No Work vs. No Servile Work

Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath (H7676) of rest (H7677), an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings. (Lev 23:3 KJV)

Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be unto you a sabbath (H7676) of rest (H7677), and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath. (Lev 23:27-32 KJV)

vs.

And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread. In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. But ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD seven days: in the seventh day is an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. (Lev 23:6-8 KJV)

And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete: Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD… And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations. (Lev 23:15-16,21 KJV)

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath [rest H7677], a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation. Ye shall do no servile work therein: but ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. (Lev 23:24-25 KJV)

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto the LORD. On the first day shall be an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein. Seven days ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: on the eighth day shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD: it is a solemn assembly; and ye shall do no servile work therein. (Lev 23:34-36 KJV)

There seems to be a distinction in the kind of work that is forbidden between the Sabbath day (and the Day of Atonement) and the rest of the yearly days of holy convocation. Leviticus 23:3 says “do no work” on the Sabbath day and verse 31 says the same about the Day of Atonement, which we are told is a Sabbath. However, on all the other yearly days of holy convocation, we’re told to “do no servile work” (verses 7-8,21,25,35-36). Why the distinction and what does it mean?

No Servile Work

The first mention of “no servile work” is found in Leviticus 23:7 (and repeated in the following verse), speaking of the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

In the first day ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile (H5656 “abodah”) work (H4399 “melakah”) therein. 

The word translated as “servile” here is “abodah” (H5656) and comes from the verb “abad” (H5647), which means “to work, serve” according to Brown Driver Briggs. The word translated as “work” is “melakah” (H4399) and means “occupation, work, business”.

When studying the other mentions of these words in the Torah (Genesis – Deuteronomy), I found some pretty interesting insights, which I will likely share in future posts. If you haven’t done so already, I encourage doing your own personal word studies.

The first mention of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is found in Exodus 12 and it gives us a little bit more insight as to what can and cannot be done on these days of “no servile work”.

Exo 12:15-17 ESV
(15)  Seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall remove leaven out of your houses, for if anyone eats what is leavened, from the first day until the seventh day, that person shall be cut off from Israel.
(16)  On the first day you shall hold a holy assembly, and on the seventh day a holy assembly. No work shall be done on those days. But what everyone needs to eat, that alone may be prepared by you.
(17)  And you shall observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread, for on this very day I brought your hosts out of the land of Egypt. Therefore you shall observe this day, throughout your generations, as a statute forever.

The Septuagint, which is a Greek translation of an earlier Hebrew text says this:

Exo 12:15-17 Brenton LXX
(15)  Seven days ye shall eat unleavened bread, and from the first day ye shall utterly remove leaven from your houses: whoever shall eat leaven, that soul shall be utterly destroyed from Israel, from the first day until the seventh day.
(16)  And the first day shall be called holy, and the seventh day shall be a holy convocation to you: ye shall do no servile work on them, only as many things as will necessarily be done by every soul, this only shall be done by you.
(17)  And ye shall keep this commandment, for on this day will I bring out your force out of the land of Egypt; and ye shall make this day a perpetual ordinance for you throughout your generations.

It appears that these passages are telling us the “no servile work” that is to be done only allows for “what everyone needs to eat” or “as many things as will necessarily be done by every soul”.

Carrying this understanding through to all of the other mentions of “no servile work” in Leviticus 23, we see that it applies to the Feast of Weeks, Yom Teruah, Feast of Tabernacles and the Eighth Day. But what about the Sabbath day and the Day of Atonement?

No Work

As laid out in the beginning of this article, we can see that we are not to do any work on the Sabbath day, to include the Day of Atonement. For a long time I understood this to mean that there was a greater restriction on those days as it pertained to work, but upon further study I have found this not to be true.

The first mention of doing no work on the Sabbath is found in what is commonly referred to as the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:8-11 commands us to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy. It is explained that for six days we are to labor and do all our work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to YHVH our God. On that day we are not to do any work. It goes on to include our children, servants, livestock and sojourners within our gates. The account in Deuteronomy reiterates this.

