Day

See under LIGHT, and under TIME.

The Hebrews, in conformity with the Mosaic law, reckoned the day from evening to evening. The natural day, that is, the portion of time from sunrise to sunset, was divided by the Hebrews, as it is now by the Arabians, into six unequal parts. These divisions were as follows:—

1. The break of day. This portion of time was, at a recent period, divided into two parts, in imitation of the Persians; the first of which began when the eastern, the second, when the western, division of the horizon was illuminated. The authors of the Jerusalem Talmud divided

it into four parts; the first of which was called in Hebrew אילת השחר ,

which occurs in Psa 22:1, and corresponds to the phrase, λιαν πρωι, in the New Testament, Mar 16:2; Joh 20:1.

2. The morning or sunrise.

3. The heat of the day. This began about nine o’clock, Genesis

Joh 18:1; 1Sa 11:11.

4. Midday.

5. The cool of the day; literally, the wind of the day. This expression as grounded on the fact, that a wind commences blowing regularly a few hours before sunset, and continues till evening, Gen 3:8.

6. The evening. This was divided into two parts, ערבים ; the first of which began, according to the Caraites and Samaritans, at sunset, the second, when it began to grow dark. But, according to the rabbins, the first commenced just before sunset, the second, precisely at sunset. The Arabians agree with the Caraites and Samaritans; and in this way the Hebrews appear to have computed, previous to the captivity.

The mention of שעה , hours, occurs first in Dan 3:6; Dan 3:15; Dan 5:5. They were first measured by gnomons, which merely indicated the meridian; afterward, by the hour-watch, σκιαθερικον; and subsequently still, by the clepsydra, or instrument for measuring time by means of water. The hour- watch or dial, otherwise called the sun-dial, is mentioned in the reign of King Hezekiah, 2Ki 20:9-10; Isa 38:8. Its being called “the sun-dial of Ahaz,” renders it probable that Ahaz first introduced it from Babylon; whence, also, Anaximenes, the Milesian, brought the first skiathericon into Greece. This instrument was of no use during the night, nor indeed during a cloudy day. In consequence of this defect, the clepsydra was invented, which was used in Persia as late as the seventeenth century in its simplest form. The clepsydra was a small circular vessel, constructed of thinly-beaten copper or brass, and having a small perforation through the bottom. It was placed in another vessel, filled with water. The diameter of the hole in the bottom of the clepsydra was such, that it filled with water in three hours, and sunk. It was necessary that there should be a servant to tend it, who should take it up when it had sunk, pour out the water, and place it again empty on the surface of the water in the vase.

The hours of principal note in the course of the day were the third, the sixth, and the ninth. These hours, it would seem, were consecrated by Daniel to prayer, Dan 6:10; Act 2:15; Act 3:1; Act 10:9. The day was divided into twelve hours, which, of course, varied in length, being shorter in the winter and longer in the summer, Joh 11:9. In the winter, therefore, the clepsydras were so constructed that the water might sink them more rapidly. The hours were numbered from the rising of the sun, so that, at the season of the equinox, the third corresponded to the ninth of our reckoning; the sixth, to our twelfth; and the ninth, to three o’clock in the afternoon. At other seasons of the year, it is necessary to observe the time when the sun rises, and reduce the hours to our time accordingly. We observe, therefore, that the sun in Palestine, at the summer solstice, rises at five of our time, and sets about seven. At the winter solstice, it rises about seven, and sets about five.

Before the captivity, the night was divided into three watches. The first, which continued till midnight, was denominated the commencing or first watch, Lam 2:19. The second was denominated the middle watch, and continued from midnight till the crowing of the cock. The third, called the morning watch, extended from the second to the rising of the sun. These divisions and names appear to have owed their origin to the watches of the Levites in the tabernacle and temple, Exo 14:24; 1Sa 11:11. In the time of Christ, however, the night, in imitation of the Romans, was divided into four watches. According to the English mode of reckoning they were as follows:

1. The evening, from twilight to nine o’clock.

2. The midnight, from nine to twelve.

3. The cock crowing, from twelve to three.

4. From three o’clock till daybreak. A day is used in the prophetic

Scripture for a year: “I have appointed thee each day for a year,”

Eze 4:6. See COCK.

The earliest measure of time on record is the day—’The evening and the morning were the first day’(Gen 1:5). Here the word ’day’ denotes the civil or calendar day of twenty-four hours, including ’the evening,’ or natural night, and the ’morning.’ or natural day. It is remarkable that in this account ’the evening,’ or natural night, precedes ’the morning,’ or natural day. Hence the Hebrew compound ’evening-morning’ which is used by Daniel (Dan 8:14) to denote a civil day. In fact, the Jewish civil day began, as it still does, not with the morning, but the evening—thus the Sabbath commences with the sunset of Friday, and ends with the sunset of Saturday.

The inconveniences resulting from a variable commencement of the civil day, earlier or later, according to the different seasons of the year, as well as the equally varying duration of the natural day and night, must have been very considerable, and are sensibly felt by Europeans when traveling in the East, where the ancient custom in this matter is still observed. These inconveniences must be less obvious to the people themselves, who know no better system; yet they were apparent to several ancient nations—the Egyptians, the Ausonians, and others—and induced them to reckon their civil day from midnight to midnight, as from a fixed invariable point; and this usage has been adopted by most of the modern nations of Europe. We thus realize the advantage of having our divisions of the day, the hours, of equal duration, day and night, at all times of the year; whereas among the Orientals, the hours, and all other divisions of the natural day and night, are of constantly varying duration, and the divisions of the day vary from those of the night, excepting at the equinoxes.

The natural day was at first divided into three parts, morning, noon, and evening, which are mentioned by David as hours or times of prayer (Psa 55:17).

