Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

Vol 39.3 (2015): 249-263

© The Author(s), 2015. Reprints and Permissions:
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DOI: 10.1177/0309089215577580
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Sabbath in Egypt?
An Examination of Exodus 5

MATHILDE FREY
Adventist International Institute of Advanced Studies (AIIAS), P.O. Box 038, Silang,
Cavite 4118, Philippines

Abstract

This study presents indicators from the narrative of Exodus 5. which in their entirety may
suggest the notion of Sabbath rest among the Israelite slaves in Egypt. One such indicator
is the verb shabbat. ‘to cease’, a verb that marks the seventh day of the creation week with
the quality of divine Sabbath rest. Its particular form and use in Exod. 5.5 entails various
semantic notions, such as the indication that the Israelites ceased from their slave labors
regularly. In addition, contextual, structural, and discourse elements allow for a reading
that is indeed telling with regard to the Israelites’ social status and the impact of a possible
Sabbath cessation under an oppressive regime. Finally, certain verbal expressions link
with Sabbath texts of the Pentateuch such as Exod. 23.12, a Sabbath text that is embedded
in the exodus narratives of slavery and freedom. All these indicators when taken together
allow for a Sabbath-motivated reading of Exodus 5. The implications of such a reading
tell of a world that longs for freedom, restored identities, and renewed relationships.

Keywords: Sabbath, Egypt, slavery, work, rest, exodus, freedom.

250 Journalfor the Study of the Old Testament 39.3 (2015)

1. Introduction
Only those who have not ceased to be human in spite of dehumanizing
conditions cany forth the vision of freedom into an enslaved world. The
Hebrew Bible tells of Moses as such an individual. Right there in the
midst of slavery he sets the ground marker for Israel's freedom trail:
'Moses, why are you freeing the people?... You even made them rest
(,shabbat) from their labors!' (Exod. 5.4-5), is the Egyptian monarch's
bewildered question. Slaves who are free? For Pharaoh this is an
incomprehensible thought. Moses knows of no limits. For him, Sabbath is
the divine insigne for freedom founded in creation and reinforced in the
redemptive event of the exodus (Exod. 20.8-12; 31.12-17; Deut. 5.12-15).
To cease from work on the seventh day means to choose freedom over
slavery, to master work time for the sake of divine time.
Pharaoh, on the other hand, in realizing that he lost control over his
enslaved subjects and their time management, ordered an additional time-
consuming workload to their labor. According to Exod. 5.5, the despot
used language elsewhere found in texts of the seventh day when he
charged Moses for having authorized the Israelite slaves to cease/rest
(H~ir) from work (cf. Gen. 2.2-3; Exod. 16.20; 23.12).
Interpreters of the biblical text have recognized the peculiarity of the
term shabbat in the narrative of Israel's oppression in Egypt and have
expressed their views either by linking tine slaves' resting from work to
Sabbath rest1 or by ignoring the language of the text and its undertones
altogether.2

1. See Exod. R. 1.27-28. 32; 5.18; 17.3; b. Shah. 87b; Tun OH 430; Sefer Shibolei
Haleket. Seder Pesah 205; cf. Abraham Joshua Heschel, Heavenly Torah: As Refracted
through the Generations (London: Continuum. 2005). p. 445. See also Morris Jastrow Jr.
‘The Original Character of the Hebrew Sabbath’. The American Journal ofTheology 2/2
(1898). pp. 312-53; Frank Michaeli. Le Livre de I'Exod: Commentaire de L Ancien
Testament. II (Neuchatel: Delachaux & Niestle. 1974). pp. 64-65; Patrick D. Miller. Jr,
‘The Human Sabbath: A Study in Deuteronomic Theology’. The Princeton Seminary
Bulletin 6/2 (1985). pp. 81-97; Walter A. Elwell. Baker Theological Dictionary of the
Bible (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1996). p. 697; William C. Propp.Exodus 1-18 (AB. 2;
New York: Doubleday, 1999). p. 254; James K. Bruckner. New International Biblical
Commentary: Exodus (Peabody. MA: Hendrickson. 2008). p. 58.
2. See, e.g., C.F. Keil and F. Delitzsch. The Pentateuch (BCOT, 1; Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans. 1952); Brevard S. Childs. The Book of Exodus: A Critical Theological
Commentary (OTL; Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1974); Frank B, Gaebelein (ed.).
The Expositor's Bible Commentary. II (Grand Rapids. MI: Zondervan. 1992); Walter
Brueggemann. The Book of Exodus: Introduction, Commentary and Reflections (New
 Frey Sabbath in Egypt? 251

In this article I will suggest that Exodus 5 contains more than the verb
'cease/rest' (shabbat) with its notion of Sabbath rest. Highly dramatized
dialogue scenes combine with historical events of the exodus as well as
theological overtones3 of human dignity and freedom within the realm of
oppressive powers. Could it be, then, that shabbat placed in the tyrant's
mouth is most intent in the text of Exodus 5 to carry a concept that goes
far beyond mere cessation from work?

