When Is the Sabbath According to the Bible?
The Biblical truth on the true Sabbath day revealed from the Bible and history. Where in the Bible do we find one single legitimate scripture stating the Sabbath is changed to Sunday?
The real Bible truth on when is the Sabbath day 
Some Christians today are exhorting the Sabbath was changed to Sunday because they claim the New Testament Church worshipped habitually on the first day of the week. Acts 20:7 is the most commonly quoted scripture to support this argument, yet the truth is that this meeting did not fall on what we call a Sunday at all. What does the Bible really reveal about these first day of the week scriptures and does the phrase breaking bread always apply to communion? You are about learn several reasons why it is absolutely impossible for any of the first day of the week texts to be referring to the Lord’s Sabbath. All the relevant first day of the week scriptures and Sabbath to Sunday arguments are covered in detail. So read on to find out “what day is the Sabbath” from both the Bible and history.
To help find the answer to this question it is necessary to first prove when the Sabbath was created and first kept. The word translated “rested” in our English Bibles in Genesis 2:3 is actually “shabath” in the Hebrew and means Sabbath. Besides this evidence, God also said the Sabbath “is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever…” Before we continue with this scripture, note the reason why and when God made the Sabbath from the remainder of this verse. It was because, “…in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.” Exodus 31:17. So the Sabbath did exist from the beginning before sin and before Jews.
Some say the Sabbath was only for the Jews and that there is no record of the Sabbath being kept before the giving of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 20. Yet we find in Exodus 16 that God tested Israel (these were not Jews) if they would keep His Sabbath and more specifically, on the Seventh day. When they didn’t, God accused them of breaking all His Commandments and laws. What Commandments and laws if there is no mention of them been given yet? How could they be breaking the Sabbath and every other Commandment if they had not been given? Clearly they had been but not yet codified. There may be no written Bible record of them been given before Exodus 20 but the evidence is there that they certainly knew them and were keeping them. In Genesis 4:3-7, Cain brings an offering from the ground which represented righteousness by works and so God was angry with him but Abel brought the firstborn of his flock as a sin offering which represents righteousness by faith. You cannot have a sin offering unless there is a law. In verse 7, God says to Cain that sin is lying at the door. It is not possible for sin to exist where there is no law. Romans 4:15 teaches, “for where no law is, there is no transgression.” We are also told, “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4. And this principle is amplified further by Paul’s statement in Romans 7:7 which says “I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” So the Commandments although not yet codified had to exist since creation or Cain could not have been guilty of murder. And what about Abraham? If there were no Commandments or laws given before Exodus 20, or in the book of Genesis, then what exactly is that God says Abraham was keeping when He says he kept His Commandments, statutes and laws? Genesis 26:5 “Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.” Joseph also revealed that he was aware of that same law. He said to Potiphar’s wife, “how then can I do this great wickedness, and SIN against God.” Genesis 39:9. Joseph knew that adultery was sin. The Commandments may not yet have been codified but they had certainly been given and were obviously been kept. Don’t let anyone try to tell you otherwise!
Did you know there are more than one hundred languages in the world where Saturday is still called the Sabbath day just as God named it at creation? This can be traced all the way back to the tower of Babel in Genesis 11 where Saturday was understood to be the Sabbath day and so was incorporated into the very name of the day.
