EOB: Official Site of the Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible (Old and New Testament)

Genesis 2:2

EOB (Eastern / Greek Orthodox Bible):

On the seventh day, God completed the work he had been doing, and he rested from all his work on that day.

EOB Footnote:

The LXX reads “on the sixth day” while the MT reads “on the seventh day.” This is a significant textual variant: the LXX (followed by the Samaritan Pentateuch and Syriac Peshitta) states that God completed his work on the sixth day, whereas the MT states completion occurred on the seventh day. The LXX reading likely arose to avoid the implication that God was still working on the seventh day. DSS manuscript 4QGen-g is fragmentary for this verse and does not preserve the numeral, so it cannot resolve the variant.

Other Translations:

KJV (King James Version):

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 made.

WEB (World English Bible):

On the seventh day God finished his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

Benton LXX (Vaticanus):

And on the seventh day God finished the works he made, and he ceased on the seventh day from all his works which he made.

Douai-Rheims (Vulgate):

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.

Apostoliki Diakonia (LXX):

And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made, and He rested on the seventh day from all His works which He had made.

YLT (Young Literal Translation )(MT):

And on the seventh day God completed His work which He had made, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.

BBE (Bible in Basic English):

And on the seventh day God came to the end of all his work; and on the seventh day he took his rest from all the work which he had done.

EOB COMMENTARY:

EOB Commentary:

Genesis 2:2 – Commentary

The Divine Rest and Its Christological Fulfillment

This verse presents one of the most theologically rich concepts in all of Scripture: the divine rest (katapausis in Greek, shabbat in Hebrew) following the completion of creation. The Eastern Fathers understood this rest not as divine fatigue but as the cessation of creative activity and the contemplation of completed goodness.

Patristic Interpretation: Saint Basil the Great, in his Hexaemeron, emphasizes that God’s rest signifies the perfection and completion of His work, not any need for recuperation. Saint John Chrysostom similarly notes that this rest is condescension to human understanding, teaching us the pattern of labor followed by sacred rest. Saint Gregory of Nyssa interprets the seventh day mystically as pointing toward the age to come, the eternal Sabbath of communion with God.

Christological Significance: The New Testament explicitly connects this rest to Christ’s redemptive work. The Epistle to the Hebrews (chapters 3-4) develops an extensive theology of rest, declaring that a Sabbath rest remains for the people of God and that we enter this rest through faith in Christ. Our Lord Himself proclaimed, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Christ is thus revealed as the true Sabbath, the fulfillment of what the seventh day prefigured.

The Fathers also saw profound meaning in Christ’s rest in the tomb on Great Saturday. Just as God rested on the seventh day after completing creation, so Christ rested in the tomb after completing the work of redemption, the new creation. This parallel is celebrated magnificently in the Orthodox liturgical tradition.

Liturgical Connections: The services of Great and Holy Saturday are saturated with this theology. The hymns proclaim that Christ, having completed the work of salvation, rests in the tomb while simultaneously harrowing Hades. The Epitaphios procession and the lamentations sung before the tomb of Christ echo this theme of sacred rest preceding resurrection and new creation.

The weekly observance of Sunday (the eighth day, or the day beyond the Sabbath) in Orthodox worship reflects the understanding that Christ’s resurrection inaugurates the new creation, transcending the original seventh-day rest while fulfilling its deepest meaning.

Spiritual Application: For Orthodox spirituality, this verse grounds the rhythm of labor and rest, work and worship, that characterizes the Christian life. The Sabbath principle reminds believers that human existence finds its purpose not in endless activity but in communion with God. The hesychastic tradition of inner stillness (hesychia) can be understood as participation in this divine rest, the soul finding its true Sabbath in contemplative union with Christ.

Introduction to the book of Leviticus

The Book of Leviticus receives its English title from the Latin Vulgate, which is derived from the Greek Septuagint (LXX) title Leuitikon (Λευιτικόν), meaning “Levitical” or “pertaining to the Levites.”

Introduction to the book of Exodus

The Book of Exodus receives its English title from the Greek Septuagint (LXX), where it is called Exodos (Ἔξοδος), meaning “departure” or “exit.” This name was chosen because the central

Introduction to the book of Genesis

I. Date and Authorship Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church, affirmed by the Fathers and the liturgical usage of the Church from the earliest centuries, attributes the Book of Genesis

Hebrews 11:35–38 and… 4 Maccabees

Does Hebrews 11 on the Maccabees Show Stronger Alignment with 4 Maccabees than 2 Maccabees? Hebrews 11 (the famous “Hall of Faith” chapter) does not explicitly mention the Maccabees by