2. Reading the Text of Exodus 5

Exodus 5.1-23 portrays Yahweh and Pharaoh in sharp confrontation with
each other, with the latter as a resolute opponent, an anti-God who rejects
acknowledging Yahweh and his command to send off the Hebrew slaves
(vv. 1-3).4 Pharaoh's explosion of speeches in vv. 4-5 establishes rest
from labor under the control of Moses and Aaron as the root of the prob­
lem. What then follows shows the cruelty of Pharaoh's highly organized
slave system: a sophisticated chain of command that singles out a group
of slaves (Hebrew 'foremen') under the control of Egyptian supervisors,
but then the seemingly privileged are held accountable for inevitable
failure (vv. 4-19)5—even worse, they become traitors and turn against
their own leaders with vicious resentment (vv. 20-21). History tells that
the biblical story has always had its parallels. The atrocities of the Nazi
concentration camps operating with similar efficiency will forever remain
a heart-breaking memory.
From a text-critical perspective there are a few differences, mainly
between the Masoretic text (mt) and the Septuagint (lxx).6 For this study

Interpreter’s Bible. 1; Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), pp. 725-31: Peter Enns.Exodus
(NIVAC: Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2000); Douglas K. Stuart. Exodus (NAC, 2;
Nashville: Broadman & Holman. 2006).
3. Ryken has shown how biblical narrative combines what he calls ‘the historical, the
theological, and the literary’. See Leland Ryken. “‘Words of Delight”: The Bible as
Literature’, Bibliotheka Sacra 149 (January 1990), pp. 3-15; idem, ‘“And It Came to
Pass'”: The Bible as God’s Story Book’. Bibliotheka Sacra 149(April 1990),pp. 131-42.
4. Rolf Rendtorff. The Canonical Hebrew Bible: A Theology of the Old Testament
(Leiden: Deo Publishing. 2005), p. 45.
5. James K. Hoffmeier. Israel in Egypt: The Evidence for the Authenticity of the
Exodus Tradition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996), pp. 114-16.
6. Durham and Propp discuss each case in point and suggest which would likely
preserve the original reading: see Durham,Biloditg, pp. 62.67-68: Propp.Exodus 1-18,
pp. 245-49.
252 Journalfor the Study of the Old Testament 39.3 (2015)

the main issue occurs in v. 5, where the MT reads: 'the people of the land'
(also 4QExodb). The lxx lacks the phrase 'of the land', and the Samaritan
Pentateuch has 'they are of greater number than the people of the land'.
Translations agree on the MT for the reason that the lxx and the
Samaritan Pentateuch are uncorroborated by Hebrew manuscripts.
From a source-critical perspective Exodus 5 contains J and E sections7
that have been merged in such a way that the narrative reflects unity, and
the endeavor to divide the text is inessential for its analysis and under­
standing.8 Propp settles on there being one source, 'most likely the
Elohist' .9 Source-critical analysis relevant to this study pertains to what is
regarded as redundancy in vv. 4 and 5: 'But the king of Egypt said to
them, "Moses and Aaron, why do you draw the people from their work?
Get back to your labors!" Again Pharaoh said, "Look, the people of the
land are now many, and you would have them cease from their labors!"'
(nasb). However, the doublet theory in these verses may be questioned
because of their different content. Propp even concludes that the redun­
dancy is 'illusory and not a valid source-criterion'.10
With regard to Exodus 5 as a record of historical value, scholars have
recognized that the text tells of the Israelites as doing the same work as
the laborers who are portrayed in Egyptian inscriptions and relief
scenes.11 This involves labor relations that existed between masters and
workers in terms of treatment of the workers by their taskmasters and
foremen, rest days granted to the slaves, corporal punishment, etc.12 Thus
the use of the word 'cease/rest from labor' and the concept of rest for
labor gangs in a biblical text that reflects genuine life in ancient Egypt is
interesting and deserves to be researched.

7. J and E sections are represented by the titles ‘pharaoh’ (see vv. 1,2, 5,6, etc.) and
‘king of Egypt’ (v. 4), and the seemingly redundant phrases in vv. 4 and 5. See
B. Bantsch. Exodus-Leviticus—Numeri (Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1903);
G. Fohrer. Uberlieferung imdGeschichte des Exodus: Eine Analyse von Ex 1—15 (Berlin:
Alfred Topelmann, 1964), pp. 45-49; Martin Noth, Exodus: A Commentary (OTL;
Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962).
8. Durham, Exod^t, p. 63; Childs. The Book ofExodus, pp. 94-95; Propp concludes on
one source, ‘most likely the Elohist’. See Propp, Exodus 1-18, p. 250.
9. Propp.Exodus 1-18, p. 250.
10. Propp, Exodus 1—18, p. 250.
11. See especially Eloffmeier, Israel in Egypt, pp. 112-16; and Charles F. Nirns,
‘Bricks without Straw?’, Biblical Archaeologist 13/2 (1950), pp. 22-28.
12. See http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/timelines/topics/workrelations.htm ,
accessed 1 October 2012.
 Frey Sabbath in Egypt? 253

