The Sabbata of Colossians 2:16:

Reflections on a Debated Text

By Ron du Preez, ThD, DMin, PhD candidate

“Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or
with regard to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath” (Colossians 2:16, RSV)

From the earliest apologetic writings of Seventh-day Adventists until approximately 1960
there appears to have been essential unanimity in Adventist publications that the term sabbata in
Colossians 2:16 refers to the annual sabbaths of ancient Israel, and not to the weekly Sabbath of
the decalogue.1 However, while this has remained the standard position of the denomination,2
during the past several decades there has been an increasing number of primarily scholarly-
oriented works alleging that Paul was indeed referring to the seventh-day Sabbath when he used
the word sabbata in his epistle to the Colossians.3 In general, the historic Adventist position was
based upon essentially two concepts, which will be briefly reviewed first, before considering
additional issues related to the meaning and significance of the sabbata in this passage.

A. The Setting: Traditional Contextual Approach

In the second issue of The Present Truth, the official Church newsmagazine (and a
precursor to the current Adventist Review), James White argued that, in Colossians 2:16, “Paul
does not speak of ‘the Sabbath-day’ which is associated with the other nine moral laws; but, the
sabbath-days, which are associated with ‘meat,’ ‘drink,’ and ‘new-moons’ in the ceremonial laws

1
See, for example, James White, The Present Truth, August 1849, 10; Uriah Smith, Synopsis of the Present
Truth: A Brief Exposition of the Views of S. D. Adventists (Battle Creek, MI: Seventh-day Adventist Publishing,
1884), 84; John N. Andrews, History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week, 3rd ed. rev., vol. 1 (Battle Creek, MI:
Review and Herald, 1887), 83-92; O. A. Olsen, Bible Text-Book (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1900), 92;
Carlyle B. Haynes, From Sabbath to Sunday (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1928), 28-30; M. L. Andreasen,
The Sabbath (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1942), 213-217; Francis D. Nichol, Answers to Objections
(Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1952), 92-95, 153-154, 165-170; Seventh-day Adventists Answer Questions
on Doctrine (Washington, DC: Review and Herald, 1957), 130-131, 151, 367, 386, 622.
2
See, for example, Roy B. Thurmon, The Sabbath Today: A Reply to A. G. Hobbs (Nashville: Southern
Publishing, 1962), 52-57; Dwight P. Herbert, Saturday, Sunday, & Salvation: 25 Reasons for Sunday Observance
Examined (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1980), 25-28; Kenneth H. Wood, “The ‘Sabbath Days’ of Colossians
2:16, 17,” in Kenneth A. Strand, ed., The Sabbath in Scripture and History (Washington, DC: Review and Herald),
338-342; Seventh-day Adventists Believe: An Exposition of the Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist
Church (Ministerial Association, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 2005), 274, 287.
3
See, for example, William Edwin Richardson, “A Study of the Historical Background and the
Interpretation of Colossians 2:14-17” (M.A. Thesis, Andrews University, 1960), 91; Samuele Bacchiocchi, From
Sabbath to Sunday: A Historical Investigation of the Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity (Rome:
Pontifical Gregorian University Press, 1977), 364; Desmond Ford, The Forgotten Day (Newcastle, CA: Desmond
Ford Publications, 1981), 115; H. Ross Cole, “The Sacred Times Prescribed in the Pentateuch: Old Testament
Indicators of the Extent of Their Applicability” (Ph.D. Dissertation, Andrews University, 1996), 282, 355-358;
Edwin Reynolds, review of Judging the Sabbath: Discovering What Can’t Be Found in Colossians 2:16, by Ron du
Preez, in Andrews University Seminary Studies 47 (Autumn 2009): 281.
of Moses.”4 Within seven months James White again addressed this passage, but now he added
an additional contextual argument, based on the King James Version’s rendering of Colossians
2:14:
It was the “hand-writing of ordinances” written in the book of the law by the
HAND OF MOSES that was “blotted out,” and not that which was spoken from Mount
Sinai, and ENGRAVEN in stone with the FINGER OF GOD.5

Though there is essentially no evidence that any lexical-linguistic exegesis was done on
the three crucial concepts in Colossians 2:16 (i.e., “feast,” “new moon,” “sabbath”), the notion
that “ceremonial sabbaths” are in view here, has remained the standard position of the Church.
As recently as 2005, and in the significant volume Seventh-day Adventists Believe, as produced
by the Ministerial Department of the General Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church,
this “biblical exposition of fundamental doctrines”6 stated:
At the death of Christ the jurisdiction of ceremonial law came to an end. His
atoning sacrifice provided forgiveness for all sins. This act “wiped out the handwriting of
requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the
way, having nailed it to the cross” (Col. 2:14; cf. Deut. 31:26). Then it was no longer
necessary to perform the elaborate ceremonies that were not, in any case, able to take
away sins or purify the conscience (Heb. 10:4; 9:9, 14). No more worries about the
ceremonial laws, with their complex requirements regarding food and drink offerings, or
ceremonial Sabbaths (Col. 2:16; cf. Heb. 9:10), which were only a “shadow of things to
come” (Col. 2:17).7

In a subsequent chapter, Seventh-day Adventists Believe reiterates, stating: “Since ‘the

context [of this passage] deals with ritual matters, the sabbaths here referred to are the ceremonial
sabbaths of the Jewish annual festivals.’”8 As the scholarly Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist
Theology, produced by the Adventist Church’s Biblical Research Institute, declares: “The context
of Colossians 2:14 indicates regulations having to do with ceremonial celebrations and food (v.
16;...).”9 This “contextual” position, however, is challenged primarily by non-Adventists,10 as
well as some Adventist academics as footnoted above.

