Exodus 31:15–17
The shabbat is a lasting sign between God and his people
Study it word by word15For six days work shall be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to YHWH. Whoever does work on the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death.
16And the sons of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations as an eternal covenant.
17Between me and the sons of Israel it is a sign forever; for in six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he ceased and caught his breath.’”
In its context
13“And you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘Surely you shall keep my Sabbaths, for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, so that you know that I am YHWH who sanctifies you.
14You shall keep the Sabbath, for it is holy to you. Whoever profanes it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does work on it, that person shall be cut off from among his people.
…
18And he gave to Moses, when he finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of Elohim.
Its words in the original
- שֵׁשֶׁתsheshet· six
Six; also "sixth".
- יָמִיםyamim· day
Day: the hours of light, or a whole day from one evening to the next. Also an indefinite time or age ("in the day that...", "in those days").
- יֵעָשֶׂהyease· do, make
Do, make, in the widest sense: build, produce, carry out, keep (a command), prepare.
- מְלָאכָהmelacha· work
Work: the task someone carries out and also what results from it; also property, goods.
- שְּׁבִיעִיshevii· seventh
Seventh.
- שַׁבַּתshabat· Sabbath
Sabbath: the seventh day, when work stops because it is set apart for God. The word comes from the verb "cease". It can also mean a week, or a sabbatical year (the land's rest).
- שַׁבָּתוֹןshabaton· solemn rest
Solemn rest: a day when all work is laid aside.
- קֹדֶשׁkodesh· holiness, holy place
Holiness: what is set apart for God. Also a holy place or a holy thing; "the holy of holies" is the most holy place.
- יהוָהyhva· YHWH
The personal name of the God of Israel, written in Hebrew with four letters, Y-H-W-H, without vowels. Out of reverence Jews stopped pronouncing it and read "Adonai" (Lord), so many Bibles put "the LORD" or "Jehovah". This translation keeps the four letters. The name is related to the verb "to be" (Exodus 3:14-15). He is not a god other than Elohim: "YHWH Elohim" is the same Creator God, called by his name.
- מוֹתmot· die
Die. In the causative form, kill, put to death. Hebrew can repeat the verb for emphasis ("dying you will die" = "you will surely die").
- שָׁמְרוּshamru· keep, guard
Keep: watch over, guard, protect; also keep a command or a covenant, observe.
- בְנֵיvene· son
Son. In the plural it can include sons and daughters, and also grandsons and descendants. "Son of..." also says what group someone belongs to ("sons of Israel" = Israelites).
- יִשְׂרָאֵלyisrael· Israel
Israel, the new name Jacob received from God, explained as "you have striven with God" (Genesis 32:28); then the name of the people that came from him and, after the division, of the northern kingdom.
- דֹרֹתָdorota· generation
Generation: the people who live in the same period; also an age, "all generations".
- בְּרִיתberit· covenant
Covenant: a solemn commitment between two parties, with promises and obligations. When God makes it, he is the one who offers it and guarantees it.
- עוֹלָםolam· forever, eternal
A very long time whose end cannot be seen: looking forward, "forever"; looking back, "of old", "ancient".
- אוֹתot· sign
Sign: something visible that serves to show or recall something else (a mark, a warning, a proof). The heavenly bodies are signs that mark days, seasons and years; in other passages it is an extraordinary deed by which God shows something.
- שָּׁמַיִםshamayim· heavens, sky
The heavens: what is above, where the clouds, the sun and the stars are seen; also the dwelling of God. In Hebrew it is always plural. With birds, "the sky".
- אָרֶץarets· earth, land
The earth, in two senses: the whole world in contrast with the heavens, or a particular country or region ("the land of Egypt").
- שָׁבַתshavat· cease, rest
Cease, stop doing something; from there "rest". When God ceased from his work it was because he had finished it, not from weariness. The word "Sabbath" comes from this verb.
- יִּנָּפַשׁyinafash· be refreshed
Catch one's breath, be refreshed.