A narrative reading of Exodus 5 shows its highly dramatized style in

the emotionally laden discourses of the main characters: Pharaoh,
Yahweh, Moses and Aaron, the taskmasters, and the foremen. The peo­
ple, however, who are the focus of the actual events, are without words
and voice. The conflict is about Egypt's methodically organized slavery
system. The method, however, that is taken to tell the drama is intricate
and complex in its use of rhetoric, structure, subversive language, and
unexpected words that attract attention and create meaningful ideas.13

3. Unexpectedness in Exodus 5
Propp comments about the rare harmonious situation between Israel,
Moses, and Yahweh in Exod. 4.31: 'The narrative rests there but for a
moment'.14 15Yet it is this moment that provides the setting for Moses'
audience with Pharaoh (Exod. 5.1-5). Backed by a congregation bowing
in faith and devotion to God, the leader voices Yahweh's explicit order to
send Israel off into the wilderness.13 Pharaoh's reaction to the divine
imperative is not a response; it is not an inquiry; it is a provocative attack:
'Who is Yahweh... ? I do not know Yahweh' (v. 2).16 Moses and Aaron
offer more detailed information: 'The God of the Hebrews has called on
us. Please, let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness that we may
sacrifice to Yahweh our God' (v. 3).17
Again, Pharaoh's reaction is not a response; it is an open affront: 'And
the king of Egypt said to them: "Why, Moses and Aaron, are you freeing
(linsn) the people from its work?”' (v. 4). Note here, the expression
'king of Egypt' and not the title flSHE, 'Pharaoh'. But when the king

13. Benno Jacob’s masterful commentary on Exod. 5 calls attention to the stirring
opening scenes between Israel’s leaders and the king of Egypt and the dramatic force that
this chapter conveys. See Benno Jacob, The Second Book of the Bible: Exodus (trails.
Walter Jacobi Hoboken: KTAV. 1992). p. 112.
14. Propp, Exodus 1-18. p. 258.
15. Brueggemann comments that ‘[t]he conventional reading, ‘Let my people go’,
sounds like a request or a plea. In fact, it is an imperative on the lips of Yahweh, as though
Yahweh addresses a political subordinate (Pharaoh) who is expected to obey’. Walter
Brueggemann, ‘The Book of Exodus: Introduction, Commentary and Reflections’, in The
New Interpreter s Bible, I (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1996), p. 726.
16. Brueggemann, ‘The Book of Exodus’, p. 726. The word ‘to know’ Yahweh is a
powerful Leitmotif in the exodus narration (Exod. 6.3,7; 7.5,17; 8.6.18; 9.14,29; 10.2;
14.4. 18).
17. Later in the narrative, this clause will become a standard mocking by Pharaoh and
the reason for calling the people ‘shirkers’ or ‘weaklings’ (vv. 8. 17).
254 Journalfor the Study of the Old Testament 39.3 (2015)

speaks he utters the verb IHS ('lead, act as leader' / 'let free, let go') in
the middle of his interrogative outburst: 'Why, Moses and Aaron, do you
act as pharaoh in letting the people go free from its work?' The pun is
obvious,18 19
and in the brusque command 'Go to your labors!' it appears as
if for a split second the king had recognized the ambiguity of his own
words and must now demonstrate his dictator role.
Pharaoh continues with another unexpected expression, 'Look, many
already were/are the people of the land! And you made them rest
(□rnETfl) from their labors!’ (v. 5). Does the despot refer to a previous
record about the multitudes of Hebrew slaves in Egyptian annals (Exod.
1 9)?is p)oes he recognize Moses as the survivor of the cruel pogrom of
the Hebrew male babies? Does he denounce Moses as a dissident who
now controls the slaves by authorizing the ultimate stop to labor gangs?20
Whatever the case may be, in the hearing of a Hebrew audience of the
text, the day called fQE), 'Shabbat', resounds in Pharaoh's words.21

4. Semantics and Syntax

Exodus 5.4-5 reports two speeches of Pharaoh. The first speech is the
interrogative verbal clause 'Why, Moses and Aaron, are you freeing the
people from its work?', which contains a hiphil imperfect, limsn, 'you
let them go free' (root iHS).22 This form simultaneously denotes past,

