Sabbath

A sabbath is a day reserved for rest or prayer, usually each week. The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew word Shabbat. This word is built from the Hebrew root Sh-B-T, meaning rest.

In the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, the root Sh-B-T is used to describe God resting on the seventh day. This is the day after He finished creating the universe. In the Bible, the idea of Shabbat, or Sabbath, as a holy day of rest starts there.

Remembering and keeping Sabbath is also one of the Ten Commandments. From that, the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) all have a tradition of a holy day of rest or prayer set aside every week. These days are now very different from each other, including which day of the week they fall on.


 * Jews observe Shabbat or Shabbath on Saturday.
 * The Sabbath in Christianity is observed on Sunday rather than Saturday.
 * In Islam, Muslims hold a communal prayer, known as Jumu'ah, every Friday just after noon.

Similar ideas
In addition:
 * Different rituals of people called witches have been called Witches' Sabbath.
 * A sabbatical is a paid break or rest from work.
 * Kazimierz Sabbat (1913-1989) was a Polish politician

Related pages

 * Sabbath in Christianity
 * Gregorian calendar (Christian)
 * Hebrew calendar (Jewish)
 * Islamic calendar (Muslim)