The Sabbath Truth # 2
Which Day of the Week Is The Sabbath?
Despite doctrinal differences on various other topics, most Christians agree that a day of rest is an integral part of the Christian life. But on which day are we to rest?
"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done" (Genesis 2:2, 3). The very word "sabbath" means rest, and to rest implies that you have labored. It's logical, then, for God to have designated the last day of the week a day of rest. "The seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God" (Exodus 20:10).
Language reflects the customs of the culture that speaks it. Nearly every culture, from Babylon through modern times, rested on the seventh day. As languages developed, the name for the seventh day of the week remained "rest day." In the mid 19th century, Dr. William Meade Jones created this "Chart of the Week," listing the name for the seventh day in 160 languages, including some of the most ancient (shown below). Babylonian, in use hundreds of years before Abraham or the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai, calls the seventh day of the week sa-ba-tu, meaning "rest day."
Even today more than 100 languages worldwide, many of them unrelated to ancient Hebrew, use the word "Sabbath" for Saturday—and none of them designate any other day as a day of rest. Though the world's language groups have evolved so as to be unintelligible from each other, the word for the seventh day of the week has remained fairly recognizable.
The Sabbath predates Judaism
For the thousands of years since Judaism began, an entire nation of Jews has kept track of the weekly cycle and observed the seventh day Sabbath, sometimes even without a calendar. Nevertheless, many rationalize that it's impossible to verify which day of the week is actually the biblical Sabbath because Pope Gregory XIII changed the calendar. The Julian calendar, instituted by Julius Caesar around 46 B.C., calculated the length of the year as 365 ¼ days. In reality, the year is 11 minutes less than 365 ¼ days. So by the 1580s, the calendar and the solar cycle were ten days off. In 1582, Gregory changed the calendar so that Friday, October 5, became Friday, October 15, creating the Gregorian calendar we use today. But it did not confuse the days of the week; Friday still follows Thursday, Saturday still follows Friday, and so on and so forth.
Exodus 16 recounts a series of weekly Sabbath miracles over a period of forty years. God reiterated the Sabbath at Sinai (Exodus 20:8-11), and the Jews were still observing the seventh day when Jesus was born. Jesus kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16; 23:54, 56; 24:1) until his death, which Luke indicates occurred on the day before the Sabbath: "Going to Pilate, [Joseph of Arimathea] asked for Jesus' body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin" (Luke 23:52-54). Luke goes on to describe the actions of the women who followed Jesus. "The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.
"Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb" (Luke 23:55, 56; 24:1). The women discovered that Jesus had risen on Sunday morning; Christians acknowledge this fact by celebrating Easter. The day on which the women rested between the preparation day (Friday) when Jesus died, and the first day of the week (Easter Sunday) when Jesus rose again, had to be Saturday. Scripture clearly portrays God designating the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath, and throughout the centuries of history recounted in the Bible, His followers celebrated it as such. Unless it was changed, the seventh day is still the Sabbath. So why do so many people today honor Sunday, the first day of the week, instead of the seventh day? (Why do so many people worship on Sunday?)
Chart of the Week (Showing the position of the true Sabbath)
Compiled by Dr. William Meade Jones, 1887
LANGUAGE (Where Spoken, Read, or Otherwise Used)
1
2
3
4
5
6
Name of the SEVENTH DAY
Shemitic Hebrew Bible world-wide
Day One
Day Second
Day Third
Day Fourth
Day Fifth
Day the Sixth
Yom hash-shab-bath Day the Sabbath
Hebrew (Ancient and Modern)
One into the Sabbath
Second into the Sabbath
Third into the Sabbath
Fourth into the Sabbath
Fifth into the Sabbath
Eve of Holy Sabbath
Shab-bathSabbath
Targum of Onkelos (Hebrew Literature)
Day One
Day Second
Day Third
Day Fourth
Day Fifth
Day the Sixth
Yom hash-shab-bath Day the Sabbath
Targum Dialect of the Jews in Kurdistan
Day One of the Seven
Day 2nd of the Seven
Day 3rd of the Seven
Day 4th of the Seven
Day 5th of the Seven
Day of Eve (of Sabbath)
yoy-met sha-bat kodesh Holy Sabbath Day
Ancient Syriac *Each day proceeds on, and belongs to the Sabbath
One into Sabbath
Two into Sabbath
Three into Sabbath
Four into Sabbath
Five into Sabbath
Eve (of Sabbath)
Shab-ba-tho Sabbath
Chaldee Syriac Kurdistan and Urdmia, Persia
One into Sabbath
Two into Sabbath
Three into Sabbath
Four into Sabbath
Five into Sabbath
Eve (of Sabbath)
Shap-ta Sabbath
Samaritan (Old Hebrew Letters) Nablus, Palestine
Day One
Day Second
Day Third
Day Fourth
Day Fifth
Day Sixth
Shab-bath Sabbath
Babylonian Euphrates Tigris Valleys Mesopotamia (Written lang. 3800 B.C.)
