When Does a Day Begin?
By
Gary Primo
April 10, 2012
The following is my commentary on or critique of an article that was sent to me by a good friend and sister in the faith, written by an unknown author concerning his or her opinion on when a day starts. I have left the article intact as it was received and have written my comments throughout in red. I wholeheartedly disagree with the article and merely wish it to serve an example of how divisive doctrines get started. I also wanted to convince my friend that the author’s claims are largely false. Some of you reading this may have already heard some of the different arguments floating around that dispute the long standing understanding that the Hebrew day starts and ends at evening. This article that I received is one of them. There are also two other schools of thought on this matter that I cover. Some of the author’s statements I have highlighted in red for emphasis. If it weren’t for the fact that a significant number of people are being taken in by such doctrine, I wouldn’t even bother answering this article, but the fact that they are makes this a very serious matter.
The Article:
THE FINAL WARNING;
YHWH’S WAY OR OUR WAY?
WHEN DOES A DAY START:
I am sure that the writer is very passionate concerning this subject; however, to get in the reader’s face right away like this right off the bat is unwise. It immediately puts the reader on the defensive. Plus the question can be thrown right back at them if the reader disagrees. They claim throughout the article that their evidence is “very clear and precise”. Therefore, that now becomes one of the considerations that the reader must judge the article by.
(Some of the Scripture verses quoted in this study have had comments added in brackets. The sole purpose of this study technique is to emphasize or introduce a line of thought. All verses KJV with Sacred Names restored unless otherwise stated).
Every Friday, late afternoon, many of us find ourselves rushing around getting prepared for the Sabbath, and when sunset finally arrives we stop and "rest the Sabbath Day according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56).
One busy Friday afternoon, we met some other Sabbath keepers at our business; and while still talking to them just before Sabbath started, we found it amazing how relaxed they were as the Sabbath drew nigh. We discussed their seemingly flippant behavior with them, and the reasons they gave were very interesting.
In this study we'd like to share their answers with you, and the reasoning behind their answers.
But to do this, we first need to set the scene.
Mark says;
(Mar 15:25) And it was the third hour, and they crucified him…
(Mar 15:33) And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
This same record of time is also in Mathew and Luke. However in John it is different;
(Joh 19:14) And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!
(Joh 19:15) But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King?
According to John, Yahshua stood before Pilate at the sixth hour but according to Mark, at the sixth hour Yahshua had already been on the cross for 3 hours!!!
Historical records clearly show the use of at least 3 different clocks, used to define time, at the time of Yahshua. The most commonly kept are a midnight clock (as seen in John's example), a morning clock (as seen in Mark's example), and also an evening clock (still traditionally used by most Jews today).
But the question arises, which of these clocks does YHWH use?
Somewhere within the ongoing repetition of day and night, a 'break' is required to define between each 24 hour 'Day'.
The author’s information is incorrect. The authors of the gospel accounts all used the same clock. The time for day light hours and night time were measured separately. 6:00 pm marked the beginning of the nighttime hours and were numbered 1-12, ending at 6:00 am. Then they began counting the daytime hours, again 1-12 ending at 6:00 pm. John’s account is speaking of the sixth hour of the night time period which is 12:00 pm, or midnight. Accordingly, Yahushua was crucified at 9:00am, at 12:00 am (noon) the land went dark and at 3:00 pm our Saviour died on the stake.
DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY….
Does the 'break' go here ^
NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT….
Or does the 'break' go here ^
DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY NIGHT DAY ….
Or does the 'break' go here ^
How do we know where to insert the 'Day' - 'Break'?
Does the Bible provide clues where to insert the 'Day' - 'Break'?
The Gospel does record which of the above 3 clocks Yahshua used.
But before we look at this, let us look at another time anomaly.
I will address this statement later when the author brings it up again.
This one is to do with the Passover.
(Lev 23:5) In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is YHWH's passover.
Why is the Passover feast day called Passover?
Because Passover means "Passed over", as in, on the 14th of Abib (Nisan) YHWH "passed over" Egypt at midnight, and killed the first born of Egypt;
(Exo 12:12) For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt,
Moses records a chronology of "this night", along with the journeys that followed;
(Num 33:2) And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys…
(Num 33:3) And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.