Weekly language table showing the true Sabbath day
Note that the name of the Seventh day means “Sabbath” unless otherwise stated. (Excludes English and Latin names that originate from paganism)
Compiled by Dr. William Meade Jones, 1887
| Language | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th Day Name |
| Amharic, Abyssinia (Nearly related to Ge-ez) |
One | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Eve (of Sabbath) | san-bat Sabbath |
| Ancient Syriac Each day proceeds on and belongs to the Sabbath | One into Sabbath | Two into Sabbath | Three into Sabbath | Four into Sabbath | Five into Sabbath | Eve (of Sabbath) | Shab-ba-tho |
| Arabic (Ancient and Modern) West Asia, E,W & N Africa | The One | The Two | The Three | The Four | The Fifth | Assembly (day, Muham) | as-sabt The Sabbath |
| Arabic (Very old names) | Business Day | Light Moon | War Chief | Turning Day or Midweek | Familiar or Society Day | Eve (of Sabbath) | Shi-yar Chief or Rejoicing Day |
| Assyrian Euphrates and Tigris Valleys, Mesopotamia | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | sa-ba-tu Sabbath |
| Babylonian (Written language 3800 B.C.) Euphrates & Tigris Valleys Mesopotamia | First | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | Sa-ba-tu |
| Chaldee Syriac Kurdistan and Urdmia, Persia | One into Sabbath | Two into Sabbath | Three into Sabbath | Four into Sabbath | Five into Sabbath | Eve (of Sabbath) | Shap-ta |
| Coptic / Egypt (Dead lang. for 200 years) |
The First Day | The 2nd Day | The 3rd Day | The 4th Day | The 5th Day | The 6th Day | pi sabbaton The Sabbath |
| Falasha (Language of the Jews of Abyssinia) | One | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Sixth | yini sanbat The Sabbath |
| Ge-ez or Ethiopic Abyssinia (Ge-ez signifies “original”) | One (day) | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Eve (of Sabbath) | san-bat Sabbath |
| Hausa (Central Africa) | The One (1st) | The Two (2nd) | The Three (3rd) | The Four (4th) | The Fifth | The Assembly | assebatu The Sabbath |
| Hebrew (Ancient and Modern) |
One into the Sabbath | Second into the Sabbath | Third into the Sabbath | Fourth into the Sabbath | Fifth into the Sabbath | Eve of Holy Sabbath | Shab-bath |
| Kabyle or Berber (Ancient Numidian) North Africa | Day the One (First) | Day the Two (2nd) | Day the Three (3rd) | Day the Four (4th) | Day the Fifth | The Assembly Day | ghas or wars assebt The Sabbath Day |
| Maltese, Malta | One (day) | Two (and day) | The 3 (3rd d.) | The 4 (4th d.) | Fifth (day) | Assembly | Is-sibt. The Sabbath |
| Orma or Galla South of Abyssinia (This language has two sets of names, the first being the oldest) | Lady, Virgin Mary Day. Great or Festival Sabbath | Second day. First Trade Day | 3rd Day to the Sabbath. Second Trade Day | 4th day to the Sabbath. Fourth (day) | Fifth (day) | Assembly (day) | Last day of the half-week inclusive of 4th day Little or Humble or Solemn Sabbath (A day of no ceremonial display and no work) |
| Pashto or Afghan Afghanistan | One to the Sabbath | Two to Sabbath | Three to Sabbath | Four to Sabbath | Five to Sabbath | Assembly (day) | khali - Unemployed-day, Shamba - Sabbath |
| Samaritan (Old Hebrew Letters) Nablus, Palestine | Day One | Day Second | Day Third | Day Fourth | Day Fifth | Day Sixth | Shab-bath |
| Shemitic Hebrew Bible world-wide | Day One | Day Second | Day Third | Day Fourth | Day Fifth | Day the Sixth | Yom hash-shab-bath Day the Sabbath |
| Tamashek or Towarek (From ancient Lybian or Numidian) Atlas Mountains, Africa. | First day | Second day | Third day | Fourth day | Fifth day | Assembly Day | a-hal es-sabt The Sabbath Day |