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Sa-ba-tu Sabbath
Assyrian Euphrates and Tigris Valleys, Mesopotamia
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
sa-ba-tu Sabbath
Arabic (Very old names)
Business Day
Light Moon
War Chief
Turning Day or Midweek
Familiar or Society Day
Eve (of Sabbath)
Shi-yar Chief or Rejoicing Day
Arabic (Ancient and Modern) Westn. Asia, E,W & N. Africa
The One
The Two
The Three
The Four
The Fifth
Assembly (day, Muham)
as-sabt The Sabbath
Maltese, Malta
One (day)
Two (and day)
The 3 (3rd d.)
The 4 (4th d.)
Fifth (day)
Assembly
Is-sibt. The Sabbath
Ge-ez or Ethiopic Abyssinia (Ge-ez signifies "original")
One (day)
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Eve (of Sabbath)
san-bat Sabbath
Tigre Abyssinia (Closely related to Ge-ez)
One (First day)
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Eve (of Sabbath)
san-bat Sabbath
Amharic, Abyssinia (Nearly related to Ge-ez)
One
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Eve (of Sabbath)
san-bat Sabbath
Falasha (Language of the Jews of Abyssinia)
One
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
yini sanbat The Sabbath
Coptic Egypt (A dead lang. for 200 years)
The First Day
The 2nd Day
The 3rd Day
The 4th Day
The 5th Day
The 6th Day
pi sabbaton The Sabbath
Orma or Galla South of Abyssinia (This language has two sets of names, the first being the oldest)
Lady, Virgin Mary Day. Great or Festival Sabbath
Second day. First Trade Day
3rd Day to the Sabbath. Second Trade Day
4th day to the Sabbath. Fourth (day)
Fifth (day)
Assembly (day)
Last day of the half-week inclusive of 4th day Little or Humble or Solemn Sabbath (A day of no ceremonial display and no work)
Tamashek or Towarek (From ancient Lybian or Numidian). Atlas Mountains, Africa.
First day
Second day
Third day
Fourth day
Fifth day
Assembly Day
a-hal es-sabt. The Sabbath Day
Kabyle or Berber. (Ancient Numidian) North Africa
Day the One (First)
Day the Two (2nd)
Day the Three (3rd)
Day the Four (4th)
Day the Fifth
The Assembly Day
ghas or wars assebt The Sabbath Day
Hausa (Central Africa)
The One (1st)
The Two (2nd)
The Three (3rd)
The Four (4th)
The Fifth
The Assembly
assebatu The Sabbath
Urdu or Hindustani (Muhammadan and Hindu, India) (Two names for the days)
One to Sabbath. Sunday
2nd to Sabbath. Moon-day
3rd to Sabbath. Mars
4th to Sabbath. Mercury
5th to Sabbath. (Eve of Juma)
Assembly (day)
sanichar - Saturn shamba - Sabbath
Pashto or Afghan Afghanistan
One to the Sabbath
Two to Sabbath
Three to Sabbath
Four to Sabbath
Five to Sabbath
Assembly (day)
khali - Unemployed-day, Shamba - Sabbath
The table above includes some of the oldest languages known to man. One of these, the Babylonian language, was in use hundreds of years before the Hebrew race was founded by Abraham. That language designated the seventh day of the week as "sa-ba-tu", meaning rest day -- another indisputable proof that the Bible "Sabbath" was not, and is not, exclusively Jewish.
Very few realize that the word "Sabbath" and the concept of resting from work on the seventh day of the week (Saturday) is common to most of the ancient and modern languages of the world. This is evidence totally independent of the Scriptures that confirms the biblical teaching that God's seventh-day Sabbath predates Judaism. The concept of a Saturday holy day of rest was understood, accepted, and practiced by virtually every culture from Babylon through modern times.
In the study of the many languages of mankind, you will find two important facts:
In the majority of the principal languages the last, or seventh, day of the week is designated as "Sabbath."
There is not even one language that designates another day as the "day of rest."
From these facts we may conclude that not only those people who called the last day of the week "Sabbath," but all other peoples and races, as far as they recognized any day of the week as "Sabbath," rested on the seventh day. In fact, it was recorded by the great historian Sozomen that in his time the whole known world, with the exception of Rome and Alexandria, observed the seventh day of the week.
"The people of Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria" (Socrates, "Ecclesiastical History," Book 7, chap.19).
Another interesting fact is that the words in the original languages that are used to designate the seventh day of the week as the "Sabbath" have continued to be very similar while the other words have been so changed over time that they are unintelligible to people of other language groups. This is another proof that the Sabbath and the words used to designate the seventh day of the week as the "Sabbath day" originated at Creation in complete harmony with the biblical record found in Genesis 2:1–3.
