Exodus 20:8-11 meaning

The 4th commandment is to keep the sabbath day holy. Keeping the sabbath was introduced earlier in the book of Exodus (16:23 – 29) and is established here. It is the only commandment that was given to the Israelites before it was established in the Ten Commandments. It is also mentioned more in the Mosaic Law than any other commandment.

The requirement of the fourth commandment is to remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. To remember something was to pay attention to what was to be done. The Israelites were to remember the Sabbath in order to memorialize the LORD as Creator of all things. When God “remembered” His covenant (Exodus 2:24), He took action to deliver His people Israel. In some places, remembering can be related to meditation and prayer to the LORD (Psalms 143:5 – 6). In this case, remembering God as the Creator should lead to reflection and action consistent with the covenant Israel had entered with their Creator.

The word sabbath (Heb. “shabbat”) means “rest.” It is related to the Hebrew verb meaning “to cease.” Though not specified here, what constituted work is spelled out in other passages, such as leaving home (Exodus 16:29f), plowing and harvesting (Exodus 34:21), building the tabernacle (Exodus 35:2ff), lighting a fire (Exodus 35:3), and gathering wood (Numbers 15:32 – 36). It was to be a day where a person was to cease from all kinds of normal work and remember that the LORD created all things in six days then rested from, or finished, His creation activity.

The word for holy (Heb. “qadash”) suggests something that is to be treated as special and set aside. To keep something holy is to consider it special, to separate it from the mundane. The sabbath was to be different from the other six days of the week.

The specific requirements are found in vv. 9 – 10. Like the LORD did in the creation, they were told that six days you shall labor and do all your work. This is in line with the six days of creation in Genesis 1. Following that, He declared that the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God. They were not do any work, and this applied to all living beings in Israel, whether it be you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. Every person and all the cattle were required to cease from all work on the Sabbath day. This applied also to a foreign worker, a sojourner.

The reason for the sabbath is described in v. 11. It was based on the fact that in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Because of this historical fact, the LORD blessed the sabbath day and made it holy. It was to be a memorial for what the LORD did in the creation of the world (Genesis 2:2-3) and to remind the Israelites that they were in a covenant with One who was their Creator.

After prohibiting Israel from fashioning false gods, God reminds them that He created all things. Clearly, Israel’s Suzerain (ruler) has the power and authority to keep His part in the covenant. And He also has the power and authority to enforce the covenant. No man or false god is going to be able to intervene. These first four commandments make clear that God is God, man is not. God created the world as well as the rules by which it operates. There is no competing authority that can undermine that of God’s; not man, not anything made by man, nor any other principality.

This is the only commandment that is not repeated to the New Testament Church. However, Jesus added an important observation about the sabbath. He said that “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27). It is clear that God intended a benefit to man and beast in setting aside one out of seven days to rest and recreate. Later, God will also command one in seven years rest for the land (Exodus 23:10-11). We now know from studies that resting the land increases its productivity over time, and humans do more and better work with adequate rest, so we have direct experience with some of the intended blessings that would flow from adhering to God’s commands.

Biblical Text

⁸“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. ⁹Six days you shall labor and do all your work, ¹⁰but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. ¹¹For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

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Additional Resources

Book Theme

The book of Exodus is the second book of the Torah (“law”). It continues the story of Genesis concerning the migration of the family of Jacob (the Israelites) to Egypt (Genesis 50). It describes the commissioning of Moses and Aaron as God’s representatives on earth to accomplish God’s deliverance of His people from slavery in Egypt and lead them to the Promised Land (the land of Canaan). It also relates the miraculous deliverance from Egypt beginning with the plagues on Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea. It then describes the journey to Mount Sinai and the establishment of the Mosaic covenant with the Israelites. The last part of the book involves the specifications and building of the tabernacle – the place where the Lord Himself dwelt amongst His people.

In the book of Exodus, the focus shifts to the deliverance of God’s people.

