or the day of rest, a solemn festival of the Jews, on the seventh day of the week, or Saturday, beginning from sunset on Friday, to sunset on Saturday.

The observation of the Sabbath began with the world: for God having employed six days in its creation, appointed the seventh as a day of rest to be observed by man, in commemoration of that great event. On this day the Jews were commanded to abstain from all labour, and to give rest to their cattle. They were not allowed to go out of the city farther than two thousand cubits, or a mile; a custom which was founded on the distance of the ark from the tents of the Israelites, in the wilderness, after their leaving Egypt; for being permitted to go, even on the sabbath-day, to the tabernacle to pray, they from thence inferred, that the taking a journey of no greater length, tho' on a different account, could not be a breach of the sabbatical rest.

As the seventh day was a day of rest to the people, so was the seventh year to the land; it being unlawful in this year to plow or sow, and whatever the earth produced belonged to the poor: this was called the sabbatical year. The Jews, therefore, were obliged, during the six years, and more especially the last, to lay up a sufficient store for the sabbatical year.

The modern, as well as the ancient, Jews, are very superstitious in the observance of the sabbath; they carry neither arms, nor gold nor silver about them, and are permitted neither to touch these, nor a candle, nor anything belonging to the fire; on which account they light up lamps on Friday, which burn till the end of the Sabbath.