18. Propp, Exodus 1-18, p. 253. Martin Luther also recognized Sabbath rest in the
expression and rendered it by the word ‘feiern’ (celebrate) in the German translation ofthe
Bible (Revidierte Fassung von 1984).
19. This is often understood as explaining the economic reasons for refusing to let the
people go. See Nahum M. Sanaa,i£ft><fer(The TPS Torah Commentary; Philadelphia: The
Jewish Publication Society, 1991), p. 28. ‘The sons ofIsrael’ (Exod. 1.9) are replaced with
‘the people of the land’ (Exod. 5.5), which possibly draws on a change in perspective
regarding the status of the Israelites in Egypt over the course of their time of slavery. It
could imply that ‘the sons of Israel’ had been integrated as slaves and had become in
Pharaoh’s eyes ‘the people of the land’ (Exod. 5.5) who are now regarded as Egyptians.
See Propp, Exodus 1—18, p. 254.
20. Eloutman interprets Pharaoh’s words in the sense that ‘Moses and Aaron are
troublemakers who incite the people to shirk their duty and stop working’. Cornelius
Eloutman. Exodus 1 (trans. Johan Rebel and Sierd Woudstra; HCOT; Kampen: Kok
Publishing House, 1993), p. 456.
21. See n. 1; cf. Waldemar Janzert, Exodus (Believers Church Bible Commentary;
Ontario: Herald Press, 1989), p. 398; Propp, Exodus 1-18, p. 254.
22. HALOT. II, p. 970; T. Kronholm. ‘279pdrac. 279perac\ in TDOT, XII. pp. 98-
101.
 Frey Sabbath in Egypt? 255

present, and future in the sense that Moses and Aaron are responsible for
letting the people go free from their work repeatedly or habitually
(iterative) and were continuing to do so (durative).23 The king then con­
cludes with a strong imperative, 'Go qal imperative) to your labors!'
The imperative enforces the time/aspect of the yaqtil verb in the sense
that Moses and Aaron have to get back to where they belong—to their
labor gangs.24
The second speech starts with an interjection highlighting a nominal
clause: ‘Look, many already were/are the people of the land!’25 The
deictic stress of the interjection bound to the adjective-adverb combina­
tion (~~'J Took, many already’, note the inaqqef) signifies
Pharaoh's emotional perception about the great number of people that has
been a problem already during his predecessor's time (Exod. 1.9).26 The
nominal clause is then linked to a verbal clause with another hiphil verb,
CTLil'n', ‘and you cause them to cease, stop, rest'.27 Several observations
are in order for the syntactic and semantic use of Dri2Sf!l:

23. Paul Joiion and T. Muraoka, A Grammar of Biblical Hebrew (Rome: Editrice
Pontificio Istituto Biblico, 2006), pp. 338-39. Cf. Propp,Exodus 1-18„ p. 253.
24. The NKJV and NASB render the imperative, ‘Get back to your labors!’, which
underscores the view that the people had been freed of labor in the past.
25. Cf. Santa, Exodus, p. 28.
26. The Masoretic accents tifha and merkha in the phrase 3)33 D'3“l")rj highlight the
exclamation and vividly convey the emotional aspect in Pharaoh’s speech. See Arnold and
Choi, A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, pp. 157-58: Raymond D. Hoop, ‘Stress and
Syntax; Music and Meaning: The Purpose and Function of the Masoretic Accentuation
System\JNSL 34/2 (2008), pp. 99-121. The accents bind the words ‘many’ and ‘now’
together for stress, syntax, and recitation reasons. The accents may also graphically show
corresponding hand gestures in the recitation of the Hebrew text in front of an audience.
See the explanation given to the Masoretic signs for musical recitation, http://
www.rakkav.com/biblemusic/pages/handsofdavid.htm, accessed 30 September 2012.
27. The root H3B takes the meaning ‘to cease, stop, rest, stand still, remove, come to
an end, take a holiday’. See HALOT. II, pp. 1407-12. For a discussion concerning the
origin of the verb n3!2 and the relation to the noun nDO, see E. Haag, ‘HDB sdbaf, in
TDOT. XIV, p. 385; Gnana Robinson, The Origin andDevelopment ofthe OldTestament
Sabbath: A Comprehensive Exegetical Approach (Bern: Peter Lang, 1988): idem, ‘The
Idea of Rest in the Old Testament and the Search for the Basic Character of the Sabbath’,
ZAW 92 (1980), pp. 32-42; cf. Niels-Erik Andreasen, The Old Testament Sabbath: A
Tradition-Historical Investigation (Missoula, MT: Society of Biblical Literature Scholars
Press, 1972), pp. 94-121; GerhardF. Hasel, ‘Sabbath’, inABD, V, pp. 850-51; idem, ‘The
Sabbath in the Pentateuch’, in Kenneth A. Strand (ed.). The Sabbath in Scripture and
History (Washington, DC: Review & Herald Publishing. 1982), pp. 21-43.
256 Journalfor the Study of the Old Testament 39.3 (2015)

