What Constitutes a Day in Scripture?

Scripture Study
© 2005 by Daniel Middleton

CURRENTLY, WHEN WE speak of time in relation to a day, many of us usually
regard that day as a 24-hour period, and this generally because of tradition. It has
been habit forming from generation to generation, but where did this 24-hour day
originate, and furthermore, is it Scriptural?

We will examine those questions here, especially with regard to what actually
constitutes a Sabbath day, according to Scripture.

It is believed that in ancient times, to mark divisions in the day, the Sumerians,
with their palms facing them, used their thumbs to count each of the three
bendable segments of the four fingers on both hands, which, taken together,
numbers 12 each, one hand representing night, the other, day. Each segment of
the finger represented an hour, and the Sumerians’ base number was 12, unlike
what we use as our base today, that being 10 (ten dimes in a dollar, ten tens in a
hundred, ten hundreds in a thousand, etc.).

Building on this the Babylonians developed a more sophisticated system to further
measure time, using instead their base number 60, known as a sexigesimal
number system, thus giving the hour 60 minutes, which in later Latin became
known as pars minuta prima, or the first small part, meaning “minute,” and 60
seconds in that minute, known as pars minuta secunda, or the second small part,
meaning “second.”

Essentially, all this gives us so far are divisions of days into hours of 12 and nights
into hours of 12 (and those hours carved up into minutes and seconds of course)
but a 24-hour day and night period was not introduced until Hipparchus of Rhodes,
a Greek astronomer from the 2nd century BCE, came along. Of note, he also
suggested the system of latitude and longitude, as well as that of the brightness of
stars, known as magnitude, which we still use today, among other important
discoveries.

By the time of Messiah, this system of 24-hour days was already in play, though
he did not acknowledge it. Why? Because the Scriptures themselves bear out
what constitutes a day, without the double meaning of a 12 and 24-hour period.

Going back to the book of Bereshith (Genesis), beginning at chapter 1 and verse
3 we read: “And Elohim said, ‘Let light come to be,’ and light came to be. And
Elohim saw the light, that it was good. And Elohim separated the light from the
darkness. And Elohim called the light ‘day’ and the darkness He called ‘night’ ”—
Bereshith 1:3-5.

The verse goes on to say that evening came and morning came, the first day. Now
many take this and tend to run with it, saying that the evening and morning
constitute a 24-hour period, when we clearly see that Elohim, or Yeshua himself
that is—Ibrim (Hebrews) 1:2—separated the light, subsequently called day, from
the darkness, known as night, thus day and night were separate and distinct.

The evening and morning having come simply refers to a night period that passed,
which in essence meant that the work of creation stopped as an example to man,
for Yeshua himself said, and we’ll take the literal sense here: “It is necessary for
Me to work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day—night is coming, when
no one is able to work”—Yochanan (John) 9:4. So you see, the evening to
morning period marked the night that caused work to cease, as when men slept
when night came long ago, prior to electricity, unable to work until the morning light
arrived. But the works of the first day of creation were officially counted when the
night, the period of darkness attached to the previous separate and distinct day,
was over.

Incidentally, the Hebrew word used for day in Scripture is most often yom, which
means to be hot, or warm, which references the actions of the sun. The sun is
only out during daylight hours, thus yom, or day, meant, literally, the period of light
that is generally 12 hours during the spring and fall seasons, and not a period of
24 hours, with day and night combined. Another instance of a Hebrew word being
translated as day is boqer, which means dawn, or break of day, and morning.
Boqer is used in Shophetim (Judges) 16:2, where it is translated in ISR’s the
Scriptures as “daylight.”

Citing that verse as well as the one before it we read: “And Shimshon (Samson)
went to Azzah and saw a woman there, a whore, and went in to her—the
Azzathites saying, ‘Shimshon has come here!’ So they went round and lay in wait
for him all night at the gate of the city, and kept silent all night, saying, ‘In the
morning, when it is daylight (boqer) then we shall kill him’ ”—Shophetim 16:1, 2. In
a twisted way, this fulfills Yeshua’s statement: “night is coming, when no one is
able to work.”

Another Hebrew word used as day in some translations is shachar, which means
dawn, and comes from another word of roughly the same spelling which means, to
dawn or be early. To deviate a bit, some hold that the day begins and ends at
evening, and that a seventh-day Sabbath lasts from sunset to sunset, but neither
of these assumptions are proven from Scripture.

When the beginning of day is spoken of in Scripture it is usually done so by being
referenced as the dawn of, or break of day, seeing day involves light and not
darkness, so cannot begin when it is growing dark out, like so many falsely believe.

