When a person begins to delve into the study of the Bible and leaves religious conditioning behind, they realize there are many commandments contained within the pages of the Torah. It is no coincidence that the word Torah is translated as law, even though the most accurate translation would be instruction.
These instructions were not created by the Almighty to overwhelm us or to confine our existence to religious imprisonment, but rather for us to learn how to navigate this world and be able to guide our families and communities.
According to a rabbinic count, there are 613 commandments contained in the first five books of the Bible. We must keep in mind that not all of them apply to everyone. Many of those commandments are exclusively related to the Temple service and the priesthood, others are only for judges, or only for women, or men, etc.
Most people are familiar with the Ten Commandments, which represent the declarations that the Creator Himself uttered from Mount Sinai and dictated to Moshe:
And Yehovah said to Moshe: “Write these words, for according to these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”
So he was there with Yehovah forty days and forty nights; he neither ate bread nor drank water. And He wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
— Exodus 34:27-28
Within these Ten Commandments, which even most Christians boast of observing, we have the Shabbat, the fourth commandment:
“Remember the Shabbat day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Shabbat to Yehovah your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days Yehovah made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore Yehovah blessed the Shabbat day and made it holy.”
— Exodus 20:8-11
Although this verse speaks of “remembering” the day of Shabbat, in the recount of the commandments in Deuteronomy 5, it speaks of “observing” (keeping) it.
Why is the Shabbat the First Commandment?
When the commandment of Shabbat was first “declared” by the Creator in Exodus 20, it appeared in fourth place. So, why do I say that Shabbat is the first commandment?
It’s simple: when we follow the chronology of the Children of Israel leaving Egypt on their way to Mount Sinai, it was in the second month that they complained and received manna from heaven. A few days after the manna began to fall, Moshe said to them:
This is what Yehovah has commanded: ‘Tomorrow is to be a holy day of rest, a holy Shabbat to Yehovah. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.’
— Exodus 16:23
Thus, we can see that the Shabbat was introduced weeks before the children of Israel arrived at Mount Sinai, and it had implications regarding the gathering and preparation of food.
Where does the Shabbat come from?
The Shabbat is defined in the creation week, at the beginning of the book of Genesis. Thousands of years before the Torah was given and even before Abraham was chosen, the Creator established this model and seven-day pattern. When we study different elements of Creation, we realize that the number 7 is extremely relevant and cannot be altered—whether it is the 7 musical notes, the 7 colors of the rainbow, or the 7 days of the week. Throughout the Biblical narrative, we encounter this number over and over again.
Summary of Findings
Being the first commandment to appear after the children of Israel were released from slavery, we see that it holds special importance. It is no coincidence that most believers who become interested in the Hebrew roots of their faith begin with this very commandment.
In these erratic times in which we live, where we spend most of our time working to acquire material goods, setting the day of Shabbat apart from the rest of the days is a true sign (Exodus 31:17) that reminds us Whom we truly serve.
The Shabbat finds its origin in the creation week itself. At the very dawn of Genesis, Yehovah set this day apart, establishing a rhythm for all of humanity long before any religious system existed.