The First Creation account as allegorical prose based on the number seven
Summary: The first creation story in the Torah is not a scientific account but a poetic narrative emphasizing the order, purpose, and divine design of the universe, centered around the symbolic use of numbers—especially six and seven, which represented natural and divine perfection in the ancient world. Each day of creation follows a deliberate structure showing how domains (like land, sea, and sky) were formed and then filled with life, culminating in the creation of humans, who, while biologically close to animals, are uniquely made in the "image of God" with moral and spiritual faculties. The Sabbath is portrayed as an integral and sanctified part of creation itself, embedded within a poetic structure marked by repeated sevens to emphasize its holiness and divine origin. Ultimately, the chapter communicates that creation was not random but a divinely orchestrated process aimed at preparing the world for human life and spiritual purpose. The universal and particularistic aspects of the Sabbath are also discussed.
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Counterintuitive as it may seem, the first creation story is not primarily about the details of how the universe was created. Rather, it illustrates the principles underlying Elohim’s creation of the world, namely its order, design and purpose, and His ceasing from creative activity on the seventh day. It is also written as an exquisitely constructed poem constructed around numbers six and seven.
Arithmetic, algebra, and geometry were invented by the ancient Egyptians and Babylonians in around 3000 BCE, and were used for their engineering, astronomy, and everyday commerce. Meaning was also assigned to certain numbers. The number seven represented the perfection of the Divine. Although used extensively in the Torah, the number seven was not initially a Jewish concept, and was also used in relation to pagan gods.
For example, the ziggurat in Babylon, on which the biblical tower of Babylon story is likely based, had seven stories. On the seventh story, closest to the heavens, was the temple of Marduk, the chief god of Babylon. The Armana letters found in an archive in Egypt and written on clay tablets between about 1360 to 1332 BCE consist primarily of 382 diplomatic correspondences between the Egyptian administration in the New Kingdom and its representatives in Canaan and Amurua and between neighboring kingdom leaders. Two of the letters mention the writer falling before the Egyptian Pharaoh seven times seven i.e., 49 times, thereby acknowledging the divinity of the Pharaoh.1 The Gilgamesh myth, soon to be discussed, mentions the number seven a number of times. Some may be no more than indicative of a week, but others have religious significance in that the hero of the myth, Utnapishtim, offers sacrifices with the contents of the jars in groups of seven after his delivery from the flood.
Many people are unaware that the opening sentence of the first creation story, which is of course the first sentence of the Torah, contains seven Hebrew words:
Bereishis boro Elohim et hashomayim ve’et ha’aretz — In the beginning, Elohim created the heaven and the earth (Genesis 1:1).
The second sentence of the Torah contains 14 words, a multiple of seven (2 x 7):
Veha’aretz hayeto tohu vovohu vechoshech al pnei tehom veru’ach Elokim merachefet al pnei hamayim — And the earth was without form (tohu), and void (vohu); and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters (ibid 1:2).
The text is subtly indicating in this first sentence that every aspect of the universe was created by the One God Who is represented in a literary form by the number seven. Similarly, the second sentence tells us that the disorder and chaos characterizing the beginning of the earth was also created by Elohim. These two sentences are also indicative of creatio ex nihilo, the concept that matter is not eternal without a beginning or end but was formed by a Divine creative act.
It is worth noting parenthetically that the opening sentence of the Bible has unusual wording, in that its first word bereishit is in the construct form, meaning “in the beginning of . . . ” However, the subject of the “of” is missing! The usual way of saying “in the beginning” in Hebrew is not bereishit but barishona, meaning first of all.
Many Jewish commentators consider this first sentence as a general introduction to the creation story with an implied subject — i.e., “In the beginning of [everything].” Another way of looking at it is as a wake-up sentence: “In the beginning of, God created the heaven and the earth.” What do you mean “in the beginning of”? In the beginning of what? “In the beginning [of everything]” of course!
Just as the presence of the Divine was conceptualized in the ancient world by the number seven, so the natural world was represented by the numbers six and 60. Six is a perfect number, in that the addition or multiplication of its integers is equal to 6, i.e., 1+2+3=6 and 1x2x3=6.
