These two views, in turn, gave rise to different conceptions of the Sabbath laws. Many ancient teachers laid chief stress on the letter of the law which bids men cease from labor. Others, who penetrated farther into the spirit of Deuteronomy and the Covenant Code, emphasized the human need for relaxation and refreshment of soul. The older school, especially the Sadducees, demanded absolute cessation of labor on pain of death for any work, however insignificant, and even for the moving from one place to another. They thought of the Sabbath as a sign of the covenant between God and Israel, and hence held that it should be observed as punctiliously as possible.(1465) In the same measure as the Pharisees, with their program of religious democracy and common sense, obtained the upper hand, the Biblical strictness of the Sabbath law was modified. The term labor was defined by analogy with the work done for the tabernacle, and so restricted as to make the death penalty much more limited.(1466) Moreover, the Pharisees held that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath;(1467) so, although they adhered strictly to the prohibition of labor, the Sabbath received at their hands more of the other element, and became a day for the elevation of the soul, “a day of delight” for the spirit.(1468) The whole man, body and soul alike, should enjoy God’s gifts more fully on this day; he should cast off care and sanctify the day by praise offered to God at the family table. At a very early period in Israel the Sabbath was distinguished by the words of instruction and comfort offered by the prophets to the people who consulted them on the day of rest.(1469) During the Exile and afterward the people assembled on the Sabbath to hear the word of God read from the Torah and the prophets and to join in prayer and song, which soon became a permanent institution.(1470) Thus the Sabbath elevated and educated the Jewish people, and afterward transferred its blessings also to the Christian and Mohammedan world. Especially during the Middle Ages the Sabbath became an oasis, a refreshing spring of water for the Jew. All through the week he was a Pariah in the outside world, but the Sabbath brought him bliss in his home and spiritual power in his Synagogue and school. Cheerfully he bore the yoke of statutes and ordinances that grew ever heavier under the rabbinical amplification; for he hailed the Sabbath as the “queen” that raised him from a hated wanderer to a prince in his own domain.(1471)