Language List
Language
Word for Saturday/ 7thDay
Meaning
Greek
Sabbaton
Sabbath
Latin (Italy)
Sabbatum
Sabbath
Spanish (Spain)
Sábado
Sabbath
Portuguese (Portugal)
Sabbado
Sabbath
Italian (Italy)
Sabbato
Sabbath
French (France)
Samedi
Sabbath day
High German (Germany)
Samstag
Sabbath
Prussian (Prussia)
Sabatico
Sabbath
Russian (Russia)
Subbota
Sabbath
Polish
Sobota
Sabbath
Hebrew
Shabbath
Sabbath
Afaghan
Shamba
Sabbath
Hindustani
Shamba
Sabbath
Persian
Shambin
Sabbath
Arabic
Assabt
The Sabbath
Turkish
Yomessabt
Day Sabbath
Malay
Ari-Sabtu
Day Sabbath
Abyssinian
Sanbat
Sabbath
Lusatian (Saxony)
Sobota
Sabbath
Bohemian
Sobota
Sabbath
Bulgarian (Bulgaria)
Subbota
Sabbath
New Slovenian (Illyria, in Austria)
Sobota
Sabbath
Illyrian (Dalmatia, Servia)
Subota
Sabbath
Wallachian (Roumania or Wallachia)
Sambata
Sabbath
Roman (Sapin, Catalonia)
Dissapte
Day Sabbath
Ecclesiastical Roman (Italy)
Sabbatum
Sabbath
D'oc. French (ancient and modern)
Dissata
Day Sabbath
Norman French (10th -11th Centuries)
Sabbedi
Sabbath Day
Wolof (Senegambia, West Africa)
Alere-Asser
Last Day Sabbath
Congo (West Equatorial Africa)
Sabbado or Kiansbula
Sabbath
Orma (South of Abyssiania)
Zam-ba-da
Sabbath
Kazani - TARTAR (East Russia)
Subbota
Sabbath
Osmanlian (Turkey)
Yome-es-sabt
day of the Sabbath
Arabic (Very old names)
Shi-yar
Chief or rejoicing day
Ancient Syriac
Shab-ba-tho
Sabbath
Chaldee Syriac (Kurdistan,Urumia,Persia)
Shaptu
Sabbath
Babylonian Syriac (A Very Old Language)
Sa-Ba-tu
Sabbath
Maltese (Malta)
Is-sibt
the Sabbath
Ethiopic (Abyssinia)
San-bat
Sabbath
Coptic (Egypt)
Pi sabbaton
the Sabbath
Tamashek (Atlas mountains, Africa)
A-hal es-sabt
the Sabbath
Kabyle (North Africa, Ancient Numidan)
Ghas assebt
the Sabbath day
Hausa (Central Africa)
Assebatu
the Sabbath
Pasto (Afghanistan)
Shamba
Sabbath (pleasantest day of the week)
Pahlivi (ancient Persian)
Shambid
Sabbath
Persian (Persia)
Shambah
Sabbath
Armenian (Armenia)
Shapat
Sabbath
Kurdish (Kurdistan)
Shamba
Sabbath
Ndebele (Zimbabwe)
Sabatha
Sabbath
Shona (Zimbabwe)
Sabata
Sabbath
Miscellaneous Middle Ages Languages
Georgian (Caucasus)
Shabati
Sabbath
Suanian (Caucasus)
Sammtyn
Sabbath
Ingoush (Caucasus)
Shatt
Sabbath
Malayan (Malaya, Sumatra)
Hari sabtu
day Sabbath
Javanese (Java)
Saptoe or saptu
Sabbath
Dayak (Borneo)
Sabtu
Sabbath
Makassar (s. Celebes & Salayer islands)
Sattu
Sabbath
Malagassy (Madagascar)
Alsabotsy
The Sabbath
Swahili (east equatorial Africa)
Sabato
The Sabbath
Mandingo (west Africa, s. of Senegal)
Sibiti
Sabbath
Teda (central Africa)
Essebdu
The Sabbath
Bornu (central Africa)
Assebdu
The Sabbath
Logone (central Africa)
Se-sibde
The Sabbath
Bagrimma (central Africa)
Sibbedi
Sabbath
Maba (central Africa)
Sab
Sabbath
Permian (Russian)
Subota
Sabbath
Votiak (Russian)
Subbota
Sabbath
- Emily Thomsen
Which Day of the Week Is The Sabbath?
Despite doctrinal differences on various other topics, most Christians agree that a day of rest is an integral part of the Christian life. But on which day are we to rest?
"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done" (Genesis 2:2, 3). The very word "sabbath" means rest, and to rest implies that you have labored. It's logical, then, for God to have designated the last day of the week a day of rest. "The seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God" (Exodus 20:10).
Language reflects the customs of the culture that speaks it. Nearly every culture, from Babylon through modern times, rested on the seventh day. As languages developed, the name for the seventh day of the week remained "rest day." In the mid 19th century, Dr. William Meade Jones created this "Chart of the Week," listing the name for the seventh day in 160 languages, including some of the most ancient (shown below). Babylonian, in use hundreds of years before Abraham or the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai, calls the seventh day of the week sa-ba-tu, meaning "rest day."
Even today more than 100 languages worldwide, many of them unrelated to ancient Hebrew, use the word "Sabbath" for Saturday—and none of them designate any other day as a day of rest. Though the world's language groups have evolved so as to be unintelligible from each other, the word for the seventh day of the week has remained fairly recognizable.
The Sabbath predates Judaism
For the thousands of years since Judaism began, an entire nation of Jews has kept track of the weekly cycle and observed the seventh day Sabbath, sometimes even without a calendar. Nevertheless, many rationalize that it's impossible to verify which day of the week is actually the biblical Sabbath because Pope Gregory XIII changed the calendar. The Julian calendar, instituted by Julius Caesar around 46 B.C., calculated the length of the year as 365 ¼ days. In reality, the year is 11 minutes less than 365 ¼ days. So by the 1580s, the calendar and the solar cycle were ten days off. In 1582, Gregory changed the calendar so that Friday, October 5, became Friday, October 15, creating the Gregorian calendar we use today. But it did not confuse the days of the week; Friday still follows Thursday, Saturday still follows Friday, and so on and so forth.