We have a vestige of this system today in our 24-hour day (6 x 4). There is no scientific reason that the number of hours in a day should be a multiple of six. It is a made-up construct based on an ancient convention.
A sexagesimal system, i.e., a number system based on 60 (which is also 6 x 10), was also used in the ancient world. Vestiges of this system are our 60-minute hour, 360-degree circle (60 x 6), and 180-degree triangle (60 x 3). Again, there is no underlying scientific reason that any of these should be integers of 60.
We now know, of course, that the universe was created in billions of years and not in six days. Nor is there any scientific significance in subdividing the creation of the universe into six phases. Rather, this chapter is describing in poetic form the order and design that typified the creation of the natural world and the creation of man. It is also directing us to the seventh day of creation using a numerical system whose meaning would have been familiar to people living at the time Moses received the Torah.
The days of creation
The Bible’s description of each day of creation has a fairly consistent format. Day 3 is a typical example:
Elohim said, "Let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered to one place, that the dry land may appear"; and it was so. Elohim called the dry land "earth", and to the gathering of waters He called "seas." And Elohim saw that it was good. And Elohim said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation (desheh), herbage (eysev) yielding seed, and fruit trees producing fruit each according to its kind, containing its own seed on the earth;" and it was so. And the earth sprouted vegetation (desheh), herbage (eysev) yielding seed according to its kind, and trees bearing fruit, each containing its seed after its kind. And Elohim saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, a third day (Genesis 1:9-13).
First Elohim speaks. But who is He speaking to? There is no one around to listen! The presumption must be that this soliloquy is more in the way of God planning than talking. Many of the classic Jewish commentators interpret it as an expression of God’s purposeful will.2
There then follows the details of God’s will — let the waters beneath the heavens be gathered and let the dry land appear. There is also within the third day of creation the notion that the earth does its own creating — “And Elohim said, ‘Let the earth sprout vegetation (desheh), herbage (eysev) yielding seed. . . .” (Ibid 1:24) This is also apparent on the fifth day of creation with the seas and firmament when God said: “Let the waters teem with creeping living creatures. . . .” (ibid 1:20), and the sixth day when Elohim said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind” (ibid 1:24).
These verses are certainly compatible with evolution. Nevertheless, the description of day 6 clarifies that this is not random Darwinian evolution. Hence, after God said: “let the earth bring forth living creatures (ibid 1:24), the text follows with:
And Elohim made the beasts of the earth according to their kind, and the cattle according to their kind, and all the creeping things of the ground according to their kind; and Elohim saw that it was good (ibid 1:28).
It was Elohim, therefore, who was responsible for this evolution.
Most days of the week terminate with the expression that Elohim saw that it was good, or that “it was so (vayehi chen),” namely that it fulfilled the function to which it had been designated. Each day also ends with the expression “it was evening and it was morning one day, a second day, a third day etc.
This format emphasizes the design, the order and the purpose underlying God’s creative activities, and hence the design, order and purpose pervading the universe. Nothing in existence occurred randomly, but only by the will of God. And the purpose of creation was to provide a planet suitable for the habitation of man, the final aspect of God’s creative activities.
Cassuto has noted that the purpose manifested throughout creation in the Torah is emphasized by a specific stylistic form and which is summarized in table 1.3 From days 1 to 3, Elohim created stationary domains, while on days 4 to 6 their purpose became established when these domains became filled with moving entities.
Hence, day 1 is linked to day 4 when Elohim formed heavenly luminaries from the light created on day 1 and these were placed within a firmament created on day 2. The reasons for the creation of these heavenly bodies are described as: (i). To separate day from night; (ii). For signs, seasons, days, and years; and (iii). To provide light to the earth. As will be explained in the next chapter, two of these reasons are mentioned in the Enuma Elish myth and all may have been mentioned in the original version as the fragment containing the description of the sun has been damaged. Animals and man were created on day 6 on a land containing vegetation that had already been prepared for them on day 3.