| Targum Dialect of the Jews in Kurdistan | Day One of the Seven | Day 2nd of the Seven | Day 3rd of the Seven | Day 4th of the Seven | Day 5th of the Seven | Day of Eve (of Sabbath) | yoy-met sha-bat kodesh Holy Sabbath Day |
| Targum of Onkelos (Hebrew Literature) | Day One | Day Second | Day Third | Day Fourth | Day Fifth | Day the Sixth | Yom hash-shab-bath Day the Sabbath |
| Tigre Abyssinia (Closely related to Ge-ez) |
One (First day) | Second | Third | Fourth | Fifth | Eve (of Sabbath) | san-bat Sabbath |
| Urdu or Hindustani (2 day names) (Muhammadan and Hindu, India) | One to Sabbath Sunday | 2nd to Sabbath Moon-day | 3rd to Sabbath Mars | 4th to Sabbath Mercury | 5th to Sabbath (Eve of Juma) | Assembly (day) | shamba - Sabbath sanichar - Saturn |
| English (Pagan names) | Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday |
| French | dimanche | lundi | mardi | mercredi | jeudi | vendredi | Samedi Sabbath day |
| German | sonntag | montag | dienstag | mittwoch | donnerstag | freitag | Samstag |
| Greek | Sabbaton | ||||||
| Italian | domenica | lunedì | martedì | mercoledì | giovedì | venerdì | Sabbato |
| Latin | dies Solis | dies Lunae | dies Martis | dies Mercurĭi | dies Jovis | dies Venĕris | dies Saturni |
| Latin (Italy) | dominica | feria secunda | feria tertia | feria quarta | feria quinta | feria sexta | Sabbatum |
| Polish | niedziela | poniedzialek | wtorek | środa | czwartek | Piątek | Sobota |
| Portuguese | domingo | segunda-feira | terça-feira | quarta-feira | quinta-feira | sexta-feira | Sabbado |
| Russian | voskresenye | ponedelnik | vtornik | sreda | chetverg | pyatnitsa | Subbota |
| Spanish | domingo | lunes | martes | miércoles | jueves | viernes | Sábado |
Language List
Below you will find most of the one hundred plus languages where Saturday is still called the Sabbath that dates back to the tower of Babel in Genesis chapter 11 where God confused the languages and Saturday was understood to be the Sabbath day and was incorporated into the name of the day. Note carefully the names of the week days for the older languages. This is also extremely relevant information for proving what day is the Sabbath and that the Sabbath was not changed to Sunday in the Bible.
| Language | Word for Saturday/7thDay | Meaning |
| Abyssinian | Sanbat | Sabbath |
| Afaghan | Shamba | Sabbath |
| Ancient Syriac | Shab-ba-tho | Sabbath |
| Arabic | Assabt | The Sabbath |
| Arabic (Very old names) | Shi-yar | Chief or rejoicing day |
| Armenian (Armenia) | Shapat | Sabbath |
| Babylonian Syriac (A Very Old Language) | Sa-Ba-tu | Sabbath |
| Bohemian | Sobota | Sabbath |
| Bulgarian (Bulgaria) | Subbota | Sabbath |
| Chaldee Syriac (Kurdistan,Urumia,Persia) | Shaptu | Sabbath |
| Congo (West Equatorial Africa) | Sabbado or Kiansbula | Sabbath |
| Coptic (Egypt) | Pi sabbaton | the Sabbath |
| D'oc. French (ancient and modern) | Dissata | Day Sabbath |
| Ecclesiastical Roman (Italy) | Sabbatum | Sabbath |
| Ethiopic (Abyssinia) | San-bat | Sabbath |
| French (France) | Samedi | Sabbath day |
| Greek | Sabbaton | Sabbath |
| Hausa (Central Africa) | Assebatu | the Sabbath |
| Hebrew | Shabbath | Sabbath |
| High German (Germany) | Samstag | Sabbath |
| Hindustani | Shamba | Sabbath |
| Illyrian (Dalmatia, Servia) | Subota | Sabbath |
| Italian (Italy) | Sabbato | Sabbath |
| Kabyle (North Africa, Ancient Numidan) | Ghas assebt | the Sabbath day |
| Kazani - TARTAR (East Russia) | Subbota | Sabbath |
| Kurdish (Kurdistan) | Shamba | Sabbath |
| Latin (Italy) | Sabbatum | Sabbath |
| Lusatian (Saxony) | Sobota | Sabbath |
| Malay | Ari-Sabtu | Day Sabbath |
| Maltese (Malta) | Is-sibt | the Sabbath |
| Ndebele (Zimbabwe) | Sabatha | Sabbath |
| New Slovenian (Illyria, in Austria) | Sobota | Sabbath |