The word shachar, in addition to boqer, is another wonderful example of this.
Shachar is used in a very familiar passage of Scripture that has Ya’aqob (Jacob)
wrestling with a messenger of Yah. In Bereshith (Genesis) 32:24 we read: “And
Ya’aqob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of day
(shachar).” Two verses later we read: “And He (the messenger) said: ‘Let Me go,
for the day (shachar) breaks.’ ”

So dawn, and not evening, according to two Hebrew words, boqer and shachar,
marks the beginning of the day, which itself, attested to by yet another Hebrew
word, yom, occurs during daylight hours, and not night, thus negating the 24-hour
day theory.

The next example in our study is the Hebrew word mochoratham, which means
simply, the morrow, or tomorrow. It is found in 1 Shemu’el (Samuel) 30:17, in a
passage that recounts a fierce battle between King Dawid (David) and the
Philistines. There we read: “And Dawid smote them from twilight until the evening
of the next day (mochoratham).” This verse could easily be used by someone
trying to prove the day-begins-at-evening theory, but it would be done so in
falsehood, for the word mochoratham, translated day, in that it is the morrow,
means only that the period of daylight following the current one is being mentioned.

Note that both twilight and evening are mentioned, but not as beginning periods of
the day, but rather as the final portions within that daylight period. Twilight of
course refers to the time of the day when the sun is just below the horizon,
especially the period between sunset and dark when light is diffused. This can
occur during early morning as well, but here I believe the word twilight is speaking
of early evening, given the fact that in Hebrew it is nesheph, which refers to a
prevailing evening breeze. Thus, Dawid smote the Philistines from the early
evening of one day, all through the night and up to the evening of the day that
followed. In other words, the smiting took about 24 hours.

This word, mochoratham, to further lay bare the theory of a 24-hour day, is also
found in the book of Yonah (Jonah) chapter 4 and verse 7. It reads: “But as
morning dawned the next day (mochoratham) . . .” illuminating once more that the
morrow, the day following, began in the morning.

Again, owr, for yet another example, is a Hebrew word which means to be or
make, luminous. And luminosity, as we should all know, has to do with something
emitting light, or something that is full of light. Therefore, when we come to 2
Shemu’el 2:32, we can again glean the essential truth that has been highlighted in
this study, for there we read: “And they brought Asah’el and buried him in his
father’s tomb, which was in Beyth Lechem (Bethlehem). And Yo’ab and his men
went all night, and they came to Chebron (Hebron) at daybreak (owr).”

Thus the day, as even a child knows, begins in the morning, when light appears,
and ends at evening, when light diminishes, having nothing to do with the night,
which means it is not a period of 24-hours.

Now, without explaining the stories surrounding the texts, we will quote some
verses that will further demonstrate, from Scripture, that a day is actually from
morning to evening. First we give you Shophetim (Judges) 19:9: “And the man
arose to go, he and his concubine and his servant. But his father-in-law, the young
woman’s father, said to him, ‘See, the day is now drawing toward evening. Please
spend the night. See, the day is coming to an end. Stay here, and let your heart
be glad. And you shall rise early tomorrow for your journey, and you shall go to
your tent.’ ”

Again in Shophetim 19:25, 26 we read: “But the men would not listen to him. So
the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and
rolled themselves on her all night until morning, and let her go when the day began
to break. And as morning appeared the woman came back and fell down at the
door of the man’s house where her master was, till it was light.”

Often, we read these fascinating accounts in Scripture that cause us to get so
caught up in the details of the stories that we in turn miss the important points of
truth concerning subjects such as the one we are covering herein, that is, what
constitutes a day in Scripture. Therefore, we are cutting to the chase so to speak
and giving you the meat of the texts dealing with our topic, the day.

Moving on to the book of Shemoth (Exodus) 18:13 we read: “And it came to be,
on the next day, that Mosheh (Moses) sat to rightly rule the people. And the
people stood before Mosheh from morning until evening.”

Also, Shemoth 32:5, 6 reads: “And Aharon (Aaron) saw and built an altar before it.
And Aharon called out and said, ‘Tomorrow is a festival to YHWH.’ And they rose
early on the next day, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings.
And the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.”

Then there is Shemoth 19:10, 11, 16: “And YHWH said to Mosheh, ‘Go to the
people and set them apart today and tomorrow. And they shall wash their
garments, and shall be prepared by the third day. For on the third day YHWH shall
come down upon Mount Sinai before the eyes of all the people.’ . . . And it came
to be, on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and
a thick cloud on the mountain. And the sound of the ram’s horn was very loud, and
all the people who were in the camp trembled.”