But I want to point out a few things that I so often overlooked in the past primarily because of the English language and not understanding what was being said in the Hebrew.

Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour (H5647 “abad”), and do all thy work: (Exo 20:8-9 KJV)

Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee. Six days thou shalt labour (H5647 “abad”), and do all thy work: (Deu 5:12-13 KJV)

Notice the word translated in Exodus 20:9 and Deuteronomy 5:13  as “labour” is the same word translated elsewhere as “serve”. This is the root word for “abodah” translated as “servile” in the above verses of Leviticus 23.

So this Sabbath command is telling us to “serve and do all our work” in six days, but the verses that follow tell us we are not to do any work on the seventh day. Is this not telling us in essence that we are not to do any servile work on the seventh day?

Now catch this…

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant (H5650 “ebed”), nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: (Exo 20:10 KJV)

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant (H5650 “ebed”), nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant (H5650 “ebed”) and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou. (Deut 5:14 KJV)

The word translated here as “manservant” is “ebed” (H5650) and comes from the root “abad” (H5647). This Sabbath command is not just for the children of Israel but it is also for those who serve or labor for them. What work are these manservants forbidden to do? Would it not be “servile work”?

Deuteronomy 5:15 continues with…

And remember that thou wast a servant (H5650 “ebed”) in the land of Egypt,… (Deu 5:15a KJV)

Here we see a correlation being drawn between the children of Israel as a whole and the manservant. They are being reminded that they were servants in the land of Egypt but the LORD (YHVH) their God brought them out with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. And this is why they are commanded to keep the Sabbath day.

I personally believe that the reason Leviticus 23 does not include “servile” with the mentions of the forbidden work on the Sabbath day is because it was unnecessary since the command given by YHVH at Mt Sinai already addressed it.

The instructions concerning the work that is forbidden on the Sabbath day is addressing the same work that is forbidden on the other days of holy convocation: “servile work”. Therefore, it seems reasonable to me that the allowance made for the Feast of Unleavened Bread as to what kind of work may be done (“what everyone needs to eat” or “as many things as will necessarily be done by every soul”) would also be the same for the Sabbath day.

Answering Objections

But doesn’t it say in Exodus 16 that we are to do all of our cooking on the sixth day in preparation for the Sabbath day?  Plus there’s the command to not kindle a fire on the Sabbath day in Ex 35:3. Wasn’t the man who was gathering sticks on the Sabbath day stoned for defiling it in Numbers 15? These all seem to support *no cooking* on the Sabbath day, but when we look at these passages in their greater contexts, we can better see their intended meanings.

Bake That Which Ye Will Bake…

Exodus 16 recounts the instructions for the gathering of the manna. We’re told the Israelites were to gather a day’s portion of manna for five days. They were not to hold over any manna to the following morning, lest it spoil and breed worms. However, on the sixth day, they were told to gather a double portion of manna, and were specifically instructed to hold over the second portion of manna for the seventh day. We learn later that this was instructed to be done because there would not be any manna provided on the seventh day for them to gather.

And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses. And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. And they laid it (that which remaineth over) up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it (that which remaineth over) did not stink, neither was there any worm therein. And Moses said, Eat that (that which remaineth over) to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it (that which remaineth over) in the field. Six days ye shall gather it (that which remaineth over); but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. (Exo 16:22-26 KJV)

I used to think “that which remaineth over” was a reference to the leftovers of that which was baked, but clearly if we continue reading, we can see it is a reference to the manna in its raw state. The thing that they were laying up for the morning was to be done because they were not going to find it in the field that day.

Let No Man Go Out of His Place on the Seventh Day

Exodus 16 is also often used as evidence that we are forbidden to travel on the Sabbath day. However, when we look at the proof text in its immediate context we see what was being forbidden on the seventh day was actually the gathering of the manna.

And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none. And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day. (Exo 16:27-30 KJV)

Also, if we look at the chapter starting from the beginning, we are told they “took their journey from Elim, and…came unto the wilderness of Sin” on the 15th day of the 2nd month. If the Sabbath day was seven days later, then it stands to reason that the 15th would have been a Sabbath day as well.

