IS OUR WEEK SUPPOSED TO BE 7 DAYS?
The Israelite week was thus established at the time of creation as a seven day cycle. Today we take this for granted, but the idea that humans should organize and track their time around periods of seven days was not always universally accepted. Periods of six and ten-day weeks can be found in a number of ancient cultures. Moreover, in the Israelite/Jewish week, the days, instead of being named, are simply numbered. None of the days receive lofty names associated, for example, with ancient deities or heavenly bodies as in other calendar systems. Only the seventh day has been privileged to have its own name שַׁבָּת (shabbat) - the Sabbath.
HOW COME THE SEVENTH DAY GOT THE NAME “SABBATH”?
In this Biblical version, the Hebrew word for “day” is יוֹם (yom) and for “sixth” is שִּׁשִּׁי (shishi); together with the definite article היוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי (“the sixth day”). The six is actually שֵׁשׁ (shesh) but addition of the letter י (yod) at the end of this word, turns it into an adjective שִּׁשִּׁי (shishi) – “sixth”. The word שַׁבָּת (shabbat) is grammatically related to such words as “ceasing”, “resting” and “sitting”. Its root connection with the Modern Hebrew word for “labor strike” שביתה illustrates the point even further.
TAKE THE TIME TO LEARN BIBLICAL HEBREW WITH ETEACHER
Time goes by so quickly and the concept of a day of rest is so smart, we wish we invented it! Well, we didn’t invent Sabbath, but at eTeacherBiblical we created a great opportunity for people like you to learn Biblical Hebrew online, and unravel deep mysteries in the Holy Scriptures from the comfort of your home. Enroll today and gain a truly great experience.
