Chapter 4

HOW IS A DAY DEFINED IN THE NEW TESTAMENT?

Yahushua answered. "Are there not TWELVE HOURS IN THE DAY? If any man walk in the DAY, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the LIGHT of this world. But if a man walk in the NIGHT, he stumbleth, because there is NO LIGHT in him." (John 11:9). Here, Yahushua confirms the fact that LIGHT and DAY are married, and that NIGHT and NO LIGHT (Darkness) belong in a separate category, as Genesis 1:4 indicates: ". . . and Elohim DIVIDED the LIGHT from the DARKNESS. . ." In addition, Yahushua makes it clear that there are ONLY 12 HOURS in a DAY. NOWHERE in the scriptures does Yahushua, or anyone else (including His enemies) state that there are 24 hours in a day. As I previously mentioned an hour was not 60 minutes. ". . . an hour is one-twelfth of the period of daylight: "Are there not TWELVE HOURS IN THE DAY?" (John 11:9) ("The New Bible Dictionary", p. 495). In the same dictionary, under the word "Twelve" we read, ".. . The Hebrew year was divided into 12 months, the DAY into 12 HOURS (John 11:9) . . ." (p. 845).

The "Readers Digest A B C's of the Bible" adds: "By the time of [the Messiah], it was commonplace to divide the DAYTIME into 12 HOURS. The hour, however, was not a fixed unit of time as it is today, but one-twelfth of the period between sunrise and sunset. Thus an hour in summer (which would be about 70 minutes today) was substantially longer than an hour in winter (about 50 minutes today)." (P. 177). Although the word "hour" is used a number of times in the New Testament (and by Yahushua Himself), "In ancient Israel the concept of the hour was UNKNOWN. The Israelites divided the DAYTIME into its NATURAL segments: DAWN, "the heat of the day," "the cool of the day," and "EVENING, the time when women go out to draw water." NIGHTTIME was divided into three watches." ("Readers Digest A B C's of The Bible", p. 177).

"The Israelites' day was not portioned out in hours and minutes, for which HEBREW HAD NO WORDS . . ." ("Everyday Life in Old Testament Times", p. 189).

As I attempt to lay down a foundation for this study, it is important to not only keep in mind that LIGHT = DAY, as we have begun to see in the scriptures, but also to zero in on a pattern that we will see as just noted by "Readers Digest A B C's of the Bible". Israel divided the DAYTIME into its NATURAL segments, beginning with DAWN and running all the way through the EVENING. EVENING is still a part of the day that begins at DAWN. EVENING is the tail end of a day and NOT THE BEGINNING OF A DAY, as many of us have been taught. Why? Because Elohim considers EVENING LIGHT.  ". . . And there came to be EVENING and there came to be morning, one day . . ." (Genesis 1:5). Notice that the word "NIGHT" is NOT mentioned here, because NIGHT= DARKNESS. I believe that the end of verse 5 could have said, "day one (followed by the night)". Why? Because Elohim called the light 'day'. He did not call the darkness 'day.'

Please read all of Mark Chapter 4. Here we find Yahushua teaching throughout the course of a day, and in verse 35 we read: And the SAME DAY, when the EVEN WAS COME, he saith unto them, "Let us pass over unto the other side." Based on the standard teaching, this "EVEN" should NOT be the "SAME DAY", but it should be the NEXT DAY if a NEW DAY begins at EVENING. Yet there is not a text in either the Old Testament or the New Testament that tells us that a NEW DAY begins at "SUNSET" or "EVENING". There is NOT a text that says "At EVENING/SUNSET as the new day began" (or "Early in the day as the evening shadows stretched out", etc.). The bible is silent about new days beginning in the evening. It is interesting to note that the word "even" found in Mark 4:35 is the same word found in Mark 1:32 where we read, "And at EVEN, when the SUN HAD SET, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed" (NKJV). Mark 1:32 does NOT say that the Sabbath ended at sunset or that the first day of the week began at that time.

In the parallel account (Luke 4:40), Luke writes:

Now when the sun was set, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.

Once again there is no indication that the Sabbath day ended or that a new day began at sunset.

In Luke 4:42 (some 12 hours after sunset), we discover that the new day began early in the morning with the first light of dawn and it is called "daybreak",  "break of day", "dawn of day", "next day" etc.  The following translations confirm the fact that this new day began with the first light of morning,  just as all days begin throughout the scriptures:

Luke 4:42

"And when it was day..." (King James Version)

"At daybreak..." (International Standard Version)

"And day having come..." (Young's Literal Translation)

"When daylight came..." (The Jerusalem Bible)

Please review the 2 sunset texts below (Mark 1:32 & Luke 4:40) using the same translations above to confirm the fact that the Sabbath day did not end with evening nor did a new day begin.  To verify when the new day began please review Luke 4:42 once again: 

(King James Version) - "And at even, when the sun did set..." (Mark 1:32) - "Now when the sun was setting" (Luke 4:40)