And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. (Exo 16:1 KJV)

Kindle No Fire

And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day. (Exo 35:1-3 KJV)

Exodus 35 starts with Moses assembling the people for some announcements. First a reminder of the Sabbath day instruction given by YHVH in Ex 20 with added detail is given, a free-will offering is requested with a list of materials needed, and a call for skilled labor to work on the Tabernacle building project is made. Given the context of verse 3, it seems reasonable that the added detail of “kindle no fire” is directly related to the labor required in the work of the Tabernacle building project.

Read my post “Do Not Kindle A Fire” to see what I mean.

A Man That Gathered Sticks Upon the Sabbath Day

And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses. (Num 15:32-36 KJV)

Numbers 15 begins with outlining the sacrificial offerings required for unintentional sins. It segue ways into a scenario where a man is found gathering sticks/wood on the Sabbath day, and the people are at a loss as to how to handle the situation. Clearly, the man’s actions were in violation of the Sabbath commandment and YHVH ruled he was deserving of death.

It appears that there was no sacrificial offering available for him, because his sin was intentional. What was his sin? This passage says he was gathering sticks/wood on the Sabbath day. This does not say he was building/kindling a fire, nor does it say he was getting ready to build a fire. We are not told what it was for, rather the text simply says he was gathering wood. But is the mere act of “gathering sticks/wood” considered “work” that is forbidden on the Sabbath or is there more to it?

Many would have us believe that the mere act is forbidden and that what he was doing was equivalent to what the widow in Zarephath was doing in 1 Kings 17:8-12, gathering sticks to build a fire to make a last meal. However, this does not ring true to me.

It seems more likely that the “gathering sticks/wood” in the Numbers 15 scenario was this man’s job/occupation. Therefore, the sin was that this man chose to defiantly engage in his job/occupation on the Sabbath day.

Bottom Line

It is my understanding that the instructions concerning the work that is forbidden on the Sabbath day is addressing the same work that is forbidden on the other days of holy convocation: “servile work”. Therefore, it seems reasonable to me that the allowance made for the Feast of Unleavened Bread as to what kind of work may be done (“what everyone needs to eat” or “as many things as will necessarily be done by every soul”) would also be the same for the Sabbath day.

About Messyanic

Homesteading Wife, Unschooling Mom and perpetual Bible student, continually taking the road less traveled. (@messyanic)
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53 Responses to No Work vs. No Servile Work

  1. Just wanted to share with you my article about Shabbat. I agree with you on many points. Thanks.

    Here is the link: http://thedeserttabernacle.blogspot.com/p/how-to-observe-shabbat.html

  2. bro yako'ov says:

    Thanks be 2 Yahweh the author and finisher of our faith through Yahushua Ha Mashiach

  3. Sherry T says:

    Your explanation is probably right, considering we see the text in chapter 34 specifically say “God said…” before reiterating the Shabbat commandment. Then in chapter 35, when reiterating Shabbat again, the text first says “Moses assembled Israel and said to them…”

    We don’t know why the man in Numbers 15 was punished for gathering wood, but we do know what immediately happens after – Yahweh calls the Israelites to wear tassels, the very “fashion statement” of high status and wealth of those days. Thus, it’s possible to gather from the text that, this man was doing something for the purpose of his job and acquiring more wealth. I’ve come across a paper recently, where the author pointed out that the man’s gathering very much mirrored what Israel was doing in Egypt, under Pharaoh – gathering as work.

    So in that respect, I believe you may be correct.

    However, I’m a bit on the fence when it comes to your interpretation of Exodus 16. In Exodus 16:4-5, the text very clearly says Yahweh spoke to Moses, and He says this: “On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.””
    ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭16:5‬ ‭NASB‬‬

    I’m not sure what “prepare” means here, but it may actually mean all manner of preparation possible, like cooking?

