Exodus 23:12

12 "You should work six days a week, but on the seventh day you must rest. This lets your ox and your donkey rest, and it also lets the slave born in your house and the foreigner be refreshed.

Exodus 23:12 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 23:12

Six days thou shalt do thy work
That is, they might do what work they would on the six days of the week:

and on the seventh day thou shall rest;
from all the work and labour done on other days, and give up themselves to religious exercises:

that thine ox and thine ass may rest;
and so every other beast, as horses, camels

and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed;
the former, the Targum of Jonathan, and so Jarchi, interprets, of one uncircumcised, and the latter, of a proselyte of the gate: this law is here repeated, partly to show that it is of the same kind with the former, namely, ceremonial and temporary; and partly, as Jarchi observes, lest it should be said, since all, the year is called the sabbath, there was no need to observe the weekly sabbath.

Exodus 23:12 In-Context

10 "For six years you are to plant and harvest crops on your land.

11 Then during the seventh year, do not plow or plant your land. If any food grows there, allow the poor people to have it, and let the wild animals eat what is left. You should do the same with your vineyards and your orchards of olive trees.

12 "You should work six days a week, but on the seventh day you must rest. This lets your ox and your donkey rest, and it also lets the slave born in your house and the foreigner be refreshed.

13 "Be sure to do all that I have said to you. You must not even say the names of other gods; those names must not come out of your mouth.

14 "Three times each year you must hold a feast to honor me