We should first take note of the alternatives that have been proposed. Fortunately, these have been summarized by Hasel in his article on "Sabbath" for the Anchor Bible Dictionary:
1) the seventh-day Sabbath
2) ceremonial sabbath of the Jewish cultic year
3) some Jewish aspect of the sabbath without denying true sabbath-keeping
4) perverted sabbath-keeping in honor of the elemental spirits of the universe
5) weekdays that were designated to be sabbaths
6) sabbath sacrifices prescribed in Num 28:9-101
If we were to take "sabbatwn" to be a sort of short-hand form of "sabbata sabbaton" which the LXX uses to refer to the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:31; 23:32; in the last verse the last phrase describes the Day of Atonement as simply "sabbata"2) and if it included the other ceremonial sabbaths as well this would then give us a uniform text. So then, what is being condemned by the Gnostic Jews, who were also ascetics, is the feasting on the ceremonial feast days. But, Richardson seems to make the excellent point here that if this is the case then Paul seems to be "needlessly repeating himself".3
(Unfortunately, the points above about "feasting" ignores the fact that the Day of Atonement isn't a feast day; it is a day of fasting. This fact is important and should not be forgotten. It may also be that the ascetics were just objecting to the feasting on that day. They could also be objecting to the rationale for fasting on the Day of Atonement.)
We should also note that it is only certain feast days of the ceremonial laws that are denoted as "heorte" in the LXX.4 These feast days are:
1) the Festival of Unleavened Bread (or Passover): Exod. 13:6; 23:15; 34:18, 25; Lev. 23:6;
Num. 28:17; Deut. 16:8, 16; 2 Chron. 8:13; 30:13, 21; 35:17; Ezek. 45:21, 23.
2) Festival of Booths (or Tabernacles): Lev. 23:34, 39*, 41; Num. 29:12; Deut. 16:14, 31:10; 2
Chron. 5:3, 8:13; Ezra 3:4; Neh. 8:14, 18; Ezek. 45:25; Zech 14:16, 18-19. *We should note
here that in this verse only the 1st and 8th days of the festival are called "sabbaths."5
3) Feast of Weeks: Deut. 16:10, 16; 2 Chron. 8:13.6
Whereas, in Lev. 23:24 the Festival of Trumpets is called a "sabbath" and a time for "holy convocation" (see also Num 29:1).
A thought occurred to me as I progressed in this study that perhaps it is our "Greek," or Western, minds which see this phrase "an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days" as "denoting a time-progression."7 But, what if it isn't a "time-progression" per se but is rather a listing of ceremonial days? As Dunn has observed: "the three terms together, "sabbaths, new moons, and feasts" was in fact a regular way of speaking of the main festivals of Jewish religion."7 Bacchiocchi suggests that it is both a time sequence and a listing of festivals.8 Then when the two points above are tied together then what we have in vs. 16 is a listing: the feasts, the new moon and the sabbatical days of the feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement. To me this is the only option that answers all the objections given above and below.
If the Greek word "sabbatwn" is taken to be the seventh-day Sabbath then one has to explain what it is about the Sabbath that points to the future (see the future aspect to the present tense in vs. 17); whereas all previous mentions of the seventh-day Sabbath (in the Ten Commandments) point to the past. Giem makes two points relative to this: 1) "in Heb 10:1 the law is spoken of as having a "shadow" (skian) of "the good things to come" (ton mellonton agathon)." and 2) "if the Passover also had a dual function, pointing both backwards (Exod 12:11-17) and forwards (1 Cor 5:7), so why not the sabbath?"9 Of course, the burden of proving this would lie with those making the claim. To date the continuous and conspicuous absence of evidence is quite compelling.
However, as Burnside has noted, almost two hundred years ago, the seventh-day Sabbath "never was a shadow, of which Christ was the body, as the new moons and all the ordinances of the ceremonial law were; and therefore it is of these, and of these only, that the apostle shows himself to be speaking."10 Gill, commenting on verse 17, points out that these ceremonial sabbaths were shadows of future things; this observation is of great importance to understanding what days are being referred to by the word "sabbatwn." Gill then claims that the seventh-day Sabbath is a "type of that spiritual rest we have in Christ now, and of that eternal rest we shall have with him in heaven hereafter." While he provides no textual support for any of these claims it seems safe for us to assume a reference to such texts as Heb. 4:9. But, it should be noted that the seventh-day Sabbath was instituted before the fall, that is, "before types were necessary or possible".11 However, couldn't it be possible for the seventh-day Sabbath to "pick up" such a "role" at a later date? Of course, the onus of proving such a point would lie with those making such a claim and they would have to present concrete evidence to support it.12 But, if "sabbatwn" is referring to the ceremonial sabbaths of the feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement then there is no problem.
