20:8 Sabbath. The Hebrew word (shabbat) apparently derives from the verb meaning “to cease”—the Sabbath being the day that regular labor ceased. Exodus cites God’s work of creation as the basis for the command (v. 11), while Deuteronomy bases the Sabbath ordinance on the deliverance from Egypt (Deut. 5:12 and note). The Sabbath ordinance is rooted in both the orders of creation and of redemption—it looks backward to God’s good creation (Gen. 2:2, 3) and forward to the final redemptive Sabbath rest for God’s people (Heb. 4:1–11). Just as circumcision was the sign of the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 17), so the Sabbath becomes the sign of the Sinai covenant (31:13), reminding God’s people of their place within God’s purposes for creation and of their salvation from physical bondage in Egypt. Ultimately, the Sabbath points to Christ, our Creator and Redeemer, who brings rest to the people of God (Matt. 11:28; Col. 2:16, 17).