל ־ מ ל א כת ו. The Hebrew Bible identifies this day as the Sabbath
(Exod. 20.8-11) and آسas a mere interruption or an undefined cessation
from work. By speaking 01' יבבתas resting ■from w o rk ', Exod. 5.5 creates
a direct link to the only other occurrence o f rest fl'oin work, the creation
Sabbath.^ Elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, w hen the m eaning is to stop
w ork or cause to cease work, the verb ט ב תis follow ed by a direct object,
and not by the preposition Trom ' (see Neh. 4.5; 6.3; 2 Chron. 16.5).
5. Discourse Linguistics
Robert L ongacre's discourse-m odel approach contributes significantly to
the understanding 0 ד ה ט בי ם ؛as the only weqatcd o f a xvaxv conjunctive ا
6. Structural Analysis
The high slgmficauce o fth e verb וה ש ב ת םin Exodus 5 together wiflr its
past and continuous or pluperfect m eaning receives an even stronger
em phasis w hen one considers the tw ofold struetui'cd speeches in vv. 4-5.
The narrative introduces each o f Pharaoh's speeches by an introductory
line ('T h e king o f Egypt said to them ' and 'Pharaoh said') w ithout any
narrative com m ent ill between the speeches.39 P haraoh's speeches are
arranged in such a way that th e 0 اااIriplril verbs correspouel to each other
and form a chiastic structure w ith the im perative 'G o ! 'i n the center.
Introduction 1: And the king of Egypt said to thenr.
Speech 1: ‘Why. Moses and Aaron, are you freeing ( ת כ כ כ ו.
hiplul inrperfect) the people from its work (’?)ממעש י ו
37. RobertE. Longacre, ‘Discourse ?erspective on the Hebrew Verb: Affirmation and
Restatement’, in Walter R. Bodine (ed.)Hingnistics andBiblical Hebrew (Winona Lake,
IN: Eisenbrauns, 1992), pp. 71-91.
38. Longaere, ‘Discourse Perspective on the Hebrew Verb’.
39. Cynthia L. Miller, Tile Representation ofSpeech in Biblical Hebrew Narrative
(Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1996), pp. 233-97. Milter has observed adjoined direct
speeches in biblical narratives that she labeled as ‘adjacency pairs’, which include
successive speeches of a single speaker eaeh introduced by a quotative frame. According
to Milter, the structuring ofthe speeches signifies the speaker’s twofold move to provide
mom detailed and thorough information (p. 241). Cassuto holds that the first speech
becomes fe a re r beeause ofthe second one. See Cassuto, A Commentary ٠» the Book o f
Exodus, p. 38. Conroy observes that the second speech often signals a point of major
inrportanee. 8ee Charles Conroy,Absalom, Absalom! Narrative andLangtiageﻣ ﺢ « « ا ه ﺀ و إ ﺀ
13-20 (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1978), p. 130.
F r ey Sabbath in Egypt?
Note 110W both verbs express causative aspect, both have the accusative ٠؛
person, and both are followed by a word for w ork w ith tire preposition
Hrotn’. The chiastic structuring shows that Pharaoh’s harsh com m and to
M oses and Aaron—־Go to your l a b o r s '- i s thus issued in reaction to both
hiphil verbs: first, in reaction to the urgent and im m ediate situation o f
regular}؛/ freeing the people I'rom their w ork (v. 4); and, second, in
reaction to having authorized the people to rest ( ) שב תI'l'oin their labor
gangs (v. 5). The second part 01'the structure indicates, by its highlighted
reference to tire past (Exod. 1.9) and by the unique use 01'tire weqatal,
that Pharaoh em phasizes the leaders’ powerful inllucnec for rest as the
m ajor problem.
7. Intertextuality
A narrative, sequential, and holistic reading 01'tire Hebrew Bible40 shows
that there exist intertexhral links betw een Exodus 5 and various Sabbath
texts 01'tire Pentateuch over tire use ol’ thc verb שבתin relation to slavery
work. The narrator o f the Pentateuch sets the reader up, right in the
beginning o f tire Pentateuch, w ith the specific m eaning o f שב תas tire
(Creator's rest fi־om w ork on tire seventh day, w hich is a day blessed and
sanctified by his presence (Gen. 2.2-3). W hen the reader then continues in
tire pentateuchal text and cucotiu tcrs the word שבתagain in direct relation
to work, associations with the specific theme o f Sabbath rest in creation
times resonate. This technique is superfluous in texts where a direct
statem ent is m ade ،about Sabbath rest, such as in Exod. 20.8-11, but it is
all the m ore im portant in texts that seem to obscure the csscutial m eaning
o f שב תin relation to work. Here, the subtleties o f Hebrew narrative
technique call for special attention
40. Moshe Greenberg, Ezekiel 1—20: A New Translation with / ﺀ/ﻫ ﻢ־اا،ص 'ﺀ »مand
Commentary (AB. 22; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983), p. 21; ٥،'■idem, ‘The Vision
of Jerusalem inEzefciel 8-11 : A Holistic Interpretation’, in J.L. Crenshaw and s. Sandmel
(eds.),DivineHeh 1 isman:StudiesonGod’sControIofHmnanEventsPresentedtoLouH
Silberman (New York: KTAV, 1980). pp. 143-64(148); John Sailhamer, The Pentateuch
asNarrative (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992), pp. 1-3,24-30; James Watts ^Reading
Law: The Rhetorical Shaping o f the Pentateuch (BS, 59; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic
?ress, 1999), p. 29. Robert Alter, while holding to the composite construction of the
Pentateuch, asserts that there is a eohesiveness and continuity that allows for the Torah To
be read as a fom'ard-nioving process through time and theme from book to book yielding
an overarching literary stiuetiiro’; see also The Five Books of&toses: A Translation with
Commentary (New York: W.W. Norton. 2004). pp. 42-43.
