Exodus 23:12

Exo 23:12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.

Ver. 12. Six days.] {See Trapp on "Exo 20:8"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Exo_23:12

On the seventh day thou shalt rest.

Labour and rest

I. That rest is needful--May be refreshed.

1. Rest is needful that the exhausted faculties may repose after past work.

2. Rest is needful that those faculties may be invigorated for future service.

3. Rest is needful that work may not become irksome; for if so

(1) it will be done slovenly; and

(2) done imperfectly.

4. Rest is needful that work may be free and joyous.

II. That rest is mercifully provided.

1. This rest is provided by God, lest man should overlook its necessity.

2. This rest is provided by God lest the servant, the foreigner, or the beast should be defrauded of their right to it.

III. That rest should be diligently earned. Six days shalt thou do thy work.

1. Not lounge over it;

2. Not neglect it; but

3. Do it earnestly, conscientiously, and well.

Application:

1. A lesson to employers. God has provided this rest; beware how you steal what God has given to man.

2. A lesson to working-men. This rest is yours by right. Then

(1) claim it;

(2) dont abuse it;

(3) dont curtail that of others;

(4) work during your own time, rest during Gods.

3. A lesson to the world at large. Sabbath-breaking is the direct cause of

(1) intellectual evils; overtaxed brains, etc.;

(2) moral evils; neglect of the rights of God and man;

(3) physical evils. Science has demonstrated the need of one days rest in seven. (J. W. Burn.)

Need of rest

We know well enough that if trains are run at fifty miles an hour over roads built to endure only a speed of thirty miles an hour, everything in a short time begins to give way, and to wear out, and the whole road and all the rolling stock gets into a dangerous condition. Every rail, every tie, every joint, every nail, every wheel and bit of machinery feels the strain and wear. The human mechanism is not less sensitive than are railroads and locomotives. The tendency of the time is to increase the speed of individual movement and progress. The over-driven human being needs constant rest and repairs, as do railroads and locomotives, and a thousand-fold more, for his mechanism is infinitely more complicated and delicate. Instead of adding more fuel to a disordered engine to make it go, we would send it to the repair shop, and let it be restored by skilled workmen to soundness. So when the mind and body are worn and weary, send them to the repair shop for rest. Sleep, quiet, nutritious food, the absence of all stimulants and whips, and goads--these skilled positive and negative workmen of nature will restore (if anything can) the wasted vitality, and bring back health and strength and soundness. (Christian Advocate.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Exo 23:12. The seventh day thou shalt rest — This command is here repeated lest any should think the weekly rest might cease when the whole year was consecrated to rest. There were three sorts of sabbaths to the Jews, 1st, Of days: 2d, Of years, namely, the seventh year: 3d, Of weeks of years, namely, the jubilee. And all these are types of the eternal rest in heaven, where pain and sorrow shall never enter.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest--This law is repeated [Exo 20:9] lest any might suppose there was a relaxation of its observance during the sabbatical year.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 12. Six days thou shalt do thy work] Though they were thus bound to keep the sabbatical year, yet they must not neglect the seventh day's rest or weekly Sabbath; for that was of perpetual obligation, and was paramount to all others. That the sanctification of the Sabbath was of great consequence in the sight of God, we may learn from the various repetitions of this law; and we may observe that it has still for its object, not only the benefit of the soul, but the health and comfort of the body also. Doth God care for oxen? Yes; and he mentions them with tenderness, that thine ox and thine ass may rest. How criminal to employ the labouring cattle on the Sabbath, as well as upon the other days of the week! More cattle are destroyed in England than in any other part of the world, in proportion, by excessive and continued labour. The noble horse in general has no Sabbath! Does God look on this with an indifferent eye? Surely he does not. "England," said a foreigner, "is the paradise of women, the purgatory of servants, and the hell of horses.

