Thy Word is a Lamp Unto My Feet Outreach

Exodus 20:8

The only one of the Ten Commandments to begin with the word remember, this Scripture is a reminder of Who our Creator is and the worship due to Him. Remember also confirms the commandment’s existence and application prior to the time Moses delivered the transcribed law to the Israelites. Many devotional books cite this commandment without verses nine through 11, which expand on verse eight’s import. For the sake of this study, only verse eight is reviewed; however, verses nine through 11 are crucial in appreciating the commandment’s full significance.

THE VERSE
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

THE STUDY
Remember [Hebrew term: zāḵar]. “To earnestly recall.” The form of this verb in Hebrew is what is termed “infinitive absolute” — that is, the verb carries with it a strong sense of emotion. The translation should be treated with great sensitivity to the context for precise nuance of meaning. In this verse, REMEMBER does not aim for the human subject to simply recall something to mind; but the action carries with it a very emphatic command to perform.

Sabbath [Hebrew term: šabāṯ]. “An intermission”; noun derived from the verb šāḇaṯ, meaning “to desist from exertion.”

Day [Hebrew term: yôm]. “A day” (i.e., the warm hours). In this verse, the term is used as a division in Time, and not as a contrast to “night.” In some interlinear translations, the word THE is attached to SABBATH; in others, it’s attached to DAY. In either case, the word THE indicates the direct object of REMEMBER (i.e., what is to be remembered and performed — the sabbath day).

To keep it holy [Hebrew term: qāḏaš]. “To cause, pronounce, consecrate as clean.” The grammatical role of qāḏaš in this verse is what is termed “infinitive construct” — that is, it gives extra information regarding the purpose, result, or temporal frame of the action of the main verb. In this verse, the main verb is REMEMBER. The first Hebrew character in qāḏaš is לְ . This character links the word qāḏaš to REMEMBER. In other words, what needs to be kept holy is REMEMBERING; the term IT refers specifically to the act of remembering and not to the sabbath day. The act of remembering is in itself holy.

TAKEAWAY THOUGHT
While an initial reading of this commandment states the sabbath day is holy (which it is; described in detail in verses nine through 11), the Hebrew is likewise stating in verse eight that our remembering and performing (i.e., keeping) this day as holy/consecrated/set-aside is primarily important. Keeping the sabbath involves more than “not working.” The remembering (i.e., recalling and performing) in itself is consecrated; it is not a mechanical exercise, but it is done out of love for YHWH.