The natural night was also originally divided into three parts, or watches (Psa 63:6; Psa 90:4). The first, or beginning of the watches, is mentioned in Lam 2:19; the middle watch, in Jdg 7:19; and the morning watch, in Exodus 24. Afterwards the strictness of military discipline among the Greeks and Romans introduced an additional night-watch. The second and third watches of the night are mentioned in Luk 12:38, and the fourth in Mat 14:25. The four are mentioned together by our Lord, in Mar 13:35, and described by the terms ’the late watch;’ ’the midnight;’ ’the cock-crowing;’ and ’the morning.’ The precise beginning and ending of each of the four watches is thus determined:

1. ’The late’ began at sunset and ended with the third hour of the night, including the evening dawn, or twilight. It was also called ’eventide’ (Mar 11:11), or simply ’evening’ (Joh 20:19).

2. ’The midnight’ lasted from the third hour till midnight.

3. ’The cock-crowing’ lasted from midnight till the third hour after, or to the ninth hour of the night. It included the two cock-crowings, with the second of which it ended.

4. ’Early’ lasted from the ninth to the twelfth hour of the night, or sunrise, including the morning dawn, or twilight. It was also called ’morning,’ or ’morning-tide’ (Joh 18:28).

The division of the day into twelve hours was common among the Jews after the captivity in Babylon. The word hour first occurs in the book of Daniel (Dan 4:19); and it is admitted by the Jewish writers that this division of the day was borrowed by them from the Babylonians. Our Lord appeals to this ancient, and then long-established, division, as a matter of public notoriety: ’Are there not twelve hours in the day?’ (Joh 11:9).

This, however, was the division of the natural day into twelve hours, which were therefore variable according to the seasons of the year, at all places except the equator; and equal, or of the mean length, only at the vernal and autumnal equinoxes; being longer in the summer half-year, and shorter in the winter. The inconvenience of this has already been intimated.

The first hour of the day began at sunrise; the sixth hour ended at mid-day, or noon; the seventh hour began at noon; and the twelfth hour ended at sunset.

The days of the week had no proper names among the Hebrews, but were distinguished only by their numeral order [WEEK].

The day is distinguished into natural, civil, and artificial. The natural day is one revolution of the earth on its axis. The civil day is that, the beginning and the end of which are determined by the custom of any nation. The Hebrews began their day in the evening, Lev 23:32 ; the Babylonians at sunrise; and we begin at midnight. The artificial day is the time of the sun’s continuance above the horizon, which is unequal according to different seasons, on account of the obliquity of the equator. The sacred writers generally divide the day into twelve hours. The sixth hour always ends at noon throughout the year; and the twelfth hour is the last hour before sunset. But in summer, all the hours of the day were longer than in winter, while those of night were shorter. See HOURS, and THREE.\par The word day is also often put for an indeterminate period, for the time of Christ’s coming in the flesh, and of his second coming to judgment, Isa 2:12 Eze 13:5 Joh 11:24 1Th 5:2 . The prophetic "day" usually is to be understood as one year, and the prophetic "year" or "time" as 360 days, Eze 4:6 . Compare the three and half years of Dan 7:25, with the forty-two months and twelve hundred and sixty days of Jer 11:2,3 .\par

Day. The variable length of the natural day, at different seasons, led, in the very earliest times, to the adoption of the civil day, (or one revolution of the sun), as a standard of time. The Hebrews reckoned the day from evening to evening, Lev 23:32, deriving it from Gen 1:5 "the evening and the morning were the first day."

The Jews are supposed, like the modern Arabs, to have adopted from an early period, minute specifications of the parts of the natural day. Roughly, indeed, they were content to divide it into "morning, evening and noonday," Psa 55:17, but when they wished for greater accuracy, they pointed to six unequal parts, each of which was again subdivided. These are held to have been --

1. "the dawn."

2. "Sunrise."

3. "Heat of the day," about 9 o’clock.

4. "The two noons," Gen 43:16; Gen 28:29.

5. "The cool (literally. wind) of the day," before sunset, Gen 3:8 -- so called by the Persians to this day.

6. "Evening."

Before the captivity, the Jews divided the night into three watches, Psa 63:6; Psa 90:4, namely,

the first watch, lasting till midnight, Lam 2:19,

the "middle watch," lasting till cockcrow, Jdg 7:19, and

the "morning watch," lasting till sunrise. Exo 14:24.

In the New Testament, we have allusions to four watches, a division borrowed from the Greeks and Romans. These were --

i. From twilight till 9 o’clock, Mar 11:11; Joh 20:19.

ii. Midnight, from 9 till 12 o’clock, Mar 13:35, 3Ma 5:23.

iii. Till daybreak. Joh 18:28.

The word held to mean "hour" is first found in Dan 3:6; Dan 3:15; Dan 5:5. Perhaps the Jews, like the Greeks, learned from the Babylonians, the division of the day into twelve parts. In our Lord’s time, the division was common. Joh 11:9.

Reckoned from sunset to sunset by the Hebrew. Gen 1:5; "the evening and the morning were the first day." 2Co 11:25; "a night and a day." Dan 8:14 margin. So our fortnight equals fourteen nights. "Evening, morning, and noon" (Psa 55:17) are the three general divisions. Fuller divisions are: dawn, of which the several stages appear in Christ’s resurrection (Mar 16:2; Joh 20:1; Rev 22:16, "the bright and morning star" answering to Aijeleth Shahar, "gazelle of the morning," Psalm 22 title; Mat 28:1; Luk 24:1); sunrise; heat of the day; the two noons (tsaharaim, Hebrew; Gen 43:16); the cool of the day (Gen 3:8); evening (divided into early evening and late evening after actual sunset).

