Re: Christian unity stagnant?

<marcandmia@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:1132575727.296416.62370@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Kendall K. Down wrote:
>> In message <11nmbcvol01p560@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> "David Mooney" <dmooney@xxxxxxxx> wrote:
>>
>> > ...Only the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) was called a sabbath in the
>> > Hebrew
>> > text, and that was because it, like the weekly sabbath, forbade ALL
>> > work of
>> > ANY kind. The other six holy convocations were never called sabbaths in
>> > the
>> > Hebrew text. They forbade only SERVILE work and allowed exceptions to
>> > the no
>> > work rule.
>>
>> Try Leviticus 23
>
> To add to what Ken says, It's true that in Lev 23 only the Day of
> Atonement is directly called a Sabbath, although in Lev 24 each seventh
> year was called a Sabbath when the land was to lie fallow. The year of
> Jubilee would also be a Sabbath for the land.

DAVID MOONEY
hi Marc, Greetings,

yes, the Pharisees in Jesus' argued that Nisan 15 was a sabbath so they
could keep their traditon to offer the wave sheaf on the same day of the
year, every year. However, the Sadducean priests, who controlled the temple
worship until the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70, did not agree. Even
though the Saducean priests were secular and did not believe in an
afterlife, they knew the Hebrew scripture did not consider Nisan 15 a
sabbath so they rejected (and rightly so) the Pharisean tradition. There is
absolutely no evidence whatsoever Nisan 15 was a sabbath in the Hebrew or
Greek Bible. All we have is a Pharisaic tradition that claims it was but
when you read the verse (Lev. 23:11) in question it does not support their
claims. The day referred to in Lev. 23:11 is "the" sabbath, not the "holy
convocation" or "first holy day", which is what we would expect if the
writer wanted to avoid all ambiguity. The weekly Sabbath was referred to as
"the" sabbath repeatedly throughout scripture while the Day of Atonement was
referred to as "a" Sabbath. For all practical purposes the weekly sabbath
was "the" sabbath. To claim Nisan 15 is a sabbath in this passage is to
reject all the evidence elsewhere in the scripture about what constituted a
sabbath.

The Pharisees, who still practice the wave sheaf on Nisan 16 every year and
consider Nisan 15 a sabbath, have no scripture evidence whatsoever that
Nisan 15 was (or is) a sabbath. The Sadducean priests knew that the other
six holidays, including Nisan 15, were not called sabbaths so they concluded
Levitucs 23:11 referred to the weekly sabbath instead of Nisan 15. Most
modern Jews admittedly reject the Saduceean practice. Scripturally, however,
the Pharisiaic Jews have no evidence whatsoever Nisan 15 is a sabbath.
Interestingly enough, although they consider Nisan 15 a sabbath so they can
begin the wavesheaf on Nisan 16, they refuse to count Nisan 21 as a sabbath
as that would ruin their count to 50 days for Pentecost. In other words,
they picked and chose what they wanted and was not convenient they kicked
out. The Hebrew Bible is quite plain that Nisan 15 and Nisan 21 were not
sabbaths, the modern Pharisaic tradition notwithstanding.

I reject the Pharisean traditon of considering Nisan 15 a sabbath because I
have examined the scriptural evidence pro and con and have come to the
conclusion that the Pharisaic tradition is in error. There is NO evidence to
claim Nisan 15 is or ever was, a Sabbath, at least as far as scripture is
concerned. Outside scripture, yes, we have the evidence of the Pharisees
celebrating Nisan 15 as a Sabbath (according to Josephus and the later
Talmuds), but until the Pharisees can justify scripturally their use of
Nisan 15 as the sabbath in Levitcus 23:11 I must respectfully decline.


> There were some different interpretations about what was a Sabbath in
> the time of Christ. The Sabbath mentioned in Lev 23:11 was interpreted
> by some to be a reference to the first day of Unleavened Bread which
> was a ceremonial rest day.
> However the liberal Boethusian Sadducees contended that it referred to
> the weekly Sabbath.
> So it's quite plausible that Paul coming from the conservative wing
> of Judaism may have called these ceremonial days Sabbaths.
>
> Perhaps this is why the weekly Sabbath is referred to as "the Sabbath
> of the Lord" in verse 38 to distinguish it from the ceremonial
> Sabbaths.
>
> The word Sabbath simply means ceasing from labour, and so could be
> applied to the ceremonial days, although the weekly Sabbath was always
> special, as its origin goes back to Creation and it was observed more
> strictly.

DAVID Mooney
no, actually the sabbath was much more than ceasing from labor, it was a day
that commanded ceasing from ALL work of ANY kind. The other rest days
forbade SERVILE work only and were never called Sabbaths. The new moons were
rest days but they were never called Sabbaths either. Nightime rest was not
called a sabbath either. The Sabbath was a specific kind of rest that was 1)
commanded by God, 2) forbade ALL work of ANY kind and 3) fell within a set
time limit (nightfall to nightfall). All other rests, including naps, sleep,
new moons, most holy convocations, were NOT called sabbaths.

Of course the Day of Atonement fits the definition of Sabbath but to call a
day a Sabbath simply because people rested from SERVILE work on that day is
a unscriptural conclusion.

In any event, I appreciate your reply Marc and hope to hear again from you.

Regards,
David Mooney
.

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