Scriptural Days Start at Dawn

Version 5

By Mark Farquharson

You may have read the days in the bible start at sunset. That they go from sundown to sundown. So that the night is followed by the day. It is not about believing what others have said, or what others believe. Some base days starting in the evening by misunderstanding Genesis 1, where it says evening and morning in most translations. Instead of believing what others say, you should study and find out for yourself. In this article I present the case for scriptural days starting at dawn.

Dawn: As the sun rises, in the sky, the first appearance of light.

There is the argument that you can have a dawn at the start of the night. This is due to the belief that days start at night, so when the scriptures say dawn, for the start of a day, they think that it is the start of the night. However this is flawed. It is based on the incorrect belief that days start at night. In scripture when it says dawn it means the start of the morning when the first light appears. Thus it is not the start of the night, it is the start of the morning and also the day.

Day: Can mean the whole day, that is a full 24 hour day or it can mean just the period of the day the sun is up. For instance in Numbers 11:32 the people rose up all that day and all the night, that is they were up all the time the sun was up and they were up all that night when the sun was down. A day can be longer than 24 hours in prophecy, but I am not covering any prophecy in this article.

Morning: Does not mean the whole lit period of the day or the whole time the sun is up. If one wanted cover the whole time the sun was up, they would general use Day as you will see.

I want to cover how morning and evening are used in other places in the scriptures, before covering Genesis 1. Most are directed to Genesis 1, to show that days go from evening to evening, or days start in the evening. However placing that aside for the moment lets see if it is evening to evening or morning to morning before getting into Genesis 1.

Sabbath:

The first time in scripture where the word “sabbath is used is in Exodus 16:22-23. Manna fell for six days, the seven day was the sabbath. On the sixth day they picked up a duplicate amount, and the princes came and told Moses {Exodus 16:22 }.

Exodus 16:23 then he {Moses} said to them: This is what Yahweh has spoken, A cessation, a holy sabbath to Yahweh is tomorrow. What you are baking, bake, and what you are cooking, cook, and all the superfluity, leave it in your charge until the morning. " {CLV}

All that was left over of the bread that was not used in the baking and cooking, they were to leave in their change until the morning.

Exodus 16:24 So they left it until the morning, just as Moses had instructed, yet it caused no stink, and no maggots came to be in it. {CLV}

The other days when they had reserved some until the morning it had worms and stink {Exodus 16:20}.

Exodus 16:25 Then Moses said: Eat it today, for there is a sabbath today to Yahweh! Today you shall not find it in the field. {CLV}

Moses instructed them to eat it today, for there is a Sabbath today. They were to reserve the left over until the morning, for when the morning came it was the sabbath, that is when they could eat it, for the sabbath had come. The Sabbath did not start in the evening, he did not say to leave it until the evening, it was to be left until the morning. When the morning came Moses said it was the sabbath, he did not say it in the evening.

Day of Atonement:

In Leviticus 23:27 the day of atonement as it is called in the KJV, or atonements in the YLT is on the tenth day of the seventh month. Also translated as “Propitiation” and “Propitiatory Shelters.”

Leviticus 23:32 It is a sabbath of rest to you, and ye have humbled yourselves in the ninth of the month at even; from evening till evening ye do keep your sabbath.' {YLT}

The actual Day of Atonement is the 10th day, not the 9th day. You were to start to humble yourselves in the evening of the previous day and then continue to humble on the tenth day, until the evening had come of the tenth day. It was spread over two days. If days started at evening then you would have been humbling yourself the evening and the day of the ninth, before the day of atonement which was the tenth.

Numbers 11:32

Numbers 11:32 The people rose all that day, all the night and all the morrow.. {CLV}

Numbers 11:32 And the people rose up all that day and all the night and all the next day.. {REB}

They rose up all that day, that is all the time the sun was up and all that night, all the time the sun was down, that was connected to that day, and all the following day. The morrow or the next day came after the night. They did not rose up all that day and all the next night….

Nehemiah 13:19 And it cometh to pass, when the gates of Jerusalem have been dark before the sabbath, that I speak, and the doors are shut, and I say, that they do not open them till after the sabbath; and of my servants I have stationed at the gates; there doth not come in a burden on the sabbath-day. {YLT}

This has been used to defend days being “evening to evening.” However it says that the gates had become dark before the sabbath. That is the sabbath had not started yet and the gates were dark.