Between the two evenings the paschal lamb and the evening sacrifice used to be offered. "Hour" is first mentioned Dan 3:6; Dan 3:15; Dan 5:5. The Jews learned from the Babylonians the division of the day into twelve parts (Joh 11:9). Ahaz introduced the sun dial from Babylon (Isa 38:8). The usual times of prayer were the third, sixth, and ninth hours (Dan 6:10; Act 2:15; Act 3:1). "Give us day by day our daily bread" (Luk 11:3); i.e., bread for the day as it comes (epiousion arton).

(properly יוֹם, yzm, ἡμέρα). The variable length of the natural day (“ab exortu ad occasum solis,” Censor. de Die Nat. 23) at different seasons led in the very earliest times to the adoption of the civil day (or one revolution of the sun). as a standard of time. The commencement of the civil day varied in different nations: the Babylonians (like the people of Nuremberg) reckoned it from sunrise to sunrise (Isidor. Orig. v. 30); the Umbrians from noon to noon; the Romans from midnight to midnight (Plin. 2:79); — the Athenians and others from sunset to sunset (Macrob. Saturn. 1:3; Gell. 3, 2). SEE CHRONOLOGY.

The Hebrews adopted the latter reckoning (Lev 23:32, “from even to even shall ye celebrate your Sabbath”), which appears even in Gen 1:5, “the evening and the morning were [on] the first day” (a passage which the Jews are said to have quoted to Alexander the Great, Gemara, Tamid, 66, 1; Reland, Ant. Heb 4:15). Some (as in Godwyn’s Moses and Aaron) argue foolishly, from Mat 28:1, that they began their civil day in the morning; but the expression ἐπιφωσκούση shows that the natural day is there intended. Hence the expression “evening-morning” = day (Dan 8:14, Sept. νυχθήμερον), the Hindoo ahoratra (Von Bohlen on Gen 1:4), the Greek νυχθήμερον (2Co 11:25). There was a similar custom among the Athenians, Arabians, and ancient Teutons (Tac. Germ. 11, nec dierum numerum ut apud nos, sed noctium computant . . nox ducere diem videtur”) and Celtic nations (Caesar, Bell. Gall. 6:18, “ut noctem dies subsequatur”). This mode of reckoning was widely spread; it is found in the Roman law (Gains, 1:112), in the Niebelungenlied, in the Salic law (inter decemn noctes), in our own terms “fortnight,” “se’n-night” (see Orelli, etc. in loc. Tac.), and even among the Siamese (“they reckon by nights,” Bowring, i, 137) and New Zealanders (Taylor’s TeIka-Miaui, p. 20). No doubt this arose from the general notion “that the first day in Eden was 36 hours long” (Lightfoot’s Works , 2:334, ed. Pitman; Hesiod, Theogon. 123; Aristoph. Av. 693; Wilkinson, Anc. Eg. 4:274). Kalisch plausibly refers it to the use of lunar years (Genesis p. 67). Sometimes, however, they reckoned from sunrise (ἡμερονύκτιον, comp. Psa 1:2; Lev 7:15).

The less obvious starting-points of noon and midnight, the former adopted by the Etruscans, etc., the latter by the Roman priests, Egyptians (see, however, Lepsius, Chronol. p. 130), and others, were chosen either as the culminating points, as it were, of light and darkness, or for astronomical purposes (Ideler, Hb. d. Chron. 1:29, 80, 100 sq.; comp. Tacit. Germ. 11; Macrob. Sat. 33, etc.). To the Hebrews, the moon had distinctly been pointed out as the regulator of time (Psa 104:19). Nevertheless, it has always been a moot point whether the Hebrews, at all times and in all respects, began their calendar or civil day with the night. (See Felseisen, De civili Judceorum die, Lpz. 1702; Federreuther, De diebus Egyptiacis, Altd. 1757.) It has been argued that, if this had been the case, the lawgiver could not have designated those very evenings which he wished to belong ritually to the following (15th, 10th) day, as the evenings of the previous (14th, 9th) day (Leviticus 1. c.). Further, that in common Biblical phraseology, the day is frequently mentioned before the night (Psa 1:2, etc.); and that of the fast days mentioned in Zec 8:19, only one begins with the previous evening. Finally — not to mention other objections — it has been alleged that even in ritual points the Bible occasionally reckons the night as following, not as preceding the day (Lev 7:15). There seems, in fact, no other way of reconciling these apparent inconsistencies than to assume (comp. Mishnah, Chulin, v. 6) that no absolute rule had been laid down with respect to the commencement of the civil day, and that usage varied somewhat with the customs of the people where the Hebrews were for the time sojourning. The prevalent method of computation, however, is evinced by the fact that the Jewish civil day still begins, not with the morning, but the evening — thus the Sabbath commences with the sunset of Friday, and ends with the sunset of Saturday. That this was the case in Judaea in our Savior’s day is evident from the evangelists’ account of the Passion. In New England the same mode of reckoning the Sabbath was formerly common. SEE FESTIVAL.