    • Messyanic says:

      The word translated as “prepare” in Ex 16:5 is “kun” (H3559) and means “to be firm, to be stable, be established” according to Brown Driver Briggs. According to the Greek Septuagint, the Greek word (“hetoimazo” G2090) used there means “to prepare or make ready” according to Thayer’s.

      I could see how this can be thought to mean “cook”, but I think it can also just mean to “establish” or “make ready”. I’d like to see a second witness to clarify if this “preparation” particularly related to cooking. I’ve yet to see it, so I’m staying open-minded on the matter. 😉

      Regardless, it seems to me that what was being particularly forbidden in Exodus 16 was *the gathering of* the manna on the 7th day, not the preparation of it.

      (Thanks for your comment! 😉 )

  4. Patsy Taylor says:

    There was no manna to be gathered on the 7th day.

  5. David says:

    Shalom,

    The 7th day Sabbath and Day of Atonement do not have (“no servile work” except that which must be eaten) because it didn’t apply in that regard.
    Day of Atonement is a fast day Sabbath.
    The 7th day Sabbath is a rest day for all- both the owners and the servants.
    I believe the servants were included so they wouldn’t have to cook and serve their masters on that day. Just like the Hebrews had to do in Egypt, thus the remembering they were slaves and they were to give them rest that day also.
    The other holy convocations are Sabbath related to a feast and feasts have food and no servile work except that which they had to eat was to specifically mention that cooking was allowed on this day whereas it was not allowed on the Sabbaths that do not exclude it. Even though the 4th Commandment was in Exodus 20 and again in Deuteronomy 5 and it doesn’t mention this but mentions to give servants the day off actually fits in with what I’ve typed here. It’s not included where it could have easily been included. Also, at the beginning of the chapter of Leviticus 23 it mentions the 7th day Sabbath and could have mentioned no servile work except that which needs to be cooked, etc… But it doesn’t. I don’t add it in as it’s not there.

    I did enjoy the post and it has been a blessing to read. The verses was put together well and it gives us all who read something to think about as I hope this comment might do the same.

  6. David says:

    Additionally, I’m still searching and studying and I find it refreshing to read positive words on this site and pleasant responses below. No harsh words anywhere, but words of peace and scriptural basis with in depth word searches.

    Thanks again.

    Shalom

    • Cynthia Knowing Lyons says:

      Such a very pleasant and thoughtful observation.

      • follower of Yeshua, seeker of the kingdom of God. says:

        When the bible mentions “afflicting the soul” is it a reference to fasting?

        • Messyanic says:

          I believe fasting can be considered a means to afflict one’s soul but I don’t believe “afflicting the soul” necessarily means one must fast. Essentially the phrase, as I understand it, means to humble oneself, and that can be done in a variety of ways.

        • cedar james says:

          My understanding of afflicting one’s soul on the day of atonement is to humble yourself, pray and ask where you went wrong the past year – for the day is a day of reflection. Then to help me remember I went through the commands seeking where I screwed up – mainly spiritually. Like situations where I didn’t trust Him fully or had judgement against others when I shouldn’t have – then asked for forgiveness. Every command in the Torah seems to have a hidden or not so hidden spiritual meaning. Fasting might help get you in the right mindset but its an outward physical show that seems to me has no bearing on the spiritual nature Yehushua was teaching of. Hope that helps somebody.

          • DeAnna Odom says:

            I’ve been receiving the same message. Basically.
            For Isaiah 58 says:
            5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?

            So Yah is saying is THIS the fast that >>I << have chosen? You call THIS an “acceptable day unto Yahweh?

            Or is THIS the fast that I have chosen!
            (See below)

            6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?

            7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?

            When we forgive someone. We have just clothed the naked. For they were naked in their sin. And when we forgive them. We cover them.
            For there is nothing that we ourselves are not guilty of. And we desire Yah to forgive us. Yah only asks that we do for others, what we want Him to do for us. “House” signifies “Faith”.

            We can build our house(faith) on a rock, Yahshua (The Word of Yahweh in or out of a physical body)
            Or we can build our house(faith) on the sand (man’s words) So we bring the poor (those w/out faith) into our house (our faith).