(1) The hiphil is a perfect form of the verb “liT preceded by a

waw. Grammarians identify this form as weqatcd and hold that the perfect
preceded by a waw is associated with two semantically distinct con­
structions, one with relative force mainly denoting future action {waw
conversive or waw consecutive), and the other with coordinate force
denoting past action {waw conjunctive).28
When considering the weqatal CrOCTH under the waw conversive or
waw consecutive theory,29 the waw would relate the attached perfect verb
to a previous verb and then represent a situation that is logically
contingent on that previous verb and at the same time entail a temporal
sequence, which would denote future action.30 However, the relation of
□rnem in Exod. 5.5 is not to a preceding verb but to the nominal clause
'Look, many already were/are the people of the land'. There is no
conditional, consequent or volitional relation between the nominal clause,
and the weqatal with a future sense.31 On the contrary, the nominal clause
parallels another nominal clause found in Exod. 1.9 (‘Look, the people of
Israel are many') and refers to the past situation ofthe Israelite multitudes
in Egypt. Thus the weqatal DrQtDm does not point to a future situation
when Moses and Aaron would cause the Israelite slaves to rest; the
weqatal relates to the great number of Israelites in the past (Exod. 1.9) and
present (5.5) whom Moses and Aaron caused and are causing to rest.
When considering arncm under the aspect of a waw conjunctive,
grammarians take into account the narrative setting and note that the
waw + perfect signals an action that is out of chronological order and is
equivalent to the English pluperfect.32 This aspect of the weqatal denotes

28. Bruce K. Waltke and M. O’Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax

(Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1990), pp. 519-20.
29. Waltke and O’Connor, Introduction, pp. 458-60.
30. Thomas O. Lambdin. Introduction to Biblical Hebrew (New York: Charles
Scribner’s Sons, 1971), pp. 107-109: Waltke and O’Connor.Introduction, p. 525; Christo
H. van der Merve. Jackie A. Maude, and Jan H. Kroeze, A Biblical Hebrew Reference
Grammar (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1999), p. 164; Arnold and Choi,,4 Guide
to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, p. 87. See, for example, the oracle texts, divine promises and
others that contain the perfect form of HDO attached to a waw with the meaning of a
consecutive (cf. Lev. 25.2; 26.6; 2 Kgs 23.5; Isa. 13.11; 17.3; Jer. 7.34; 48.35; Ezek. 6.6;
16.41; 23.27; 26.13; 34.10). Here, the perfect form always relates to a previous imperfect
or a participle in order to follow consecutively and indicate future action.
31. Waltke and O’Connor, Introduction, p. 534.
32. Bo Johnson, Hebrdisches Perfekt undImperfekt mit Vorangehendem W® (Lund:
Gleerup, 1979), p. 41; Waltke and O'Connor.Introduction, pp. 540-42; AlvieroNiccacci.
 Frey Sabbath in Egypt? 257

a completed action in the sense that the leaders had allowed the people to
cease/rest from labor in the past.33 Such ceasing may have happened at
least once when Exod. 4.31 mentions that the people bowed down and
worshiped after Moses and Aaron had spoken to them about God's
intention of deliverance. Thus, Pharaoh expressed his indignation toward
Moses and Aaron, because they had authorized the Israelites to rest from
their labors, and not because they will do so at some point in the future.
(2) The hiphil stem of the verb ~~C in Exod. 5.5 is unique in the
Hebrew Bible in that it has an accusative of the person 'them' (nns) and
is associated with a word for work with the preposition 'from' (]ft).
HALOTidentifies this form as 'to allow to rest from their forced labor’.34
Nowhere else is the hiphil of rQ© connected to rest from work.35
(3) Of the 71 occurrences of Hlfc there are only two places where the
Hebrew Bible associates this verb with a word for work with the
preposition 'from' (|D), and this is in Gen. 2.2-3 and Exod. 5.5. On the
seventh day of the creation week God rested 'from all his work'
The Hebrew Bible identifies this day as the Sabbath
(Exod. 20.8-11) and not as a mere interruption or an undefined cessation
from work. By speaking of AS® as resting 'from work', Exod. 5.5 creates
a direct link to the only other occurrence of rest from work, the creation
Sabbath.36 Elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible, when the meaning is to stop
work or cause to cease work, the verb re® is followed by a direct object,
and not by the preposition 'from' (see Neh. 4.5; 6.3; 2 Chron. 16.5).

5. Discourse Linguistics
Robert Longacre's discourse-model approach contributes significantly to
the understanding of tP3im as the only weqatcil of a waw conjunctive +

The Syntax ofthe Verb in Classical Hebrew Prose (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press,
1990), p. 35: Arnold and Choi, A Guide to Biblical Hebrew Syntax, p. 93.
33. See Douglas K. Stuart. Exodus (NAC; Nashville: Broadman & Holman. 2006), p.
162: Durham,Exodus^ III, p. 64.
34. HALOTV 1407.
35. Elsewhere, hiphil occurrences of HDB have the meaning ‘to bring to a conclusion,
put an end to, remove, put away, cause to disappear’ various things such as leaven (Exod.
12.15), grain offerings (Lev. 2.13), idolatrous priests (2 Kgs 35.5), the land (Jer. 36.29),
pride (Ezek. 7.24), harmful beasts (Ezek. 34.25), the enemy (Ps. 8.2), strife (Ps. 18.18),
sacrifice (Dan. 9.27), etc.
36. If mere cessation from work were the intention of the text, the verb L'*ffT would be
a better fit (such as in 2 Chron. 16.5) than the verb TOB.
258 Journalfor the Study of the Old Testament 39.3 (2015)

perfect in Exodus 5.37 Longacre suggests that such an isolated weqatal in

the middle of a narrative marks a climactic or pivotal event in the
narrative flow.38 When applied to the verb □rQtOl’fi, the model suggests
that Pharaoh spoke of the people's resting from work as a most significant
and major event that had already occurred, an event that required him to
take drastic measures.

