Shabbat of the Full Moon

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And the Origins of the Seven-Day Week

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 By Dr. Jacob L. Wright

Abstract: In this first part of a two-part article, Jacob Wright of Emory University discusses a range of evidence suggesting that Shabbat was originally celebrated once a month. Before it came to designate the seventh day in a weekly cycle, Shabbat referred to the time of Full Moon, which together with New Moon was widely observed throughout the ancient Near East. Early biblical laws also demand a cessation of labor every seven days, similar to the statutes requiring a seventh-year release for the land; these laws are social in nature, and are connected to the importance that the number seven had in many ancient Near Eastern cultures.  These laws, however, originally had nothing to do with Shabbat. How and why the weekly days of rest merged with the monthly Shabbat will be explored in part two — How and When Seventh Day Became Shabbat . 

Read the Full Article: Part 1 | The Monthly Shabbat and the Seventh Day of Rest