260 Journal fo r the Study o fth e O ld Testament 39.3 (2015)
The Sabbath com m andm ent in Exod. 23.12 is unique in that it is the
only Sabbath com m andm ent that uses the w ord מ ע ש הfor the w ork o f the
six w eekdays in relation to the verb ש ב ת. ااا׳ﺀother com m andm ents have
the w ord מ ל א כ הdenoting work o f the weekdays. Exodus 23.12 states that
the Sabbatlr observer w ill do ( ) ת ע ש הw ork ( ) מ ע ש הfor six days, but on ، be
seventlr day he shall cease ( ) שב תs o اا؛ا]اthe hard-working ox and donkey,
the slave-w om an's son, and the stranger m ay rest and be refreshed.
The verbal and conceptual links that exist between the S؛،bba،l، coin-
m andm ent in Exod. 23.12 and the exodus narratives in chs. 1-5 are stimu-
lating.43 Israel is regarded as E gypt's stranger (22.2 أرلThe people are
oppressed and their cries to God become ،he trigger for ،he exodus event
(2.23-25). It is, then, because the liberated Israelite knows the lil'c o f an
oppressed stranger (23.9) that he is called to create the >ا؛ آااااآﻫﺪإواهfor ،he
stranger and for the slave, as w ell as for anim als, to have Sabbatlr rest
43. See my dissertation on ‘The Sabbath in the Pentateuch: Air Fxegetical and
Theological study’ (Andrews University, 2011), pp. 170-82 ؛also, ‘The Sabbath
€ 0 nrn1andnrent iir the Book oTllre Covenant: Btlries oir Behalf ofthe Outcast’. Journal of
Asia Adventist Seminan’ '1 ١(2006). pp. 3-11; and Ί Have Heard their Cry’, Shabbat
Shalom 2006) 3/1) ة, pp. 24-26.
Journal fo r the Study o fth e O ld Testament 39.3 (2015)
This arrangem ent is placed into the m otivation clause ofD euteronom y's
Sabbath com m andm ent and carries the slave inotil'to dem onstrate the
significance 01' this day as a sign o f deliverance from slavery. In other
words, the Sabbath corresponds to the exodus.44The Sabbath keeper who
has been a slave in the past w ill rest, and in resting he will be equal with
tire slave in his house
8. Conclusion
The rel'creuec to Sabbatli rest in Exodus 5 is not intended to prove that
this was an established w eekly institution o f Israel in Egypt. Eor. when
tire liberated slaves gathered m anna for six days in the w ilderness and did
not find any on the seventh day, drey still had to becom e I'uniliarw itli the
Sabbatlr's rhytlunic and weekly recurrence (Exod. 16). On the otlrcrlraud.
scholars have noted that while the narrative ofE xodus 16 does not depict
the Sabbath as a new ordinance ،'or the liberated slaves in the wilderness,
its existence is assum ed.4؛؛
Sabbath rest in Exodus 5 I'orccs one to link the w eekly rhythm o f the
day w ith the essentialnreaning o f tire Sabbath. Sabbath rest in Exodus 5 is
about destabilizing the very foundation o f an autocratic system by m eans
o f subtle and unexpected language. Voiceless slaves caught in tire middle
o f im m ense suffering are builders o f cities destined for ruin. W hile over-
flowing the land to I'ctclr stubble blow n away by the wind, or scorched
rmder the burirurg Egyptian snu. tire old story o f Babel stirs ا، ﺗﺎvisions o f
a transient empire. The oppressor's w ord about Sabbath rest portrays him
as a defeated tyrant within his own pow erful and foll-l'uuctiouiug, regime.
This is the m om ent w hen Sabbath rest begins to disclose its trairsccirdcut
and perm anent quality: to m aster tim e is to be truly 1'1'CC.
48. Martin Buber. Moses: The Revelation and the Covenant (New York: Harper,
1958), p. 80; Childs, The Book o f Exodus, p. 290.
آلﻣﺂورلم؛
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