6. Structural Analysis
The high significance of the verb □fEffiiT! in Exodus 5 together with its
past and continuous or pluperfect meaning receives an even stronger
emphasis when one considers the twofold structured speeches in vv. 4-5.
The narrative introduces each of Pharaoh's speeches by an introductory
line ('The king of Egypt said to them' and 'Pharaoh said') without any
narrative comment in between the speeches.39 Pharaoh's speeches are
arranged in such a way that the two hiphil verbs correspond to each other
and form a chiastic structure with the imperative 'Go!' in the center.
Introduction 1: And the king of Egypt said to them,
Speech 1: ‘Why. Moses and Aaron, are you freeing (lirnsn.
hiphil imperfect) the people from its work (VOiJQQ)?’

‘Go COv) to your labors! ’

Introduction 2: Again Pharaoh said,

Speech 2: ‘Look, many already are/were the people of the land!
And you made them rest (OnDECTI, hiphil perfect)
from their labors (nrivDOO)!’

37. RobertE. Longacre, ‘Discourse Perspective on the Elebrew Verb: Affirmation and
Restatement’, in Walter R. Bodine {&A.) ^Linguistics and Biblical Hebrew (Winona Lake,
IN: Bisenbrauns, 1992). pp. 71-91.
38. Longacre, ‘Discourse Perspective on the Hebrew Verb’.
39. Cynthia L. Miller, The Representation ofSpeech in Biblical Hebrew Narrative
(Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press, 1996), pp. 235-97. Miller has observed adjoined direct
speeches in biblical narratives that she labeled as ‘adjacency pairs’, which include
successive speeches of a single speaker each introduced by a quotative frame. According
to Miller, the structuring of the speeches signifies the speaker’s twofold move to provide
more detailed and thorough information (p. 241). Cassuto holds that the first speech
becomes clearer because of the second one. See Cassuto,.4 Commentary on the Book of
Exodus, p. 38. Conroy observes that the second speech often signals a point of major
importance. See Charles Conroy, Absalom, Absalom! Narrative andLanguage in 2 Samuel
13-20 (Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1978), p. 130.
 Frey Sabbath in Egypt? 259

Note how both verbs express causative aspect, both have the accusative of
person, and both are followed by a word for work with the preposition
'from'. The chiastic structuring shows that Pharaoh's harsh command to
Moses and Aaron—‘Go to your labors'—is thus issued in reaction to both
hiphil verbs: first, in reaction to the urgent and immediate situation of
regularly freeing the people from their work (v. 4); and, second, in
reaction to having authorized the people to rest (f'tT) from their labor
gangs (v. 5). The second part of the structure indicates, by its highlighted
reference to the past (Exod. 1.9) and by the unique use of the weqatctl,
that Pharaoh emphasizes the leaders' powerful influence for rest as the
major problem.

7. Intertextuality
A narrative, sequential, and holistic reading of the Hebrew Bible40 shows
that there exist intertextual links between Exodus 5 and various Sabbath
texts of the Pentateuch over the use of the verb H~il' in relation to slavery
work. The narrator of the Pentateuch sets the reader up, right in the
beginning of the Pentateuch, with the specific meaning of H~tT as the
Creator's rest from work on the seventh day, which is a day blessed and
sanctified by his presence (Gen. 2.2-3). When the reader then continues in
the pentateuchal text and encounters the word roll) again in direct relation
to work, associations w ith the specific theme of Sabbath rest in creation
times resonate. This technique is superfluous in texts where a direct
statement is made about Sabbath rest, such as in Exod. 20.8-11, but it is
all the more important in texts that seem to obscure the essential meaning
of n~C: in relation to work. Here, the subtleties of Hebrew narrative
technique call for special attention.

40. Moshe Greenberg. Ezekiel 1-20: A New Translation with Introduction and
Commentary (AB, 22; Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1983), p. 21; cf. Menu ‘The Vision
of Jerusalem in Ezekiel 8-11: A Holistic Interpretation’, in J.L. Crenshaw and S. Sandmel
(eds ,),Divine Helmsman: Studies on God's Control ofHuman Events Presented to Lou H.
Silberman (New York: KTAV, 1980), pp. 143-64 (148); John Sailhamer. The Pentateuch
as Narrative (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992), pp. 1-3,24-30; James VlattsMeading
Law: The Rhetorical Shaping ofthe Pentateuch (BS, 59; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic
Press, 1999), p. 29. Robert Alter, while holding to the composite construction of the
Pentateuch, asserts that there is a cohesiveness and continuity that allows for the Torah ‘to
be read as a forward-moving process through time and theme from book to book yielding
an overarching literary structure’; see also The Five Books ofMoses: A Translation with
Commentary (New York: W.W. Norton, 2004), pp. 42-43.
260 Journalfor the Study of the Old Testament 39.3 (2015)

