12 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,

13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.

14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.

This chapter changes its subject at the end, now becoming a reminder from God that the Israelites are not to break the sabbath day. God’s words reiterate the same requirements that were given with the ten commandments, the key feature being that there must be no work done on that day. It is to be holy, and therefore free of the crass pursuit of worldly wealth and resources. It is to be a day dedicated to rest and worship.

In verse 13 God calls this commandment to keep the sabbath day holy a “sign between me and you throughout your generations.” Other commentators have noted that the word used for “sign” here is also applied to the law of circumcision. Depending on the translation it may be called “token,” but it is the same Hebrew word in both cases (אוֹת). Thus, keeping the sabbath was going to be an identifying sign and token, something that set the Israelite apart from all the rest of the world, just as circumcision was.

In verse 14 God gives the penalty for those that break the sabbath, which is death. God further explains that this is because such a person’s soul is already “cut off from among his people.” That person has already made himself an outsider, a non-Israelite, and physical damnation was to immediately follow the spiritual.

Today this sounds extremely harsh, though even the modern Christian living under the new law will still testify that sin brings upon us the death of the soul. We also say that the loss of the soul is far more tragic than the temporary cessation of life in the body. Thus, there are many modern Christians that are scandalized by physical death as a punishment yet maintain belief in a far worse fate. This is a contradiction caused by a lack of conviction in the true value of the soul.