Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Yitzhak Sapir" <yitzhaksapir AT gmail.com>]

On 10/24/07, Yaakov Stein wrote:

> But if the only meaning was not to plough or harvest,
> then there are 27 other verbs that could have been used
> for actions that are not to be performed on the Sabbath.

If this 27 is a typo for 37 (that is, 39 types of work except
for harvesting and plowing), you should remember that this
division into 39 types is Rabbinic.

Interestingly, the Masad Hashavyahu ostracon contains a
mention of both the Sabbath and harvest.

Yitzhak Sapir