            In order to do this we must be patient, long suffering, not judgmental, easily approached etc.
            And since NONE of this is “the work of our hands” but the work of Yah’s hands… we must focus on the words of Yahshua and ask The Father our MAKER, to create such in us.

            “For man deviseth his way, but Yah directs his steps.”
            So whatever we desire to be created in us, we must ask the creator to do it. And our FAITH in His willingness to do it. Is credited unto us as righteousness. For it is not the work of our hands that cleans us. But the work of Yah’s hands only!
            For when we think it is by our own power/authority or by our “own name” that we are cleansed. Then we are stealing or taking the credit for the work of Yah’s hands and claiming it as our own. We cannot tell another “turn from your sin”. No one can deliver themselves from their own sin.
            But we CAN introduce them to the ONE who can.

            8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.

        • Anne Marie says:

          This is what Nehemia Gordon on Nehemia’swall.com has to say about that:
          To “afflict the soul” means to fast
          In Biblical Hebrew the expression “to afflict your souls” means “to fast” (Tzom). The Hebrew phrase ‘INuI NeFeSH translated as “afflicting the soul”, also appears in a number of Biblical passages, from which it is clear that this expression signifies fasting:

          “…I afflicted (KJV: “humbled”) my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.” -Psalms 35:13
          “Then I proclaimed a fast there, at the river of Ahava, that we might afflict ourselves before our God, to seek of him a right way for us, and for our little ones, and for all our substance.” -Ezra 8:21
          “Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and you see not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and you take no notice?…” -Isaiah 58:3; see also verses 5 & 10
          “Soul” Means “appetite”
          It should be pointed out that one of the meanings of the word “NeFeSH”, commonly translated as “soul”, is in fact “appetite”. For example:

          “And put a knife to your throat, if you be a man given to appetite (NeFeSH).” (Proverbs 23:2-3)
          ” For he satisfies the longing soul (NeFeSH), and fills the hungry soul (NeFeSH) with goodness.” (Psalms 107:9)
          “The full soul (NeFeSH) loathes a honeycomb; but to the hungry soul (NeFeSH) every bitter thing is sweet.” (Proverbs 27:7)
          “Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never satisfy their souls (NeFeSH) (KJV: “have enough”)” (Isaiah 56:11)
          Therefore the expression “to afflict your NeFeSH” is more accurately translated as “to afflict your appetite”, hence the meaning “to fast”. [Linguistic note: NeFeSH has the literal meaning of “throat” as in the verse “Save me, O God; for the waters have reached [as high as] my throat (NeFeSH)” (Psalms 69:2) and thus by extension came to signify: breath, life, appetite, etc.]

          • Messyanic says:

            Thank you for sharing this, Anne Marie.

            For many years I was resistant to the idea that the expression solely meant to fast because I focused so heavily on the idea that fasting referred only to food, but I can now clearly see that it involves anything we may ingest (both physically & figuratively), so I find it understandable to equate the two together.

  7. Robin D says:

    I am still confused because although you mention the day of atonement near the top being the other time “no work” is mentioned as with the 7th day, you fail to mention it again as you justify the servile work not being needed to be said because it was already commanded at Mt Sinai It seems to me to still be unanswered as to why “servile” IS mentioned in the other holy days by no work is said on Sabbath and Day of Sttonement.
    So again what is the difference between no work and no servile work?

  8. Annie says:

    I believe the intendment regarding servile work is: no service in labor to any but the Lord. The day of atonement makes clear the distinction between work and servile work: in that “ye shall do no manner of work…” see e.g., Leviticus 23:28 through 31; and compare with prior readings regarding servile work in Leviticus. Also, recall that Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man; not man for the sabbath. see Mark 2:27
    Annie

  9. Quin says:

    How would you apply this in a modern context where our culture and society are so different? We cease from our “day job”, but what about laundry, homework, piano practice, etc.? What if something seems like servile work to me but is a delight in God’s creation to someone else (e.g., planting flowers in a garden)? Would the exception in Exodus 12 for food mean we could cater or eat out? Does it apply to those outside the community of believers?