A focus on day 6 is of interest, since this is when man, the ultimate purpose of creation, was created. As the Talmud states:
Man was created last so he should find all things ready for him. If he is worthy, he is told: “All things were created in your behalf.” At the same time his late appearance on earth conveys an admonition of humility. If man becomes too proud, he is reminded: Even gnats proceeded you in the order of creation.4
Given the importance of man in the overall scheme of creation, one might have thought that he would warrant his own day of creation. That he is created on the same day as the animals presents a powerful message, namely that as organic material with a limited lifespan the dividing line between him and the animals is not that great:
And Elohim said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kind: cattle and creeping things, and beasts of the earth according to their kind": And it was so. And Elohim made the beasts of the earth according to its own kind, and the cattle according to its own kind, and every creeping thing of the ground according to their kind: And Elohim saw that it was good. And Elohim said, "Let us make man in Our image (bezalmeinu), after Our likeness (kidmuteinu), and they shall rule over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the heaven, and over the cattle, the entire earth, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth." And Elohim created man in His image (bezalmo), in the image (bezelem) of Elohim He created him; male and female He created them. And Elohim blessed them and said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it, and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and every living thing that moves upon the earth." And Elohim said: "Behold, I have given you every seed-bearing herb which is upon the surface of the entire earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; it shall be yours for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to all the fowl of the heavens, and to everything that moves upon the earth in which there is a living spirit, every green herb is for food:” And it was so. And Elohim saw all that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day (ibid 1:24-31).
Nevertheless, although man and animals were created on the same day, the text makes many differentiations between them in their creation. Instead of the earth being the source of creation for animals as it was for plants on day 3 and the oceans for creeping creatures and fish on day 5, man warranted his own creation on day 6: “And Elohim said: “Let us make man in Our image . . . “ (ibid 1:26).
There is much discussion among Jewish commentators as why God suddenly uses the plural — “Let us make man. . . .” Some commentators suggest He was addressing the angels, even though they would have been no more than yes-men.5 Nachmanides suggests the plural denotes the involvement of God together with the earth.6 The Abarbanel also views man as being made from both heavenly and earthly components — a soul from above and a body from below. Others suggest this expression as a pluralis majestis (the royal “we”). This is not the only time the use of the plural form of a verb is used for God in the Torah. We will meet it again in the Tower of Bavel story when YHWH says “Come, let us go down . . .” (Genesis 11:7).
There is also much discussion as to what is meant by the expression the “in our image (bezelem) after our likeness [of Elohim].” The simplest definitions are all the faculties that man possesses that an animal does not and the faculties necessary to rule the earth to “subdue it [the earth], and rule over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the heavens, and to everything that moves that moves upon the earth."7
Another aspect of the image of God is the sense of right or wrong, or what is commonly call our conscience.8 There were individuals between the generation of Seth and Noah, including Noah himself, who “walked” (hithale’ach) with Elohim, even though these individuals had never received a moral code. However, what is often called natural law has never been a particularly strong moral force, in that a sense of right and wrong can easily be rationalized to the direction one wishes. This is why the world eventually needed to be destroyed by a flood and why an individual, Abraham, was chosen to promulgate God’s morality to the world.
This topic of the God-like attributes of man will be discussed further in the next chapter.
The sanctification of the Sabbath
The aspect of creation intended to bring spirituality into our world was the institution of the Sabbath. It is deeply embedded within creation and is as much a part of creation as the forming of the waters and the dry land. Its institution began at the beginning of time on the seventh day of creation and its recognition will continue into eternity.
The paragraph describing the institution of the Sabbath has a wonderful lilt to it. This is best appreciated in the Hebrew, although it is also noticeable to an extent in English. The passage reads as follows:
(Sentence #1): Thus, the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their hosts.
(Sentence #2): And Elohim finished on the seventh day
His work (melachto) which He had made (asa);
(Sentence #3): And He rested (vayishbot) on the seventh day
from all His work (melachto) which He had made (asa).
(Sentence #4): And Elohim blessed the seventh day and sanctified it;
because in it He had rested (shovat) from all his work (melachto) which Elohim created and made (la’asot). (Genesis 2:1-3).
The poetic form of this section is fashioned in a number of ways. Firstly, the middle of each of the three sentences which I have labeled #2, #3 and #4 contain the words “bayom hashevi’i” or “yom hashevi.” This means “on the seventh day” or just “the seventh day,” and this phrase acts as a refrain for these sentences. The end of sentence #4 also constitutes a summary of the ends of sentences #2 and #3.
