Judging the Sabbath: Discovering What Can't Be Found in Colossians 2:16

by Ronald Du Preez

Sabbatarians have argued for centuries that the sabbath of Colossians 2:16 refers to the Jewish ceremonial sabbaths, and not the Decalogue Sabbath, based on a plain-sense reading of the context. Traditional Christian interpretation of that passage has generally bypassed the context and relied on other arguments, often unexamined by careful exegesis. In this book, du Preez examines those other arguments. In a wide-ranging engagement with Scripture, he considers relevant exegetical, linguistic, structural, syntactical, and intertextual factors that could be used to support them. In the process, he finds the evidence pointing forcefully against the traditional interpretation. Grounded firmly on a high view of scripture, du Preez's conclusions challenge any argument that relies on Colossians 2:16 in order to deny the continuing moral imperative of the seventh-day Sabbath.

189 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2008

Reviews

[Andrew]

Definitely a game changer for the discussion about the Sabbath. Even the peer-reviewed evangelical journal claimed "Interpreters of this crucial text cannot simply dismiss du Preez’s case without taking time to interact with his thesis and his arguments." What's nice about this book is that it's written for both laity and scholars and is easy to read. It is unfortunate that this book was not published 50-70 years ago so that more people could have responded to the arguments and evidence. The weakness of the book is no attempt to address the plural/singular question of sabbaths in Colossians 2:16. This book however was published in 2008 before Dr. Du preez had finished his PhD dissertation on this same text in November 2018. You can find his recent dissertation online by searching "du preez A Critical Analysis Of The Word." Also in 2016 Dr. Du Preez published a specific essay on this question of singular/plural which is a great addition to anyone reading the book. You can find the essay by searching "Meeting with God on the Mountains: Essays in Honor of Richard M. Davidson" and then going to page 421 (or 466 in the PDF) to read Du Preez's essay on singular/plural. Both of these two resources are currently free to read online.

[Timothy Decker]

Strong points and very weak points (esp. reading "sabbaths" in Col 2:16 as singular!) He made some valuable contributions lexically and syntacically concerning the parallelism. But he should have given consideration to other research as well as not written off so dismissively extra-biblical literature. Still a valuable contribution to the debate.