he universe who made all that is in accordance with His divine
plan of perfection. The underlying idea expressed in Scripture is that the
Sabbath is a divine institution. As God himself worked out His design for
the world in absolute freedom and rested with delight at its completion,
so man is to follow His example, working during six days of the week and
then enjoying the rest of the Sabbath with a mind elated by higher
thoughts. Moreover, the day of rest observed by Israel should recall his
redemption from the slavery and continual labor of Egypt. Thereby every
creature made in God's image, the slave and stranger as well as the born
Israelite, is given the heavenly boon of freedom and recreation to hallow
the labor of the week. There are thus two explanations given for the
Sabbath, one in the Decalogue of Exodus, the Holiness Code and Priestly
Code,(1463) the other in the Decalogue of Deuteronomy and the Book of the
Covenant.(1464)

These two views, in turn, gave rise to different conceptions of the
Sabbath laws. Many ancient teachers laid chief stress on the letter of the
law which bids men cease from labor. Others, who penetrated farther into
the spirit of Deuteronomy and the Covenant Code, emphasized the human need
for relaxation and refreshment of soul. The older school, especially the
Sadducees, demanded absolute cessation of labor on pain of death for any
work, however insignificant, and even for the moving from one place to
another. They thought of the Sabbath as a sign of the covenant between God
and Israel, and hence held that it should be observed as punctiliously as
possible.(1465) In the same measure as the Pharisees, with their program
of religious democracy and common sense, obtained the upper hand, the
Biblical strictness of the Sabbath law was modified. The term labor was
defined by analogy with the work done for the tabernacle, and so
restricted as to make the death penalty much more limited.(1466) Moreover,
the Pharisees held that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the
Sabbath;(1467) so, although they adhered strictly to the prohibition of
labor, the Sabbath received at their hands more of the other element, and
became a day for the elevation of the soul, "a day of delight" for the
spirit.(1468) The whole man, body and soul alike, should enjoy God's gifts
more fully on this day; he should cast off care and sanctify the day by
praise offered to God at the family table. At a very early period in