The Jews are supposed, like the modern Arabs, to have adopted from an early period minute specifications of the parts of the natural day (see Jour. Sac. Lit. Jan. 1862, p. 471). Roughly, indeed, they were content to divide it into “morning, evening, and noonday” (Psa 55:17); but when they wished for greater accuracy they pointed to six unequal parts, each of which was again subdivided. These are held to have been:

(I.) Ne’sheph, נֶשֶׁŠ(from נָשִׁŠ, to blow), and shach’ar, שִׁחִר, or the dawn. After their acquaintance with Persia they divided this into (a) the time when the eastern and (b) when the western horizon was illuminated, like the Greek Leucothea — Matuta Ñ and Aurora; or “the gray dawn” (Milton) and the rosy dawn. Hence we find the dual Shaharaim as a proper name (1Ch 8:8). The writers of the Jerus. Talmud divide the dawn into four parts, of which there was;

1. Aijeleth ha-shachar (q.v.), “the gazelle of the morning,” a name by which the Arabians call the sun (comp. “eyelids of the dawn,” Job 3:9; ἁμέρας βλέφαρον, Soph. Antig. 109). This was the time when Christ arose (Mar 16:2; Joh 20:1; Rev 22:16; ἡ ἐπιφωσκούση, Mat 28:1). The other three divisions of the dawn were,

2. “when one can distinguish blue from white” (πρωϊv, σκοτίας ἔτι οὔσης, Joh 20:1; “obscurum adhuc cceptae lucis,” Tacit. H. 4:2). At this time they began to recite the phylacteries.

3. When the east began to grow light (ὄρθρος βαθύς, Luk 24:1).

4. Twilight (λίαν πρωϊv, ἀνατείλαντος τοῦ ἡλίου, Mar 16:2; Lightfoot, Hor. Hebr. ad loc.). SEE DAWN.

(II.) Bo’ker, בֹּקֶר, sunrise. Some suppose that the Jews, like other Oriental nations, commenced their civil day at this time until the Exodus (Jennings’s Jewish Ant.). SEE MORNING.

(III.) Chom hay-Yom’, הֹם הִיּוֹם, “heat of the day” (Sept. ἕως διεθερμάνθη ἡ ἡμέρα, 1Sa 11:11; less exactly elsewhere μεσημβρία), about 9 o’clock in the forenoon.

(IV.) Tsohora’yim, צָהַרִיַם, “the two noons” (Gen 43:16; Deu 28:29). SEE NOON.

(V.) Ru’ach hay-Yom’, רוּחִ הִיּוֹם, “the cool (liter. wind) of the day,” before sunset (Gen 3:8); so called by the Persians to this day (Chardin, Voy. 4:8; Jahn, Bibl. Arch. § 29). SEE AFTERNOON.

(VI.) E’reb, עֶרֶב“evening.” The phrase “between the two evenings” (Exo 16:12; Exo 30:8), being the time marked for slaying the paschal lamb and offering the evening sacrifice (Exo 12:6; Exo 29:39), led to a dispute between the Karaites and Samaritans on the one hand, and the Pharisees on the other. The former took it to mean between sunset and full darkness (Deu 16:6); the Rabbinists explained it as the time between the beginning (δείλη πρωϊvα, “little evening”) and end of sunset (δ. ὀψία), or real sunset; Josephus, War, 6:9, 3; Gesenius, s.v.; Jahn, Bibl. Archcaeol. § 101; Bochart, Hieroz. 1:558). SEE EVENING.

(VII.) Chatsoth’, חֲצוֹת(from חָצָה, “to divide”), midnight. In later Hebrew also mid-day (Mishna, Pesach, 4:1, 5, 6). SEE MIDNIGHT.

Since the Sabbath was reckoned from sunset to sunset (Lev 23:32), the Sabbatarian Pharisees, in that spirit of scrupulous superstition which so often called forth the rebukes of our Lord, were led to settle the minutest rules for distinguishing the actual instant when the Sabbath began (ὀψία, Mat 8:16 = ὅτε ἔδυ ὁ ἣλιος, Mar 1:32). They therefore called it the time between the actual sunset and the appearance of three stars (Maimon. in Shabb. c. 5; comp Neh 4:21-22); and the Talmudists decided that “if on the evening of the Sabbath a man did any work after one star had appeared, he was forgiven; if after the appearance of two, he must offer a sacrifice for a doubtful transgression; if after three stars were visible, he must offer a sin-offering;” the order being reversed for works done on the evening after the actual Sabbath (Lightfoot, Hor. Hebr. ad Mat 8:16; Otho, Lex. Rab. s.v. Sabbathum). SEE SUNSET.

Before the Captivity the Jews divided the night into three watches (Psa 63:6; Psa 90:4), viz. the first watch, lasting till midnight (Lam 2:19, A. V. “the beginning of the watches”) =ἀρχὴ νυκτός; the “middle watch” (which proves the statement), lasting till cock-crow (Jdg 7:19) = μέσον νυκτῶν; and the morning watch, lasting till sunrise (Exo 14:24) = άμφιλύκη νύξ (Homer, II. 7:433). These divisions were probably connected with the Levitical duties in the Temple service. The Jews, however, say (in spite of their own definition, “a watch is the third part of the night”) that they always had four night-watches (comp. Neh 9:3), but that the fourth was counted as a part of the morning (Buxtorf’s Lex. Talm. col. 2454; Carpzov, Appar. Crit. p. 347; Reland, Antiq. pt. 4, § 18). SEE WATCH.

In the N.T. we have allusions to four watches, a division borrowed from the Greeks (Herod. 9:51) and Romans (φυλακή· τὸ τέταρτον μέρος τῆς νυκτός, Suid.). These were, 1. ὀψέ, ὀψία, or ὀψία éρα, from twilight till 9 o’clock (Mar 11:11; Joh 20:19); 2. (μεσονύκτιον, midnight, from 9 till 12 o’clock (Mar 13:35); 3. ἀλεκτοροφωνία, till 3 in the morning (Mar 13:35; 3Ma 5:23); 4. πρωϊv, till daybreak, the same as πρωϊvα (éρα) (Joh 18:28; Josephus, Ant. v. 6, 5; 18:9, 6). SEE NIGHT.