4
J. White, The Present Truth, August 1849, 10.
5
James White, The Present Truth, March 1859, 52 (emphasis original).
6
Seventh-day Adventists Believe, title page.
7
Ibid., 274.
8
Ibid., 287 (emphasis added; brackets original).
9
Mario Veloso, “The Law of God,” in Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, Raoul Dederen, ed.
(Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2000), 477.
10
See, for example, the list of dozens of commentaries that conclude that sabbata here refers to the weekly
Sabbath, in Ron du Preez, Judging the Sabbath: Discovering What Can’t Be Found in Colossians 2:16 (Berrien
Springs, MI: Andrews University Press, 2008), 174-177.
B. The “Substance:” Historic Typological Understanding
In his second article on the “sabbath-days” of Colossians 2:16 James White strengthened
his argument that this referred to ceremonial sabbaths, by noting that “the [seventh-day] Sabbath
is not a shadow, for it is to be observed as long as the New Heavens and New Earth remain,” thus
implying that those mentioned in Colossians were merely types pointing to Christ. Or as W. E.
Read later pit it: “The Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day of the week, is a memorial, not a
type. The memorial looks back; the type looks forward.”11 In the words of foremost nineteenth-
century Adventist Bible scholar, John Nevins Andrews: “The whole typical system was
abolished, having reached the commencement of its anti-type, when our Lord Jesus Christ
expired upon the cross.”12
Approaching the content of Colossians 2:16 typologically, Frank Holbrook explains at
length:
Verse 17 is the key to the passage inasmuch as it identifies the nature of the
“handwriting of ordinances.” According to this verse “the handwriting of ordinances”
dealt with the ceremonial system – with the shadow-types (“a shadow of things to
come”). In other words the apostle Paul is speaking of . . . typical feasts/festivals and the
new moon feasts, and of the . . . ceremonial sabbaths (see Lev 23). All these had their part
in the system to foreshadow the coming Messiah and aspects of His death and
priesthood.13

Echoing this typological position, Seventh-day Adventists Believe notes: “With Jesus’
death, believers no longer had any need to deal with shadows – reflections of the reality in Christ.
Now they could approach the Savior Himself directly, for the ‘substance is of Christ’ (Col.
2:17).”14 In a later chapter, this standard volume affirms that sabbata refers to the “ceremonial
sabbaths of the Jewish annual festivals ‘which are a shadow,’ or type, of which the fulfillments
were to come in Christ.”15 In consonance, the Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology
states: “With the death of Christ the ceremonial system that pointed forward to Christ as the
culmination of the entire legal system came to an end.”16 While this typological perspective has
been basically affirmed in the recent April-June 2014 Adult Sabbath School Bible Study Guide,17

11
W. E. Read, “More on Colossians 2:14,” Part 1, Ministry, January, 1973, 47.
12
Andrews, 92.
13
Frank B. Holbrook, “Should Christians Observe the Israelite Festivals? A Brief Statement of SDA
Understanding” (July, 1987), 5; (emphasis original; a document available from the website of the Biblical Research
Institute, at http://www.adventistbiblicalresearch.org/documents/israelitefestivals.pdf, retrieved 18 July 2011).
14
Seventh-day Adventists Believe, 274.
15
Ibid., 287.
16
Veloso, 477.
17
It states: “The ceremonial system was meant to function only as a type, a symbol of a future reality – the
coming of Jesus and His death and High Priestly ministry. Once He completed His work on earth, this old system –
along with its sacrifices and rituals and feasts – no longer was needed (see Heb. 9:9-12);” Christ and His Law, 9
(Standard Edition).
it too has been challenged, and is no longer considered as necessarily as strong and conclusive an
argument as before.

C. The Sabbata: Its Connection with the Definite Article18

It should be noted that the Greek neuter noun for “sabbath” appears 69 times in the New
Testament.19 Forty-four times it shows up as a second declension singular (i.e., sabbaton), three
of which are aptly rendered as “week” based on the context and linguistic links,20 while 41 times
it is translated as the seventh-day “Sabbath,” based on contextual and linguistic data.21 More
significantly for the focus of this essay is the second declension term sabbata. Of its 25
occurrences, six times it is rendered “week” based on the context and linguistic markers.22 It is
the other 19 times which merit further consideration.23 First, the 18 appearances, other than the
one located in Colossians 2:16, will be examined.
Of these 18 occurrences of the lexical term sabbata, the synoptic gospels employ it for a
total of 13 times as tois sabbasin;24 furthermore, in his writings Luke uses it three times as tôn
sabbatôn.25 Significantly, in all of these 16 occasions in which sabbata irrefutably refers to the
weekly Sabbath, sabbata is immediately preceded by a definite article. In Acts 17:2 the phrase
sabbata tria appears (i.e., “three Sabbaths”);26 hence, it is semantically inappropriate to include
the definite article before it, even though it too refers to weekly Sabbaths. Matthew 28:1 begins:
Opse de sabbatôn tç epiphôskousç eis mian sabbatôn (literally: “Now after Sabbath, as it began

