Common misinterpretations include applying the death penalty literally to modern society for working on weekends, ignoring its specific context within ancient Israel's theocratic covenant; equating the biblical Sabbath with Sunday Christian worship without scriptural warrant, as the seventh day is Saturday; or using it to impose legalistic restrictions on believers today, overlooking the New Testament fulfillment in Christ as our true rest and the liberty from such ceremonial laws.
Exodus 35:2
King James Version (1769)
2 Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the Lord: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death.
Exodus 35:2 establishes the Sabbath as a sacred commandment within the Mosaic covenant, mandating complete rest on the seventh day to honor the Lord, mirroring His rest after creation and commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egypt, with the severe penalty of death underscoring the holiness required in approaching God and the seriousness of covenant obedience under the old law.