Biblical Perspectives, Vol. 14 No. 1i2, 2006.
Review article
Th e Sabbath in the Intertestamental Period
Sakae Kubo
; Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI, USA
Abstract
Th e intertestamental period brings to view several new facets regarding the history of the Sabbath. First, aside from the Sabbath commandment itself (Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-14; Lev. 23:3), the Old Testament provides surprisingly few specifi c statements regarding the manner of observing the day.72 Th e intertesta mental sources carry us beyond these and serve as a transition between the Old Testament and the Rabbinic period. Furthermore, these sources give information on Sabbath observance in wartime and in situations
where the Jews were subjects of foreign powers. While such ituations were present in the Old Testament, we have no similar information there regarding Sabbath observance in conjunction with them. A still further aspect of the Sabbath that fi rst appears during this period is the setting forth, especially by Philo, of a kind of theology of the Sabbath necessitated by Jewish contacts with Hellenistic society. Other facets include the contents of the Sabbath service and the Jewish sectarian views on the Sabbath.
Keywords
Sabbath; Intertestamental-period; Rabbinic-period; Philo
Hrčak ID:
123183
URI
Publication date:
16.11.2006.
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