18
The focus of this essay (and more especially this sub-section) is the manner in which sabbata is employed
in New Testament Greek. While sabbata is found in Greek translations of the Old Testament (such as the LXX), that
is not the concern here, especially since there is sufficient evidence that translators, such as those of the LXX, were
not always accurate and consistent in their renditions. For examples of this, see du Preez, 52n3, 53n10, 68n17,
80n26.
19
This includes one time (Mark 15:42) in which it appears as prosabbaton, i.e., [the day] “before Sabbath.”
20
See Mark 16:9; Luke 18:12; 1 Cor 16:2. In each of these passages there is a numeral directly related to the
term sabbaton, which together with the context, shows that the English word “week” is being identified.
21
See Matt 12:2, 5, 8; 24:20; Mark 2:27 [x2], 28; 6:2; 15:42 [actually prosabbaton]; 16:1; Luke 6:1, 5, 6, 7,
9 [Textus Receptus (TR), though, has this as coming from sabbata]; 13:14, 15, 16; 14:1, 3, 5; 23:54, 56; John 5:9,
10, 16, 18; 7:22, 23 (x2); 9:14, 16; 19:31 (x2); Acts 1:12; 13:27, 42, 44; 15:2; 18:4.
22
See Matt 28:1; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7. In each of these passages there is a
numeral directly related to the term sabbata, which together with the context, shows that the English word “week” is
being identified.
23
Those interested in additional information, especially as regarding how context and linguistic links reveal
when and why sabbaton is rendered as the seventh-day Sabbath or as the week, or when and why sabbata is rendered
as the seventh-day Sabbath or as the week, see du Preez, 31-45, 163-168.
24
Matt 12:1, 5, 10, 11, 12; Mark 1:21; 2:23, 24; 3:2, 4; Luke 4:31; 6:2 [TR has 6:9 as tois sabbasin]; 13:10.
25
Luke 4:16; Acts 13:14; 16:13.
26
That this self-evidently referenced weekly Sabbaths is clear from the point made that Paul went to “a
synagogue of the Jews” (Acts 17:1), “as his custom was” and “reasoned with them from the Scriptures” (vs. 2).
to dawn toward first of week...”).27 Since the immediate context identifies the lexical sabbata as
the day that immediately precedes the “first [day] of [the] week” (i.e., the weekly Sabbath), it is
completely unnecessary to include a definite article in this case. In brief, whenever the lexical
form sabbata is employed to incontrovertibly refer to the seventh-day Sabbath, it is preceded by a
definite article every single time, except when the immediate context makes it either
inappropriate (as in Acts 17:2), or unnecessary (as in Matt 28:1).28
Interestingly, the lexical form sabbata is utilized in Colossians 2:16. If the sabbata were
here intended to refer to the weekly Sabbath, then the reader would expect there to be an attached
definite article, or some other explicit semantic and/or contextual information (as discussed
above), as is the completely consistent pattern throughout the entire New Testament. Hence, this
contradistinctive usage of sabbata appears to be evidence of an internal semantic indicator that,
in this specific case in Colossians 2:16, the sabbata is intended to refer to something other than
either the seventh-day Sabbath or the entire week; i.e., it points to ceremonial sabbaths.

D. The Semantics: New Testament Meaning of Key Terms

A frequently repeated challenge regarding the sabbata of Colossians 2:16 relates to the
alleged logic of the language used in this passage, i.e., “feast [heortç], new moon, sabbath.”29 For
example, using KJV language, C. E. Putnam claimed that “these ‘holydays’ [heortç] included all
the feast-sabbaths. So, are we not forced to recognize the ‘the sabbath’ here mentioned is the
fourth commandment Sabbath?”30 In substantial agreement with the claim that heortç includes all
ceremonial sabbaths, former Adventist pastor Greg Taylor alleged that “it would be redundant,”
for then “it would read ‘Let no one judge you regarding festivals, new moons, or festivals.’ That
would not make sense.”31
Exhaustive analysis of all the occurrences of the Greek term heortç in the New
Testament, outside of its appearance in Colossians 2:16 reveals the following, based on