The son of thy handmaid, and the stranger - be refreshed.] ינפש yinnaphesh may be respirited or new-souled; have a complete renewal both of bodily and spiritual strength. The expression used by Moses here is very like that used by St. Paul, Ac 3:19: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing (καιροι αναψυξεως, the times of re-souling) shall come from the presence of the Lord;" alluding, probably, to those times of refreshing and rest for body and soul originally instituted under the law.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(12) The law of the weekly Sabbath is here repeated in conjunction with that of the Sabbatical year, to mark the intimate connection between the two, which were parts of one and the same system—a system which culminated in the Jubilee year (Lev_25:8-13). Nothing is added to the requirements of the fourth commandment; but the merciful intention of the Sabbath day is more fully brought out—it is to be kept in order that the cattle may rest, and the slave and stranger may be refreshed.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

12. The sabbath, treated here as a day of cessation from (in particular) field-labour, designed with a humanitarian end.

thy work] The word (ma‘ǎseh),—which is not the same as the one (melâ’khâh) rendered ‘work’ in Exo_20:10,—though in itself a general one, seems rather from the context to suggest work in the field: cf. v. 16, where it is twice rendered ‘labours’; also Deu_14:29; Deu_16:15; Deu_24:19; Deu_Exo_28:12 (note in each case the context).

rest] desist (from work), or keep sabbath (RVm.): see on Exo_20:8.

and thine ass may rest] as Exo_20:11. This is the word that expresses the positive idea of rest (Job_3:13; Job_3:17). (‘Have rest’ in RV. is intended for distinction from ‘rest’ just before; but it is better to be express the distinction by giving a more exact rendering of shâbath.)

the son of thy bondwoman] i.e. a slave ‘born in the house’ (cf. on Exo_12:44), of parents who were themselves slaves—intended, it must be supposed, to represent slaves in general (cf. Deu_5:14 end): as Di. remarks, most slaves were probably of this kind. Bertholet (Die Stellung der Isr. u. der Juden zu den Fremden, p. 55) and Bä. think ‘the son of thy concubine’ to be meant (cf. the sense of ’âmâh in Exo_21:7 [see note]); but there seems no sufficient reason for this limitation.

the sojourner] the sojourner in thy employment (Exo_20:10).

be refreshed] properly, get breath: so Exo_31:17, 2Sa_16:14†.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And in all things that I have said unto you, be circumspect,.... Or observe them, be careful to keep them punctually and constantly, even all that are delivered in this and the preceding chapters:

and make no mention of the name of other gods; neither call upon them, nor swear by them, nor make vows to them; and, as little as possible, ever utter their names, and never with pleasure and delight, and showing any honour of them, and reverence to them, but with the utmost detestation and abhorrence:

neither let it be heard out of thy mouth; not any of their names; the same thing in different words, the more to inculcate and impress the thing upon the mind, and to show with what vehemence and earnestness this is pressed.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

This command is here repeated, lest any should think the weekly rest might cease when the whole year was consecrated to rest. There were three sorts of sabbaths to the Jews:

1. Of days.

2. Of years, to wit; the seventh year.

3. Of weeks of years, to wit, the jubilee; and all these are types of the eternal rest in heaven.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

12. The seventh day — See note on Exo_20:8.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Law of the Sabbath, repeated. Nothing is here added to the teaching of the Fourth Commandment; but its merciful character is especially brought out. Men are called on to observe it, in order that their cattle may obtain rest, and their servants, together with the stranger that is within their gates, may find refreshment. It is to be borne in mind that the foreign population of Palestine was mostly held to hard service. (see 2Ch_2:17, 2Ch_2:18)

The rest of the Sabbath.

