Biblical Sabbath as Critical Response in an Era of Global Pandemic and Climate Change

Richard H. Lowery

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 2021, vol. 80, issue 5, 1345-1380

Abstract: In modern times, the idea of the sabbath is often limited to a day when people attend religious services or observe rituals in their homes. Biblical sabbath, however, is one of the first codifications of labor rights in world history. This tradition emerged in an ancient economy that extracted agricultural wealth from subsistence farmers to support wealthy elites. Increasing demands on labor were coupled with reductions in the amount of produce available to individual households for sustenance. This led to impoverishment and to interest lending that often resulted in the loss of ancestral property and debt servitude to wealthy creditors. Sabbath traditions, both a weekly day of rest and periodic cancellation of debt, were attempts to mitigate the negative impact of this royal‐imperial system. Those traditions functioned as a critique and a corrective to the royal‐imperial economy. These traditions still have conceptual and practical utility for today’s globalizing economy that is challenged by climate change and reshaped by the COVID pandemic. “Sabbath economics” is built on a notion of abundance limited by self‐restraint—seven days of wealth for six days of work. This model overturns modern assumptions of scarcity and unlimited needs and wants. The values expressed in this ancient tradition can help us imagine the role of work and rest in a just and ecologically sustainable future.

Date: 2021
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