Chapter 5
WHAT ABOUT NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTATORS?
Have you ever wondered why some New Testament commentators seem puzzled by the fact that New Testament writers reckon their days beginning with the first light of morning instead of sunset? I believe the reason that they are confused is because they have approached their study with the preconceived notion that a day in the Bible begins at sunset. Let's take a look at a couple of examples:
In Acts 20:7, most English translations read, "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them..." This would indicate that Paul began preaching on the 1st day of the week. However, if we examine the Greek for "first" and "week," first is from G3391, and can also mean "one." Week is from G4521 (sabbaton) and means "Sabbath." Therefore, it should read, "And on one of the Sabbaths..." This was one of the seven Sabbaths used for counting to the Feast of Weeks, which is also called "Pentecost" (see Lev. 23:16-17).
Acts 20:7 And on one of the Sabbaths, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
Paul preached on the Sabbath Day and continued preaching after the Sabbath had ended until midnight (the night following the Sabbath day). Acts 20:11 indicates that Paul departed at the "break of day." (the beginning of the first day of the week.)
Paul says in 1st Thessalonians 5:4-8, "But ye, brethren, are not in DARKNESS, that this DAY should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all children of the LIGHT and the children of the DAY; we are NOT of the NIGHT nor of DARKNESS. Therefore, let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep, sleep in the NIGHT; and they that be drunken are drunken in the NIGHT. But let us who are of the DAY, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation." Paul is in perfect agreement with Genesis 1:5, as he calls the LIGHT DAY and the DARKNESS NIGHT. He also shows that DAY is NOT a part of the NIGHT.
In Romans 13:12, Paul divides LIGHT AND DARKNESS when he says: "The NIGHT is FAR SPENT, the DAY IS AT HAND; let us, therefore, cast off the works of DARKNESS, and let us put on the armour of LIGHT."
...the day is AT HAND, only after the night is FAR SPENT. Day and night do not share the same space.
Now, let's take a look at John Chapter 20 (please read the whole chapter). Here, on the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, Mirium Magdalene discovers that Yahushua was not in the tomb. The account takes us through the course of the day, and in verse 19 JOHN writes, "Then the SAME DAY AT EVENING, being the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK. . ." ("EVENING"-same word as "EVEN" in Mark 1:32). Again, we find that the "EVENING" is NOT the NEXT DAY, but it is still the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK.
From the book (A Harmony of the Gospels, p. 286), another commentator states, ". . . one passage in John (20:19), when compared with Luke 24:29, 36, makes it NECESSARY to understand that JOHN used the ROMAN METHOD (my note: Elohim's Method) in this instance. It was toward evening and the DAY HAD DECLINED according to Luke, when Yahushua and the disciples drew near to Emmaus. Here he ate supper and, "rising up that very hour," the disciples returned seven miles to Jerusalem and told these things to the eleven who were together. But while they were narrating these things Yahushua appears to them. Now John, in mentioning this very appearance of Yahushua (20:19), says that it 'WAS EVENING ON THAT DAY, THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK", i.e., evening of the day when Mirium Magdalene had seen Yahushua in the morning.
"Robertson's Word Pictures of the New Testament" adds the following concerning John 20:19, ". . . John is using ROMAN TIME (my note: Elohim's time), NOT JEWISH, for here EVENING FOLLOWS DAY INSTEAD OF PRECEDING IT . . ." (computer bible study).
Is it true that JOHN was NOT using JEWISH TIME and may have ALWAYS reckoned his days starting with the dawn? Is it possible that he may have ALWAYS included EVENING as part of a day that began at dawn? Was JOHN confused? What about YAHUSHUA, LUKE and PAUL? Were they confused? Did they not know that a new day was to begin at sunset? No, they did not. They all reckoned their days according to the ancient directions found in Genesis 1:5. "And Elohim called the LIGHT DAY. . ."
You might be as surprised, as I was, if you were to open a "Webster's New International Dictionary--Second Edition" and look up the word "DAY". The first definition that I expected to see would say something about a 24 hour day. I was wrong. The first definition states: "...the time of LIGHT, or the interval between one NIGHT and the next; the time between SUNRISE AND SUNSET, or from DAWN TO DARKNESS." (p.672). Just as the Bible indicates.
You might even be more surprised if you were to turn to page 136 of "Vine's Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words". You would read the following under "TO LIGHT". "The basic meaning of 'OR' (Hebrew for Light) is "DAYLIGHT" (cf. Gen. 1:3). In the HEBREW MIND the "DAY" BEGAN AT THE RISING OF THE SUN...". Many of us have been taught that in the HEBREW MIND a day began at SUNSET!!
Elohim calls the LIGHT DAY. The original meaning of the word "Day" is the period of DAYLIGHT. DAY is called the season of LIGHT. Yahushua informs us that there are 12 HOURS IN A DAY, and He calls the LIGHT DAY. Yahushua and New Testament writers separate the DAY and NIGHT. Question. Where did the idea of a 24 hour day beginning at sunset come from?