The Sabbath rest denounced in Pharaoh's speech may indicate various

ideas. The Israelite slaves had been motivated to keep a Sabbath rest from
their labors. Pharaoh condemned Sabbath rest as an act that undermined
his authority and hindered the economy of Egypt.41 Furthermore, the
language of Exodus 5 may testily to the subversive nature of Sabbath rest
within a suppressive system. Moses and Aaron, identified as the driving
force for Sabbath rest, do not use the word shabbat; further, they do not
defend themselves, and they do not respond to Pharaoh's aggressive
questioning. A superficial reading would thus hold that Moses and Aaron
and the Hebrew slaves had surrendered to their hopeless situation.
However, Pharaoh's word about Sabbath rest in the midst of suffering
stands as a powerful testimony that in reality the slaves were masters—
not masters over their workloads, but masters of time. The following
intertextual links indicate that Sabbath rest in Exodus 5 means to live as
free human beings even in the midst of slave-like circumstances.

a. Exodus 5.5 and Genesis 2.2-3

As noted in the analysis of Pharaoh's expression "you made them rest
from their labors', there is a unique link created, by the use of the
preposition 'from' attached to a word for work, to the seventh day of the
creation week when God 'rested from all his work’, a day that the
Pentateuch identifies with weekly Sabbath rest (Exod. 20.8-11; 31.12-
17).42

b. Exodus 5.5 and 23.12

Exodus 5 uses different words for work: HtDDO, m^DD, and It is the
noun HEJDO that is of significance for this study because it occurs in close
connection with the verb ““C only in two places, Exod. 5.4-5 and 23.12.
According to Exod. 5.4-5, Moses and Aaron caused the people to go free
from their work (ntODO), even rest (lH~l.'~')- Verse 13 records that the
taskmasters pressed the people to complete their work (HESO), which had
become heavier.

41. Benno Jacob (Exodus. p. 131) understands Pharaoh’s DflDCm as referring to a

holiday from hard work either in the sense of the Sabbath (Exod. 16) or the Passover feast
(Exod 12.14), the only holidays before Israel arrived at Mount Sinai.
42. Stephane A. Beaulieu shows further links to the creation account in Gen. 1 based
upon the verb HE®, ‘do. make’, in an unpublished paper titled ‘The Sabbath in Exodus
5:5’.
 Frey Sabbath in Egypt? 261

The Sabbath commandment in Exod. 23.12 is unique in that it is the

only Sabbath commandment that uses the word 72)1)7 for the work of the
six weekdays in relation to the verb 772). All other commandments have
the word 778*77 denoting work of the weekdays. Exodus 23.12 states that
the Sabbath observer will do (72)1)7) work (72)1)0) for six days, but on the
seventh day he shall cease (HOB) so that the hard-working ox and donkey,
the slave-woman's son, and the stranger may rest and be refreshed.
The verbal and conceptual links that exist between the Sabbath com­
mandment in Exod. 23.12 and the exodus narratives in chs. 1-5 are stimu­
lating.43 Israel is regarded as Egypt's stranger (22.21). The people are
oppressed and their cries to God become the trigger for the exodus event
(2.23-25). It is, then, because the liberated Israelite knows the life of an
oppressed stranger (23.9) that he is called to create the opportunity for the
stranger and for the slave, as well as for animals, to have Sabbath rest.

c. Exodus 5.5 and Deuteronomy 5.12-15

While afflicted with additional hard labor because of going free and
resting (□772)71 and 772)), Israel receives the promise that God will bring
them out of Egypt with a powerful and outstretched arm (Exod. 6.1, 6).
According to the Sabbath commandment in Deut. 5.15, God liberated
Israel 'by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm' (cf. Exod. 13.9), and
therefore Israel will always keep Sabbath rest (772)).
Another link between Exodus 5 and Deuteronomy 5 is the word 771)
that is used for labor, to serve as a slave, and to be a slave. Exodus 5 uses
the word 771) seven times (vv. 9, 11, 15, 16, 18 [2x], 21) including in
Pharaoh's cruel command 'now go, work!' (v. 18). The Sabbath com­
mandment in Deut. 5.12-15 places similar emphasis upon 771), as seen in
the chiastic arrangement:
A Six days you shall serve (73211) (v. 13)
But on the seventh day...
B your servant (“[732) shall not do any work (v. 14)
B' your servant (“[732) shall rest (v. 14)
Remember that
A' you were a servant (732) (v. 15)

43. See my dissertation on ‘The Sabbath in the Pentateuch: An Exegetical and

Theological Study’ (Andrews University, 2011), pp. 170-82: also, ‘The Sabbath
Commandment in the Book of the Covenant: Ethics on Behalf of the Outcast’, Journal of
Asia Adventist Seminary 9/1 (2006). pp. 3-11: and ‘I Elave Eleard their Cry’, Shabbat
Shalom 53/1 (2006). pp. 24-26.
262 Journalfor the Study of the Old Testament 39.3 (2015)

