Exodus 31:13
in Exodus 31“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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily ye shall keep my sabbaths: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am Jehovah who sanctifieth you.
KJV
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.
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This verse in Exodus 31
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
They might suppose that the erection of the tabernacle was a sacred work, and that it would be a high merit, an acceptable tribute, to prosecute the undertaking without the interruption of a day's repose; and therefore the caution here given, at the commencement of the undertaking, was a seasonable admonition.
This site's exposition
And the LORD said to Moses
on Exodus 31:12-13
The seventh and last tabernacle speech is the Sabbath, as the seventh day also falls in Genesis 1 and 2. The Sabbath is called a sign, given so that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.
This site's exposition
Surely you must keep My Sabbaths
Matthew Henry notes that other nations kept yearly feasts, while the weekly Sabbath was a sign given to the Israelites alone. He places the Sabbath command between the two tablets, and verse 18 gives Moses the two tablets of stone. Isaiah 56:2 blesses the man who keeps it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening5 voices
Note, If God by his grace incline our hearts to keep the law of the fourth commandment, it will be an evidence of a good work wrought in us by his Spirit. If we sanctify God's day, it is a sign between him and us that he has sanctified our hearts: hence it is the character of the blessed man that he keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, Isa. lvi.
12 ); and here it is added to the first part of the ceremonial law, because the observance of the sabbath is indeed the hem and hedge of the whole law; where no conscience is made of that, farewell both godliness and honesty; for, in the moral law, it stands in the midst between the two tables.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
Aholiab of the tribe of Dan. is appointed next to Bezaleel, and partner with him. Hiram, who was the head-workman in the building of Solomon's temple, was also of the tribe of Daniel, 2 Chron. ii,
Speak thou also unto the children of Israel,....
The Gentiles had anniversary-feasts, to the honour of their gods; but it was peculiar to the Jews to have a weekly festival; this therefore they must carefully observe. The reason of the sabbath; for God's laws are not only backed with the highest authority, but supported with the best reason. God's own example is the great reason,
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
My Sabbaths ye shall keep - See Clarke’s note on Gen 2:3. See Clarke’s note on Exo 20:8.
How the passage was read
On Exodus 31:12-17On Exodus 31:12-17
Why the Sabbath became the identity marker
This is the passage that makes the Sabbath, the seventh day of rest, a covenant sign: “a sign between me and you throughout your generations,” with the death penalty attached. A sign carrying that weight had to be guarded, and over the centuries a detailed fence of rules grew around the short written command. The tradition itself noticed how thin the written base is for so large a structure: the Mishnah, the first great code of Jewish oral law (about AD 200), says the laws of the Sabbath are “like mountains suspended by a hair,” much law hanging on little Scripture (Chagigah 1:8).
Two more facts frame every Sabbath argument in the Gospels. First, the sign was worth dying for: under the persecution of Antiochus (167 BC), pious Jews let themselves be killed rather than fight on the Sabbath, until the Maccabees ruled that self-defense overrides the day (this site's 1 Maccabees study tells that story). Second, the later tradition taught, from this very passage, that the day serves the people and not the reverse: “Shabbat is given into your hands, and you are not given to it” (Babylonian Talmud, Yoma 85b, in the name of Rabbi Shimon ben Menasya's circle), and that one Sabbath may be desecrated to save a life so that many Sabbaths may be kept. Every collision Jesus has over this day happens inside that live discussion.
What the Jewish commentators add
“Even though you may be anxious. Our Rashi adds: “and alert.” to do the work promptly, do not set aside the Sabbath on its account.
1 more on this passage, in their own words ▾
SAYING. Every time the word lemor (saying) is used with va-yedabber. That is, follows spoke.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Chagigah 1:8 (“mountains suspended by a hair”) · Yoma 85b (Babylonian Talmud: the Sabbath given into your hands) · 1 Maccabees (this site's study; the Sabbath martyrs)
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַתָּ֞ה | veatah | and you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| דַּבֵּ֨ר | daber | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| בְּנֵ֤י | benei | [the] people of | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לֵאמֹ֔ר | lemor | <to> saying | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַ֥ךְ | ʾakh | surely | H389 → | 161 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| שַׁבְּתֹתַ֖י | shabetotai | sabbaths my | H7676 → | 110 times |
| תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּ | tishmoru | you will observe | H8104 → | 468 times |
| כִּי֩ | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| א֨וֹת | ʾot | [is] a sign | H226 → | 80 times |
| הִ֜וא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| בֵּינִ֤י | beini | between me | H996 → | 407 times |
| וּבֵֽינֵיכֶם֙ | uveineikhem | and between you | H996 → | 407 times |
| לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔ם | ledoroteikhem | to generations your | H1755 → | 167 times |
| לָדַ֕עַת | ladaat | to know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּ֛י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מְקַדִּשְׁכֶֽם׃ | mekadishkhem | [who] sets apart you | H6942 → | 171 times |
וְאַתָּ֞הand you
veatahH859 →1094 times
דַּבֵּ֨רspeak
daberH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
בְּנֵ֤י[the] people of
beneiH1121 →4930 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לֵאמֹ֔ר<to> saying
lemorH559 →5305 times
אַ֥ךְsurely
ʾakhH389 →161 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
שַׁבְּתֹתַ֖יsabbaths my
shabetotaiH7676 →110 times
תִּשְׁמֹ֑רוּyou will observe
tishmoruH8104 →468 times
כִּי֩for
kiH3588 →4482 times
א֨וֹת[is] a sign
ʾotH226 →80 times
הִ֜ואit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
בֵּינִ֤יbetween me
beiniH996 →407 times
וּבֵֽינֵיכֶם֙and between you
uveineikhemH996 →407 times
לְדֹרֹ֣תֵיכֶ֔םto generations your
ledoroteikhemH1755 →167 times
לָדַ֕עַתto know
ladaatH3045 →945 times
כִּ֛יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֖ה[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מְקַדִּשְׁכֶֽם׃[who] sets apart you
mekadishkhemH6942 →171 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
1 Thessalonians 5:23Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely, and may your entire spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
it leads to
- Jude 1:24
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
- 1 Corinthians 1:8–9
He will sustain you to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
- Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it pierces even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
- 1 Thessalonians 3:13
so that He may establish your hearts in blamelessness and holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints. Amen.
- 1 Peter 5:10
And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore you, secure you, strengthen you, and establish…
- Jude 1:24
Through
Ezekiel 20:12I also gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us, so that they would know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 20:20
Keep My Sabbaths holy, that they may be a sign between us, so that you may know that I am the LORD your God.’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 20:20
Through
Exodus 31:17It is a sign between Me and the Israelites forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, but on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 20:12
I also gave them My Sabbaths as a sign between us, so that they would know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 20:12
Through
Leviticus 19:30You must keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the LORD.
it leads to
- Leviticus 26:2
You must keep My Sabbaths and have reverence for My sanctuary. I am the LORD.
- Leviticus 26:2
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.