27
For lexical reasons for rendering opse as “after,” see Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 2nd ed., F. Wilbur Gingrich and Frederick W. Danker, ed. (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1979), 601.
28
This essentially consistent connection of the definite article with sabbata appears as a distinct contrast to
the manner in which the term sabbaton is employed in the New Testament to refer to the weekly Sabbath. Of its 41
usages, a definite article is directly connected to it only 20 times (Matt 12:5, 8; Mark 2:7 [x2], 28; 16:1; Luke 6:5, 7,
9; 13:14 [x2], 15, 16; 14:3, 5; 23:56; John 5:18; 9:16; 19:31 [x2]).
29
Incidentally, one of the most popular resources used by many English-speaking laity is Strong’s
Concordance. The Greek dictionary section simply defines sabbaton as “the Sabbath (i.e. Shabbath), or day of
weekly repose . . . by extens. a se’nnight . . . week.” No mention is made that the underlying Greek terms can refer to
more than just the seventh-day Sabbath, or the week. Such is the danger of using inadequate research tools.
30
C. E. Putnam, Sunday Observance, or Sinai Seventh-Day Sabbath-Keeping (Chicago: Bible Institute
Colportage Association, 1924), 25. Similarly, Bacchiocchi (p. 360) postulated that “ceremonial sabbaths . . . are
already included in the word heortçs – festival.”
31
Greg Taylor and Paula Taylor, “An Open Letter to Our Friends and Family,” http://www.formeradventist.
com/taylor.html (accessed August 16, 2001).
immediate and broader contextual factors: 16 times it refers to the Passover;32 seven times it
indicates the feast of Tabernacles;33 and once it seems to identify Pentecost.34 In other words,
throughout all the New Testament examples examined, the word heortç is used consistently to
refer to what is technically termed “pilgrim festivals,” in which all Israelite men were required to
attend the festival celebrations in Jerusalem. This limited meaning of heortç is a faithful
rendition of its Hebrew complement, h. ag.
Old Testament scholar Richard Davidson notes: “God commanded Israel, ‘Three times in
the year you shall keep a feast unto me’ (Exod 23:14). These are identified as the Feast of
Unleavened Bread (connected with Passover), the Feast of Harvest (Pentecost), and the Feast of
Ingathering (Tabernacles), in verses 14-16. These are the only times of assembly in the cultic
calendar actually called ‘feasts’ (h. ag) in Scripture.”35 Just as the Hebrew h. ag is restricted, so is
its Greek counterpart, heortç. Hence, Henry Cowles was accurate in identifying heortç as
“referring to the three great annual festivals.”36 Significantly, throughout the New Testament, the
Day of Trumpets, and the Day of Atonement are never referred to as heortç. Interestingly, in Old
Testament Hebrew they are all referred to using some form of the noun šabbât.37
Essentially corroborating the meticulous investigation of heortç, the New Testament
Greek-English Dictionary indicates that “the Septuagint employs heortç to translate chagh
[h. ag],”38 and that “the New Testament carries over the Septuagint’s use of heortç.”39 As John
Eadie concluded in his commentary, heortç in Colossians 2:16 refers “to the three great feasts of
the Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.”40 Once the true definition of the crucial terms in
Colossians is understood, it becomes obvious that there is no redundancy in the language. The

32
Matt 26:5; 27:15; Mark 14:2; 15:6; Luke 2:41, 42; 22:1 (this text literally states: “the feast [heortç] of
Unleavened Bread” “which is called Passover”); [TR has heortç in 23:17]; John 2:23; 4:45 [x2]; 6:4; 11:56;12:12,
20; 13:1, 29; [TR has heortç in Acts 18:21]. As a verb, heortazô (“to celebrate a festival”), it appears once in the
New Testament, in an obvious metaphorical reference to Passover/Unleavened Bread (1 Cor 5:8).
33
John 7:2, 8 [x2], 10, 11, 14, 37.
34
John 5:1. The NET explanatory note indicates that, in view of the fact that people were outside near the
pool, this would not be the Passover, a winters-end feast. Also, the following feast (in John 7:2) is identified as
Tabernacles; thus, the one in John 5:1 is most likely Pentecost, though this cannot be known with total certainty.
35
Richard M. Davidson, “Sanctuary Typology,” in Symposium on Revelation: Introductory and Exegetical
Studies, book 1, Frank B. Holbrook, ed., Daniel and Revelation Committee Series, vol. 6 (Silver Spring, MD:
Biblical Research Institute, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1992), 120.
36
Henry Cowles, The Shorter Epistles; viz: Of Paul to the Galatians; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians;
Thessalonians; Timothy; Titus and Philemon; also, of James, Peter, and Jude (New York: D. Appleton, 1879), 173.
37
See, for example, Lev 23:24, 32. This is even true of Sabbatical Years; see Lev 25:2-6; etc. For more on
this, see du Preez, 17-26, 47-53.
38
The New Testament Greek-English Dictionary: Delta-Epsilon, s.v., “heortç noun.”
39
Ibid.
40
John Eadie, Commentary on the Epistle of Paul to the Colossians, Classic Commentary Library (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1957), 176.
correct logic of the language demonstrates that Paul mentioned heortç (so as to identify the
pilgrim festivals), and then he mentioned the new moons (about which there is essential
consensus).41 However, he needed to employ the distinct term sabbata in Colossians 2:16, to
identify the non-pilgrimage sacred seasons of ancient Israel – the annual ceremonial sabbaths of
Trumpets and Atonement.42