    In short, should we approach the proper application of this in a minimalist way (i.e., apply only what transliterates across the cultural chasm with little ambiguity) or a maximalist way (i.e., seek to translate across cultures, e.g., by transforming at-will employee of a theme park into the manservant we should not ask to work by showing up)? (I omit the spiritualized view, ala John Calvin.)

    • Messyanic says:

      Personally, when questions like these arise, I always say, pray about it. I believe as we continue to seek the will of our Father and obey the letter of the law (as in what is plainly stated), we will be convicted concerning the spirit of the law as to the nuances of what we are to specifically do and not do.

    • Pauline says:

      We need to be very careful about compromising the Word of God to accommodate our desires,… the flesh. God’ Word is perfect, there are no contradictions.

  10. Sherry says:

    I have been seeking clarity on this very issue, myself. Thankfully, I am blessed with an employer who allows me to work no later than 3 PM on Friday, and always gives me Saturdays off. My question is though, pertains to activities that I personally find restful or stress relieving…. for me, it’s being outside. Either playing in my flowers or even mowing here at the farm is something I look forward to doing every week. Normally, I try to get the mowing done on Thursdays, however, sometimes the weather makes this impossible. Would this be considered work, if it’s something I enjoy? I’m not trying to split hairs and I’m not trying to be petty, or even get around a technicality. I just want to know…. Yes, our time we live in, our culture, and our activities are vastly different than when Manna was being gathered, but I don’t want to be in error in my understanding either.

    • Messyanic says:

      That’s one of those things I’d pray about. The way I understand it is that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath. It’s a gift to us. A time for us to rest from the works of our hands.

  11. Hans Gygax says:

    Thanks for clearing up several things I had questioned in my mind, regarding the laws of the Sabbath. Very well though out, and scriptural.

  12. jerry holmes says:

    Very nice and well put together. also nice to know others are trying to follow the way we are suppose to.

  13. Gabrielle Terry Wasylkiewicz says:

    Very thought provoking. It’s nice to think through these scriptures with others to deepen our collective understanding. I’ve been trying to sanctify the weekly Sabbath by preparing in advance anything that can be done ahead of time. I either do it before sunset on the preparation day or after the sun sets and the Sabbath has concluded. Cooking tends to be done primarily by women, so to make an exception for this seems wrong.

    But no one has yet mentioned that on the special Sabbaths there are things that need to be accomplished that are peculiar to that specific feast day. I was just reading about Tabernacles. On the first day, no servile work is to be done, but then in Leviticus 23:40 the instructions include taking branches on the first day, presumably to construct or decorate their booths which would be a joint, family undertaking. Also see Nehemiah 8:14-17. So it appears to me that the only distinction between “no work” and “no servile work” has to do with allowing for the specific tasks to be done to celebrate that particular feast and also that the tasks must be done jointly and not fall disproportionately on any members off the community. Can anyone confirm or give a reason that this would be an incorrect understanding?

    Someone also questioned fasting on the Day of Atonement. Isn’t fasting what is implied by the instruction to afflict yourself? I have been led to understand that terms like “humble” yourself or “afflict” yourself or “deny” yourself normally refer to abstaining from food and anything that you might find pleasant. It’s the one day I even refrain from technology other than to read and study scripture.

  14. DOLLY Hewett says:

    THANK YOU FOR THIS ARTICLE. I GET ALL BOUND UP IF I DO SOMETHING ON SABBATH. SHALOM. DOLLY HEWETT

  15. Shelly says:

    I was wondering if you all are able to take the 7 yearly sabbaths and the weekly sabbaths and the newmoons which are also sabbaths, off for you employment. This is becoming a impossible task for me. I love all the appointments to spend the day with the Lord, but the way things are I might not be able to keep my job.

    Thanks for the comments.

    • Kay says:

      Hi Shelly,

      From what I remember, the weekly Shabbatot are for man and the every-seven-year Shabbatot are for the Promised Land (Lev. 25).

      • Kay says:

        By the way, I forgot to ask… Which passage says that the new moons are also sabbaths? I don’t remember encountering any.

