1883 Haydock Douay Rheims Bible

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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 done.

Exodus 20:11.; Exodus 31:17.; Deuteronomy 5:14.; Hebrews 4:4.

He rested, etc. That is, he ceased to make any new kinds of things. Though, as our Lord tells us, John 5:17. He still worketh, viz. by conserving and governing all things, and creating souls. (Challoner) --- Seventh day. This day was commanded, Exodus 20:8, to be kept holy by the Jews, as it had probably been from the beginning. Philo says, it is the festival of the universe, and Josephus asserts, there is no town which does not acknowledge the religion of the sabbath. But this point is controverted, and whether the ancient patriarchs observed the seventh day, or some other, it is certain they would not fail, for any long time, to shew their respect for God's worship, and would hardly suffer a whole week to elapse without meeting to sound forth his praise. The setting aside of stated days for this purpose, is agreeable to reason, and to the practice of all civilized nations. As the Hebrews kept Saturday holy, in honour of God's rest, so we keep the first day of the week, by apostolic tradition, to thank God for the creation of the world on that day, and much more for the blessings which we derive from the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the sending down of the Holy Ghost, which have given it a title above all other days. (Haydock) --- On the seventh day, at the beginning of this verse, must be taken exclusively, as God finished his work on the 6th, whence the same Septuagint and Syriac have here on the 6th day. (Haydock) --- But the Hebrew and all the other versions agree with the Vulgate. (Calmet) --- The similarity of ver. 6 and ver. 7 in Hebrew may have given rise to this variation. (Haydock)