Exodus 35:2

For six days work may be done, but the seventh day shall be your holy day, a Sabbath of complete rest to the LORD. Whoever does any work on that day must be put to death.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Moses addresses the assembled congregation of Israel, relaying divine commands immediately after the tabernacle construction instructions. He establishes the weekly rhythm of labor and rest as a binding covenant requirement.

The words — מְלָאכָה (me.la.Khah) denotes structured work or craft, while קֹדֶשׁ (Ko.desh) literally means a holy thing or set-apart thing. These terms frame the Sabbath not merely as cessation but as a designated sacred space in time.

The thread — This command echoes Exodus 20:9’s six-day labor limit and Leviticus 23:3’s designation of the seventh day as a sacred assembly. Later texts like Luke 13:14 show the phrase “six days for work” becoming a legal benchmark for Sabbath boundaries.

Why it lands — The text states that six days are for work while the seventh is a holy Sabbath under penalty of death. It requires the reader to treat one day as wholly distinct from the other six, prioritizing divine rest over personal industry.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

שֵׁ֣שֶׁתShe.shetsix יָמִים֮ya.Mimdays תֵּעָשֶׂ֣הte.'a.Sehit will be done מְלָאכָה֒me.la.Khahwork וּבַיּ֣וֹםu./vai./Yomand/ on the/ day הַשְּׁבִיעִ֗יha./she.vi.'I<the>/ seventh יִהְיֶ֨הyih.Yehit will beלָכֶ֥םla./Khemto/ youקֹ֛דֶשׁKo.desha holy thing שַׁבַּ֥תsha.Bata sabbath of שַׁבָּת֖וֹןsha.ba.Tonsabbath observance לַיהוָ֑הla./Yah.wehto/ Yahweh כָּל־kol-every הָעֹשֶׂ֥הha./'o.Seh<the>/ [one who] doesב֛וֹv/oon/ itמְלָאכָ֖הme.la.Khahwork יוּמָֽת׃yu.Mathe will be put to death

King James Version

Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.

Cross-references

Leviticus 23:3 For six days work may be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of complete rest, a day of sacred assembly. You must not do any work; wherever you live, it is a Sabbath to the LORD.
Luke 13:14 But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”
Exodus 20:9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
Exodus 34:21 Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even in the seasons of plowing and harvesting, you must rest.
Numbers 15:32 While the Israelites were in the wilderness, a man was found gathering wood on the Sabbath day.
Exodus 23:12 For six days you are to do your work, but on the seventh day you must cease, so that your ox and your donkey may rest and the son of your maidservant may be refreshed, as well as the foreign resident.
Exodus 31:13 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep My Sabbaths, for this will be a sign between Me and you for the generations to come, so that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
Hebrews 10:28 Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
Deuteronomy 5:12 Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.
John 5:16 Now because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jews began to persecute Him.