Hebrew Bible

The motif of the Sabbath runs throughout the Hebrew Bible, making its first appearance in the creation narrative at the beginning of the Tanakh and its last in the theological summary of the exile by the author of 2 Chronicles at the very end of the Tanakh. It is built into the narrative of G-d’s work in creating the world; it reappears as a core part of G-d’s laws in the covenant with Israel, numbering one of the Ten Commandments; and its continued practice becomes a regular part of the exhortation of the prophets. As a motif, the Sabbath reminds the reader of three central theological truths: First, it links the weekly practice of Israel to the creation narrative, offering a continual recognition of G-d as the creator of everything that exists. Second, it underscores G-d’s role as Israel’s caretaker, watching out for Israel’s needs like a shepherd watches over a sheep—including the most basic needs of all, like rest. Third, the motif of the Sabbath builds a recurring observance of G-d’s law into Israel’s weekly schedule, making the observance of G-d’s teaching a deeply interwoven part of one’s daily life. These three meanings interweave with one another such that they apply not only to Israel but also to all of creation: Thus, part of Israel’s observance of G-d’s law is to ensure that not only they but also the rest of creation can enjoy the blessings of G-d’s Sabbath. The ending of 2 Chronicles even explains the tragedy of the Babylonian exile as G-d’s act of giving the land its Sabbath-rest, which the people of Israel had denied to it for generations: “Those who survived the sword He exiled to Babylon, […] in fulfillment of the word of the L-rd spoken by Jeremiah, until the land paid back its sabbaths: as long as it lay desolate it kept sabbath, till seventy years were completed” (2 Chronicles 36.20-21).

The geography of the ancient Near East shaped the way that the Israelites conceived of their religious practice, and this is nowhere more evident than in their symbolic use of mountains to represent the security and strength of G-d’s abode. Mountains are particularly important in two episodes of Israelite history: first, at Mount Sinai, where G-d meets the Israelites after their exodus from Egypt and delivers the law to them, and second, at the mountains of Jerusalem, where the temple of G-d is to be built. The geographical landscape of ancient Israel was centered around mountains because the heartland of early Israelite settlement was a highland ridge that ran north to south through the center of the country, with the coastal plain of the Mediterranean Sea on one side and the deep rift of the Jordan River valley on the other side. Jerusalem sat astride this central ridge, at one of the highest points in the country, affording a defensible site for the national capital. Since Israel’s initial encounter with G-d is at a mountain, it no doubt seems fitting that G-d’s permanent abode in Israel—the temple—should also be built on the summit of a mountain, variously described as Mount Moriah or Mount Zion (both the names of peaks in Jerusalem’s vicinity). Symbolically, mountains convey a place of refuge and security, made all the more secure by G-d’s presence there: “Those who trust in the L-rd are like Mount Zion, that cannot be moved, enduring forever. Jerusalem, hills enfold it, and the L-rd enfolds His people now and forever” (Psalm 125.1-2).