The word held to mean “hour” is first found in Dan 3:6; Dan 3:15, Dan 3:5 (שָׁעָה, shaah’, also “a moment,” Dan 4:19). Perhaps the Jews, like the Greeks, learned from the Babylonians the division of the day into twelve parts (Herod. 2:109). In our Lord’s time the division was common (Joh 11:9). It is probable that Ahaz introduced the first sun-dial from Babylon (ὡρολόγιον, מִעֲלוֹת, Isa 38:8; 2Ki 20:11), as Anaximenes did the first σκιάθηρον into Greece (Jahn, Arch. § 101). Possibly the Jews at a later period adopted the clepsydra (Joseph. Ant. 11:6). The third, sixth, and ninth hours were devoted to prayer (Dan 6:10; Act 2:15; Act 3:1, etc.). SEE HOUR.

The days of the week had no proper names among the Hebrews, but were distinguished only by their numeral order from the Sabbath (see Lightfoot’s Works , 2:334, ed. Pitman). SEE WEEK.

The expression ἐπιούσιον, rendered “daily” in Mat 6:11, is a ἃπ. λεγ., and has been much disputed. It is unknown to classical Greek (ἔοικε πεπλάσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν Εὐαγγελιστῶν, Origen, Orat. 16). The Vulg. has supersubstantialem, a rendering recommended by Abelard to the nuns of the Paraclete. Theophyl. explains it as equivalent to sufficient (ὁ ἐπὶ τא οὐσίᾷ καὶ συστάσει ἡμῶν αὐταρκής), and he is followed by most commentators (compare Chrysost. Hom. in Or. Domin., Suid. and Etym. M. s.v.). Salmasius, Grotius, etc. arguing from the rendering מָחָרּin the Nazarene Gospel, translate it as though it were equivalent to to-morrow’s (τῆς ἐπιούσης ἡμέρας, or εἰς αὔριον, Sixt. Senensis Bibl. Sanct. p. 444 a). But see the question examined at length (after Tholuck) in Alford’s Greek Test. ad loc; Schleusner, Lex. s.v.; Wetstein, N.T. i, p. 461, etc. SEE DAILY. In Eze 4:4-6, a day is put symbolically for a year. Erroneously supposing this statement to be a precedent, many interpreters of the prophecies have taken it for granted that one day stands for a year in the prophetic writings of Daniel and John. Such, however, is not the case; -the word day is to be taken in its literal sense, unless the context expressly intimates the contrary. On the prophetic or year-day system (Lev 25:3-4; Num 14:34), see a treatise in Elliot’s Hor. Apoc. 3, 154, sq., and Prof. Stuart on “The Designations of Time in the Apocalypse,” Bib. Repository, v. 33-83. SEE YEAR.

The ancients superstitiously held that certain days were lucky (fasti) and others unlucky (nefasti), and the distinction was sometimes indicated by different colors in the calendar (‘red-calendar” or rubric). SEE CALENDAR.

The duration of the Mosaic or demiurgic days of Genesis 5-31, has been a matter of considerable dispute. The various opinions on this subject, and the difficulties in which most of them are involved, are stated under the head of CREATION SEE CREATION . See also the articles SEE COSMOGONY; SEE SABBATH; SEE MILLENNIUM; the Methodist Quarterly Review, April, 1865; Evangelical Quarterly Review, January, 1868 (art. Geology).

The word day is often used by the sacred writers to denote an indefinite time (Gen 2:4; Isa 22:5). The “day of temptation in the wilderness” was forty years (Heb 3:8). The “day of the Lord” signifies, generally, a time of calamity and distress (Isa 2:12; Joe 2:11). It is also used of a festal day (Hos 7:5), a birthday (Job 3:1), a day of ruin (Hos 1:11; Job 18:20; comp. tempus, tempora reipublicae, Cic., and dies Cannensis), the judgment-day (Joe 1:15; 1Th 5:2), the kingdom of Christ (Joh 8:56; Rom 13:12), and in other senses which are mostly self- explaining (see Wemyss, Symbol. Dict. s.v.). In 1Co 4:3, ὑπὸ ἀνθρωπίνης ἡμέρας is rendered ‘by man’s judgment:” Jerome (ad Algas. Quaest. x) considers this a Cilicism (Bochart, Hieroz. 2:471). On Rom 13:12, there are two treatises — Kuinol, Explicatio (Giess. 1808); Rachm, De nocte et die (Tubingen, 1764). SEE TIME.

The phrases “LAST DAY” (or days), “THAT DAY,” are “the general formula of the prophets for an indefinitely left future opened up in perspective” (Stier, Words of Jesus, 2:361, Am. ed.), designating the Messianic period, with its introductory age, that of the Maccabees (after the return from exile), and its consummation in the millennium. SEE ESCHATOLOGY. In a more literal and limited sense, the final judgment is designated. SEE LAST DAY.

Day. The Hebrews, probably, from the narrative of creation, Gen 1:5; see Dan 8:14, marg., began their day at sunset. Lev 23:32. Their divisions of the day appear to have been in early times very inartificial. Thus we read of a distribution into three parts—evening, morning, and noon. Psa 55:17. The first mention of an hour is by the prophet Daniel, Dan 3:6; Dan 3:15; Dan 4:19, "for a while," R. V.; 5:5; probably, then, the reckoning of the twelve hours or the day was borrowed from the Chaldeans. In New Testament times it was a well understood distribution of time. Joh 11:9. These twelve hours, extending from sunrise to sunset, were, of course, of variable length. The variation is not, however, so much as it would be in our latitude: and, the sixth hour being noon, the third may be roughly said to be our nine in the morning, the ninth three in the afternoon. The nights were divided into watches, at first three, afterwards four. The word "day" is used in various senses, sometimes for a festal or birthday, Job 3:1; sometimes for the great day of God’s judgment, Act 17:31; 2Ti 1:18. The meaning is sometimes indefinite, as it is with us, Gen 2:4; and according to some the "days" of creation, Gen 1:6; Gen 1:8; Gen 1:13; Gen 1:19; Gen 1:23; Gen 1:31, indicate not natural days, but long periods of time. Day is also used symbolically, Num 14:34; and sharp contests there are among interpreters of prophecy whether the days of Dan 12:11-12; Rev 11:3; Rev 11:9 do not mean years.

