Text: Exodus 20:8-11
OT Text Referred to: Genesis 2:2
Subject: Sabbath
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Anchor Text: Exod 20 — The Decalogue
Significance: The fourth commandment explicitly quotes the creation account: "For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth... but on the seventh day He rested" (Exod 20:11), directly citing Genesis 2:2. The Decalogue uses the same verb שָׁבַת (shabat, "rested/ceased") and adds that God בֵּרַךְ (berak, "blessed") the Sabbath day and made it קָדוֹשׁ (qadosh, "holy") — language drawn from Genesis 2:3. This is a direct quotation that grounds Israel's Sabbath obligation in the creation order itself: because God structured the world around a seven-day pattern culminating in rest, Israel must imitate its Creator. The commandment transforms the creation narrative from descriptive theology into covenant law.