cheenc03a.pdf

SABBATH
and the Sabbath are almost invariably mentioned
together. The month is beyond question an old sacred
division of time common to all the Semites: even the
Amhr. who received the week at quite a late period
from the Syrians (Birilni, Chronology, ET 58). greeted
the new moon with religious acclamations. And this
must have been an old Semitic usage, for the word
which properly means 'to greet the new moon' jahod/a)
is, as 1.agarde (Orirntniio, 2r9) has shown, etymologically
connected with the Hebrew words used of any
festal joy. Among the Hehrews, or rather perhaps
among the Canaanites, whore speech they borrowed,
the joy at the n~w moon became the type of religious
festivity in general. Nor aTe other traces wanting of
the connection of sacrificial occarions-i.c.. religious
feastr-with the phases of the moon among the Semites.
The Hacranians had four sacrificiai days in every month,
and, of these, two at least were determined by the conjunction
and opporltion of the moon.'
That full moon as well n new moon had n religious iignificrnce
among the ancient Hzbrcwr seemr to follow fmn~ the
fact that, when the great agricultural feasts were fired to et
dayr, the full mon war choun. In older rimer therefearrdayr
appear to hrve been Sabbathr(Ler. 23x1; cp P~rrov~s, NEW
X"""..,
The word 'Sabbath' (inbnffuu), with the explanation
'day of rest of the heart,' is claimed nr Assyrian on the
basis of a textual emendation made by
8&byloILlsllL
,, The
Fried. Delitzrch in I Raw1 32 ~ 6. The
value of this isolated and uncertain
and testimony cannot he placed very high.
Sabbath.
and it seems to orove too much. for it
bath iad become cmd& very swcial historical eircumstances.
What we do kn& &om a calendar of the
intercalary month Elill 11. is that in that month the 7th.
14th. ~gth, ZIE~, and 18th days had a ~eculiar charafter,
and that on them certain acts were forbidden to
the king and others. There ir the greatest uncertainty
as to the details (cp the very divergent renderings in
RP, 7.605 ; Schrader, KA TI4 19; Lotz, Qu. dchirtoria
Sobbnt