Wood cites the commentary by Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown which noted that the annual sabbaths "of the day of atonement and feast of tabernacles have come to an end with the Jewish services to which they belonged (Leviticus xxiii. 32, 37-39)," but "the weekly Sabbath rests on a more permanent foundation, having been instituted in Paradise to commemorate the completion of creation in six days."13 The J-F-B Commentary states that "sabbatwn" refers to the sabbaths "of the day of atonement and feast of tabernacles".14 Fausset then goes on to state that "Lev xxiii. 38 expressly distinguishes "The Sabbaths of the Lord" from the other Sabbaths."15
It should also be noted that while the word "sabbatwn" is plural here it often stands for the singular; this brings it into line with the words "eating," "drinking," "holy day," and "new moon" all of which are in the singular.16
Buzzard has astutely observed that "[i]f it is to be argued that Paul was warning the Colossians against a perversion of the days and not the days themselves, then the fact must be faced that all three types of days are equally relevant to Gentile Christians. The mention of all three forms of observance must, on the sabbatarian argument, mean that the Colossians were already observing all three types, and had therefore been taught to observe them by Paul. Only then could the heretics impose something in addition to the days."17
1. Hasel, Gerhard F. "Sabbath," Anchor Bible Dictionary. Vol. 5 (Doubleday, 1992): page 855. Back to text
2. A fact overlooked by Cocherell, B. L. "Introduction and Overview to Commanded Observances and Holy Convocations," http://www.bibleresearch.org/observancebook5/b5w1.html. Back to text
3. Richardson [(1960) page 74]; see also Coltheart [ibid., page 21], Paulien [ibid., page 4], Walter, Fred "Questions & Answers," Bible Advocate (May 1982): page 13, and MacArthur, John "Are the Sabbath laws binding on Christians today?," page 1. Back to text
4. Contra Canright [ibid., page 2] who makes the wild claim that the term "heorte" and new moon "include all the holy days of the Jews except the weekly Sabbath; hence there was nothing left to which it ["sabbatwn"] could apply but that Sabbath." A similar claim is made by Hafley [ibid., page 1], Barth [ibid., page 339], and Newman [ibid., page 5]. When Bornkamm, [Gunther "The Heresy of Colossians," Conflict at Colossae. (SBL, 1973): page 131] refers the reader to Gal. 4:10 and compares it with Col. 2:16 he drops the reference to "heorte" completely! See Eadie, [ibid., page 177] who says that feast "refers, as is plain from the contrast, to the great annual feasts of the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles." So, what about the feast of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement? Likewise, Thomas [ibid., page 90] when he tells the reader that this is "a reference to the annual festivals of the Jews, such as Passover ...". What about the rest? Oddly, the SDA Bible Commentary [ibid., page 205] includes the Day of Atonement as one of those feasts referred to by this term thereby indicating that they didn't look at how "heorte" was used. Back to text
5. Contra Cleveland, [Sydney "Why Sunday? A Brief Look at Why Most Christians Worship on Sunday," page 10] who over-states the case when he wrote: "All Jewish religious feasts and festivals were called "Sabbath" because they were times of rest from daily work." Back to text
6. The KJV text for all the uses of "heorte" can be found in Table 3. heorte" is not used in that chapter to refer to either the Day of Atonement or the feast of Trumpets! Then on the next page he names the feasts with these two again not being mentioned! And then he looks at verses 24-5 and says that Paul "has this observance in mind when he uses the phrase 'new moons'." Isn't the new moon monthly vs. yearly? Back to text
7. Coltheart [ibid., page 20]. Back to text
8. Dunn [ibid., page 175]. Back to text
9. Bacchiocchi [(1988):116]. Back to text
10. Giem [ibid., page 208]. Back to text
11. Burnside, Robert Remarks on the Weekly Sabbath. (1825). Online at Chapter 6 "Differences of Opinion Concerning the Supposed Repeal of the Seventh-day Weekly Sabbath," page 6. Back to text
12. The Law Nailed To Cross Back to text
13. For instance Segraves, Daniel L."Why Don't Christians obverve the Jewish Sabbath?," page 8, claims that the Sabbath "was predictive of the coming Messiah"; the absence of proof is quite compelling. Back to text
14. Wood [ibid., page 340]. Back to text
15. Fausset, A. R. "1 Corinthians - Revelation," A Commentary: Critical, Experimental, and Practical on the Old and New Testaments. Vol. 3 (Eerdmans, 1978 reprint) page 448. Back to text
16. Fausset [ibid., pages 448-9]. Back to text
17. Wood [page 341] who cites A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research. [pages 95 and 105]; Richardson [(1960): 75]. Back to text
18. Buzzard ["Sabbath Question," page 2]. Back to text
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