The First Extra-Biblical Reference to the Sabbath, c. 630 BCE

From CojsWiki

The Mezad Hashavyahu Ostracon contains the first extra-biblical reference to the Sabbath:

Let my Lord Commander hear the case of his servant! As for thy servant, thy servant was harvesting at Hazar-Susim (?). And thy servant was (still) harvesting as they finished the storage of grain as usual before the Sabbath...

See also:

• Palestinian Inscriptions: A Letter from the Time of Josiah, W.F. Albright. In James B. Pritchard, Ancient Near Eastern Texts, Princeton University Press, 1969.
• Mezad Hashavyahu Ostracon, c. 630 BCE