The Sabbath at the beginning of the Christian Era
This was pretty much a survey of the attitude of the Jews towards the Sabbath at the beginning of the Christian era. Rowland talks about the book of Jubilees, the Damascus Document, the Rabbinic tradition and Philo. What I am going to do is just include a few excerpts and let them speak for themselves.
Here are two excerpts from Jubilees that will give you a flavor of the author’s attitude towards the Sabbath.
And He finished all his work on the sixth day -all that is in the heavens and on the earth, and in the seas and in the abysses, and in the light and in the darkness, and in everything. And He gave us a great sign, the Sabbath day, that we should work six days, but keep Sabbath on the seventh day from all work. And all the angels of the presence, and all the angels of sanctification, these two great classes -He hath bidden us to keep the Sabbath with Him in heaven and on earth. And He said unto us: ‘Behold, I will separate unto Myself a people from among all the peoples, and these shall keep the Sabbath day, and I will sanctify them unto Myself as My people, and will bless them; as I have sanctified the Sabbath day and do sanctify (it) unto Myself, even so will I bless them, and they shall be My people and I will be their God. And I have chosen the seed of Jacob from amongst all that I have seen, and have written him down as My first-born son, and have sanctified him unto Myself for ever and ever; and I will teach them the Sabbath day, that they may keep Sabbath thereon from all work.’ And thus He created therein a sign in accordance with which they should keep Sabbath with us on the seventh day, to eat and to drink, and to bless Him who has created all things as He has blessed and sanctified unto Himself a peculiar people above all peoples, and that they should keep Sabbath together with us. And He caused His commands to ascend as a sweet savour acceptable before Him all the days . . . (Jubilees 2:16-22)
And every one who observes it and keeps Sabbath thereon from all his work, will be holy and blessed throughout all days like unto us. Declare and say to the children of Israel the law of this day both that they should keep Sabbath thereon, and that they should not forsake it in the error of their hearts; (and) that it is not lawful to do any work thereon which is unseemly, to do thereon their own pleasure, and that they should not prepare thereon anything to be eaten or drunk, and (that it is not lawful) to draw water, or bring in or take out thereon through their gates any burden, which they had not prepared for themselves on the sixth day in their dwellings. And they shall not bring in nor take out from house to house on that day; for that day is more holy and blessed than any jubilee day of the jubilees; on this we kept Sabbath in the heavens before it was made known to any flesh to keep Sabbath thereon on the earth. (Jubilees 2:28-31)
The following excerpt shows the difference in attitude toward the Sabbath between Beth Shammai and Beth Hillel. This dispute is recorded in the Mekilta de R. Simeon b. Yohai on Exodus 20:9. Rowland says that the liberal attitude of Beth Hillel is quite apparent:
Six days shall you work and do all your labour. This is what Beth Shammai say: they do not soak ink, dyestuffs and vetches except so that they may be (wholly) soaked while it is day. And they do not spread nets for beasts and birds except so that they may be caught while it is day. . . . And they do not lay down olive-press beams or the wine-press rollers nnless they flow while it is day. And they do not place meat, onion and egg on the fire while it is still day. . . . And Beth Hillel permit in all of them. Beth Shammai say: Six days you will work and do all your labour, that all your work may be finished by the sabbath-eve. And Beth Hillel say: Six days you shall work. You labour all six days and the rest of your work is done of itself on the sabbath. (Rowland p. 48 citing Neusner, The Rabbinic Tradition about the Pharisees)
Rowland says:
A major concern of the Halakah was to enable the individual to avoid inadvertent transgression of the commandments. For example, it is stated that “a tailor should not go out with his needle near to nightfall, lest he forget and go out” (M. Shabb. 1:3). This is designed to prevent accidental transgression of the command of Jeremiah 17:22. Much space is devoted to this matter at the opening of this tractate in the Mishnah. Exactly what constituted a viola¬tion of this law is explained in Shabbat 1:1:
If a poor man stood outside (a house) and the householder inside, and the poor man stretched his hand inside and put anything into the householder’s hand, or took anything from it and brought it out, the poor man is culpable and the householder is not culpable; if the householder stretched his hand outside and put anything into the poor man’s hand, or took anything from it and brought it in, the householder is culpable, and the poor man is not culpable. But if the poor man stretched his hand inside and the householder took anything from it, or put anything into it, and (the poor man) brought it out, neither is culpable; and if the householder stretched his hand outside and the poor man took anything from it, or put anything into it and (the householder) brought it in, neither is culpable. (Rowland p. 48-9, Shabbat 1:1)
Here is a discussion of the activities that could supersede the Sabbath regulations.
Once R. Ishmael, R. Eleazar b. Azariah and R. Akiba were walking along the road . . . and the following question was discussed by them: Whence do we know that the duty of saving life supersedes the sabbath laws? R. Ishmael answering the question, said: Behold it says. If a thief be found breaking in (Ex. 22, 2), now of what case does the Law speak? Of a case when there is doubt whether the burglar came merely to steal or even to kill. Now by using the method of kal wahomer, it is to be reasoned: even shedding of blood which defiles the land and causes the shekinah to remove is to supersede the laws of the sabbath. . . . How much more should the duty of saving life supersede the sabbath-laws? R. Eleazar b. Azariah answering the questions said, If in performing the ceremony of circumcision, which only affects one member of the body, one is to disregard the Sabbath laws, how much more should one do for the whole body when it is in danger. The sages, however, said to him: From the instance cited by you, it would follow that just as there (in the case of circumcision) the sabbath is to be disregarded only in a case of certainty. R. Akiba says: If punishment for murder sets aside even the Temple-service, which in turn supersedes the sabbath, how much more should the duty of saving life supersede the sabbath-laws. R. Jose the Galilean says, When it says, But my sabbath you shall keep, the but (’ak) implies a distinction. There are sabbaths on which you must rest, and there are sabbaths on which you should not rest. . . . R. Nathan says: Behold it says, Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath to observe the sabbath throughout their generations. This implies that we should disregard one sabbath for the sake of saving the life of a peson, so that the person may be able to observe many sabbaths. (Rowland p. 50 citing J. Z. Lauterbach, Mekilta de R. Ishmael)
These samples illustrate not only the importance of the Sabbath after the exile but that there were different attitudes toward it.
Bibliography
Rowland, C. “A Summary of Sabbath Observance in Judaism at the Beginning of the Christian Era.” In From Sabbath to Lord’s Day, ed. D. A. Carson, 44-55, 1982.
The Book of Jubilees. Available from http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/noncanon/ot/pseudo/jubilee.htm; Internet; accessed 30 May 2008.
