Sabbath-Day's Journey

Sabbath-Day’s Journey (Act 1:12), the distance which the Jews were permitted to journey from and return to their places of residence upon the Sabbath-day (Exo 16:29). There is some diversity of sentiment with respect to the precise distance indicated. But taking all circumstances into account, it seems likely that the ordinary Sabbath-day’s journey was a somewhat loosely determined distance, seldom more than the whole and seldom less than three-quarters of a geographical mile.

Sabbath-day’s Journey. Act 1:12. The law, as regards travel on the Sabbath, is found in Exo 16:29. As some departure from a man’s own place was unavoidable, it was thought necessary to determine the allowable amount, which was fixed at 2000 paces, or about six furlongs from the wall of the city. The permitted distance seems to have been grounded on the space to be kept between the Ark and the people, Jos 3:4, in the wilderness, which tradition said was that between the Ark and the tents. We find the same distance given, as the circumference outside the walls of the Levitical cities, to be counted as their suburbs. Num 33:5 The terminus a quo was, thus, not a man’s own house, but the wall of the city where he dwelt.

This is mentioned as the greatest distance a Jew was allowed to travel on the Sabbath. There is no injunction as to this in the law, but when some of the people went out to gather manna on the Sabbath, Moses enjoined, "Abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day." Exo 16:29. In N.T. times it was understood that a person might travel two thousand cubits (about five furlongs); this extent had been fixed on because when the Israelites were marching they were commanded to keep the above named distance from the ark, and it was concluded that when they were encamped, there was the same distance between the tabernacle and the tents, and that this space was constantly travelled for worship. When they were in the land the distance was reckoned from the gate of the city from which the traveller started. Act 1:12. The Lord perhaps referred to this custom when He bade the disciples pray that, in the judgement of Jerusalem, their flight should not be "on the Sabbath-day." Mat 24:20.

SABBATH DAY’S JOURNEY.—See preceding art. and Travel.

SABBATH DAY’S JOURNEY.—See Weights and Measures, I.

jûr´ni (σαββάτου ὁδός, sabbátou hodós): Used only in Act 1:12, where it designates the distance from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives, to which Jesus led His disciples on the day of His ascension. The expression comes from rabbinical usage to indicate the distance a Jew might travel on the Sabbath without transgressing the Law, the command against working on that day being interpreted as including travel (see Exo 16:27-30). The limit set by the rabbis to the Sabbath day’s journey was 2,000 cubits from one’s house or domicile, which was derived from the statement found in Jos 3:4 that this was the distance between the ark and the people on their march, this being assumed to be the distance between the tents of the people and the tabernacle during the sojourn in the wilderness. Hence, it must have been allowable to travel thus far to attend the worship of the tabernacle. We do not know when this assumption in regard to the Sabbath day’s journey was made, but it seems to have been in force in the time of Christ. The distance of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem is stated in Josephus (Ant., XX, viii, 6) to have been five stadia or furlongs and in BJ, V, ii, 3, six stadia, the discrepancy being explained by supposing a different point of departure. This would make the distance of the Sabbath day’s journey from 1,000 to 1,200 yards, the first agreeing very closely with the 2,000 cubits. The rabbis, however, invented a way of increasing this distance without technically infringing the Law, by depositing some food at the 2,000-cubit limit, before the Sabbath, and declaring that spot a temporary domicile. They might then proceed 2,000 cubits from this point without transgressing the Law.

And in some cases even this intricacy of preparation was unnecessary. If, for instance, the approach of the Sabbath found one on his journey, the traveler might select some tree or some stone wall at a distance of 2,000 paces and mentally declare this to be his residence for the Sabbath, in which case he was permitted to go the 2,000 paces to the selected tree or wall and also 2,000 paces beyond, but in such a case he must do the work thoroughly and must say: “Let my Sabbath residence be at the trunk of that tree,” for if he merely said: “Let my Sabbath residence be under that tree,” this would not be sufficient, because the, expression would be too general and indefinite (Tractate ‛Ērūbhı̄n Jos 4:7).

Other schemes for extending the distance have been devised, such as regarding the quarter of the town in which one dwells, or the whole town itself, as the domicile, thus allowing one to proceed from any part of the town to a point 2,000 cubits beyond its utmost limits. This was most probably the case with walled towns, at least, and boundary stones have been found in the vicinity of Gaza with inscriptions supposed to mark these limits. The 2,000-cubit limits around the Levitical cities (Num 35:5) may have suggested the limit of the Sabbath day’s journey also. The term came to be used as a designation of distance which must have been more or less definite.