When God Sleeps

The God of the Bible both rests and sleeps. In this, he resembles other ancient Near Eastern deities. The Hebrew theologians shared a mythic vocabulary with neighboring cultures, but the Hebrew theologians used this vocabulary to elevate their theology to spiritual heights previously unknown.

Perhaps the most famous biblical instance of God resting occurs at the conclusion of creation. The passage from Genesis is still recited in Jewish homes on Sabbath eve as part of the kiddush, the prayer that sanctifies the Sabbath meal:

“Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, 018and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it, because on it God rested from all his work which he had done in creation” (Genesis 2:1–3).