E. The Structure: Chiastic Form of Three Crucial Terms

Postulating that “Paul evidently had the same order in mind,”43 various writers have made
the following basic claim: “‘A feast day, or a new moon, or a Sabbath day’ (R.V.). Note the order
– yearly, monthly, weekly;”44 thus, implying that the sabbata here refers to the seventh-day
Sabbath. Then, they have listed several Old Testament passages as supposed evidence of this
alleged trilogy. Admittedly, if one superficially skims over loosely translated versions of
passages such as 1 Chronicles 23:29-31; 2 Chronicles 2:4; 8:12, 13; 31:3; and Nehemiah 10:33,45
one may prematurely surmise that these passages include a “triad” similar to that of Colossians
2:16. However, intensive analysis of the original languages militates persuasively against the
supposition that Paul was quoting from these texts.46
Even a quick look at a careful English translation, such as that done by the Jewish
Publication Society, reveals an emphasis on “the morning and evening burnt-offerings, and the
burnt-offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the appointed seasons” (2 Chron
31:3), for example. In other words, all of the five passages referenced above lists at least four
parts (not three as in Col 2:16); all five include (explicitly or implicitly) a daily sacrifice (a factor
not present in Col 2:16); all five have a decreasing frequency order – daily, weekly, monthly,
yearly – not the reverse (as alleged in Col 2:16); and, all five directly deal with burnt sacrifices
offered (something not seen in Col 2:16). In view of the above, a different approach seems
imperative.
Before proceeding further, it may be instructive to review the matter of the relevance of
literary structure for exegetical analysis and theological understanding. Many scholarly studies
have focused on what is more commonly known as parallelism. As John Willis stated: “Much
attention has been given to synonymous, ‘pivot-pattern,’ ‘Janus,’ ABCB, and chiastic parallelism

41
Just as the Hebrew term h. ôdeš (“new moon”) is uncontested, so is its Greek equivalent neomçnia (see du
Preez, 107-109, 130).
42
See, for example, du Preez, 47-53, 77. Since the Hebrew term šabbât was also used to refer to the
Sabbatical years, and since the LXX uses the Greek word sabbata to translate it, this part of ancient Israel’s cultic
system is apparently also included in the collective singular sabbata of Colossians 2:16.
43
Maurice Logan, Sabbath Theology: A Reply to Those Who Insist That Saturday Is the Only True Sabbath
Day (New York: New York Sabbath Committee, 1913), 268.
44
Ibid.
45
Internal evidence reveals that all the passages referenced in 1 and 2 Chronicles and Nehemiah refer back
to Number 28-29, where instructions were first systematically articulated by God to Moses. See du Preez, 61-62.
46
See, for example, the chapter on “The Calendar Sequence” in du Preez, 55-70. This chapter also
addresses the alleged similarity of Ezek 45:13-17 and 46:1-15 to Col 2:16.
in particular.”47 A broad definition of parallelism, which is recognized as the “overall tendency in
Scripture,”48 is that “it occurs in the interaction of semantic and grammatical equivalence and
opposition,”49 with “a sense of balance between or among the elements.”50
In the Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, seminary professor Kenneth Strand
demonstrates how, in Genesis 2:1-3, Moses recorded the account of God’s institution of the
seventh-day Sabbath in “the form of a chiasm or inverted parallel statement.”51 Intriguingly,
when it comes to Colossians 2:16 – the final mention of the word “sabbath” in Scripture – Strand
makes a similar suggestion: “It is also possible that Paul was using the common literary device of
inverted parallelism [or chiasm], thus moving from annual to monthly and then back again to
annual festivals.”52 About a decade before Strand’s supposition that the tripartite phrase (“feast,
new moon, sabbath”) may be a chiastic structure, Gregory Christopher noted, in an analysis of
this part of Colossians, that “NT studies have begun to recognize their presence and potential for
interpretation.”53 As Jo Ann Davidson affirmed: “Both the Old and the New Testaments in
Scripture harbor numerous parallel and chiastic structures.... New Testament writers, as ethnic
Hebrews, also utilized these characteristic patterns even though writing in Greek.”54
Various biblical scholars have provided evidence of chiastic structures in this epistle,55
including one which spans Colossians 2:6-19, which “enriches our understanding of the
movement of Paul’s thought:”56