| Norman French (10th -11th Centuries) | Sabbedi | Sabbath Day |
| Orma (South of Abyssiania) | Zam-ba-da | Sabbath |
| Osmanlian (Turkey) | Yome-es-sabt | day of the Sabbath |
| Pahlivi (ancient Persian) | Shambid | Sabbath |
| Pasto (Afghanistan) | Shamba | Sabbath (pleasantest day of the week) |
| Persian | Shambin | Sabbath |
| Persian (Persia) | Shambah | Sabbath |
| Polish | Sobota | Sabbath |
| Portuguese (Portugal) | Sabbado | Sabbath |
| Prussian (Prussia) | Sabatico | Sabbath |
| Roman (Sapin, Catalonia) | Dissapte | Day Sabbath |
| Russian (Russia) | Subbota | Sabbath |
| Shona (Zimbabwe) | Sabata | Sabbath |
| Spanish (Spain) | Sábado | Sabbath |
| Tamashek (Atlas mountains, Africa) | A-hal es-sabt | the Sabbath |
| Turkish | Yomessabt | Day Sabbath |
| Wallachian (Roumania or Wallachia) | Sambata | Sabbath |
| Wolof (Senegambia, West Africa) | Alere-Asser | Last Day Sabbath |
| Miscellaneous Middle Ages Languages | ||
| Bagrimma (central Africa) | Sibbedi | Sabbath |
| Bornu (central Africa) | Assebdu | The Sabbath |
| Dayak (Borneo) | Sabtu | Sabbath |
| Georgian (Caucasus) | Shabati | Sabbath |
| Ingoush (Caucasus) | Shatt | Sabbath |
| Javanese (Java) | Saptoe or saptu | Sabbath |
| Logone (central Africa) | Se-sibde | The Sabbath |
| Maba (central Africa) | Sab | Sabbath |
| Makassar (s. Celebes & Salayer islands) | Sattu | Sabbath |
| Malagassy (Madagascar) | Alsabotsy | The Sabbath |
| Malayan (Malaya, Sumatra) | Hari sabtu | day Sabbath |
| Mandingo (west Africa, s. of Senegal) | Sibiti | Sabbath |
| Permian (Russian) | Subota | Sabbath |
| Suanian (Caucasus) | Sammtyn | Sabbath |
| Swahili (east equatorial Africa) | As-sabt | The Sabbath |
| Teda (central Africa) | Essebdu | The Sabbath |
| Votiak (Russian) | Subbota | Sabbath |
These language tables leave no doubt that the Sabbath falls on the Seventh day of the week in every major language in the world. You will also note that this includes some of the oldest languages known to man. The Babylonian language for example was in use hundreds of years before Abraham founded the Hebrew race. The Seventh day in this Babylonian language was called “sa-ba-tu,” which means rest day or Sabbath and is one more indisputable proof that the Bible Sabbath was not and is not exclusively Jewish. Very few understand that the word Sabbath and the concept of resting from work on the seventh day of the week (Saturday) is common to most of the modern and ancient languages of the world. This evidence is completely independent of scripture and confirms the Biblical teaching that the Seventh-day Sabbath predates Judaism. The concept of a Holy Seventh-day Sabbath rest is practiced, acknowledged, understood and accepted by practically every culture today and can be traced all the way back to Babylon. When studying the many languages of mankind you will find two important facts:
1. There is not one single language which designates another day as the “day of rest.”
2. The last or seventh day of the week in most principal languages is designated as the “Sabbath.”
Lunar Sabbath Heresy
Lunar Sabbaths are a relatively recent end-time deception originating with a single misguided teacher in recent times, and then gradually spreading among those who themselves were also easily deceived. This teaching diverts people from the true Sabbath and serves as a subtle device of the enemy to undermine genuine obedience to God. The result? Your salvation will be lost just as Satan planned when he created this ridiculous theory. Those teaching this heresy claim that the Sabbath is not every seven days, and that is timed by the moon. There is nothing in Scripture that even hints of such a thing, or ever calls it the lunar sabbath or anything similar.