Exodus 16 recounts a series of weekly Sabbath miracles over a period of forty years. God reiterated the Sabbath at Sinai (Exodus 20:8-11), and the Jews were still observing the seventh day when Jesus was born. Jesus kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16; 23:54, 56; 24:1) until his death, which Luke indicates occurred on the day before the Sabbath: "Going to Pilate, [Joseph of Arimathea] asked for Jesus' body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin" (Luke 23:52-54). Luke goes on to describe the actions of the women who followed Jesus. "The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.
"Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb" (Luke 23:55, 56; 24:1). The women discovered that Jesus had risen on Sunday morning; Christians acknowledge this fact by celebrating Easter. The day on which the women rested between the preparation day (Friday) when Jesus died, and the first day of the week (Easter Sunday) when Jesus rose again, had to be Saturday. Scripture clearly portrays God designating the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath, and throughout the centuries of history recounted in the Bible, His followers celebrated it as such. Unless it was changed, the seventh day is still the Sabbath. So why do so many people today honor Sunday, the first day of the week, instead of the seventh day? (Why do so many people worship on Sunday?)
Chart of the Week (Showing the position of the true Sabbath)
Compiled by Dr. William Meade Jones, 1887
LANGUAGE (Where Spoken, Read, or Otherwise Used)
1
2
3
4
5
6
Name of the SEVENTH DAY
Shemitic Hebrew Bible world-wide
Day One
Day Second
Day Third
Day Fourth
Day Fifth
Day the Sixth
Yom hash-shab-bath Day the Sabbath
Hebrew (Ancient and Modern)
One into the Sabbath
Second into the Sabbath
Third into the Sabbath
Fourth into the Sabbath
Fifth into the Sabbath
Eve of Holy Sabbath
Shab-bathSabbath
Targum of Onkelos (Hebrew Literature)
Day One
Day Second
Day Third
Day Fourth
Day Fifth
Day the Sixth
Yom hash-shab-bath Day the Sabbath
Targum Dialect of the Jews in Kurdistan
Day One of the Seven
Day 2nd of the Seven
Day 3rd of the Seven
Day 4th of the Seven
Day 5th of the Seven
Day of Eve (of Sabbath)
yoy-met sha-bat kodesh Holy Sabbath Day
Ancient Syriac *Each day proceeds on, and belongs to the Sabbath
One into Sabbath
Two into Sabbath
Three into Sabbath
Four into Sabbath
Five into Sabbath
Eve (of Sabbath)
Shab-ba-tho Sabbath
Chaldee Syriac Kurdistan and Urdmia, Persia
One into Sabbath
Two into Sabbath
Three into Sabbath
Four into Sabbath
Five into Sabbath
Eve (of Sabbath)
Shap-ta Sabbath
Samaritan (Old Hebrew Letters) Nablus, Palestine
Day One
Day Second
Day Third
Day Fourth
Day Fifth
Day Sixth
Shab-bath Sabbath
Babylonian Euphrates Tigris Valleys Mesopotamia (Written lang. 3800 B.C.)
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Sa-ba-tu Sabbath
Assyrian Euphrates and Tigris Valleys, Mesopotamia
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
sa-ba-tu Sabbath
Arabic (Very old names)
Business Day
Light Moon
War Chief
Turning Day or Midweek
Familiar or Society Day
Eve (of Sabbath)
Shi-yar Chief or Rejoicing Day
Arabic (Ancient and Modern) Westn. Asia, E,W & N. Africa
The One
The Two
The Three
The Four
The Fifth
Assembly (day, Muham)
as-sabt The Sabbath
Maltese, Malta
One (day)
Two (and day)
The 3 (3rd d.)
The 4 (4th d.)
Fifth (day)
Assembly
Is-sibt. The Sabbath
Ge-ez or Ethiopic Abyssinia (Ge-ez signifies "original")
One (day)
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Eve (of Sabbath)
san-bat Sabbath
Tigre Abyssinia (Closely related to Ge-ez)
One (First day)
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Eve (of Sabbath)
san-bat Sabbath
Amharic, Abyssinia (Nearly related to Ge-ez)
One
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Eve (of Sabbath)
san-bat Sabbath
Falasha (Language of the Jews of Abyssinia)
One
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
yini sanbat The Sabbath
Coptic Egypt (A dead lang. for 200 years)
The First Day
The 2nd Day
The 3rd Day
The 4th Day
The 5th Day
The 6th Day
pi sabbaton The Sabbath
Orma or Galla South of Abyssinia (This language has two sets of names, the first being the oldest)
Lady, Virgin Mary Day. Great or Festival Sabbath
Second day. First Trade Day
3rd Day to the Sabbath. Second Trade Day
4th day to the Sabbath. Fourth (day)
Fifth (day)
Assembly (day)
Last day of the half-week inclusive of 4th day Little or Humble or Solemn Sabbath (A day of no ceremonial display and no work)
Tamashek or Towarek (From ancient Lybian or Numidian). Atlas Mountains, Africa.