Notice the day they left Egypt was 'a new day' (the morrow) in relation to when the passing over Egypt took place at midnight.
So how could the 15th be called "the morrow" after Elohim 'passed over' Egypt, if the 15th had commenced at sunset (ie, before the midnight Passover had even occurred)?
The term “morrow” can have different meanings depending on how it is used. Morrow is;
Str.#4283 (Heb. “mohrat”) the next day, morrow, after, next day and next.
It could refer to the next 24 hour day or the next 12 hour period of daylight depending on the context in which it was used. That is a problem with having the same word for a 24 hour day as the 12 hour period of daylight. It does get confusing at times. However this particular passage was not purposed for establishing the beginning of a day, it is only making a general statement concerning the next day and could have quite easily have been referring to the next 12 hour period of daylight. This cannot be considered “clear and precise evidence”, but rather circumstantial. We have many “figures of speech” in the English language that we do not take literally. If we did, they would mean something totally different. Foreigners who are beginning to learn English have problems with these “figures of speech” and slang expressions for precisely this reason. I am sure this is a problem in every language.
Also, since it was/is the daylight portion of the day when mankind typically gets all their work done and nighttime when he rests, oblivious as to what is going on around him, it is understandable that he looks towards the next daylight portion as the “morrow” or the “next day”. It could also be that they had one calendar for business and one for religious purposes, even as they do today. Confusion of the two calendars likely does come out in everyday conversations.
Str.# 1242 “Morning” (Heb. boqer) morning, every morning, morrow , early, tomorrow, days.
As one can readily see here, the word morrow and morning can be interchangeable. It all depends on the context in which it is presented. In this case the author of Numbers 33:3 was not trying to establish the perimeters of what constitutes a day, but was speaking generally of the next day. Therefore, it cannot be used to support either side of the argument.
The Passover was to be celebrated each year, at an exact time and place;
(Num 9:3) In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it.
If they couldn't keep it at that exact time they had to celebrate it EXACTLY one month later.
(Num 9:11) The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
NO EXCEPTIONS
According to the above verse, the Passover was kept and eaten on the 14th.
The Passover lambs had to be killed on the afternoon of the fourteenth, just as Yahshua died about 3pm; the Passover lamb was killed in the afternoon of the Jewish Passover.
It does not say it had to be eaten on the 14th. That is an utterly bold fabrication. The 14th is the preparation day – i.e. the preparation for the PASSOVER. The day began with a Seder meal following the evening of the 13th. This is the meal that Yahushua ate with his disciples before his execution. It was considered part of the complete Passover celebration, just as the full 7 days of unleavened bread are. During the daylight portion of the day, the focus was on preparing for the Passover meal that would be eaten following the evening of the 14th. Seeing as the Passover lambs were not killed until 3:00pm, there is no way they would have been prepared cooked and ready to eat on the same day unless they ate it mostly raw which would have violated their law. The 14th is not a high day, else no work for the preparation would have been allowed. All the other food would have been ready except for the meat. Yet the only work left in concern with the meat was to wait for the meat to cook and carve it from the carcass.
Speaking of the Passover lamb;
(Exo 12:8) And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it….
(Exo 12:10) And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire.
Why was anything remaining at morning burnt with fire?
The leftover meat had to be burnt because it was considered sacred since it was part of a sacrifice. They were to begin their journey come daylight and could not simply leave any portion of this sacred meal just lying around like common garbage. It was meat that was sacred and had to be treated as such. It had nothing to do with fixing the starting point of a day. Again, it cannot be considered clear and precise or evidence at all.
In other Scriptures, we find that other forms of sacrifice also needed to be eaten by morning;
(Lev 7:15) And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.
So here again the flesh was to be eaten by morning.
Again we could ask, why morning?
The previous portion of the verse could well provide the answer.
It says that it "shall be eaten the same day that it is offered"; (and then elaborates by saying) "he shall not leave any of it until the morning".
