Chapter 9
TOMORROW IS THE REST OF THE SET APART SABBATH
Finally, we will take a look at a couple of other familiar scriptures from a different point of view. Early on we looked at Acts Chapter 20 and found that Luke reckoned the "BREAK OF DAY" as the "MORROW" (Morning), after the Night had ended. In the Old Testament, we discover that the "MORROW" and "MORNING" also come after the Night has ended and NOT at Sunset. The primary meanings of the word "MORNING" found in Genesis 1:5 are: "MORNING", "BREAK OF DAY", "OF END OF NIGHT", "OF COMING OF DAYLIGHT", "OF COMING OF SUNRISE", OF BEGINNING OF DAY", "OF BRIGHT JOY AFTER NIGHT OF DISTRESS (fig.)", "MORROW, "NEXT DAY", "NEXT MORNING". (Strong's Concordance H1242).
With the primary meanings for the word "Morning" fresh in our minds, please look at the following scriptures as seen in Exodus the 16th Chapter. Speaking of the Manna in verse 19, Moses tells the people to "...Let no man leave of it till the MORNING." ('Today's English Version' and 'The Jerusalem Bible' use the word "TOMORROW"). Verse 20 indicates that "...some of them left of it until MORNING" (The Jerusalem Bible says, "the FOLLOWING DAY"). Moses explains in verse 23, "...This is that which YHWH hath said, TO MORROW is the rest of the set-apart Sabbath unto YHWH: bake that which ye will bake TO DAY, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the MORNING." Moffatt reads: "...TO-MORROW is to be a day of complete rest, a Sabbath set apart to the Eternal...So bake or boil TO-DAY as you please, and keep what is left over till TO-MORROW MORNING..." Here we see how "TOMORROW and the FOLLOWING DAY" are periods of time that begin in the Morning, NOT in the Evening. Thus, the Sabbath also begins in the Morning and NOT in the Evening. The Old and New Testaments both calculate the beginning and ending of days the very same way. There is no difference.
In the last half of Exodus 32:5, Aaron says: "...TO MORROW (Strong's H4279 - As the day following the present day) is a feast to YHWH". Verse 6 continues, "And they ROSE UP EARLY ON THE MORROW (taken from the same word as H4279). This MORROW was a time of EARLY RISING. The "Today's English Version" Bible renders the same scriptures as "...TOMORROW there will be a FESTIVAL to honor [YHWH]...EARLY THE NEXT MORNING...The people sat down to a FEAST..." "The Jerusalem Bible" says, "...TOMORROW he said will be a feast in honour of [YHWH]....And so EARLY the NEXT DAY (Note: if a day began at Evening, MORNING would NOT be EARLY the NEXT DAY, but about HALF WAY through a 24 hour day)...the people sat down to eat and drink..." And finally "Moffatt" reads, "Aaron erected an altar in front of the calf and proclaimed a FESTIVAL NEXT DAY for the Eternal...So NEXT MORNING... the people sat down to the sacrificial FEAST..." Once again we find "Tomorrow", "Morrow", "Next Morning", "NEXT DAY", "EARLY THE NEXT DAY" and "EARLY THE NEXT MORNING" all related to each other WITHOUT a mention of EVENING. The word "TOMORROW" found in Exodus 32:5 is the same word used in Exodus 16:23 when Moses said: "...TOMORROW is the rest of the set apart Sabbath..."
So when does the Sabbath Day begin? If today was a Friday afternoon, the Sabbath starts when TOMORROW (Saturday) begins on the NEXT MORNING or NEXT DAY when the SUN'S LIGHT begins to rule or as "Moffatt" explains, "TO-MORROW MORNING" (Saturday Morning). And of course Evening is near the END of the DAY, NOT THE BEGINNING. It is the part of the day that Elohim considers LIGHT, just before the DAY ends with DARK.
I do not claim to have a perfect understanding of the issues that I have laid out before you. I do believe that if you prayerfully study this subject with an open mind, you will come to a similar conclusion and move a little closer to the will of Elohim.
In conclusion, the evidence is overwhelming that a day is 12 hours long, and it lasts from the light of day until the darkness of night.
Edited by Richard Latter