Σάββᾰτ-ον G4521
The Sabbath, the seventh day of rest and worship; by extension, the week as a unit of seven days measured from Sabbath to Sabbath.
Borrowed from Hebrew shabbat into Greek as sabbaton, this term saturates the Gospel narratives with controversy over proper Sabbath observance. Jesus heals on the Sabbath (Matt 12:10), his disciples pluck grain (Matt 12:1-2), and the day itself becomes a battleground for interpreting Torah. In a secondary usage, sabbaton extends to mean the entire week — 'the first day of the sabbaton' (Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1) refers to Sunday, the day after the Sabbath. Spanish distinguishes 'sabado' (the day) from 'semana' (the week), making the semantic shift especially visible.
2. week period of seven days — The week as a seven-day period reckoned from Sabbath to Sabbath, appearing in temporal expressions like 'the first day of the week' (mia ton sabbaton). The resurrection narratives uniformly use this sense — Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, John 20:1, and Acts 20:7 all mark the first day after the Sabbath. The Pharisee's boast 'I fast twice a week' (dis tou sabbatou, Luke 18:12) also employs this meaning. Spanish 'de semana' versus 'sabado' makes the distinction especially transparent. 8×
AR["أَسابيعِ","أَسَابِيعِ","أُسْبُوعٍ","أُسْبُوعِ","الأُسبوعِ","الأُسْبُوعِ","سَبْتٍ"]·ben["বিশ্রামদিনের,","বিশ্রামবারের,","শব্বতের","সপ্তাহে","সপ্তাহের"]·DE["Sabbat","σαββάτου","σαββάτων"]·EN["of-sabbath","of-week","sabbaths","week"]·FR["sabbat"]·heb["הַ-שַׁבָּת","הַ-שַׁבָּתוֹת","הַשַׁבָּתוֹת","שַׁבָּת","שַׁבָּתוֹת"]·HI["सप्ताह-के","सप्ताह-के-दिन","सप्ताह-के-दिनों","सप्ताह-में","सब्त-के","सब्तों","सब्बतों"]·ID["hari-Sabat,","hari-minggu","minggu","sabat","seminggu"]·IT["sabato"]·jav["-Sabat","Sabat","Sabat,","sabat","sabat;"]·KO["안식일-의","안식일-후","안식일들의","안식일의","주에","주일들-중의","주일의"]·PT["dos-sábados","sábados","sábados,"]·RU["день-недели","дню-субботы","недели","суббот","суббот,","субботу","субботы"]·ES["de-semana","de-sábados","del-sábado","semana","sábados"]·SW["juma","sabato","ya-juma","ya-wiki"]·TR["haftaların","haftanın","şabat","şabatın"]·urd["سبت-کے","سبتوں","سبتوں-کے","ہفتہ-کے","ہفتے","ہفتے-میں","ہفتے-کے"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. Sabbath day of rest — The Sabbath — the seventh day of the week consecrated for rest and worship, central to Jewish observance and to Jesus' controversies with religious authorities. Both singular and plural forms (sabbaton, sabbata) denote the same single day. The Synoptic Gospels concentrate usage around Sabbath healing disputes (Matt 12:1-12; Mark 2:23-3:6; Luke 6:1-11). French 'sabbat,' German 'Sabbat,' and Spanish 'sabado' all transliterate or derive directly from the Hebrew, reflecting the institution's universal recognition. 60×
AR["السَّبتِ","السَّبْتِ","سَبتٍ","سَبتِ","سَبْتٌ","سَبْتٍ","سَبْتَ","سَبْتُ","سَبْتِ"]·ben["σάββατον-শব্বত","σάββατον-শব্বতে","বিশ্রামবার","বিশ্রামবারে","বিশ্রামবারের"]·DE["Sabbat","σάββατον","σαββάτου","σαββάτῳ"]·EN["Sabbath","a-Sabbath","on-Sabbath","on-sabbath","sabbath"]·FR["sabbat"]·heb["שַׁבָּת"]·HI["सबत-मेइन","सब्त","सब्त-का","सब्त-के-दिन","सब्त-के?","सब्त-के।","सब्त-को","सब्त-में","सब्बत"]·ID["Sabat","hari-Sabat"]·IT["sabato"]·jav["Sabat","Sabat.","dinten-Sabat","dinten-Sabat,","sabat"]·KO["안식일","안식일-의","안식일에","안식일은","안식일의","안식일이","안식일이,"]·PT["num-sábado","sábado"]·RU["-","в-субботу","суббота","субботе","субботой","субботу","субботы"]·ES["en-sábado","sábado"]·SW["Sabato","Sabato.","sabato"]·TR["Sebt'in","Sebt'te","Şabat","Şabat'ta","Şabat'ta,","Şabat'ın","Şabatta","şabatta","şebatta"]·urd["سبت","سبت-میں","سبت-پر","سبت-کو","سبت-کے","پائیں","یا"]
Matt 12:1, Matt 12:2, Matt 12:5, Matt 12:10, Matt 12:11, Matt 12:12, Matt 24:20, Matt 28:1, Mark 2:23, Mark 2:24, Mark 2:27, Mark 3:2 (+38 more)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
Σάββᾰτ-ον, τό, the Hebrew Refs (δηλοῖ δὲ ἀνάπαυσιν.. τὸ ὄνομα NT+1st c.AD+: frequently in plural of the single day, NT+3rd c.BC+; ἡ ἡμέρα τῶν σ. LXX+NT+1st c.AD+, frequently with variant{σαββάτοις}; but σάββασι is certain in Refs 1st c.BC+ __2 period of seven days, week, εἰς μίαν σαββάτων toward the first day of the week, NT; τῇ μιᾷ τῶν σNT; δὶς τοῦ σ. NT __3 Σαβάτ, the LXX