47
John T. Willis, “Alternating (ABA B ) Parallelism in the Old Testament Psalms and Prophetic Literature,”
Directions in Biblical Hebrew Poetry, Elaine R. Follis, ed., Journal for the Study of the Old Testament Supplement
Series 40 (Sheffield: JSOT, 1987), 49.
48
Robert A. Harris, Discerning Parallelism: A Study in Northern French Medieval Jewish Biblical
Exegesis, Brown Judaic Studies, Number 341 (Providence, RI: Brown Judaic Studies, 2004), 108.
49
David L. Petersen and Kent Harold Richards, Interpreting Hebrew Poetry (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992),
35.
50
Patrick D. Miller, Jr., Interpreting the Psalms (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1986), 30.
51
Kenneth A. Strand, “The Sabbath,” in Handbook of Seventh-day Adventist Theology, Raoul Dederen, ed.
(Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2000), 494.
52
Ibid., 506. Strand does opine, however, that “Colossians 2 seems comparable to the repeated OT
references to a trilogy in the pattern of annual-monthly-weekly observances” (ibid., emphasis added) – a matter
addressed above.
53
Gregory T. Christopher, “A Discourse Analysis of Colossians 2:16-3:17,” Grace Theological Journal
11.2 (1990): 211.
54
Jo Ann Davidson, Toward a Theology of Beauty: A Biblical Perspective (Lanham, MD: University Press
of America, 2008), 39.
55
See, for example, Ralph P. Martin, Reconciliation: A Study of Paul’s Theology (Grand Rapids:
Zondervan, 1989), 115; Ekkehardt Mueller, “Focus on Scripture: The Firstborn (Col 1:15),” Reflections: A BRI
Newsletter, October 2005, 7.
56
Ian H. Thomson, Chiasmus in the Pauline Letters, Journal for the Study of the New Testament,
Supplement Series 111 (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), 152.
Introduction: 2:6 “As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him”
A 2:7 “Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith”
B 2:8 “Beware lest anyone cheat you . . . not according to Christ”
C 2:9 “In Him dwells . . . the Godhead bodily;” 10a “You are complete in Him”
D 2:10b “Who is the head of all principality and power”
E 2:11 “Circumcised with the circumcision made without hands”
F 2:12 “Buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised”
F! 2:13 “Dead in your transgressions . . . He made you alive together with Him”57
E! 2:14 “Wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us”
D! 2:15 “Having disarmed principalities and powers”
C! 2:16 “Let no one pass judgment;” 17 “But the body is Christ’s”58
B! 2:18 “Let no one cheat you;” 19a “Not holding fast to the Head”
A! 2:19b “Nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows”

In addition to inverted parallelisms which cover large literary units, more simple
conceptual chiasms can be found in Scripture, such as seen in the crucial three terms in
Colossians 2:16 – “feast, new moon, sabbath.” As noted above, the New Testament Greek term
for “feast” (heortç) is a restricted word, “referring to the three great annual festivals”59 –
Passover/Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Sabbata, in the meantime, can include
the other non-pilgrimage annual observances of Trumpets, and Atonement. Hence, it would be
legitimate, following Strand’s suggestion above, to diagram the collective singular nouns as
follows:60
A “festivals” = three annual pilgrimage feasts
B “new moons” = regular lunar monthly celebrations
A! “sabbaths” = two annual ceremonial sabbaths

F. The Schedule: Calculation of Set Times by the New Moon

William Shea’s research on chiastic structures shows that the “literary form of a given
portion of inspired Scripture was designed to help explain its meaning.”61 In single peak chiasms
(as in Colossians 2:16), whatever was intentionally placed at the literary center can be recognized

57
This is from the NASB.
58
This is from the ASV.

59
Cowles, 173.
60
New Testament exegete, Murray Harris observed that the first two nouns in Col 2:16 (heortç and
neomçnia) may be generic singulars which are translated as plurals; Murray J. Harris, Colossians & Philemon,
Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1991), 118. The fact that sabbata is also a
singular is addressed below.
61
William H. Shea, “Literary Form and Theological Function in Leviticus,” in Frank B. Holbrook, ed., The
Seventy Weeks, Leviticus, and the Nature of Prophecy, Daniel and Revelation Committee Series, vol. 3 (Washington,
DC: Biblical Research Institute, General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1986), 131. Note: The quoted
statement is part of the “editorial synopsis” of Shea’s article.
as pivotal in the overall chiastic structure.62 When we recognize that the key elements in
Colossians 2:16 are indeed “moving from annual to monthly and then back again to annual
festivals,”63 the natural question is: What importance is there to “new moons” being the fulcrum
in this chiasm? In addition to the special burnt offerings (Num 28:11), and blowing of trumpets
(Num 10:10; Ps 81:3), why was this first day of each lunar month of such great import?
Merrill Unger aptly noted: “As the festivals, according to the Mosaic law, were always to
be celebrated on the same day of the month, it was necessary to fix the commencement of the
month. This was determined by the appearance of the new moon.”64 As William Mounce
specified: “The month begins at the appearance of the new moon, the thin crescent visible at
sunset.”65 In relation to Israel’s religious year, the new moon played “an especially decisive
role,”66 for the “moon governed the dates for [all the] other religious festivals.”67 Hence, its
central position in this simple semantic chiasm.
This central position of the new moon, by means of which the other religious occasions
were calculated, has additional implications for the term sabbata. There is no dispute that the
“feasts” as located in part A of the chiasm are determined by the new moon. Because A! serves as
an echo of A, it indicates that the sabbata are also to be calculated by means of the new moon.
According to Scripture, the seventh-day Sabbath was never determined by any lunar
computation. Thus, the central position of the new moon serves to corroborate the notion that the
sabbata in this Colossians 2:16 chiasm can refer to only ceremonial sabbaths, as they were lunar
calculations.