    • Shelley says:

      Yes, Shelly, my husband has lost jobs. But, God brought us through. We have had our own business now for many years. Also, when I worked and there was a problem with working on the Sabbath, I prayed, and the situation cleared up on its own! Yay! When our daughter had her interview for her first job, she spent time in prayer and respectively told her employer when she would not work. The employer immediately blacked out those days for her. Wow.
      I believe that God will back us up when we desire to follow His Word. Sometimes, there is a test, but He is always there to make a way.
      Much love to you.🥰 I see that your post was in 2018, but I’ll pray that God gives you wisdom for these things, anyway!

  16. Rohan says:

    Did the Israelites collect manna on other feast days that the Bible told them there should be no servile work?
    The Bible only mentioned manna restrictions on the 7th day Sabbath.

    • Messyanic says:

      Good question. I don’t think gathering manna is considered “servile work”. I think the giving of the manna was a lesson to see if they would follow YHVH’s instructions (Ex 16:4) and to teach them about the 7th day sabbath being holy unto YHVH (Ex 16:23). It seems to me they gathered manna every day in the wilderness (from that point on) except for every seventh day. As for the “feast days”, I don’t know how many of them were actually kept in the wilderness, since they were for “when they entered the land” of promise. Thanks for asking — good food for thought. 😉

      • Shirley says:

        The reason they could not gather manna on the 7th day was because on it Yahuwah himself was resting. Yahuwah wants his people to do as he does to rest from the works they are required to do to live. Every person and every animal should rest in order to be rejuvenated.

  17. I appreciate the detailed comments and comparisons of each appointed day observation. With that being stated my understanding is the Sabbath Day we should not do any labor for money, resources or career advadncement inculdimg those who work for us or nay buisness holdings. On the Sabbath of the 7th day we recognize ABBA YHVH is our source and he created that day for us to rest. My reason for speaking a further understanding was because I wanted to clean a room on the Sabbath 7th day of the week. It’s my opinion after reading over The Day of Atonement instructions that it is OK to do something you enjoy or to bring order to your life that does not include a form of fiscal type of gain. Why? Because it specifies no work of any kind which is inclusive of no servile work, or no work. YHVH made the Sabbath for man inorder to give us rest from labor therefore what we enjoy is not labor, even the satisfaction of cleanliness. Also, I will afflict my soul on the Dat of Antonement in a greater way, therefore no TV, video games nothing that passes the time in a pleasant way. Afflicting one’s self is absolute in all manners. Shalom.

  18. Stefanie Balasubramanian says:

    Thank you for your commentary as I have always had a hard time with this, and still as my role in life is to ber servile (wife and mother). I am not considered a maidservant, so these rules don’t seem to encompass homemakers. I still have to cook on the Sabbath for my family, and do all the other chores. My husband stays away from his work and studies the whole day, but refuses to travel, make a purchase or anything else, and does not leave the house other than out of necessity. I don’t want to rebel by not taking care of my family,not be disobedient to YAH, but is there a day of rest for wives and moms? The Sabbath is the only day my whole family comes together and I am the only one not getting rest. So confused.

    • Messyanic says:

      Hi Stefanie,

      Yes, the seventh day is a day of rest for wives & moms as well! 🙂

      My children are older now (teenagers), but I remember when they were younger, how much harder it was, because they needed more supervision and constant attention.

      It helped to be in the company of other families with kids their own age to occupy them or with those who enjoyed their company & engaged them to help give me a break in having to always occupy them myself.

      Have you talked with your husband about it? Maybe he can spend more father-kids time without you for a window of time to help give you a break. Beyond that, I imagine the two of you could come up with a strategy to give you more of a rest on the Sabbath day.

      As for the housework, personally I tailor my week’s chores to give myself a break on the 7th day. For example, I never do laundry, decluttering, organizing or cleaning on the 7th day — I wait until Sunday or even Monday sometimes to delve back into all that. (I make sure all of the laundry I did earlier in the week gets put away beforehand, and I straighten up in the main living areas (living room, dining room & kitchen) after dinner Friday night so we can start the weekend with a reasonably clean slate.)