First day
Second day
Third day
Fourth day
Fifth day
Assembly Day
a-hal es-sabt. The Sabbath Day
Kabyle or Berber. (Ancient Numidian) North Africa
Day the One (First)
Day the Two (2nd)
Day the Three (3rd)
Day the Four (4th)
Day the Fifth
The Assembly Day
ghas or wars assebt The Sabbath Day
Hausa (Central Africa)
The One (1st)
The Two (2nd)
The Three (3rd)
The Four (4th)
The Fifth
The Assembly
assebatu The Sabbath
Urdu or Hindustani (Muhammadan and Hindu, India) (Two names for the days)
One to Sabbath. Sunday
2nd to Sabbath. Moon-day
3rd to Sabbath. Mars
4th to Sabbath. Mercury
5th to Sabbath. (Eve of Juma)
Assembly (day)
sanichar - Saturn shamba - Sabbath
Pashto or Afghan Afghanistan
One to the Sabbath
Two to Sabbath
Three to Sabbath
Four to Sabbath
Five to Sabbath
Assembly (day)
khali - Unemployed-day, Shamba - Sabbath
The table above includes some of the oldest languages known to man. One of these, the Babylonian language, was in use hundreds of years before the Hebrew race was founded by Abraham. That language designated the seventh day of the week as "sa-ba-tu", meaning rest day -- another indisputable proof that the Bible "Sabbath" was not, and is not, exclusively Jewish.
Very few realize that the word "Sabbath" and the concept of resting from work on the seventh day of the week (Saturday) is common to most of the ancient and modern languages of the world. This is evidence totally independent of the Scriptures that confirms the biblical teaching that God's seventh-day Sabbath predates Judaism. The concept of a Saturday holy day of rest was understood, accepted, and practiced by virtually every culture from Babylon through modern times.
In the study of the many languages of mankind, you will find two important facts:
In the majority of the principal languages the last, or seventh, day of the week is designated as "Sabbath."
There is not even one language that designates another day as the "day of rest."
From these facts we may conclude that not only those people who called the last day of the week "Sabbath," but all other peoples and races, as far as they recognized any day of the week as "Sabbath," rested on the seventh day. In fact, it was recorded by the great historian Sozomen that in his time the whole known world, with the exception of Rome and Alexandria, observed the seventh day of the week.
"The people of Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria" (Socrates, "Ecclesiastical History," Book 7, chap.19).
Another interesting fact is that the words in the original languages that are used to designate the seventh day of the week as the "Sabbath" have continued to be very similar while the other words have been so changed over time that they are unintelligible to people of other language groups. This is another proof that the Sabbath and the words used to designate the seventh day of the week as the "Sabbath day" originated at Creation in complete harmony with the biblical record found in Genesis 2:1–3.
Language List
Language
Word for Saturday/ 7thDay
Meaning
Greek
Sabbaton
Sabbath
Latin (Italy)
Sabbatum
Sabbath
Spanish (Spain)
Sábado
Sabbath
Portuguese (Portugal)
Sabbado
Sabbath
Italian (Italy)
Sabbato
Sabbath
French (France)
Samedi
Sabbath day
High German (Germany)
Samstag
Sabbath
Prussian (Prussia)
Sabatico
Sabbath
Russian (Russia)
Subbota
Sabbath
Polish
Sobota
Sabbath
Hebrew
Shabbath
Sabbath
Afaghan
Shamba
Sabbath
Hindustani
Shamba
Sabbath
Persian
Shambin
Sabbath
Arabic
Assabt
The Sabbath
Turkish
Yomessabt
Day Sabbath
Malay
Ari-Sabtu
Day Sabbath
Abyssinian
Sanbat
Sabbath
Lusatian (Saxony)
Sobota
Sabbath
Bohemian
Sobota
Sabbath
Bulgarian (Bulgaria)
Subbota
Sabbath
New Slovenian (Illyria, in Austria)
Sobota
Sabbath
Illyrian (Dalmatia, Servia)
Subota
Sabbath
Wallachian (Roumania or Wallachia)
Sambata
Sabbath
Roman (Sapin, Catalonia)
Dissapte
Day Sabbath
Ecclesiastical Roman (Italy)
Sabbatum
Sabbath
D'oc. French (ancient and modern)
Dissata
Day Sabbath
Norman French (10th -11th Centuries)
Sabbedi
Sabbath Day
Wolof (Senegambia, West Africa)
Alere-Asser
Last Day Sabbath
Congo (West Equatorial Africa)
Sabbado or Kiansbula
Sabbath
Orma (South of Abyssiania)
Zam-ba-da
Sabbath
Kazani - TARTAR (East Russia)
Subbota
Sabbath
Osmanlian (Turkey)
Yome-es-sabt
day of the Sabbath
Arabic (Very old names)
Shi-yar
Chief or rejoicing day
Ancient Syriac
Shab-ba-tho
Sabbath
Chaldee Syriac (Kurdistan,Urumia,Persia)
Shaptu
Sabbath
Babylonian Syriac (A Very Old Language)
Sa-Ba-tu
Sabbath
Maltese (Malta)
Is-sibt
the Sabbath
Ethiopic (Abyssinia)
San-bat
Sabbath
Coptic (Egypt)
Pi sabbaton
the Sabbath
Tamashek (Atlas mountains, Africa)
A-hal es-sabt
the Sabbath
Kabyle (North Africa, Ancient Numidan)
Ghas assebt
the Sabbath day
Hausa (Central Africa)
Assebatu
the Sabbath
Pasto (Afghanistan)
Shamba