G. The Singular: Significance of Inter-Textual Associations

Interestingly, there is one specific passage in the Old Testament, which may function as
an inter-textual link – Hosea 2:11. Young’s Literal Translation renders the key terms as, “her
festival, her new moon, and her sabbath.” Note the following areas of concord between the
tripartite phrase in Colossians 2 and that of Hosea 2: Both consist of a three-part grouping; both
have the same sequence (first “feast,” then “new moon,” finally “sabbath”); both have the key
terms stated as collective/generic singulars;68 both passages deal with the days per se, and not

62
Ibid.
63
Strand, 506.
64
Merrill F. Unger, “Festivals,” New Unger’s Bible Dictionary, R. K. Harrison, ed. (Chicago: Moody,
1988), 409.
65
William D. Mounce, ed. Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of Old & New Testament Words
(Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006), s.v. “Month.”
66
K. Koch, “mô‘çd,” Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. 8, G. Johannes Botterweck, Helmer
Ringgren, and Heinz-Josef Fabry, eds., Douglas W. Scott, trans. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 170.
67
Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Ronald F. Youngblood, ed. (Nashville: Nelson, 1995), s.v.
“Moon.”
68
Some allege that the final term, sabbatôn, of the calendric string in Col 2:16 is not ambiguous; but that it
is a genitive plural and cannot be singular. However, meticulous research of the Septuagint, the Modern Greek Bible,
extra-biblical works (such as Zenon, Philo, Josephus, etc.), and deutero-canonical writings clearly shows that the
with any burnt sacrifices; and both lack the linguistic links crucial for identifying “sabbath” as
the seventh day, if such were the case. In addition, both passages have a negative context of the
misuse of these sacred times, and speak of their actual termination.69
Additional linguistic analysis shows that the term “feast” or “festival” in Hosea 2:11, is
actually the rather restricted Hebrew term, h. ag. As already noted, in connection with Israel’s
ceremonial law this term always refers to one or more of the pilgrim festivals – Passover
(including Unleavened Bread), Pentecost, and/or Tabernacles. Next comes the new moon
(h. ôdeš), which played such a vital role in determining dates for the other sacred set times, as
stated above. Finally, the phrase “her sabbath” (šabbattâh) identifies this as Israel’s ceremonial
sabbath(s), rather than the weekly Sabbath which is never spoken of in this manner,70 but which
the LORD refers to as “My Sabbath(s).”
In short, the lexicographical data, the linguistic links, and the context together
persuasively indicate the similarity of the pilgrim feast, new moon, ceremonial sabbath sequence
in Hosea and Colossians.71 Commentator Eduard Schweizer rightly notes that in Colossians 2:16,

lexical term sabbata was regularly used as a singular Greek word, completely interchangeably with the normal
singular word sabbaton; the only time that sabbata is rightly understood to be a plural is when directly followed by a
numeral, as in Acts 17:2. Hence, as various scholars have correctly concluded, the lexical term sabbata (in Col
2:16), should be understood as a generic singular. Since all three terms in Col 2:16 are thus seen as generic singulars,
this strengthens the connection with the three key terms in Hos 2:11, which are also generic singulars.
69
See du Preez, 135-137, for more data. NOTE: Some have wondered about the meaning of en merei in
verse 16. Bauer (p. 506) notes that in Col 2:16 it means “with regard to a festival.”
70
Some have suggested that, because God was addressing Israel as an unfaithful wife (in Hos 2:11), the
phrase “her sabbath” was used. However, such a conclusion ignores the chiastic structure of the terms (an ABA!
pattern, in which the annual pilgrim festival [h. ag] is echoed by the annual ritual sabbath [šabbât]); also, it ignores
the central position of “new moon” [h. ôdeš], thus indicating that the focus was the ceremonial regulations, and not the
Sabbath of the Decalogue. Moreover, such thinking fails to take into account the actual meaning and use of the
Hebrew terms h. ag (which is limited to the annual pilgrim festivals), and šabbât (which can include Trumpets,
Atonement, and Sabbatical Years). Furthermore, the context indicates that Hosea was writing to a people who had
convoluted God’s instructions – they had turned the solemn times of these annual sabbaths into levity, which was one
reason they were being reproved. Intriguingly, in a somewhat similar case of the rebellion of Israel, despite their
rejection of Him and His laws, God still spoke of the weekly rest day as “My Sabbaths” (see Ezek 20:8-24; 22:26;
23:38; etc.). In brief, despite the rebellion of His people, God still calls the seventh-day “My Sabbath,” and not “her
Sabbath.”
71
While the above may seem quite technical to us, a knowledgeable Jewish Christian or Gentile convert
would have quickly recognized that Paul’s statement in Col 2:16 could have reference to solely Hos 2:11, for only in
that text were these three specific terms expressed similarly in the singular, in the same sequence, and using the same
terms – pilgrim festival, new moon, sabbath; etc. Furthermore, in light of Col 2:17 (NKJV), “which are a shadow of
things to come, but the substance is of Christ,” these early Christian believers would have thought of nothing other
than the ceremonial sabbaths, that were all symbols and types of Christ who had indeed come. For example, if one
were to speak of “center, guard, tackle” in reference to an unspecified sporting event, people familiar with American
sports would think “American football,” and not some other sport. Similarly, if one were to speak of heortç,
neomçnia, sabbata, to Jewish Christians or Gentile converts, they would immediately think “cultic times” – of
pilgrim festivals [i.e., Passover/Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, Tabernacles], new moon celebrations, and ceremonial
sabbaths [i.e., Trumpets, Atonement, Sabbatic Years]. By letting the inspired writers of Scripture speak for
themselves, it becomes clear that, at the very least, Col 2:16 shows that the ceremonial sabbaths were abrogated, not
the weekly, seventh-day Sabbath as enshrined in the heart of the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:2-17).
“the sequence festival—new moon—sabbath corresponds precisely to that of the Greek Bible
(Hos. 2:13 [LXX]).