Rise Early:

Joshua 6:15 And it cometh to pass, on the seventh day, that they rise early, at the ascending of the dawn, and compass the city, according to this manner, seven times; (only, on that day they have compassed the city seven times); {YLT}

When they rose early, on that day, was it the evening or the morning? When they rose early it was the dawn of the day. Early in the day was dawn, not evening.

Genesis 19:33-35:

Genesis 19:33-34 So they caused their father to drink wine that night,—and the firstborn went in. and lay with her father, but he noticed not her lying down nor her rising up. And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Lo! I lay, last night with my father, let us cause him to drink wine this night also, and go thou in—lie with him, that we may keep alive from our father, a seed. {REB}

Other translations have “yesternight” instead of “last night.” She laid with him that night, then she told her sister on the next day. At what point did she tell her sister? If days start at evening she would have waited though the day light hours of the day, for she did not tell her sister until the next day and then did she tell her sister in the night or the day?

If she told her sister during the day after the night that it had occurred, and days start at evening then she should have said: “I lay “tonight” with my father let us cause him to drink wine this “morrow” night also..”

Genesis 19:35 So they caused their father, on that night also to drink wine, and the younger arose, and lay with him, but he noticed not her lying down, nor her rising up. {REB}

They caused him to drink that night, not the next night.

Tomorrow always starts at dawn:

Tomorrow always starts at dawn, the break of day, never in the evening. Refer back to Exodus 16:23:

The sabbath was tomorrow, they were to leave the food in there charge until the morning, which was the start of the Sabbath.

1 Samuel 19:11 And Saul sendeth messengers unto the house of David to watch him, and to put him to death in the morning; and Michal his wife declareth to David, saying, `If thou art not delivering thy life to-night--tomorrow thou art put to death.' {YLT}

They were to put him to death in the morning, which was after the night. When the morning come, he was to be put to death, which was tomorrow.

New Testament:

In Acts 20:7-11, Paul was about to be of on the morrow and argued with them until midnight.

Acts 20:7 Now on one of the sabbaths, at our having gathered to break bread, Paul argued with them, being about to be off on the morrow. Besides, he prolonged the word unto midnight." {CLV}

When was Paul to leave? When the morning come or after another night? For he was to leave the next day. If it is evening to evening then Paul would have wait through the sunlight period of that day after speaking with them, until night had come, then did he leave in the night or wait through that night until day had come.

Acts 20:11 Now, going up and breaking bread and tasting, besides conversing a considerable time until daybreak, thus he came away." {CLV}

Paul conversed with them until daybreak and he came away. That is he left at daybreak, for that is when the morrow had come. The morrow or the next day came after the night he had conversed with them.

Jesus on the Cross:

Most would agree that the Last Supper was in the evening, and that it was the evening of the Passover, given their view of day beginning in the evening.

Matthew 26:20 Now, evening coming on, He was lying back at table with the twelve disciples." {CLV}

Mark 14:17 And, evening coming on, He is coming with the twelve." {CLV}

Yes the Last Summer was in the evening, but it was not the evening of the Passover, I will get to what day it was a little later on, but first when was Jesus taken down from the cross?

Jesus was on the cross on the Passover, most have him taken off the cross just before sundown, just before evening and quickly prepared and placed in the tomb. Because they have the Sabbath start in the evening, all of this has to be done before the start of the Sabbath. Lets now review why that is not possible.

Preparation day, in the following verses was the 14 of the first Hebrew month, the day of Passover. The sabbath that was following this day was the special sabbath, and the weekly sabbath. On the 15th of the first month was the first special sabbath of Unleavened Bread {Leviticus 23:6-8}.

Matthew 27:57 Now, evening coming on, there came a rich man.....{CLV}

Mark 15:42-43 And, already coming to be evening, since it was the preparation which is before the sabbath, Joseph from Arimathea, a respectable counselor, who himself also was anticipating the kingdom of God, coming with daring, entered in to Pilate and requests the body of Jesus." {CLV}

Jesus was on the cross at the third hour {Mark 15:25} or about 9 am and it was dark between the sixth and ninth hours {Matthew 27:45}, or until 3 pm. Joseph asked for the body when the evening had already came, not before the evening had come. When the evening came it was still the day of preparation, the sabbath had not come. If days start at the evening then the sabbath should have already come.

