Text: Exodus 20:8-11
OT Text Referred to: Genesis 2:3
Subject: Sabbath
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type: Direct Quotation
Connection Method(s): Longitudinal Theme
Anchor Text: Exod 20 — The Decalogue
Significance: Genesis 2:3 records that God "blessed (בָּרַךְ, barak) the seventh day and sanctified it (קָדַשׁ, qadash)." Exodus 20:11 directly quotes this action: "Therefore the LORD blessed (בֵּרַךְ) the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy (קָדַשׁ)." The fourth commandment explicitly grounds Israel's Sabbath obligation in Genesis 2:3's declaration, using the same two verbs — barak and qadash — to connect God's primordial act with Israel's covenant responsibility. What God did at creation now becomes what Israel is commanded to remember and practice: the divine blessing and sanctification of the seventh day is not merely historical precedent but the theological foundation of Sabbath law.