Also, each of sentences #2, #3 and #4 contain seven Hebrew words,9 and the entire paragraph contains 35 Hebrew words (5 x 7):
וַיְכֻלּ֛וּ הַשָּׁמַ֥יִם וְהָאָ֖רֶץ וְכׇל־צְבָאָֽם׃
(ב) וַיְכַ֤ל אֱלֹקים֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֣ר עָשָׂ֑ה
וַיִּשְׁבֹּת֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֖וֹ אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשָֽׂה׃
(ג) וַיְבָ֤רֶךְ אֱלֹקים֙ אֶת־י֣וֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִ֔י וַיְקַדֵּ֖שׁ אֹת֑וֹ כִּ֣י ב֤וֹ שָׁבַת֙ מִכׇּל־מְלַאכְתּ֔וֹ אֲשֶׁר־בָּרָ֥א אֱלֹקים לַעֲשֽׂוֹת׃
This also happens to be the same number of times the word Elohim is mentioned in this entire chapter. I would suggest that all this is no coincidence. These features again imply the active involvement of God in the institution and sanctification of the Sabbath, in this instance by Elohim.
The universal and particularistic aspects of the Sabbath
Before leaving the prose of Genesis I, an interesting question can be posed — was the Sabbath intended to have universal significance, or was it to be entirely a Jewish concept?
The Sabbath is never called this by name in Genesis, only “the seventh day.” Nevertheless, the three-letter root of the noun Shabbat (שבת) is used as a verb for God’s resting in sentence #4.10 This section also calls God’s creative work “melacha.” This noun is not used elsewhere in the First Creation story but is used in the Book of Exodus. This leads to an important point. The passage here about the Sabbath was never intended to stand alone in the Bible but to be an introduction to a concept that will be developed throughout the Torah, up to and including the Book of Deuteronomy. Moreover, a study of these sources leads us to consideration of their literary format.
God’s sanctification of the Sabbath at the time of Creation also implies that at some time in the future there will be a people who will be designated to sanctify this day throughout time. It is no exaggeration to say, therefore, that the establishment of an eternal Jewish people is already written into the very first chapter of Genesis.
The sages express this notion in the midrashic literature by a beautiful exchange between the Sabbath and God Himself:
The Shabbat said: “Master of the universe, everyone has a partner except for me. The six days of creation pair off: Only I have no partner.” God replied: “The people of Israel are your partner.” When Israel stood before Sinai, God said to them: “Remember what I told Shabbat: “The people of Israel are your partner.” This is the meaning of the commandment “Commemorate (or remember) the day of Shabbat to sanctify it (Exodus 20:8).11
This leads to an interesting question. Was the Sabbath intended to have universal significance or to be entirely a Jewish concept? After all, it is in the same section as the creation of the universe, which was created for all humanity. It was also created by Elohim, which could also imply universal connotations.
The next mention of the Sabbath in any detail after the Book of Genesis is the fourth of the Ten Commandments in the Book of Exodus.12 This is also an Elohim-passage — “Elohim spoke all these words [of the Ten Commandments] saying” (Exodus 20:1), although the name YHWH also appears several times. In that both Elohim and YHWH are mentioned, it could be said to have both universal and particularistic applications.
It also takes the form of a chiasmus:
A1. Remember the Sabbath day to sanctify it.
B1. Six days shall you labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is Sabbath to YHWH, your God.
C. You shall not do any work — you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your maidservant and your animal, and the stranger within your gates —
B2. For in six days YHWH made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and He rested on the seventh day.
A2. Therefore, YHWH blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it (Exodus 20:8-11).
Chiastic structures are common in the Torah and it is helpful to recognize them since its structure provides emphasis for the ideas in the chiasmus. They also help explain otherwise wordy passages.
A chiasmus typically consists of two parts, in which the second part mirrors the first — A2 and B2 mirroring A1 and B1. Its centerpiece is often the main point being made by the chiasmus, in this case in line C. There is nothing new in relation to the Creation story in lines A1, B1, A2 and B2, but line C emphasizes the total cessation of work that should take place within a household on the Sabbath. This implies the notion of freedom for everyone in the household, including slaves, and a total reliance on God for sustenance on this day.