This lesson is not limited to the Old Testament alone, for in Luke 24:29 we read,
quite plainly, and startlingly: “But they urged Him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us,
for it is toward evening, and the day has declined.’ And He went in to stay with
them.”

Yeshua himself, the Messiah of Yah, spoke plainly of the day as well. In the book
of Yochanan (John) chapter 11, which is the chapter that speaks of his friend, El’
azar (Lazarus) dying, in verses 9 and 10 we read: “Yeshua answered, ‘Are there
not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble,
because he sees the light of this world. But if anyone walks in the night, he
stumbles, because the light is not in him.’ ” This was spoken just before Passover,
as the beginning of the very next chapter illustrates. Thus, it was springtime, and in
Yerushalayim (Jerusalem) this meant that there would indeed be around 12 full
hours of daylight unlike in winter, so Yeshua spoke the truth as always.

The Sabbath Day

When Sabbath-keeping believers speak of the Sabbath, or observe it, this usually
entails a 24-hour, evening to evening period. Let us look at the relevance of this
from Scripture. Beginning in the book of Shemoth (Exodus) chapter 16, we will
look at verses 19-26 which picks up in the middle of an incident dealing with the
bread, the “Manna” that was to rain from the heavens:

19And Mosheh said, “Let no one leave any of it until morning.” 20And they did not
listen to Mosheh, so some of them left part of it until morning, and it bred worms
and stank. And Mosheh was wroth with them. 21And they gathered it every
morning each one according to his need. And when the sun became hot, it melted.
22And it came to be, on the sixth day, that they gathered twice as much bread,
two omers for each one. And all the rulers of the congregation came and told
Mosheh. 23And he said to them, “This is what YHWH has said, ‘Tomorrow is a
rest, a Sabbath set-apart to YHWH. That which you bake, bake; and that which
you cook, cook. And lay up for yourselves all that is left over, to keep it until
morning.’ ” 24And they laid it up till morning, as Mosheh commanded. And it did
not stink, and no worm was in it. 25And Mosheh said, “Eat it today, for today is a
Sabbath to YHWH, today you do not find it in the field. 26“Gather it six days, but
on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, there is none.”

Shemoth 16:19-26.

Please note that the verses specifically say that “Tomorrow” was “a rest, a
Sabbath,” and that the people laid up the bread “till morning,” and not until that
morning actually appeared did Mosheh come out and say, “Eat it today, for today
is a Sabbath.” The Sabbath did not begin the evening before, but in the morning,
when it was declared “today is a Sabbath.”

Next we have another witness in Nechemyah (Nehemiah) where in chapter 13:15-
19 we read:

15In those days I saw in Yehudah (Judah) those treading wine presses on the
Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and loading donkeys with wine, grapes, and
figs, and all kinds of burdens, which they brought into Yerushalayim on the
Sabbath day. So I warned them on the day they sold food. 16And men of Tsor
(Tyre) dwelt there, bringing in fish and all kinds of goods, and sold them on the
Sabbath to the children of Yehudah, and in Yerushalayim. 17Then I contended
with the nobles of Yehudah, and said to them, “What evil matter is this that you
are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? 18“Did not your fathers do the same so
that our Elohim brought all this evil on us and on this city? Yet you bring added
wrath on Yisra’el (Israel) by profaning the Sabbath.” 19And it came to be, at the
gates of Yerushalayim, as it began to be dark before the Sabbath, that I
commanded the gates to be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened
till after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, so that no
burdens would be brought in on the Sabbath day.

Nechemyah 13:15-19.

Now to elaborate on verse 19, how can it be dark “before the Sabbath” if the
Sabbath occurs during the night as well and is supposed to begin at “evening?”
Doesn’t the term “it began to be dark” refer to the evening, at which point the
Sabbath allegedly begins? So why do we have it that this was also “before the
Sabbath?” This means that Sabbath rightly occurs only during daylight hours, from
morning to evening. When it began to be dark, the gates were commanded to be
shut, not because Sabbath was about to begin, but because it would have been
considered work closing them on the morning of the Sabbath, and it couldn’t be
done during the night darkness, so it was done before it became fully dark.
Yeshua said it best: “night is coming, when no one is able to work.”