Sabbath (pleasantest day of the week)
Pahlivi (ancient Persian)
Shambid
Sabbath
Persian (Persia)
Shambah
Sabbath
Armenian (Armenia)
Shapat
Sabbath
Kurdish (Kurdistan)
Shamba
Sabbath
Ndebele (Zimbabwe)
Sabatha
Sabbath
Shona (Zimbabwe)
Sabata
Sabbath
Miscellaneous Middle Ages Languages
Georgian (Caucasus)
Shabati
Sabbath
Suanian (Caucasus)
Sammtyn
Sabbath
Ingoush (Caucasus)
Shatt
Sabbath
Malayan (Malaya, Sumatra)
Hari sabtu
day Sabbath
Javanese (Java)
Saptoe or saptu
Sabbath
Dayak (Borneo)
Sabtu
Sabbath
Makassar (s. Celebes & Salayer islands)
Sattu
Sabbath
Malagassy (Madagascar)
Alsabotsy
The Sabbath
Swahili (east equatorial Africa)
Sabato
The Sabbath
Mandingo (west Africa, s. of Senegal)
Sibiti
Sabbath
Teda (central Africa)
Essebdu
The Sabbath
Bornu (central Africa)
Assebdu
The Sabbath
Logone (central Africa)
Se-sibde
The Sabbath
Bagrimma (central Africa)
Sibbedi
Sabbath
Maba (central Africa)
Sab
Sabbath
Permian (Russian)
Subota
Sabbath
Votiak (Russian)
Subbota
Sabbath
- Emily Thomsen
The Sabbath Truth # 2
Which Day of the Week Is The Sabbath?
Despite doctrinal differences on various other topics, most Christians agree that a day of rest is an integral part of the Christian life. But on which day are we to rest?
"By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done" (Genesis 2:2, 3). The very word "sabbath" means rest, and to rest implies that you have labored. It's logical, then, for God to have designated the last day of the week a day of rest. "The seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God" (Exodus 20:10).
Language reflects the customs of the culture that speaks it. Nearly every culture, from Babylon through modern times, rested on the seventh day. As languages developed, the name for the seventh day of the week remained "rest day." In the mid 19th century, Dr. William Meade Jones created this "Chart of the Week," listing the name for the seventh day in 160 languages, including some of the most ancient (shown below). Babylonian, in use hundreds of years before Abraham or the giving of the Ten Commandments at Sinai, calls the seventh day of the week sa-ba-tu, meaning "rest day."
Even today more than 100 languages worldwide, many of them unrelated to ancient Hebrew, use the word "Sabbath" for Saturday—and none of them designate any other day as a day of rest. Though the world's language groups have evolved so as to be unintelligible from each other, the word for the seventh day of the week has remained fairly recognizable.
The Sabbath predates Judaism
For the thousands of years since Judaism began, an entire nation of Jews has kept track of the weekly cycle and observed the seventh day Sabbath, sometimes even without a calendar. Nevertheless, many rationalize that it's impossible to verify which day of the week is actually the biblical Sabbath because Pope Gregory XIII changed the calendar. The Julian calendar, instituted by Julius Caesar around 46 B.C., calculated the length of the year as 365 ¼ days. In reality, the year is 11 minutes less than 365 ¼ days. So by the 1580s, the calendar and the solar cycle were ten days off. In 1582, Gregory changed the calendar so that Friday, October 5, became Friday, October 15, creating the Gregorian calendar we use today. But it did not confuse the days of the week; Friday still follows Thursday, Saturday still follows Friday, and so on and so forth.
Exodus 16 recounts a series of weekly Sabbath miracles over a period of forty years. God reiterated the Sabbath at Sinai (Exodus 20:8-11), and the Jews were still observing the seventh day when Jesus was born. Jesus kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16; 23:54, 56; 24:1) until his death, which Luke indicates occurred on the day before the Sabbath: "Going to Pilate, [Joseph of Arimathea] asked for Jesus' body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin" (Luke 23:52-54). Luke goes on to describe the actions of the women who followed Jesus. "The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it.
"Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb" (Luke 23:55, 56; 24:1). The women discovered that Jesus had risen on Sunday morning; Christians acknowledge this fact by celebrating Easter. The day on which the women rested between the preparation day (Friday) when Jesus died, and the first day of the week (Easter Sunday) when Jesus rose again, had to be Saturday. Scripture clearly portrays God designating the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath, and throughout the centuries of history recounted in the Bible, His followers celebrated it as such. Unless it was changed, the seventh day is still the Sabbath. So why do so many people today honor Sunday, the first day of the week, instead of the seventh day? (Why do so many people worship on Sunday?)
