The Fourth Commandment reads:
- Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 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, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exodus 20: 8-11)
This is one of the longer commandments, taking up four verses, but as with others many theologians believe that the original form was limited to just the first eight words: “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” This fits in well with the rhythm of the rest of the list and the other verses may have been added at a later date in order to provide details about what is and is not permitted on the sabbath.
This is also the only ritualistic commandment in this particular listing, and curiously enough it is pretty much unique among ancient cultures. Nearly all religions have some sense of “sacred time,” but the ancient Hebrews seem to be the only ones to have set aside an entire day every week as sacred, reserved for honoring and remembering their god.
As with the other initial commandments, the purpose of this one appears to be the maintenance of the honor of God. Nowhere is there any indication that resting on the sabbath is done for the benefit of the people. On the contrary, things that benefit people are exactly what is forbidden. Instead, the purpose of the sabbath is to take people out of their daily routine and force them to remember everything that God has done for them: create the earth, the seas, the universe, and of course humanity as well.
At least, that’s the purpose described in Exodus 20. The version of the Ten Commandments provides an entirely different reason for the honoring God on the sabbath: “And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm...” (Deuteronomy 5:15).
Whereas the Exodus 20 version of the Fourth Commandment says that people must rest to commemorate God’s creation of the universe, the Deuteronomy version of the Fourth Commandment says that people must rest to commemorate God having saved the Hebrews in Egypt. Which of the two is the “real” reason? It is worth thinking about the fact that whereas the first reason might be considered universal, the second is specific only to the Jews.
Whatever the actual reason, the Hebrews were expected to remember what God has done and honor God for that. Anything else dishonors God and merits punishment.
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