Besides the ordinary application of the word, it is used in scripture as defining different periods. The term ’that day’ often occurs in the Prophets and in the N.T. referring to the Messiah’s day, sometimes connected with judgement and sometimes with blessing, the context of each passage showing its application. The subject generally may be divided into:

1. the days of the Law and the Prophets, which extended from the giving of the law until the coming of the Messiah. "At the end of these days [God] has spoken to us in [His] Son," as Heb 1:2 should read. This introduced Messiah’s Day. But He was rejected and His reign postponed. In the meantime:

2. The Day of Grace supervenes, during which the church is being called out. The Lord Jesus wrought out redemption, ascended to heaven, and sent down the Holy Spirit. Of this time He said "In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you" Joh 14:20 cf. also Joh 16:23; Joh 16:26. The present period is referred to as man’s day. 1Co 4:3, margin. These are also ’the last days’ in which scoffers would come. 2Pe 3:3; Jud 1:18.

3. Messiah’s Day, when He returns in judgement and then to reign. "The day is at hand." Rom 13:12; Heb 10:25. "The day shall declare it." 1Co 3:13. It is also called ’the last day.’ Joh 6:39-51; Joh 11:24; Joh 12:48. And it is called ’the great day.’ Elijah will come before the great and dreadful day of the Lord. Mal 4:5. The kings of the earth will be gathered to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. Rev 16:14. It is also called ’the day of Christ’ and ’the day of Jesus Christ.’ Php 1:6; Php 1:10; Php 2:16; cf. 1Co 1:8; 2Co 1:14.

DAY

1. Literal.—The length of the ‘day’ among the ancients was reckoned in various ways: thus, from morning to morning (Babylonians), from sunset to sunset (Athenians), from noon to noon (Umbrians), from midnight to midnight (Egyptians), and from dawn to dark by the common people, ordinarily (see Plin. HN ii. 79). The early Israelites seem to have regarded the morning as the beginning of the day (cf. Gen 1:5; Gen 1:8 ff.), but they likewise (due to the influence of the new moon) reckoned it from ‘even unto even’ (Lev 23:32). In Luk 22:34 also the new day began after sunset (cf. Luk 4:40). In the NT ἡμέρα was employed to express: (1) the period of light in opposition to night (Luk 6:13 ‘and when it was day,’—a frequent phrase in St. Luke’s writings, cf. Luk 4:42, Luk 22:66, Act 12:18; Act 16:35; Act 23:12; Act 27:29; Act 27:33; Act 27:39, also Joh 9:4, 2Co 11:25); (2) the natural day, including the periods both of light and darkness (Mat 28:1 ἐπιφωσκούσῃ, cf. Luk 22:34); (3) an indefinite period of time (Luk 1:5; Luk 1:39 ἐν ταῖς ἠμέραις ταύταις, ‘in those days’; St. Luke is fond of this expression, it is not found in Jn., and occurs but four times in Mt. and the same number of times in Mk.; cf. Luk 2:1; Luk 4:2, Act 2:18; Act 3:24; Act 7:41 etc., also Mat 2:1; Mat 3:1, Mar 1:9; Mar 8:1; Mar 13:17; Mar 13:24 in true Hebraistic style).

Except the Sabbath, the days of the week were numbered by the Israelites, not named. Nor had the Hebrews any precise subdivision of the day, for they had no word for ‘hour’; even the Aramaic שָׁעָה, which occurs in Dan 4:16; Dan 5:5, has no exact connotation. Like the Greeks, they seem to have learned from the Babylonians how to divide the day into 12 hours,—a division first met with in the NT: ‘Are there not twelve hours in the day?’ (Joh 11:9, cf. Act 2:15, Mat 20:3-6; Mat 27:45-46 etc.). The length of the hour, however, was for a long time a variable quantity, depending, as it did, upon the season of the year, for it was always reckoned as the twelfth part of the light period. It therefore ranged from forty-nine to seventy-one minutes, according to the calendar. The more common divisions of the day among the Hebrews were morning, noonday, and evening (Psa 55:17); but they frequently spoke of ‘sunrise’ and ‘dawn’ (Mar 16:2, Joh 20:1, Rev 22:16), ‘the heat of the day’ (Mat 20:12), ‘noon’ (Gen 43:16, Deu 28:29), ‘the cool of the day’ (Gen 3:8), and ‘between the two evenings,’ .e. towards evening (Exo 12:6; Exo 16:12, cf. Act 3:1; Act 10:3; Act 10:30). The time of incense, and of cock-crowing (wh. see) was in the morning (Mar 14:30; Mar 14:72, Luk 1:10); the time of the ‘meal-offering’ was in the middle of the afternoon (1Ki 18:29; 1Ki 18:36); while ‘the time that women go out to draw water’ was towards evening (Gen 24:11).

