SHABBAT. The Hebrew word shabbat is from a root meaning "to desist" or "to rest," that is, from work and labor. The Sabbath is the day of rest each week after six days of work. The resemblances to the ancient Babylonian shapattu, the day of the full moon, as well as the biblical juxtaposition of the Sabbath with the new moon festival (Roʾsh Ḥodesh) in the Bible, have often been noted, and it may well be that originally there was some connection between the Babylonian and the Hebraic institutions. In the biblical narrative (Gn. 1:1–2:4), God rests on the seventh day from his creative activity and thereby sanctifies and blesses this day.

The command to keep the Sabbath holy is found in both versions of the Decalogue (Ex. 20:8–11, Dt. 5:12–15), but the reasons given for Sabbath observance differ. In Exodus the creation motif is stressed: "For in six days...