A passage which is nothing but particularistic is found in the Book of Exodus in relation to the building of the Sanctuary. Within the Book of Exodus the concept of the holiness of time becomes a stepping stone for the concept of the holiness of place, in this instance the Sanctuary. Nevertheless, the construction of the Sanctuary never overrides the sanctity of the Sabbath. Moreover, keeping the Sabbath has now become a “sign” which is specific to the Jewish people.
Linguistically, this passage is very much a sequel to the last paragraph of the first Creation story, although completely a YHWH-passage. It uses the same verb for doing work as in that passage (oseh) and the same noun for work (melacha). Nevertheless, the Sabbath is no longer just “the seventh day,” but has been given a name — Shabbat.
This passage also takes the form of a chiastic structure:13
A1. Nevertheless, you must keep my Sabbaths (shabtotei)
B1. for it is a sign between Me and you for your generations
C1. that you may know that I am YHWH Who sanctifies you.
D1. You shall keep the Sabbath (hashabat), for it is holy to you;
E1. those who profane it shall be put to death, for whoever does (ha’oseh) work (melacha) on it, that person shall be cut off from among its people.
F. Six days may work be done (ye’oseh melacha), but on the seventh day there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest (shabbat shabaton), holy to God;
E2. whoever does work (ha’oseh melacha) on the Sabbath day (b’yom hashabbat) shall be put to death.
D2. The Children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath (hashabbat)
C2. to make (la’asot) the Sabbath (hashabbat) an eternal covenant for their generations.
B2. It is a sign forever between Me and the Children of Israel
A2. for in six days YHWH made (asa) the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He ceased (shavat) from work (melacha) and was refreshed (Exodus 31:13-17).
The apex of this chiasmus is at F, and it summarizes the passage — “Six days may work be done (ye’oseh melacha), but on the seventh day there shall be a Sabbath of complete rest (shabat shabaton), holy to God.” It is noteworthy that the first half of the chiasmus is directed at the individual and is written in the second person singular, while the second part is directed to all the Children of Israel.13
Two major issues. Why has Shabbat suddenly become a sign, and is not the punishment for transgressing the Shabbat a bit heavy? In fact, the two questions are related and R’ Leibtag points out an answer. The Shabbat has become a sign of the covenant, and this would explain why the punishment is so severe.
All the covenants made by Elohim are associated with a sign. The covenant made by Elohim never again to obliterate mankind is associated with the sign of a rainbow. The sign of the Covenant of Circumcision made by Elohim with Abraham has the sign of circumcision. So too, the Ten Commandments made by Elohim has the sign of Shabbat. Anyone willfully breaking the Shabbat is also breaking the covenant with God and is deserving of death.
This sign of the covenant is exclusively for the Jewish people. It would seem therefore as if the Shabbat should be observed exclusively by the Jewish people.14 But does this not present a contradiction between the YHWH and Elohim passages found in the Torah, in that in the first Creation story the Sabbath seems to have universal implications, whereas the YHWH admonition about the Sabbath in the building of the sanctuary is completely particularistic?
It is interesting that history has sorted out this contradiction.
Rabbinic Judaism has been very adamant about the particularistic aspects of Shabbat. The observance of Sabbath is a sign meant exclusively for the Jewish people. Even someone in the process of learning about Judaism for the purpose of conversion should not keep the Jewish Sabbath laws in their entirety.
On the other hand, the notion that the nations of the world should have a special day that is different from the other days of the week in order to commemorate God’s creation of the universe seems quite appropriate. In fact, this has been the position of Christianity and to a degree of Islam.
Many early Christians met together on Sunday. The emperor Constantine made a significant step towards formalizing Sunday as a day of rest and worship when he issued an edict in 321 CE declaring Sunday (referred to as "the day of the sun") a day of rest for Roman citizens. The Council of Laodicea in 364 CE decreed that Christians should, if possible, honor Sunday as their primary day of worship and rest rather than observing the Jewish Sabbath on Saturday. This council's rulings reflected an effort to differentiate Christian practices from Jewish customs. Seventh-day Adventists are the only Christian church that observe Saturday as their day of rest, and they perform no secular work or business activities on this day.