Adding to the confusion is the fact that there were two daily sacrifices originally mandated – one in the morning (the beginning of the daylight period) and one in the evening (the end of the daylight period). It would seem natural that the mess from one sacrifice would need to be cleaned before the next sacrifice was to take place. Of course this could not occur during the first Passover season because they had to be on their way to escape Egypt. The morning sacrifice would be eaten the same day but the evening sacrifice was eaten following the evening or at the beginning of the next day and had to be eaten before the sacrifice the next morning (the beginning of the daylight portion) could begin. There is simply no way that the evening sacrifice could be killed at evening and be cooked and ready to eat the same day. Now, lets take a look at the context in which this solitary verse was presented.
Lev. 17:11 - And this is the law of the sacrifice of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto Yahuwah.
12 - If he offers it for a thanksgiving, then he shall offer with the sacrifice of thanksgiving unleavened cakes mingled with oil, and unleavened wafers anointed with oil, and cakes mingled with oil, of fine flour, fried.
13 - Besides the cakes, he shall offer for his offering leavened bread with the sacrifice of thanksgiving of his peace offerings.
14 - And of it he shall offer one out of the whole oblation for an heave offering unto Yahuwah, and it shall be the priest’s that sprinkleth the blood of the peace offerings.
15 - And the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings for thanksgiving shall be eaten the same day that it is offered; he shall not leave any of it until the morning.
16 - But if the sacrifice of his offering be a vow, or a voluntary offering, it shall be eaten the same day that he offereth his sacrifice: and on the morrow also the remainder of it shall be eaten:
17 - But the remainder of the flesh of the sacrifice on the third day shall be burnt with fire.
Notice first that this section is referring to the law of the peace offering not the law of what constitutes a day. Therefore, it does not present a case of clear and precise evidence.
The question that should be asked here is what constitutes the offereing of the sacrifice? Is it when the offering is first placed on the alter (likely before the evening of the one day) or when it is ready to eat, following the evening and into the next day. If the latter, they would still have it consumed the same day.
We can also see that the author of this article was very selective concerning which verse he/she singled out for his/he purpose. The remainder of the passage states that the sacrifice only had to be eaten by the morning following certain criteria (if it were offered for thanksgiving). If it were offered for a vow or voluntary offering, it could be eaten throughout the rest of the first day and the second day. Therefore, how on earth can this be considered clear and precise evidence of when a day begins?
The flesh of this sacrifice must be eaten the same day it is sacrificed. So any remaining at the end of the day is not to be eaten.
According to the verse, at what point should it be eaten by?
Morning.
So taking this verse on it's own, you could easily come to the conclusion that a day ends in the morning !!! (ie, a new day begins at day break).
NO I COULD NOT. I am not trying to demean the author(s) in any way, but if he were to present this as proof of their theory before a group of more learned judges than I, they would get torn to shreds.
So how could we verify how YHWH starts and begins a day?
The most obvious place to start would be at the beginning;
(Gen 1:1) In the beginning Elohim created the shamayim (heaven) and the earth…
(Gen 1:3) And Elohim said, Let there be light: and there was light.
So First YHWH creates light.
WRONG AGAIN! The darkness was already upon the earth; therefore, since Yahuwah created ALL things, He must have created the darkness first. Therefore, by his own definition (which Yahuwah created first) he has already lost the argument.
(Gen 1:4) And Elohim saw the light, that it was good: and Elohim divided the light from the darkness.
(Gen 1:5) And Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.
This reveals that Elohim has called the light 'day', followed by the darkness which He has called 'night'.
It can more believably be that the writer mentioned day before night simply because that is what he was talking about in the previous verse.
If a day consisted of the night time first, and then the day light time; where would the day end?
Evening.
Is this supposed to be a question? Why couldn’t it be evening? You have offered no “clear and precise” evidence to the contrary.
But the Genesis verse says the morning ends the day;
WHERE DOES IT SAY THIS??? The author is reading into it what he wants it to say. One cannot determine what truth is by fabricating and/or twisting the facts to fit the theory. This is what the Gentile Christians did to arrive at their interpretation of the Scriptures. Scripture must interpret scripture. To begin with one must actually find scriptures pertaining to the subject. If none can be found, accept that and go with the common rendering. But do not re- interpret scriptures to mean what you want them to mean and then present them as “clear and precise” evidence.
(Gen 1:5) And Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
On the 'first day' Elohim creates 'light'; that is followed by evening, then through to morning, which 'completes the first day'.