Chart of the Week (Showing the position of the true Sabbath)
Compiled by Dr. William Meade Jones, 1887
LANGUAGE (Where Spoken, Read, or Otherwise Used)
1
2
3
4
5
6
Name of the SEVENTH DAY
Shemitic Hebrew Bible world-wide
Day One
Day Second
Day Third
Day Fourth
Day Fifth
Day the Sixth
Yom hash-shab-bath Day the Sabbath
Hebrew (Ancient and Modern)
One into the Sabbath
Second into the Sabbath
Third into the Sabbath
Fourth into the Sabbath
Fifth into the Sabbath
Eve of Holy Sabbath
Shab-bathSabbath
Targum of Onkelos (Hebrew Literature)
Day One
Day Second
Day Third
Day Fourth
Day Fifth
Day the Sixth
Yom hash-shab-bath Day the Sabbath
Targum Dialect of the Jews in Kurdistan
Day One of the Seven
Day 2nd of the Seven
Day 3rd of the Seven
Day 4th of the Seven
Day 5th of the Seven
Day of Eve (of Sabbath)
yoy-met sha-bat kodesh Holy Sabbath Day
Ancient Syriac *Each day proceeds on, and belongs to the Sabbath
One into Sabbath
Two into Sabbath
Three into Sabbath
Four into Sabbath
Five into Sabbath
Eve (of Sabbath)
Shab-ba-tho Sabbath
Chaldee Syriac Kurdistan and Urdmia, Persia
One into Sabbath
Two into Sabbath
Three into Sabbath
Four into Sabbath
Five into Sabbath
Eve (of Sabbath)
Shap-ta Sabbath
Samaritan (Old Hebrew Letters) Nablus, Palestine
Day One
Day Second
Day Third
Day Fourth
Day Fifth
Day Sixth
Shab-bath Sabbath
Babylonian Euphrates Tigris Valleys Mesopotamia (Written lang. 3800 B.C.)
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
Sa-ba-tu Sabbath
Assyrian Euphrates and Tigris Valleys, Mesopotamia
First
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
sa-ba-tu Sabbath
Arabic (Very old names)
Business Day
Light Moon
War Chief
Turning Day or Midweek
Familiar or Society Day
Eve (of Sabbath)
Shi-yar Chief or Rejoicing Day
Arabic (Ancient and Modern) Westn. Asia, E,W & N. Africa
The One
The Two
The Three
The Four
The Fifth
Assembly (day, Muham)
as-sabt The Sabbath
Maltese, Malta
One (day)
Two (and day)
The 3 (3rd d.)
The 4 (4th d.)
Fifth (day)
Assembly
Is-sibt. The Sabbath
Ge-ez or Ethiopic Abyssinia (Ge-ez signifies "original")
One (day)
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Eve (of Sabbath)
san-bat Sabbath
Tigre Abyssinia (Closely related to Ge-ez)
One (First day)
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Eve (of Sabbath)
san-bat Sabbath
Amharic, Abyssinia (Nearly related to Ge-ez)
One
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Eve (of Sabbath)
san-bat Sabbath
Falasha (Language of the Jews of Abyssinia)
One
Second
Third
Fourth
Fifth
Sixth
yini sanbat The Sabbath
Coptic Egypt (A dead lang. for 200 years)
The First Day
The 2nd Day
The 3rd Day
The 4th Day
The 5th Day
The 6th Day
pi sabbaton The Sabbath
Orma or Galla South of Abyssinia (This language has two sets of names, the first being the oldest)
Lady, Virgin Mary Day. Great or Festival Sabbath
Second day. First Trade Day
3rd Day to the Sabbath. Second Trade Day
4th day to the Sabbath. Fourth (day)
Fifth (day)
Assembly (day)
Last day of the half-week inclusive of 4th day Little or Humble or Solemn Sabbath (A day of no ceremonial display and no work)
Tamashek or Towarek (From ancient Lybian or Numidian). Atlas Mountains, Africa.
First day
Second day
Third day
Fourth day
Fifth day
Assembly Day
a-hal es-sabt. The Sabbath Day
Kabyle or Berber. (Ancient Numidian) North Africa
Day the One (First)
Day the Two (2nd)
Day the Three (3rd)
Day the Four (4th)
Day the Fifth
The Assembly Day
ghas or wars assebt The Sabbath Day
Hausa (Central Africa)
The One (1st)
The Two (2nd)
The Three (3rd)
The Four (4th)
The Fifth
The Assembly
assebatu The Sabbath
Urdu or Hindustani (Muhammadan and Hindu, India) (Two names for the days)
One to Sabbath. Sunday
2nd to Sabbath. Moon-day
3rd to Sabbath. Mars
4th to Sabbath. Mercury
5th to Sabbath. (Eve of Juma)
Assembly (day)
sanichar - Saturn shamba - Sabbath
Pashto or Afghan Afghanistan
One to the Sabbath
Two to Sabbath
Three to Sabbath
Four to Sabbath
Five to Sabbath
Assembly (day)
khali - Unemployed-day, Shamba - Sabbath
The table above includes some of the oldest languages known to man. One of these, the Babylonian language, was in use hundreds of years before the Hebrew race was founded by Abraham. That language designated the seventh day of the week as "sa-ba-tu", meaning rest day -- another indisputable proof that the Bible "Sabbath" was not, and is not, exclusively Jewish.
Very few realize that the word "Sabbath" and the concept of resting from work on the seventh day of the week (Saturday) is common to most of the ancient and modern languages of the world. This is evidence totally independent of the Scriptures that confirms the biblical teaching that God's seventh-day Sabbath predates Judaism. The concept of a Saturday holy day of rest was understood, accepted, and practiced by virtually every culture from Babylon through modern times.