In Islam, Friday is seen as a day for heightened spirituality, reflection and community bonding through congregational prayer. It is not a day for complete cessation from work or regular activities. Some Islamic scholars highlight that Friday commemorates the completion of creation, as the Quran mentions that the heavens and earth were created in six days.
In sum, this one chapter contains a wealth of meaningful philosophical ideas. However, we have not yet exhausted its limits. To proceed further we need to examine its mythological basis.
References:
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Armana letters in Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amarna_letters. The correspondence between the patriarch Jacob bowing down seven times to his brother Esau is very apparent (Genesis 33:3).
2. This is the opinion of Rav Sadia Gaon, Maimonides, Nachmanides, and the Kuzari.
3. Fourth Paragraph. The Story of the Fourth Day in A Commentary on the Book of Genesis. Part One. From Adam to Noah by U. Cassuto, p42. The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1998.
4. TB Sanhedrin 38a.
5. This is the view of Bereishit Raba 8:3-7, Targum Yonasan, Rashi, Maimonides, and Ibn Ezra. Rashi sees within this expression the notion of proper conduct and consulting even those low down in the totem pole, even though this leaves an opening for heretics to question the notion of One God. Nevertheless, the verb creating already returns to the singular with the creation of man in verse 27.
6. Nachmanides to ibid 1:26. He explains that just as the earth brought forth the bodies of animals and beasts, so too did the earth provide the body of humans. Nevertheless, the spirit came “from the mouth of the Supreme One” (Lamentations 3:38). Moreover, the spirit of man comes directly from God, as this verse in Lamentations continues “and He blew into his nostrils the soul of life.” Nevertheless, this explanation provides no general principle for use of the plural elsewhere in the Torah.
7. This explanation follows the Medieval commentator the Radak who wrote: In our image, after our likeness’ – “This refers to the intellectual soul (nefesh hasikhlit) which is unique to the human species. With this soul, a person knows and understands ideas and abstract concepts; he rules over animals and controls his actions with will and reason. This is what is meant by the ‘image’ and ‘likeness’ of God — not a physical form, since God has no body or image. Rather, it refers to the faculties of understanding and choice, which are divine qualities given to man.” Other opinions are those of R’ Hirsch that humans reflect creativity in art, ideas and procreation, while Onkelos emphasizes the divine gift of language. TB Sanhedrin 37a writes about the uniqueness of each individual, unlike coins stamped from the same mold. Mishnah Avot 3:14 discusses that because people are made in God’s image, every life is sacred and inviolable.
8. Bereishit Rabbah 8:11 and Nachmanides explain that human beings, like God, possess free choice enabling moral responsibility and autonomy. The Abarbanel emphasizes man's intellectual and moral capacity as divine likeness. See also the summary in Commentary to ibid 1:26 in Bereishis. Genesis. A New Translation with a Commentary Anthologized from Talmudic, Midrashic and Rabbinic Sources. Volume Ia. P71. Mesorah Publications 1977, Brooklyn, NY., United States.
9. Seventh Paragraph. Introduction in A Commentary on the Book of Genesis. Part One. From Adam to Noah by U. Cassuto, p 15. The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 1998.
10. Chapter 1. The First Story of Creation (P) in “In the Beginnings. Discovering the Two Worldviews Hidden within Genesis 1-11 by David Harbater, p30, Gefen, Jerusalem.2023.
11. Bereishit Rabba 11:8.
12. The Sabbath is also discussed briefly in relation to collecting the manna (Exodus 16:23).
13. “Shabbat of Sinai, Shabbat of the Mishkan” by Rav Yonatan Grossman in Torah Mietzion. New Readings in Tanach. Shemot. Eds: Ezra Bick and Yaakov Beasley. Maggid Books. Koren Publishers Jerusalem Ltd, p489, 2012.
14. The Talmud says: "Rabbi Yohanan said: A gentile who observes Shabbat is liable to receive the death penalty, as it is stated: 'And day and night shall not cease' (Genesis 8:22)” (Sanhedrin 58b). This is an exaggeration, but nevertheless expresses strongly the Rabbinic sentiment that the Sabbath is only for Jews. It may also reflect the historical situation that the Rabbis felt a distinction had to be made between Jews and non-Jews who were Sabbath-observing, particularly Sabbath-observing Christians. This antipathy was reciprocated when Christianity changed the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday.