Big Ideas · 21 · Yhwh and His People
History's first weekly rest, for animals too
The Covenant Code requires rest on the seventh day so that even your ox and donkey, your servant's son, and the foreigner may be refreshed.
Rest is a right, not a reward.
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This early code also treats mother and father equally: striking or cursing either carries the same penalty. Yet it has deeply disturbing elements too, like leniency toward the abuse of slaves.
Bible reference: Exodus 23:12; 21:15–17
Source: Why the Bible Began, pp. 339
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