2. Figurative.—Figurative and metaphorical uses of the word ‘day’ are also frequent in the NT: e.g. the day of Christ’s appearance, i.e. of His apocalypse, or self-revelation (Luk 17:30 ‘in the day that the Son of Man is revealed,’ ἀποκαλύπτεται, a technical expression: cf. Luk 17:24, Joh 8:56; Joh 14:20; Joh 16:23; Joh 16:26, Rom 13:12, 1Co 1:7-8, 2Th 1:7; 1Pe 1:7; 1Pe 1:13; 1Pe 4:13); ‘the day of his Parousia’ (Mat 7:22; Mat 24:36, Mar 13:32; Mar 14:25, Luk 21:34, 2Th 1:10, 2Ti 1:18, Heb 10:25); the days of His death and departure (Luk 5:35 ἐλεύσονται δὲ ἡμέραι, ‘But the days will come,’ i.e. days very different from the joyous days of wedding festivity); the Last, or Judgment day (Joh 6:39; Joh 11:24; Joh 12:48, Mat 11:22, 1Jn 4:17, 1Th 5:2, 2Ti 3:1, Jas 5:3, and by contrast 1Co 4:3 ὑπὸ ἀνθρωπίνης ἡμέρας, which describes human judgment as opposed to Christ’s day of final account, ἡμέρα τοῦ κυρίου); His day of the offer of salvation (2Co 6:2, Joh 9:4; Joh 11:9); ‘the day of Christ’ (Php 1:10); ‘the day of the Lord’ (2Th 2:2, Rom 2:10, 2Co 1:14, Rev 6:17); ‘the day of God’ (2Pe 3:12); ‘the Lord’s day,’ ἠ κυριακἠ ἡμέρα (Rev 1:10); the day of the gift of the Spirit (Joh 14:20); the day of completed salvation (Rom 13:12); ‘the evil day,’ of trial and temptation (Eph 6:13); ‘as children of the day,’ i.e. as sons who abstain from doing evil (1Th 5:5; 1Th 5:8, Rom 13:13); a day of fuller knowledge (2Pe 1:19); and, lastly, the somewhat enigmatical passage, ‘Give us this day (σήμερον) our daily (τὸν ἐπιούσιον) bread’ (Mat 6:11, Luk 11:3); the latter expression (see art. Lord’s Prayer) is not found in classical Greek, and seems to have been specially coined by the Evangelists to convey in this single context the idea of ‘needful’ or ‘the coming day’s’; the Vulgate has supersubstantialem (cf. Amer. (Revised Version margin) ). See, further, artt. Day of Christ, Day (That), Day of Judgment.

Literature.—Art. ‘Day,’ by H. A. White in Hasting’s Dictionary of the Bible , by Karl Marti in Encyc. Bibl., and by F. W. Farrar in Smith’s D^{B [Note: Dictionary of the Bible.] 2 [Note: designates the particular edition of the work referred]} ; also ‘Tag’ in Riehm’s HW^{B [Note: WB Handwörterbunch.]} ; esp. Swete’s Com. on St. Mark, and Plummer’s Com. on St. Luke, ad loc.; and cf. the artt. Time, Night, Eschatology.

George L. Robinson.

(Hebrew, "yom"):

By: Emil G. Hirsch, Michael Friedländer

In the Bible, the season of light (Gen. i. 5), lasting "from dawn [lit. "the rising of the morning"] to the coming forth of the stars" (Neh. iv. 15, 17). The term "day" is used also to denote a period of twenty-four hours (Ex. xxi. 21). In Jewish communal life part of a day is at times reckoned as one day; e.g., the day of the funeral, even when the latter takes place late in the afternoon, is counted as the first of the seven days of mourning; a short time in the morning of the seventh day is counted as the seventh day; circumcision takes place on the eighth day, even though of the first day only a few minutes remained after the birth of the child, these being counted as one day. Again, a man who hears of a vow made by his wife or his daughter, and desires to cancel the vow, must do so on the same day on which he hears of it, as otherwise the protest has no effect; even if the hearing takes place a little time before night, the annulment must be done within that little time. The day is reckoned from evening to evening—i.e., night and day—except in reference to sacrifices, where daytime and the night following constitute one day (Lev. vii. 15; see Calendar). "The day" denotes: (a) Day of the Lord; (b) the Day of Atonement; (c) the treatise of the Mishnah that contains the laws concerning the Day of Atonement (See Yoma and Sabbath).

DAY.—See Time.

dā (יום, yōm; ἡμέρα, hēméra): This common word has caused some trouble to plain readers, because they have not noticed that the word is used in several different senses in the English Bible. When the different uses of the word are understood the difficulty of interpretation vanishes. We note several different uses of the word:

(1) It sometimes means the time from daylight till dark. This popular meaning is easily discovered by the context, e.g. Gen 1:5; Gen 8:22, etc. The marked periods of this daytime were morning, noon and night, as with us. See Psa 55:17. The early hours were sometimes called “the cool of the day” (Gen 3:8). After the exile the day. or daytime was divided into twelve hours and the night into twelve (see Mat 20:1-12; Joh 11:9; Act 23:23); 6 a.m. would correspond to the first hour, 9 a.m. to the third; 12 noon to the sixth, etc. The hours were longer during the longer days and shorter during the shorter days, since they always counted 12 hours between sunrise and sunset.

(2) Day also means a period of 24 hours, or the time from sunset to sunset. In Bible usage the day begins with sunset (see Lev 23:32; Exo 12:15-20; 2Co 11:25, where night is put before day). See DAY AND NIGHT.

(3) The word “day” is also used of an indefinite period, e.g “the day” or “day that” means in general “that time” (see Gen 2:4; Lev 14:2); “day of trouble” (Psa 20:1); “day of his wrath” (Job 20:28); “day of Yahweh” (Isa 2:12); “day of the Lord” (1Co 5:5; 1Th 5:2; 2Pe 3:10); “day of salvation” (2Co 6:2);. “day of Jesus Christ” (Php 1:6).

(4) It is used figuratively also in Joh 9:4, where “while it is day” means “while I have opportunity to work, as daytime is the time for work.” In 1Th 5:5, 1Th 5:8, “sons of the day” means spiritually enlightened ones.

