Exodus 31:14-16

New English Translation

Footnotes

1. Exodus 31:14 tn This clause is all from one word, a Piel plural participle with a third, feminine suffix: מְחַלְלֶיהָ (mekhal^eleha, “defilers of it”). This form serves as the subject of the sentence. The word חָלַל (khalal) is the antonym of קָדַשׁ (qadash, “to be holy”). It means “common, profane,” and in the Piel stem “make common, profane” or “defile.” Treating the Sabbath like an ordinary day would profane it, make it common.
2. Exodus 31:14 tn This is the asseverative use of כִּי (ki) meaning “surely, indeed,” for it restates the point just made (see R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 73, §449).
3. Exodus 31:14 tn Heb “the one who does.”
4. Exodus 31:14 tn “any” has been supplied.
5. Exodus 31:14 tn Literally “her” (a feminine pronoun agreeing with “soul/life,” which is grammatically feminine).
6. Exodus 31:15 tn This is an adverbial accusative of time, indicating that work may be done for six days out of the week.
7. Exodus 31:15 tn The form is a Niphal imperfect; it has the nuance of permission in this sentence, for the sentence is simply saying that the six days are work days—that is when work may be done.
8. Exodus 31:15 tn The expression is שַׁבַּת שַׁבָּתוֹן (shabbat shabbaton), “a Sabbath of entire rest,” or better, “a sabbath of complete desisting” (U. Cassuto, Exodus, 404). The second noun, the modifying genitive, is an abstract noun. The repetition provides the superlative idea that complete rest is the order of the day.