Does anyone know whether the Sabbath as observed in the Old Covenant was always on Saturday, or whether it shifted days?

The reason I ask is that there appears to be seven cycles of 50 days with the other days being filled in. This would mean that the first day of the week would shift from the "first" to the "fifty-first" after the first 50-day cycle, and so on throughout the year.

Any thoughts?

Cheers,

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Adam B., Wine Country, California, PCA

"I fear not to hold with Junius, de Politia Mosis cap. 6, that he who was punishable by death under that Judicial law, is punishable by death still; and he who was not punished by death then, is not to be punished by death now."

Is it similar to this: When was the Sabbath? ?

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Claudiu
Reformed Baptist
attending Immanuel Baptist Church
Sacramento, CA

I do believe the day "shifted."
There were (I believe) two "eighth day" Sabbaths annually, Sabbaths that were 48 hrs., followed by a "first day" (i.e., the next day wasn't the "2nd" day of the week"). This would have necessitated shifts of some kind.

Some have argued that, rationally speaking, Israel would likely have come out of Egypt with Egypt's solar calendar. They almost certainly returned from the Exile with Babylon's lunar calendar.

With a solar calendar of 12 months (x30 days), by adding in a 48hr "day" (once per 6-month), and giving two months 31 days, to complete two different weeks, a nearly-accurate solar year of 364 days would be achieved (52x7). (Even one other extended Sabbath would make for a 365 day year, but I'm no expert on the subject.)

This would allow every year to begin on a "Sabbath", the first day of the year according to the Law. (In Jesus' day, there appears to have been both a secular and a religious calendar).

How was the discrepancy to the solar year fixed? I don't know, but there were additional 7-year cycles, and a 50-year cycle that could have been used (in conjunction with astronomical observations) to rectify the calendar to the seasons, and keep the anniversaries from shifting too far (similar to the way an intercalenary month serves lunar-calendar followers such as the Jews today).


Bottom line: the exact "7th day of the week" not only cannot be known to have never slipped from the beginning of the world until now (since no calendar has ever existed to prove it, based on a known exact age of the earth, not rounded at all, in years, weeks, or in days) but it almost certainly has shifted in the week MANY times.

The important fact would be that the "last day" of any week kept and marked, WAS the day of rest,
and now the "first day" of every week IS that assigned day of rest.

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Rev. Bruce G. Buchanan
ChainOLakes Presbyterian Church, CentralLake, MI


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I just asked this question a few days ago. Good to know I wasn't the only one wondering.

When was the Sabbath?

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Willie Grills
Trinity Presbyterian Church
OPC
Huntington, WV

I refer the honourable gentleman to the reply I gave a few moments ago, When was the Sabbath?

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Kevin Rogers
Sovereign Community Church, PCA
Moncton NB