Judging the Sabbath: Discovering What Can’t Be Found in Colossians 2:16
Overview
Sabbatarians have argued for centuries that the “sabbath” of Colossians 2:16 refers to the Jewish ceremonial sabbaths, and not the Decalogue Sabbath, based on a plain-sense reading of the context. Traditional Christian interpretation of that passage has generally bypassed the context and relied on other arguments, often unexamined by careful exegesis. In this book, du Preez examines those other arguments. In a wide-ranging engagement with Scripture, he considers relevant exegetical, linguistic, structural, syntactical, and intertextual factors that could be used to support them. In the process, he finds the evidence pointing forcefully against the traditional interpretation. Grounded firmly on a high view of Scripture, du Preez’s conclusions challenge any argument that relies on Colossians 2:16 in order to deny the continuing moral imperative of the seventh-day Sabbath.
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- Presents an argument for the Sabbath, grounded in Scripture, that supports traditional interpretation
- Dissects several different arguments regarding the Sabbath
- Offers a wide range of scriptural exegesis
- Part One
- Colossians 2:16 in Perspective
- Šabbāt in the Old Testament
- Septuagint Rendering of Šabbat Šabbātôn
- “Sabbath” in New Testament Greek
- Sabbata and Ceremonial Sabbaths
- The Calendar Sequence
- “Feasts” in Scripture
- Sabbath and “Shadow”
- Summary of Part One
- Part Two
- Use of the Old Testament in Paul’s Epistles
- The Linguistics of Hosea 2:11
- Literary Structures in Hosea
- Literary Structures in Colossians 2
- Summary of Part Two
Top Highlights
“However, in all of the published sources available, thus far no evidence has been found to indicate that any of these eighty-eight commentaries did any exegesis of the vital three terms of this calendar sequence nor any careful analysis of the supposed Old Testament linguistic links.” (Page 56)
“For instance, in 1899 R. A. Torrey wrote: ‘The Sabbath obligation is plainly and explicitly and unmistakably declared not to be binding upon the Christian. There is nothing in the whole New Testament plainer than this.” (Page 3)
“Put simply, the linguistic links, together with the context, are decisive in accurately interpreting the meaning of this significant word. Therefore, the idea that the sabbata of Colossians 2:16 could refer to ceremonial sabbaths appears to be a linguistically viable option, since it does not go against the various ways in which the original Hebrew šabbāt is contextually rendered throughout the Old Testament.” (Pages 23–24)
“In brief then, an exhaustive examination of the Hebrew Bible reveals that every time the word šabbāt is accompanied by certain linguistic markers, it can always be clearly identified as the seventh-day Sabbath.” (Page 19)
“In brief, the textual evidence shows that the free-standing Hebrew term šabbāt, with its Greek equivalent sabbata, was used for the Day of Atonement. Thus, the claim that the word ‘sabbath’ by itself is never used in the Bible to refer to a ceremonial sabbath is invalid.” (Page 51)
- Title: Judging the Sabbath: Discovering What Can’t Be Found in Colossians 2:16
- Author: Ron du Preez
- Publisher: Andrews University Press
- Publication Date: 2008
- Pages: 208
- Christian Group: Seventh-day Adventist
- Resource Type: Theology
- Topic: Sabbath