Chapter Context

Exodus 20 contains the Ten Commandments and is seen by many to be the centerpiece of the Mosaic Law. It is at least the foundation for all the other laws and statutes found in the Law. They are repeated in Deuteronomy 5 for the succeeding generation of Israelites just prior to entering the Promised Land.

Many other civilizations in the Ancient Near East had law codes, the most famous being the code of Hammurabi, a Babylonian code of law of ancient Mesopotamia (around 1700 B.C). Hammurabi was a despot, a ruler over Babylon who inherited his reign. The black stone stele discovered by archeologists depicts Hammurabi receiving the law from a Babylonian god, presumably intended to depict divine authority having been bestowed upon both the law as well as Hammurabi.

There are similarities. As a general principle God communicates to people in formats that are already familiar. The Mosaic law differs substantially in that there is no attempt to establish Moses as a ruler, with a successive dynasty. The Ten Commandments and following laws clearly establish a system intended to be self-governing, where the people acknowledge God directly and individually as their king, or ruler.

God had already established Himself as the Suzerain (ruler) over Israel when He made the covenant with them. Moses serves as an intermediary, and as a sort of supreme court in the settlement of disputes. But the legislative branch of government is retained by God, and the executive branch is delegated to the people. The people also judge one another, based on jurisprudence of multiple witnesses. The people keep their covenant with God by choosing to treat other Israelites in a loving manner.

The LORD gave the Law of Moses to establish self-governance as a superior way of living, and appointed Israel to serve a priestly function to demonstrate effective living to its neighbors. Naturally, a realm where each person respects and serves others will be a superior place to dwell.

The New Testament mentions the Mosaic Law a number of times. A few examples:

The Law is something Christ came to fulfill (Matthew 5:17)
The Law is summed up with the phrase “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you” – demonstrating the Law’s intent was to create a culture of self-governance and mutual love and service (Matthew 7:12).
This self-governance and mutual service principle as the core reason for the Law is repeated in Romans 13:10, which says “love is the fulfillment of the law”
To put in written form what God wrote on the heart/conscience of humanity (Romans 2:15)
The Law brings the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:20)
“Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Romans 10:4)
The Law is “our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24).
The Law is perfect, and leads to liberty (James 1:25)

Exodus 20 can be outlined as follows:

The Ten Commandments (20:1 – 17)
The Peoples’ Reaction (20:18 – 21)
The Book of the Covenant Prologue (20:22 – 26)

After the preamble and the prologue (vv. 1–2), the LORD gives Moses the Ten Commandments. They are described in the remaining verses in this section (vv. 3 – 17). They can be split into two parts. The first part, commandments 1 – 5, establish the LORD as the Supreme Ruler, the ultimate authority and Lawgiver. God is the Suzerain of the People. The fifth commandment appoints parents to stand in for God as the authority over children, until they reach an age to relate directly to God.

The last five commandments make up the second part, and set forth what the Suzerain (ruler) over Israel desires: that the Israelites treat one another in a loving and respectful manner. It is interesting to point out that nine of the ten commandments are repeated in the New Testament. This is not a surprise since the New Testament claims on numerous occasions that by walking in faith, or walking in the Spirit, the Law is fulfilled (Romans 8:4;13:8; Galatians 5:14). The only law not included in the New Testament in the form of a command is keeping the Sabbath. However, Jesus endorsed the Sabbath principle, saying that the Sabbath was intended to bless humans, not to be a burden for them (Mark 2:27).

Exodus 20:8-11 meaning

Check out our other commentaries:

Acts 13:38-43 meaning

Galatians 1:18-24 meaning

Deuteronomy 4:1-4 meaning

Deuteronomy 16:16-17 meaning

Romans 2:14-16 meaning

Additional Resources

Book Theme

Chapter Context

Maps and Charts

Videos

The Bible Project - Exodus Summary Pt. 1

The Bible Project - Exodus Summary Pt. 2

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