The Bible affirms more than ten times that the Sabbath falls on “the” seventh day. This alone provides more than enough evidence that the Sabbath occurs every seven days, making the lunar-Sabbath theory invalid. God’s people, and the Jewish nation in particular have being counting off the seven-day cycle for thousands of years without interruption. The weekly sequence has never changed. From the very first seventh day that God blessed and sanctified, His people have faithfully kept the unbroken cycle. At no point in history has the weekly sequence been lost. Have you ever heard the excuse from those who don't want to keep the Sabbath: “What if we lost the true Sabbath day?” The only way that could happen is if every Jew on earth overslept for an entire day and no one bothered to tell them.
And most significantly, you DO NOT need a calendar to count to seven! So note carefully: The calendar is irrelevant, and so the Lunar sabbath is heresy!
Even today, the day we call Saturday is still called “Sabbath” in more than 100 languages around the world, just as it was in the time of Genesis 11. See table above. It has never changed throughout all these thousands of years. If it had changed, then throughout the entire Old Testament, right through Christ’s time and beyond, literally billions of people would have been keeping the wrong day. Would God give a commandment and allow the whole world to keep the wrong day for millennia without ever correcting it? Such an idea undermines God’s character and defies sound reasoning.
And yet this is what those who have fallen for the Lunar sabbath heresy would have you believe.
Did you ever see the message God sent through one of more of His prophets in Old Testament times telling His people they were keeping the wrong day? No? Neither did I. And did Christ, when He came, announce that everyone had been observing the wrong day for nearly 4,000 years? No? You will not find that anywhere either.
If the lunar-Sabbath theory were true, or if we had somehow been keeping the wrong day, then this error would stretch all the way back to Genesis. That would mean everyone for the last 6,000 years has kept the wrong day, including the Jews, Jesus, and His disciples. Clearly, this cannot be the case and those taking this path have lost all sense of reality and common sense. Lunar Sabbaths are a very misguided path originating from our adversary, and a recent end-time deception. The true Sabbath is not determined by the moon, it is the seventh-day Sabbath established at Creation. Again, calendars are not required to keep the Sabbath, nor have they ever been. So what day did the first Sabbath fall on? It fell on the seventh day of the very first week, the day that God blessed and sanctified.
Genesis 2:2 “And on the SEVENTH DAY God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.”
Genesis 2:3 “And God blessed the SEVENTH DAY, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”
As you can see, the answer is unmistakably the Seventh day! And needless to say, every seventh day after that. There is NO Scripture that calls the Sabbath the lunar Sabbath. None! Not ever!
Exodus 16:26 “...but on the SEVENTH DAY, which is the sabbath...”
Exodus 16:29 “...the LORD has given you the sabbath...on the SEVENTH DAY.”
Exodus 20:10 “...the SEVENTH DAY is the sabbath of the LORD your God...”
Exodus 20:11 “...rested the SEVENTH DAY...the LORD blessed the sabbath day...”
Exodus 31:15 “...THE SEVENTH is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD...”
Exodus 35:2 “...the SEVENTH DAY...an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD...”
Leviticus 23:3 “...the seventh day...is the sabbath of the LORD...”
Deuteronomy 5:14 “...the SEVENTH DAY is the sabbath of the LORD your God...”
So please allow me say it once again for clarity. If you can count to seven, you cannot go wrong! You do not need a calendar to count to seven or to find the seventh day. Solar calendar, Lunar calendar, it does not matter. It is called the Seventh day Sabbath because it began on the Seventh day of creation, and is every seven days after that.
What day is the Sabbath - Page 2