Why is it taught that the Last Supper is in the evening as the scriptures say, however it commonly taught that Jesus was taken of the cross just before sundown, when the scriptures state that it was the evening? This is to fit the view that days go from evening to evening, that days start at the evening. Clearly if you have both events on the day of Passover, then they can not both have been in the evening, because then you would have a day that is long than 24 hours. They both could not be occurring on the same day, and both happened in the evening.

When the evening came it was still the day of preparation, the sabbath had not come. If days start at the evening then the sabbath should have already come.

Luke 23:54 And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on. {KJV}

Luke 23:53-54 And, taking it {the body} down, he folds it up in a linen wrapper, and he places Him in a rock-hewn tomb, where no one was lying as yet." And it was the day of preparation, and a sabbath lighted up." {CLV}

“Lighted up,” translated from a Greek word meaning “to begin to grow light.”

If the Sabbath was lighting up, begin to grow light, that means the morning or dawn. Was that the start of the sabbath, or did it start when it first became dark, some 12 hours ago? The Sabbath could not have started some 12 hours ago, because they had to finish before the start of the Sabbath.

Joseph first had to request the body of Jesus from Pilate. Did he get audience with Pilate straight away, it does not say. How long did Joseph have to wait until he gained an audience. What bureaucrat will see you immediately you arrive at their office? At the time of the request it was already evening. Then Pilate calls the centurion to inquire if Jesus is dead {Mark 15:44-45}. The centurion is not in the same building, he is back at the cross. Now Pilate can not call the centurion on the phone to inquire of him. Since there were no phones, Pilate would have had to send a messenger to the cross. I have read that it would have taken five minutes. Then the centurion has to return to the office to report to Pilate, another five minutes.

After that Joseph then has to go to the cross, take the body down. This can not be done quickly as the body is literally dead weight, nailed to a cross. Joseph would have need help of others. They do not just drop the body on the ground, for there is no bone broken in the body. Which means they had to set up someway to take him gently down.

However there is still more to be done, for Nicodemus had 100 lbs of spices that I think would have been lovingly wrapped around the body of Jesus. Not quickly wrapped in a few minutes. Then they place the body in the tomb. It is taught that all this happened very quickly before the evening came. However it was already evening, and all these events would take many hours time. None of them could be done quickly. By the time this was all done, the dawn was coming of the sabbath. The sabbath was beginning to grow light.

But when was the Last Supper, if it was not the day of the Passover? It was the evening before the Passover, there was no way to have the meal on the day of the Passover. For most of the day part of the Passover Jesus was on the Cross, and then when the evening of the Passover was come he was DEAD, and placed in the tomb.

Genesis 1

In the rest of the Bible day starts at dawn which is the morning, followed by the evening of that day, and ends when the dawn comes of the next day. It should not be any different in Genesis 1.

Yom: Hebrew word meaning day. Again that can mean the whole 24 hour day or just the time the sun was up.

Boqer: Hebrew word meaning properly dawn, generally morning. It does not mean the whole lit period of the day or the whole time the sun is up. The word to use to mean the whole time the sun is up is the Hebrew word Yom meaning Day.

Genesis 1:4-5 And God saw the light, that it was, good, and God divided the light, from the, darkness; and God called the light, day, but the darkness, called he, night... {REB}

God divides the light from the darkness and he calls the light Day, He does NOT call the light morning. Here the light is the day, and the darkness the night.

Genesis 1:5 and God called the light, day, but the darkness, called he, night. So it was evening—and it was morning, one day. {REB}

Genesis 1:5 and God calleth to the light `Day,' and to the darkness He hath called `Night;' and there is an evening, and there is a morning--day one. {YLT}

Surely I am wrong, here it is evening or night first then morning, actually no I am not wrong. Yes it is night, but then it is morning, that is the night had ended and the morning had come of the next day. In fact one could even say “it was dawn.”

Note the DAY had NOT come only the morning or the dawn. If the writer had meant that it was the day that had come or that it was the day, then why use the word for morning or dawn, why not use the word for day. If God does the work then the evening comes, then there is the dawn, not the day. If it was evening first then it would be different to the other places in the Bible that have morning first as I have covered already. In fact it would be more correct to say that the dawn had come, because the Hebrew word Yom can mean DAWN as well as morning.

Note: CLV: Concordant Literal version & REB: Rotherham Emphasized Bible & YLT: Young‘s Literal Translation.

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