Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/440

* SABBATH. 400 SABBATICAL YEAB. labor is enjoined as tlic fourth 'word' or com- mandmcnt, and the obligation is extended to all the members of the household, including man and maid servants, and also to ox and ass, all cattle, and to the non-Hebrew dwelling in a He- brew community. But whereas, in the earlier codes (see Hiox.vrEuc'n), the Sabbath (generally associated with the new moon celebration) marks a cessation from the orilinary labor, it did not prior to the Babylonian exile involve a strict prohibition of all secular occupations. It was permitted, e. g. to undertake a journey on the Sab- bath day (11. Kings iv. 22-23). Its character as a sacred day sanctified for all times by Yahweh leads the 'Holiness Code' (Lev. xvii. to xxvi.) to lay special stress upon this 'sanctified' char- acter] and the outcome of this movement is to connect the institution with the creation of the world. This step is distinctly taken in the Priestly narrative (Gen. ii. 3), Yahweh setting the example to mankind by Himself 'resting' on the seventh day after finishing the work of crea- tion. Released from its association with the new moon, the regulations for the Sabbath in- creased in number and severity until the obliga- tion to 'rest' was made to include the prohibition of almost evei'vthing requiring physical efl'ort. The rabbis vied with one another in carrying out the comparatively few and simple regulations of the Pentateucha! codes to their last consequences. Thus the ordinance not to kindle fires on the Sab- bath day (Kx. xxxv. 3) was interpreted to in- clude the prohibition of cooking meals on the Sabbath day, while the injimction "let no man go out of his place on the seventh day" (Ex. xvi. 29) led to restrictions upon walking beyond a certain distance. The cessation from labor was made to embrace a strict avoidance of handling money, no matter for what purpose, and while public amusements were not prohibited, the Sab- bath restrictions made such amusements practi- cally impossible. In this wa.y the Sabbath ac- quired an austere character, at least in appear- ance, which was relieved only by the intensity of the religious spirit with which the Jews entered upon the ritual prescribed for the day, and by the opportunity it afforded for family Teunions, which became one of the features of the day. From Judaism the institution passed on to Christianity with a change of the day from the seventh to the first day of the week, as com- memorating the resurrection of Jesus. See Sunday. Considerable speculation has been indulged in as to the origin of the Hebrew Sabbath. In cuneiform syUabaries a word Sihahattiim has been found, which is explained in one instance as 'tile day of rest for the heart.' This phrase, how- ever, does not refer to cessation from labors, but to the 'cessation' of the divine wrath. In other words, shahattum for the Babylonians meant a day in which it was necessary to observe certain precautions in order to insure the 'pacification' of the gods. What these precautions were are learned from a religious calendar in which it is told that the King is not to ride in his chariot, nor to don finery, nor to eat cooked meat, nor to bring sacrifices until the evening of the 7th, 14th, 19th, 21st, and 28th day of the month, which are designated as unfavorable or inauspicious days. These regulations are prescribed only for the King, upon whose conduct toward the gods the general disposition of the gods, and hence the welfare of the country, depended. There are traces in the Pentateuchal codes that the 'Sab- bath' v!is once regarded as an inatispicious day on which it was not advisable to risk the dis- pleasure of Yahweh, or even safe to seek His presence. There is also some evidence that .a 'Sal>batli' observed not every seventh day, but on the 7th, 14th, 21st, and 28'th day ufltr the new moon, was an ancient institution which the Hebrews shared with the Babylonians, but these considerations only point to an ultinuite common origin for the Hebrew and Babylonian Sabbath. BlULlOGRAPHY. Consult the Hel)rew areluTol- ogies of Nowack and Benzinger; Wellhausen, Prolegomena ziir Geschichte Israels^ (4th ed., Ber- lin, 189.5; Eng. trans., Edinburgh, 1885) ; Jlonte- fiore, Religion of the Ancient Hebrcn^s (Hibbert Lectures, London, 1893) ; Smend, AUtestament- liche lieligionsgeschichte (Freiburg, 1893); Jastrow, "Original Character of the Hebrew Sabbath," in the American Journal of Theology (New York, 1898) ; Hessey, Sundag, Its Origin, History, and Present Obligation (Bampton Lec- tures for 1860; new ed., London, 1889); Abra- hams, JeiC'ish Life in the Middle Ages (ib., 1896) . SABBATHAI ZEVI. A pseudo-Messiah of the Jews. See Jewish Sects; Messiah. SABBATICAL YEAR. An institution of the Pentateuchal codes, according to which, primari- ly, the fields were to lie fallow ever}' seven years; afterwards the provisions were extended to in- clude relief from various obligations incurred by members of the community. The Sabbatical year is referred to in all of the three chief codes ( the Book of the Covenant, the Deuteronomic Code, and the Priestly Code; see He.xateuch). In the first and third, special stress is laid upon the provision requiring the land to lie fallow (Ex. xxiii. lO-U; Lev. x.xv. 3-7); in the Deu- teronomic Code no reference to such an ordi- nance occurs. Again, the first two codes agree in providing for the remission of slaves after six years' service (Ex. xxi. 2-6; Deut. xv. 12-18) ; the Priestly Code provides for such emancipation only in the fiftieth or jubilee year (Lev. xxv. 39-55). Lastly, the Priestly Code (Lev. xxv. 8-10; 12-10; 23-34) is unique in providing under cer- tain conditions for the 'release' in the jubilee year (i.e. the seventh Sabbatical year) of patri- monial estates which have been sold, to the end that such estates should not be permanently alienated. Deuteronomy (xv. 1-3) has a special ordinance for the remission or suspension of debt every seven years. These divergences indicate a gradual evolution of the institution, beginning with the custom, common in agricultural communities, of letting the land lie fallow at periodical intervals. The Book of the Covenant does not specify that the same year shall be observed by all districts and all individuals. So impracticable an injunction is found only in the 'theoretical' Priestly Code. On the other hand, the remission of Hebrew slaves after si.x years of service had apparently become a dead letter, and accordingly the term of service is extended, and a general emancipa- tion appointed ever}' fifty years, no matter how long (or short) a period of service had preceded. The remission of debt also disappears in the Priestly Code, but instead, stipulations are in- serted for the reversion of property to the original owners in the jubilee year. Hence it is