The Day
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8: ESV
The Sabbath day – And what does this mean? Does it mean we spend the day meditating on God? Does it mean we sit around wondering if doing the next thing will violate the commandment about rest? Perhaps we need to look at the original text, the text in Paleo-Hebrew. In the Masoretic Hebrew text, the words are et yom hash-shabbat. But the Paleo-Hebrew is a bit different. It is: 
We have discussed the symbolic representation of ‘et more than once. Now this linguistic marker tells us that the direct object of the imperative “remember” is the noun yom (day). The Paleo-Hebrew combination is “Work/Deed + Secure/Add + Chaos/Massive.” What is a “day” in the thought patterns of the ancient people of Israel? The pictograph tells us that a day is the time when work overcomes chaos. The work of my hand brings order and destroys the chaos that would otherwise occur. Work is the weapon of existence. This is not such a novel idea. In the account of the formation of Adam, work (avodah) was always part of the original assignment give to Man. Because work in Hebrew embraces effort, service and worship, work is an intended function of the role Man has in restoring God’s creation. It is important to remember that the story of the formation of Man was not written for Adam. The original audience of this story is the children of Israel recently removed from captivity in Egypt. They must be taught a new conception of work. Their experience as slaves taught them that work was toil, labor at the hands of masters without regard for human dignity or divine creativity. Moses gives them a new view of work in the story of Adam. Work becomes a holy endeavor, the vehicle by which God brings restoration to creation. Work is the means of defeating the enemy, chaos. This idea is comfortably at home in the Egyptian view of the universe. A day is determined by the effort put forth to overcome chaos. It is measured, not in hours, but in task completion.
Finally we should notice that the translation “remember the Sabbath day” is an interpolation of the Hebrew text. The text literally says, “Remember day the Sabbath.” The definite article is associated with the name of this day, Shabbat, not with the noun “day.” Perhaps this is because all the days except Shabbat do not have names in Hebrew. The translation modifies the word order because of our cultural assumptions, not because of the understanding of the original audience. Now we have to look at the word for “the Shabbat” in Paleo-Hebrew 
First we recognize the presence of the definite article (ha) pictured in Paleo-Hebrew as the sign of “to reveal.” We will add this concept to the rest of the word picture. The Masoretic text spells the word differently than the Paleo-Hebrew. In phonetic script, the word is shabbat, the consonants are Shin – Bet (with dagesh forte – therefore doubled) – Tav. Paleo-Hebrew does not double the middle consonant. Its three pictographs are “To consume/to destroy + House/Household/Family + Sign/to Seal/to Covenant.” How are we to correlate the idea of consuming or destroying with a covenant sign for the family? Here we need to turn to the explanation of the letter Shin offered by Frank Seekins.
“The letter Sheen symbolizes devouring and these eight verses [Psalm 119:161-168] tell us that when God devours or destroys it is to bring peace (verse 165). The word picture for peace (shalom . . . in Hebrew) says that peace comes when we ‘destroy the authority that establishes the chaos.’ God and His Word destroys chaos and brings the peace of being whole and complete.”[1]
Seekins’ comment helps us connect the idea of consuming and destroying with the covenant sign God provides for the family. The Sabbath is the authorized sign of God’s pledge to families that practice it. Sabbath distinguishes these families from all other families on earth (certainly during the time of Moses) and marks them as practitioners of YHVH’s sovereignty. No wonder God held His people accountable for disobeying this commandment.
The full word picture suggests that Shabbat reveals the sign of the covenant for the family, a sign that guarantees the destruction of chaos. The pictograph has interesting implications for our understanding of the seventh day rest. According to the Paleo-Hebrew picture, refusal to acknowledge Shabbat is the equivalent of allowing chaos to reign uncontested. Shabbat is God’s sign that He exercises control over chaos for those who trust Him by honoring His sanctified day. But there is no protection for those who determine this day, the seventh day, is just like every other day. Chaos, the enemy of life in the ordered world, will not be kept at bay for those who refuse to embrace the “work” of this day. What is the work of the day Shabbat? To rest confidently in Him. Shabbat reveals our true rest, either in His sovereignty or in our own.
Topical Index: chaos, Shabbat, day, yom, Exodus 20:8, Paleo-Hebrew
[1]Frank Seekins, Hebrew Word Pictures, p. 95.
Now the question one might ask is which day is the sabbath? Most of the world says Sunday. The moon tells a different story set in place by our creator.
Actually, most of the world doesn’t say that Sabbath is Sunday. The Christian world says that Sunday REPLACES the Sabbath. The Sabbath is always Friday sundown to Saturday sundown. It doesn’t change. What changes is the designation of Sunday as the day of worship. Judaism doesn’t make that change but Christianity does, and not for any reason found in Scripture.
Is it not true paper calendars were set up by man which use the sun to number days, months, years and not the moon? Is it not true that the names “Friday”, “Saturday” were set up by man and are named after “other gods”? Has the Sabbath indeed always been on Friday sundown – Saturday sundown before there was even a day called “Friday” based on a Gregorian Calendar? Isn’t the true Sabbath based on the moon cycles set forth by our creator in Gen 1:14 ” And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night: and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days and years”.
I am actually VERY interested in this. I always thought what you are saying here to be true. However, the group that I attend believe that it is from morning to morning. They say that in Genesis when it talks about the evening and the morning, the first day that there was the day time and then the “evening”…then the nighttime and then the “morning”. They also believe another “proof” is in:
Leviticus 23:32
32 It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath.”
Okay, they believe that because evening to evening is only mentioned once, in the whole of chapter 23, that it means that a day is normally morning to morning and that is just a special thing on this particular Shabbat. The fact that it as mentioned specifically. However, when I read the passage, it seemed to me that it was just reinforcing an evening to evening approach.
However, I have questions. Such as, what was the “norm” back then? Was it evening to evening? If it was evening to evening then Yahushua’s parents would have kept that tradition and so would have Yahushua. That would mean that he was not keeping the Sabbath or the feasts properly if they were supposed to be morning to morning. In addition, if it should have been morning to morning and the Israelites were keeping evening to evening, then why did Yahushua not speak up about it
There are other passages such as Nehemiah 13:15-22 where it talks about “So it was, at the gates of Jerusalem, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath,” Now I don’t understand why it would say getting dark before the Sabbath
It also does not seem right that the children of Israel needed to wear sandals on their feet and a staff in their hand prior to being sent out of Egypt because the argument is that there was about another 24 hours before they left, but from what I can see these people were awake and they went not long after Pharaoh’s son was killed. My point is that they were ready to flee in a hurry and it seems to be that when the edict came it was urgent….they didn’t hang around for another 24 hours.
There is more but I am tired. I have a few topics including trying to find information on the feast days
Sonia, I would like to encourage you to stay with this web site with an open mind. I was very much in your position 7 years ago considering myself someone who knew nothing about the OT other than what I was told which I considered rubbish but I approached this with an open mind. I am beside myself with joy for what I have learned from Skip and this group since then and still do so daily.
Don’t expect to find all the answers to all your questions in one big blast. It won’t happen. It takes time and patience but trust me, it will happen if you give it time. It is a process, not an event.
Shalom shabbat.
D;Griffith,
I second your statement. I have often inquired, when was Friday, Saturday, or Sunday ever written in Scriptures as shabbat days, though these are not Jewish names for the calendar, as the days are always counted as numbers, Day one etc…whereas, the sun, moon and stars are meant as signs for moedim-YHWH’s
appointment times.