Sabbath/Talk

Shabbat literally translates as "the seventh day" but means "the day of rest."

It seems to me that Shabbat is more related to the root Sh-B-T (which signifies the concept of sitting or staying static, hence "lashevet"), than to Sh-B-A' (hence "sheva'", "seven"). So I'd rather say that "Shabbat" only means "the day of rest". What do you think about it? --Uriyan

I have heard otherwise, but perhaps I (and anyone else) can check with some people who know Hebrew grammer. (Hebrew speakers who don't specialize in grammar probably shoulnd't be consulted, as most speakers of most languages know what words mean, but that is a different issue. How many people actually know about the details of grammar and root words? That's a smaller group.) RK

Well, I'm not a language scholar; but I'm a Hebrew speaker living in Israel, and I've studied Hebrew grammar at school (it is a part of the obligatory program of the Ministry of Education). Although Shabat does not fall into any of the "weights" through which nouns are usually formed (i.e. R-K-B (ride) with Quatelet pattern -> Rakevet "train") Shabat looks like it's formed from the root Sh-B-T (compare Modern Hebrew "shvita", "strike").

BTW, I was wrong about "lashevet", "to sit", it's derrived from the root Y-Sh-B (it's probably related, but not the same). But unlike the weak Y in Y-Sh-B, I don't think that the A' in Sh-B-A' could disappear this easily. --Uriyan

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A different issue: The end of this article is strikingly argumentative - it seems to be more interested in proving that Paul wasn't keeping some day or another as the Sabbath than explaining the concept. I suppose that's relevant in a section called 'development of Sunday as the day of worship in Christianity', but it needs clearer framing. --MichaelTinkler

I agree; the last part of the article is part of an inter-Christian dispute. Some Christian sects have a stake in proving that Paul followed Jewish law in certain areas; other Christians sects disagree. Their inter-religious argument on this point seems very tangential to the concept of the Sabbath. It would be better to replace it with a more neutral discussion of how various Jewish, Christian and Islamic movements historically have observed the Sabbath. The practices of just one person (i.e. Paul) are quite irrelevant. RK