Talk:السبت

Isn't this from the Semitic root ث-ب-ت meaning to be still, at rest, rather than from the root for the number seven, which is actually س-ب-ع

Abu Rashid Ibrahim (talk) 07:26, 7 March 2020 (UTC)

You are not mistaken, the word is structured from Proto-Semitic *ṯabat- denoting stillness staying put, and being fixed in position; this is the Akkadian 𒌓𒌋𒐊𒄰 (/⁠šapattu, šabattu⁠/). We are also obliged to do our best to show semantic development, the religious sense of the Hebrew Sabbath should be viewed in context of the region, especially with a culture that had profound influence on its neighbors. You are also not mistaken in the relationship to seven being less connected linguistically; the point of its inclusion was to show potential phono-semantic matching with a Semitic language that had lost its /ع/ only being detected by its e-colored vowel. There is clearly a difference between the 15-day šabattu and the 7-day sabbath, and although we ultimately do not know the certain line of development, we know the difference is a connection to the seven-day week or a quarter month instead of a half. I am also not opposed to updating it in some capacity, there is actually a better way to handle the cuneiform anyway. -Profes.I. (talk) 11:19, 7 March 2020 (UTC)