Bible Discussion Thread

Can you translate....? abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

In this passage of Scripture, we see the children of Israel on their march from the bondage of Egypt towards Canaan, the Promised Land. They complained to Moses & Aaron about the lack of food & water. God then provided them manna & quails daily for them to gather sufficient for each family for each day of the week. Any left over till the following day, would spoil. However, on the sixth day they were to gather enough for two days as the following day would be the Sabbath of Rest when no work could be done.

So this solemn instruction that you read in verse 29, is simply to tell the people to obey the Lord in the gathering of this food prior to the Sabbath, that they should "abide (remain) in his house" or near it & not "go out of his place" (i.e. to leave home looking for food on the Sabbath, as there would be none).

Sorry In reference to this precept

let no man go out of his place on the seventh day

Link

Does this mean we are to stay in a house on the Sabbath without leaving unless it's emergency?

For the Jews & those today (me excluded) who believe in maintaining the Sabbath Day, then there's no stipulation about remaining in one's house. The Jewish leaders of Jesus' day decreed that a Jew could walk (not ride a donkey) from their 'city limits' as far as 2000 cubits (= 3,500 ft, or 0.6 mile) on the Sabbath. Then some others proposed a further law: that if there were houses within that distance of .6 mile, then if the distance between each house was no more than 112 ft, then one could keep walking. This means, if a Jew planned his trip well, he could actually travel between two cities or communities if there were some appropriately placed houses in-between.

So if you believe that you need to "keep the Sabbath", then there should be no problem about moving about, whether around your home or within the city. The key feature of the Sabbath was that no manual work was to be performed or any engagement in buying or selling of goods. And certainly in an emergency or doing another some good, Jesus gave the authority to reach out & to work ( Matthew 12:10-14).