Summary and Reflections

As a Sabbatarian denomination, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has repeatedly been
challenged by many, that the term sabbata in Colossians 2:16 shows that the weekly Sabbath
need no longer be observed. For one and a half centuries the most frequent response by
Adventists has been the claim, as seen in almost all official church publications, that the
“context” (as in verses 14 and 16) shows that these are “ceremonial sabbaths,” and not the
seventh-day of the decalogue. An additional argument is based on the typological significance of
verse 17: Since the weekly Sabbath is a memorial (and not a type), the sabbata here must be
referring to ceremonial sabbaths, which were “shadows” pointing to Jesus Christ, the
“substance.” Since even within the denomination, these two points have come under fire,
additional research has been attempted.
We noted the following consistent pattern: Whenever the lexical form sabbata is
employed to incontrovertibly refer to the seventh-day Sabbath, it is faithfully preceded by a
definite article, except when inappropriate (as in Acts 17:2), or contextually unnecessary (as in
Matt 28:1). Sabbata in Colossians 2:16 has no definite article, or context to identify it as the
weekly Sabbath. Hence, this contradistinctive usage of sabbata is suggestive of an internal
semantic indicator that the sabbata is here intended to refer to something other than either the
seventh-day Sabbath or the entire week; i.e., it points to ceremonial sabbaths of ancient Israel.
Based on an accurate understanding of the meaning of the three key New Testament
Greek terms used in Colossians 2:16, it was shown that the term for “feast” (heortç) includes
only the three major pilgrim festivals – Passover/Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and Tabernacles.
Thus, since Trumpets and Atonement are never classified as “feasts” in Scripture, Paul needed to
employ the term sabbata to identify these special ceremonial sabbaths.
Since the alleged yearly/monthly/weekly “triad,” based on a superficial look at some Old
Testament passages, does not stand up to careful scrutiny, a literary-structural approach was
considered. Strand’s suggestion, that Colossians 2:16 may be evidence of “the common literary
device of inverted parallelism [or chiasm], thus moving from annual to monthly and then back
again to annual festivals,”72 was tested, and found to be quite compelling; thus providing
additional evidence that the sabbata here refers to ceremonial sabbaths, not the weekly Sabbath.
In this connection, the pivotal placement of the “new moon” at the fulcrum of the single
peak chiasm is also instructive. This central placement of the new moon in Colossians 2:16
reminds the reader that the first-mentioned “pilgrim feasts” were based on lunar computations;
likewise, the last-mentioned sabbata in this chiasm can refer to only ceremonial sabbaths, as they
were lunar calculations as well – unlike the weekly Sabbath, which had no connection with the
new moon.
Finally, in addition to several factors, the lexicographical and linguistic similarities
between Hosea 2:11 and Colossians 2:16 suggest that, if Paul were quoting from the Old
Testament, he would probably be referring to this passage – one in which careful research reveals
that the language and structure of the passage serves to corroborate the growing body of evidence

72
Strand, 506.
that the sabbata of Colossians 2:16 does indeed refer to ceremonial sabbaths, and not the
seventh-day Sabbath.
While we do not need to discard the traditional “contextual” and “typological” arguments
related to Colossians 2:16,73 we now have a growing body of evidence – linguistic, semantic,
historical, structural, and inter-textual – which serve to corroborate the position that the Greek
term sabbata in Colossians 2:16 identifies ceremonial sabbaths. The creation-memorial weekly
Sabbath stands unimpeached, and remains valid as part of the Ten Commandments (Exod 20:8-
11), a day which the Lord God sanctified and blessed for all humanity.

73
Incidentally, in the only known reference to Colossians 2:16 in her writings, Ellen White makes an almost
off-hand reference to the manner in which the early pioneers understood the passage: “On every side we hear
discussion of the subjects presented at the camp-meeting. One day as Elder Corliss stepped out of a train, the guard
[conductor] stopped him with the request that he explain Colossians 2:16. They stopped, and as the crowd rushed by,
the explanation was given, and from Leviticus 23:37, 38 it was shown that there were sabbaths besides the Sabbath
of the Lord” (RH January 7, 1896, par. 14). This basically Old Testament “contextual” view that Colossians 2:16
deals with ceremonial sabbaths is strengthened by the manner in which she discusses the weekly Sabbath, in relation
to “typology:” “In Eden, God set up the memorial of His work of creation, in placing His blessing upon the seventh
day. The Sabbath was committed to Adam, the father and representative of the whole human family…. Thus the
institution was wholly commemorative, and given to all mankind. There was nothing in it shadowy or of restricted
application to any people” (PP 48.1). “There is no shadow in the precepts of the decalogue. The ten commandments
are not a type. God gave his law, and in the fourth precept of the decalogue is his Sabbath” (RH, 7/15/1890, par. 5).