In the study of the many languages of mankind, you will find two important facts:
In the majority of the principal languages the last, or seventh, day of the week is designated as "Sabbath."
There is not even one language that designates another day as the "day of rest."
From these facts we may conclude that not only those people who called the last day of the week "Sabbath," but all other peoples and races, as far as they recognized any day of the week as "Sabbath," rested on the seventh day. In fact, it was recorded by the great historian Sozomen that in his time the whole known world, with the exception of Rome and Alexandria, observed the seventh day of the week.
"The people of Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria" (Socrates, "Ecclesiastical History," Book 7, chap.19).
Another interesting fact is that the words in the original languages that are used to designate the seventh day of the week as the "Sabbath" have continued to be very similar while the other words have been so changed over time that they are unintelligible to people of other language groups. This is another proof that the Sabbath and the words used to designate the seventh day of the week as the "Sabbath day" originated at Creation in complete harmony with the biblical record found in Genesis 2:1–3.
Language List
Language
Word for Saturday/ 7thDay
Meaning
Greek
Sabbaton
Sabbath
Latin (Italy)
Sabbatum
Sabbath
Spanish (Spain)
Sábado
Sabbath
Portuguese (Portugal)
Sabbado
Sabbath
Italian (Italy)
Sabbato
Sabbath
French (France)
Samedi
Sabbath day
High German (Germany)
Samstag
Sabbath
Prussian (Prussia)
Sabatico
Sabbath
Russian (Russia)
Subbota
Sabbath
Polish
Sobota
Sabbath
Hebrew
Shabbath
Sabbath
Afaghan
Shamba
Sabbath
Hindustani
Shamba
Sabbath
Persian
Shambin
Sabbath
Arabic
Assabt
The Sabbath
Turkish
Yomessabt
Day Sabbath
Malay
Ari-Sabtu
Day Sabbath
Abyssinian
Sanbat
Sabbath
Lusatian (Saxony)
Sobota
Sabbath
Bohemian
Sobota
Sabbath
Bulgarian (Bulgaria)
Subbota
Sabbath
New Slovenian (Illyria, in Austria)
Sobota
Sabbath
Illyrian (Dalmatia, Servia)
Subota
Sabbath
Wallachian (Roumania or Wallachia)
Sambata
Sabbath
Roman (Sapin, Catalonia)
Dissapte
Day Sabbath
Ecclesiastical Roman (Italy)
Sabbatum
Sabbath
D'oc. French (ancient and modern)
Dissata
Day Sabbath
Norman French (10th -11th Centuries)
Sabbedi
Sabbath Day
Wolof (Senegambia, West Africa)
Alere-Asser
Last Day Sabbath
Congo (West Equatorial Africa)
Sabbado or Kiansbula
Sabbath
Orma (South of Abyssiania)
Zam-ba-da
Sabbath
Kazani - TARTAR (East Russia)
Subbota
Sabbath
Osmanlian (Turkey)
Yome-es-sabt
day of the Sabbath
Arabic (Very old names)
Shi-yar
Chief or rejoicing day
Ancient Syriac
Shab-ba-tho
Sabbath
Chaldee Syriac (Kurdistan,Urumia,Persia)
Shaptu
Sabbath
Babylonian Syriac (A Very Old Language)
Sa-Ba-tu
Sabbath
Maltese (Malta)
Is-sibt
the Sabbath
Ethiopic (Abyssinia)
San-bat
Sabbath
Coptic (Egypt)
Pi sabbaton
the Sabbath
Tamashek (Atlas mountains, Africa)
A-hal es-sabt
the Sabbath
Kabyle (North Africa, Ancient Numidan)
Ghas assebt
the Sabbath day
Hausa (Central Africa)
Assebatu
the Sabbath
Pasto (Afghanistan)
Shamba
Sabbath (pleasantest day of the week)
Pahlivi (ancient Persian)
Shambid
Sabbath
Persian (Persia)
Shambah
Sabbath
Armenian (Armenia)
Shapat
Sabbath
Kurdish (Kurdistan)
Shamba
Sabbath
Ndebele (Zimbabwe)
Sabatha
Sabbath
Shona (Zimbabwe)
Sabata
Sabbath
Miscellaneous Middle Ages Languages
Georgian (Caucasus)
Shabati
Sabbath
Suanian (Caucasus)
Sammtyn
Sabbath
Ingoush (Caucasus)
Shatt
Sabbath
Malayan (Malaya, Sumatra)
Hari sabtu
day Sabbath
Javanese (Java)
Saptoe or saptu
Sabbath
Dayak (Borneo)
Sabtu
Sabbath
Makassar (s. Celebes & Salayer islands)
Sattu
Sabbath
Malagassy (Madagascar)
Alsabotsy
The Sabbath
Swahili (east equatorial Africa)
Sabato
The Sabbath
Mandingo (west Africa, s. of Senegal)
Sibiti
Sabbath
Teda (central Africa)
Essebdu
The Sabbath
Bornu (central Africa)
Assebdu
The Sabbath
Logone (central Africa)
Se-sibde
The Sabbath
Bagrimma (central Africa)
Sibbedi
Sabbath
Maba (central Africa)
Sab
Sabbath
Permian (Russian)
Subota
Sabbath
Votiak (Russian)
Subbota
Sabbath
- Emily Thomsen
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