Another passage in Nechemyah further demonstrates this point. In chapter 4 and
verses 21 and 22 we read: “So we labored in the work, and half of them held the
spears from the break of day until the stars appeared. At that time I also said to
the people, ‘Let each man and his servant spend the night in Yerushalayim, and
they shall be our guard by night, and for the work by day.’ ”

Finally we come to the mother of all quotes when dealing with this subject, and it is
found in the book of Wayyiqra (Leviticus) chapter 23. There we find the law
pertaining to the Day of Atonement. Many use these verses to, again, “prove” a
24-hour day. Beginning at verse 27, and we won’t quote it in its entirety, we read,
“ ‘On the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement.’ ” Moving down
to verse 32 we read: “ ‘It is a Sabbath of rest to you, and you shall afflict your
beings. On the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you
observe your Sabbath.’ ”

First let us note that this is the only text wherein descriptive language is used to
explain the duration of a Sabbath, and it is one of only two that is known as a high
Sabbath, which we’ll explain shortly. Second, note that Yah mentions both the
ninth and tenth day here. People tend to use this to say the tenth day begins on
the evening of the ninth day, but that is confusing and misleading. The ninth day at
evening is self-explanatory, in that the “ninth day” is in and of itself its own day,
and not the beginning of the tenth, otherwise it would be called the tenth day. This
was a rare Sabbath, hence the thorough explanation by Yah regarding its
observance.

The other high Sabbath was the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the
details of which can also be found in Wayyiqra chapter 23. Preceding the first day
of the Festival of Unleavened Bread was the Passover, which, according to verse
5 of chapter 23, was commanded to be held, according to the Hebrew sense,
between the evenings, whereas others translate it evening.

Between the evenings is a Hebrew idiom that refers to either 3:00 p.m., according
to the Pharisees, or dusk, according to the Sadducees. Regardless of who was
right, Yah darkened the day from the sixth to the ninth hour to fulfill it. At the ninth
hour, being 3:00 p.m., is when Yeshua died, fulfilling the role of our Passover
lamb—see Mattithyahu (Matthew) 27:46-50; Mark 15:34-37; Luke 23:44-46. Note
that the first hour began at 6:00 a.m., further proof that a day does not begin at
evening. How could the ninth hour be 3:00 p.m. if the day started in the evening?
Error regarding these simple truths has persisted for far too long.

Now remember that the Passover was to be observed all night, as we read in the
book of Shemoth (Exodus) chapter 12, thus it ran into the first day of Unleavened
Bread, making that day a high Sabbath. This leads us to ask, what exactly is a
high Sabbath?

In Yochanan (John) 19:31 we read: “Therefore, since it was the Preparation Day,
that the bodies should not remain on the stake on the Sabbath—for that Sabbath
was a high one—the Yehudim (tribe of Judah) asked Pilate to have their legs
broken, and that they be taken away.”

For one thing, and this is a study in and of itself, Yeshua was not killed on a
Friday, contrary to popular Christian belief, for that would not encompass three
days and three nights, which was the declared length of time he was to remain
dead—Mattithyahu 12:40. Again we see the distinction here between days and
nights.

Remember that the Day of Atonement was called a Sabbath by Yah himself back
in the book of Wayyiqra (Leviticus) chapter 23. Thus the seventh-day Sabbath
was not the only Sabbath observed by the Yedudim in Yeshua’s day. In fact, the
high Sabbath referred to in Yochanan 19:31 is in fact the first day of Unleavened
Bread, which fell, not on a Saturday, but most likely on a Thursday. Again, this is
another study we cannot get into here.

The word “high” in Yochanan 19:31, which refers to the type of Sabbath they were
preparing for, is the Greek word megas, which means big, and it is associated
with two other Greek words, megistos, which means greatest, and meizon, which
means larger. What does all this mean exactly? Well, it falls in line with exactly
what we have been saying herein. A regular Sabbath was and is from morning to
evening, but a high Sabbath, or megas Sabbath, is big, or as its associated word,
meizon denotes, it is larger than usual. This is because a previous night is
attached to it. Again, there are only two high, or big Sabbaths found in the entire
Scriptures, and they are the first day of Unleavened Bread and the Day of
Atonement.

Yeshua once said wisely, while confronting a few Pharisees, “Why do you also
transgress the command of Elohim because of your tradition?”—Mattithyahu 15:3.
If this light is new to you, and you must chew the cud of it awhile, then do so, but
when light comes, if indeed it is light, then we must live up to it. The traditions of
men causes us to err, but when we learn the truth behind these false traditions,
which in effect makes them nothing but darkness, then we are required to live up
to what we know, for “To him, then, who knows to do good and does not do it, to
him it is sin.”—Ya’aqob (James) 4:17.

So begin to observe the Sabbath as you have now learned from the Scriptures,
and not as tradition dictates. “. . . It is fitting for us to fill all righteousness.”
Matthew 3:15.

What Constitutes a Day in Scripture?