Question

why is a reference made to holy sabbath in merchant of venice?

Answer 1

Answer:

Reference to the Holy Sabbath is

found in the Ten Commandments

of the Hebrew Bible which asks a

person to work hard for six days

and rest on the seventh day which

is regarded as a holy day when the

God gives his blessings. There is

an irony in what Shylock says with

reference to Sabbath because he

is asking the judge to give him his

due, i.e. pay due to a devil person

without any merits. Whereas the

concept of Sabbath mentions

about toiling and doing one’s own

work to get his/her dues from the

God. He is trying to fulfil his evil

intentions by referring to a holy

book and its laws.