(5) We must also bear in mind that with God time is not reckoned as with us (see Psa 90:4; 2Pe 3:8).

(6) The apocalyptic use of the word “day” in Dan 12:11; Rev 2:10, etc., is difficult to define. It evidently does not mean a natural day. See APOCALYPSE.

(7) On the meaning of “day” in the story of Creation we note (a) The word “day” is used of the whole period of creation (Gen 2:4); (b) These days are days of God, with whom one day is as a thousand years; the whole age or period of salvation is called “the day of salvation”; see above. So we believe that in harmony with Bible usage we may understand the creative days as creative periods. See also ASTRONOMY; CREATION; EVOLUTION.

Figurative: The word “day” is used figuratively in many senses, some of which are here given.

(1) The span of human life. - Gen 5:4: “And the days of Adam ... were eight hundred years.” “And if thou wilt walk ... then I will lengthen thy days” (1Ki 3:14; compare Psa 90:12; Isa 38:5).

(2) An indefinite time. - Existence in general: Gen 3:14: “All the days of thy life” (compare Gen 21:34; Num 9:19; Jos 22:3; Luk 1:24; Act 21:10).

(3) A set time. - Gen 25:24: “And when her days ... were fulfilled”; Dan 12:13: “Thou shalt stand in thy lot, at the end of the days” (compare Lev 12:6; Dan 2:44).

(4) A historic period. - Gen 6:4: “The Nephilim were in the earth in those days”; Jdg 17:6: “In those days there was no king in Israel” (compare 1Sa 3:1; 1Ch 5:17; Hos 2:13).

(5) Past time. - Psa 18:18: “the day of my calamity”; Psa 77:5: “I have considered the days of old” (of Mic 7:20; Mal 3:7; Mat 23:30).

(6) Future time. - Deu 31:14: “Thy days approach that thou must die”; Psa 72:7: “In his days shall ....” (compare Eze 22:14; Joe 2:29; Mat 24:19; 2Pe 3:3; Rev 9:6).

(7) The eternal. - In Dan 7:9, Dan 7:13, where God is called “the ancient of days.”

(8) A season of opportunity. - Joh 9:4: “We must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work” (compare Rom 13:12, Rom 13:13; 1Th 5:5-8). See DAY (4), above.

(9) Time of salvation. - Specially referring to the hopes and prospects of the parousia (see ESCHATOLOGY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT). Rom 13:12: “The night is far spent, and the day is at hand.”

(Sabbath)

Jer 17:21 (b) This time of rest was a picture of the real and true rest which the believer has in JESUS CHRIST. CHRIST is the true Sabbath. All the other sabbaths were a picture of Him. They pointed forward to Him. In these days CHRIST JESUS invites us in the words, "Come unto Me" - "I will give you rest." This rest is described more fully in Hebrews, chapter 3 and chapter 4. (See also Col 2:16-17).

-(of wrath; Job 20:28);

-(of temptation Heb 3:8);

-(of trouble Psa 102:2);

-(of the Lord 1Th 5:2).

All of these days represent an unspecified length of time in which certain conditions exist as described by the word that is used. The expression "day of the Lord" refers particularly to the time when the Lord JESUS is ruling and reigning, exercising His authority. He calls this "my day" in Joh 8:56.

Day (numerical). For an explanation of the expression "forty days" and other expressions wherein other numbers are used, see under "NUMBERS."

Ecc 7:1 (c) This probably refers to the time when the blessings of life have accumulated and the rewards for faithful service are given the Christian. Death takes him to his reward.

Isa 7:17 (c) Probably this refers to times when the wicked prosper, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, and there seem to be no signs of sorrow.

Joh 9:4 (b) Here is a reference to the few years in which the Saviour lived on earth. He walked among men as the light of life and gave light on the mysteries of life.

1Th 5:4 (b) By this is indicated the time when our Lord shall return to earth as the Sun of Righteousness to scatter the clouds of unbelief and the dark shadows of sin.

People in Bible times used the word ‘day’ with a wide range of meanings, as we do today. They may have used it for the normal 24-hour day (Num 10:11; Act 20:7), for the hours of daylight in contrast to the hours of night (Luk 18:7; Joh 9:4), for a particular time or occasion (Jer 12:3; Jer 16:19; Luk 6:23), or for a more lengthy period such as an age or era (Joh 8:56; 2Co 6:2).

In an age when there were no clocks as we know them today, people estimated the time of day according to the sun. Times were only approximate, for the number of hours of daylight varied throughout the year. Usually people counted the hours according to a 12-hour division from sunrise to sunset. Therefore, if the approximate time of sunrise was 6 a.m. (Gen 32:21; Gen 32:24; Gen 32:31; Mar 16:2), the third hour would be about 9 a.m. (Mar 15:25; Act 2:15), the sixth hour would be about noon (Mar 15:33; Act 10:9), the ninth hour would be about 3 p.m. (Mar 15:33; Act 3:1), and the twelfth hour would be about 6 p.m., or sunset (Mar 1:32; Joh 11:9; cf. Mat 20:3; Mat 20:5-6; Mat 20:12; see also SABBATH).

During the time of the Roman administration, the twelve hours of night were divided into four periods, or watches (Mat 14:25; Luk 12:38). In former times, the Jews divided the night into three watches (Exo 14:24; Jdg 7:19).

The contrast between day and night provided preachers with an obvious illustration to contrast good and evil. The present era is a night of moral darkness, in contrast to the day of light that will dawn at Christ’s return (Rom 13:11-13; 1Th 5:4-8). The return of Christ is the great day that will bring the world’s history to its climax (Php 1:6; Php 1:10; Php 2:16; Heb 10:25; see DAY OF THE LORD).

The day Christ will come to judge

everyone and take his people to live

with him.