      I don’t do this out of a sense of obligation — that I *have* to make it so I don’t do *any* work on the Sabbath day or else I’ll be displeasing to YHVH. Rather, I do this because I want to make the seventh day more restful for myself.

      Certainly, doing more meal preps on the 6th day to make the 7th day’s workload lighter is a great idea — or, you can just designate that day for serving leftovers from earlier in the week. (Besides, there’s nothing that says you have to make anything elaborate on the 7th day.)

      Again, I recommend talking it over with your husband and see what you two can come up with to ease your workload so you can enjoy the rest as well. You deserve it, because YHVH said so. 😉

  19. Christopher Carter says:

    I think this is a great article, and all the comments give great insights and brings to mind questions to ponder.

  20. Chris says:

    The allowance for food preparation for the feast of unleavened bread was ONLY permissible for the time they were exiting Egypt because they went out in haste. Therefore, YHVH made an exception. Nowadays, we dont cook on the first and senenth day of the feast of Unleavened bread. This is why it is only mentioned in Exodus and not in Deuteronomy.

    • Messyanic says:

      When I read the entire chapter of Exodus 12, it seems clear that the instruction concerning the allowance for food preparation (verse 16) is nestled within the instruction for the keeping of the Feast of Unleavened Bread in future years (verses 14-20). It is not specifically speaking of the days of their exodus, but rather it’s speaking of a future time when they will need to put away the leaven out of their houses (see verse 15).

      • Chris says:

        If taking a broader view of scripture, I can see your point, but it makes sense that YHVH would make this allowance. In the years following the Exodus, there was no need for this allowance. Verses 14 and 17 speak about keeping the day as a memorial throughout our generations, a statue forever; nothing about preparing food.

        • Messyanic says:

          It seems that you are operating from the premise that one is not supposed to prepare food on a non-work day (thereby an exception is in order), and I think that’s because there’s a tradition that has been handed down over the generations for folks to not prepare food on those days.

          However, my point of contention is with the insistence that the tradition is based on a Scriptural ordinance when there is no Scripture forbidding the preparation of food on any non-work day (and thereby no need for an exception to be made to the contrary).

  21. Chris says:

    The issue is that it says no work except cooking in the exception making it work.

  22. Rachel E says:

    I recently started revisting my thoughts on Shabbat because I was listening to a preacher who said that many people are essentially sinning on the sabbath because they cook. It has been a topic I revisit every year just as I revisit the feasts and holy days.

    I noticed in my study that there was a wording difference. So I was looking up the words and defining them.

    I have always struggled with idea that the ancient israelites would not have had the modern conveniences we have today, therefore they would not have had the option to refrigerate or stack up dirty dishes, with many more remaining on the shelf. We need to consider the customs and lifestyles of the people who dwelt in such primitive ways compared to us today.

    I too have wondered if indeed those passages about collecting sticks was pertaining to the work on the tabernacle. Again, pointing to the idea that they didn’t have stoves like we do.

    I consider the words of Yeshua when he asked the Pharisees how many of them would not care for an animal in need on shabbat. Are we not more of value, created in his image, than the animals? The very idea of healing a man on shabbat, making him whole again, essentially making that body strong.

    I am rambling, I am sorry. I just want you to know I appreciate your words.

  23. Ed Watt says:

    With the intent to live in harmony with the Holy Spirit , I have considered this in depth and realize the Rabbinical priesthood are city folk and their views reflect this.
    As well as emanating from the warm climate of Israel . The commandment was given to go our among the rest of the world, this includes rural communities that we have been instructed to go to in escaping the sins of Babylon. So with these things in mind I will light a fire in the stove to keep from freezing to death, and I will feed my sheep on the Shabbat as we are directed to feed them before we eat breakfast. I have gotten into doing all the preparation for these task in order to minimize the time and effort required.
    In closing it is not my intent to lead anyone astray or cause anyone to sin, however not ever getting any answer when posing these questions to different Rabbis the choice is for life . Shalom

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