This arrangement is placed into the motivation clause of Deuteronomy's

Sabbath commandment and carries the slave motif to demonstrate the
significance of this day as a sign of deliverance from slavery. In other
words, the Sabbath corresponds to the exodus.44 The Sabbath keeper who
has been a slave in the past will rest, and in resting he will be equal with
the slave in his house.

d. Exodus 5 and Numbers 15.32-36

The Hebrew Bible creates a direct link between Exodus 5 and tine story of
the man who gathered wood on the Sabbath. The link exists because the
verb EDEp, 'gather', occurs only four times in the Pentateuch, twice when
describing the toil and oppression of the Israelites in Egypt (Exod. 5.7,
12) and twice when narrating the offensive behavior of the wood-gatherer
on Sabbath after his deliverance from Egypt (Num. 15.32, S3).45 46 The
telling link that the Pentateuch draws between the slaves who were forced
to gather (OTp) straw without rest (H~l.‘) and the man who defiantly went
out and gathered (2®p) wood on the day of Sabbath rest (rQtO) shows the
importance that Sabbath rest carries with regard to freedom from slavery:
the one who had been set free from slavery chose, in an act of open
rebellion against God, to place himself back into the position of a slave in
Egypt.45

e. Exodus 5 and Genesis 11.1-9

The links that the Hebrew Bible creates between Exodus 5 and the tower
of Babel story are intriguing as well. Pharaoh's building program is
viewed under the perspective of all that is transient, fleeting, and without
any stable and enduring substance. Brick making is the main work in
Egypt (HDD1), vv. 7, 8, 14, 16, 18, 19; cf. 1.14) in order to build cities
(Exod 1.11), just as in the land of Shinar (Gen. 11.2) when the people
began to build the city and the tower of Babel (Gen. 11.3, 4, 5, 8). While
the tower builders were eager to produce bricks of high quality by
burning them thoroughly (v. 3), Pharaoh's bricks are made with straw,
which, yes, is to provide strength and consistency,47 but in the biblical text

44. Jacques B. Doukhan, ‘Loving the Sabbath as a Christian’, in Tamara C. Eskenazi,

Daniel C. Harrington, William H. Shea (eds.), The Sabbath in Jewish and Christian
Tradition (New York: Crossroad, 1991), pp. 149-68 (161).
45. Outside the Pentateuch the verb occurs in 1 Kgs 17.10, 12 and Zeph. 2.1.
46. See Frey, ‘The Sabbath in the Pentateuch’, pp. 118-31.
47. See Nims, ‘Bricks without Straw?’; Propp.Exodus 1-18, p. 255.
 Frey Sabbath in Egypt? 263

has the metaphorical connotation of frailness and transitoriness (Job

21.18; 41.27-29; Jer. 23.28); stubble is blown away by the wind (Isa.
40.24; 41.2; Jer. 13.24) or burned down by fire (Isa. 47.14; Joel. 2.5;
Obad. 18; Mai. 4.1).
Another word that links the two texts is the verb ps, 'scatter,
disperse', telling of the slaves who ' scattered over all the land of Egypt to
gather stubble for straw' (Exod. 5.12). The result was incomplete work,
punishment, distress, and resentment (vv. 13-19). The tower builders,
however, were concerned with being 'scattered over the surface of the
whole land' (Gen. 11.4) and began to build a city with its tower in order
to stay together. But then Yahweh confused the language of their world
and 'scattered them over the surface of the whole land' (vv. 8, 9), which
brought to a halt the entire building project.

8. Conclusion
The reference to Sabbath rest in Exodus 5 is not intended to prove that
this was an established weekly institution of Israel in Egypt. For, when
the liberated slaves gathered manna for six days in the wilderness and did
not find any on the seventh day, they still had to become familiar with the
Sabbath's rhythmic and weekly recurrence (Exod. 16). On the other hand,
scholars have noted that while the narrative of Exodus 16 does not depict
the Sabbath as a new ordinance for the liberated slaves in the wilderness,
its existence is assumed.48
Sabbath rest in Exodus 5 forces one to link the weekly rhythm of the
day with the essential meaning of the Sabbath. Sabbath rest in Exodus 5 is
about destabilizing the very foundation of an autocratic system by means
of subtle and unexpected language. Voiceless slaves caught in the middle
of immense suffering are builders of cities destined for ruin. While over­
flowing the land to fetch stubble blown away by the wind, or scorched
under the burning Egyptian sun, the old story of Babel stirs up visions of
a transient empire. The oppressor's word about Sabbath rest portrays him
as a defeated tyrant within his own powerful and still-functioning regime.
This is the moment when Sabbath rest begins to disclose its transcendent
and permanent quality: to master time is to be truly free.

48. Martin Buber. Moses: The Revelation and the Covenant (New York: Harper,
1958), p. 80: Childs, The Book ofExodus, p. 290.
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