31:13 “Tell the Israelites, ‘Surely you must keep my Sabbaths,14 for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.15
sn The instruction for the Sabbath at this point seems rather abrupt, but it follows logically the extended plans of building the sanctuary. B. Jacob, following some of the earlier treatments, suggests that these are specific rules given for the duration of the building of the sanctuary (Exodus, 844). The Sabbath day is a day of complete cessation; no labor or work could be done. The point here is that God’s covenant people must faithfully keep the sign of the covenant as a living commemoration of the finished work of Yahweh, and as an active part in their sanctification. See also H. Routtenberg, “The Laws of Sabbath: Biblical Sources,” Dor le Dor 6 (1977): 41–43, 99–101, 153–55, 204–6; G. Robinson, “The Idea of Rest in the OT and the Search for the Basic Character of Sabbath,” ZAW 92 (1980): 32–42; M. Tsevat, “The Basic Meaning of the Biblical Sabbath, ZAW 84 (1972): 447–59; M. T. Willshaw, “A Joyous Sign,” ExpTim 89 (1978): 179–80.