In the fourth commandment it is the main object of the Sabbath that is put prominently forward. It is a day to be "kept holy a day which God has "blessed and hallowed." Here, on the contrary, our attention is called to its secondary object it is for rest" and refreshment." Perhaps men of the classes who are in easy circumstances do not sufficiently realise the intense relief that is furnished by the Sunday rest to the classes below them, to the over-taxed artisan, the household drudge, the wearied and stupefied farm-labourer nay, even to the clerk, the accountant, the shopkeeper, the salesman. Continuous mechanical work of one and the same kind is required of most of those who labour, from morning till night, and from one end of the week to the other. The monotony of their occupations is terrible is deadening is sometimes maddening. For them, the treat that the Sunday affords is the single gleam of light in their uniformly murky sky, the single ray of hope that gilds their else miserable existence, the single link that connects them with the living world of thought, and sentiment, and feeling, for which they were born, and in which their spirits long to expatiate. Rest! To the tired brute, forced to slave for his owner up to the full measure of his powers, and beyond them ready to sink to the earth the moment he is not artificially sustained who goes through his daily round in a state that is half-sleep, half-waking what a blessed change is the quietude of the Sunday, when for four-and-twenty hours at least he enjoys absolute and entire repose, recruits his strength, rests all his muscles, is called on to make no exertion! Refreshment! How thrice blessed to the overwrought man, and still more to the overwrought woman, is the relaxation of the dreadful tension of their lives which Sunday brings! "No rest, no pause, no peace," for six long days days beginning early and ending late days without change or variety without relaxation or amusement wretched, miserable days, during which they wish a hundred times that they had never been born. On such the Sunday rest falls as a refreshing dew. Their drooping spirits rise to it. They inhale at every pore its beneficent influences. They feel it to be "a refuge from the storms of life, a bourne of peace after six days of care and toil, a goal to which they may look with glad hearts, and towards which they may work with hopeful spirits amid the intense struggles, and fervid contests, and fierce strifes of existence." Without the Sunday rest, modern life, at any rate, would be intolerable; and the mass of those who are actively engaged in its various phases would drift into idiocy, or be driven to madness!

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

General Information:

Yahweh continues telling Moses his laws for the people of Israel.

Pay attention to

"Do" or "Obey"

your ox and your donkey

"your work animals"

any foreigner may rest and be refreshed

This can be stated in active form. AT: "any foreigner may rest and regain his strength" (See: Active or Passive)

mention the names of other gods

This represents praying to other gods. AT: "pray to other gods" (See: Metonymy)

translationWords

rest

servant

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

וביום השביעי תשבת [SIX DAYS SHALT THOU DO THY WORK] AND ON THE SEVENTH DAY THOU SHALT LEAVE OFF — Even in the Sabbatical year you shall not abrogate the weekly Sabbath: you shall not say, “Since the whole year bears the name of ‘Sabbath’, the weekly Sabbath need not to be observed” (Mekhilta).

למען ינוח שורך means, give it (the animal) some satisfaction (ניח) by permitting it to pull up and eat grass from the ground as it pleases. Or, perhaps, this is not the meaning but it means that is must rest: that one must tie it up in its stall so that it does no work in the field! You will, however, admit this is no satisfaction but a source of annoyance (Mekhilta).

בן אמתך THE SON OF THY HANDMAID — Scripture speaks of an uncircumcised Canaanitish servant; (that the circumcised servant should rest is already mentioned in Deuteronomy 5:14: עבדך ואמתך כמוך) (cf. Mekhilta).

והגר means a גר תושב, a proselyte settler (one who renounces idolatry and thus acquires limited citizenship in Palestine).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

L’MA’AN’ (THAT) THINE OX AND THINE ASS MAY HAVE REST. Because the word l’ma’an is like ba’avur (“in order that”), we must explain neither can it be referring to a case where the owner works together with the animal, for if that were so, why does the Torah not mention that the reason is that he himself should have rest? Hence Ramban explains the verse in the following way: “Six days thou shalt do thy work in such a manner as if it were all completed by the Sabbath-day, so that the animal can have rest by itself on that day.” that the verse is stating: “Six days you shall do all your work in the house and in the field, in order that the ox and the ass may have rest on the seventh day. And the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed — in order that they all be witnesses to the Creation.” The verse here is then similar in meaning to: Bake that which ye will bake. Similarly He said, Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work, 20:9. as I have explained there.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.