It can also be said that the evening begins the nighttime portion and the morning begins the daylight portion of the 24 hour day. Therefore, this verse could just as easily be saying that the 12 hour period of night BEGINNING with the evening and the 12 hour period of daylight BEGINNING with the morning, was (or became) the first day. The work day ended with the setting of the sun, therefore, it would have been easier for makind to consider the end of the working day, the end of the solar day. In fact, that is what this term generally does mean.
Also, the author ignores his previous criteria (the order of the terms) here to advance his theory. Here evening (night) is followed by morning (day). Therefore, by the author’s previous criteria, the day begins and ends at sunset.
If Elohim had said 'the night' and 'the day' were the first day, it would be clear to see that a day ended at evening.
To me this is “clearly and precisely” what the verse IS saying.
The Hebrew word for night is different to the Hebrew word for evening.
Also, the Hebrew word for day is also different to the Hebrew word for morning.
The author is playing word games here. No matter if he said evening or night; he was still referring to the dark portion of the 24 hour day. No matter if he said day or morning; he was still referring to the daylight portion of the day. Else one could equally argue that he was merely talking of the 3 hours that constitute evening and the 3 hours that constitute morning and that a day is only 6 hours long.
'Morning' does not refer to the entire daylight period we know as 'day'. It is a specific moment in time where the darkness of night is replaced by the light of day.
You can see from other verses using 'morning', that it relates to a specific point in time; not a broad length of time as in the Hebrew word 'day'.
So far, you could get the impression that a day starts and ends at morning.
So far, I get nothing of the kind. The only thing I am getting is an extremely poor effort to fabricate evidence. It is like a saying I heard recently in a movie – “It makes sense if you don’t think about it”.
What about when you come to the seventh day when Yahuwah rested? Would he not have finished his work at sunset and then RESTED? Would he not have rested all the rest of that night and the entire next 12 hour daylight portion of the seventh day? Of course He rested the next night time portion as well, but He BEGAN to rest the evening before. Since we all know that a day is only 24 hours long, then the following evening had to be part of the 1st day of the following week.
But if the Jews were keeping from evening to evening; even at the time of Yahshua, surely they would be the ones to look to; Correct?
Well, what we really find is that the Israelites of today and at the time of Yahshua have their own traditions which, according to Talmud, are above Scripture; and in many cases are simply inherited from Pagan nations that they were assimilated into, during the exile in Babylon and Assyria. You could say, in much the same way that Christianity has also adopted many pagan traditions.
Give us some documented examples of where the Talmud trumps Scripture in this matter.
This should come as no surprise, because Yahshua Himself saved some of His most scathing rebukes for the "experts" in the Torah.
For Jews, Sabbath traditionally starts at evening, when the sun goes down, and ends 24 hours later. It appears that Jewish tradition has become the mandate for how Sabbath keeping Christians should also follow the Sabbath, instead of the Scriptures.
Yahushua also made the following comment:
Matt. 23:1 - Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,
2 - Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat:
3 - All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.
Yahushua here confirms that the Pharisees were teaching the proper observance of Mosaic Law and that the people were to listen to them and observe all they were told to observe. In other words, all that they observed came from the Law of Moses and not Babylonia.
It is historical fact that nations had differing times to begin a day.
Today, our day starts at midnight.
Some start their day at morning.
Some start their day at evening.
When the remnant of Israel came out of Babylonian captivity they had an evening to evening 'day';
Here the author verifies that in the time of Yahushua they had an evening to evening day and as we have already verified through Yahushua’s own words, all that they observed came from Mosaic Law.
Does anyone doubt that the Messiah kept the law exactly as it was delivered? Remember that it was the pre-incarnate Messiah that delivered the law to Moses in the first place.
Matt. 5:17 - Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
There is absolutely no scriptural evidence that the Messiah kept the law any differently than the Jews of his day. If he did, the Jews would have called him on it. Since He claims to have fulfilled the Law, we can assume that he never broke with that which was originally mandated from the beginning of time.
Thus far the Scriptures have indicated that YHWH may have originally established a morning to morning 'day'.
Not the ones that you have presented.
Should we follow 'majority belief' as an indicator of truth?
If 'majority belief' were an indicator of truth; then it would be self evident that we would need to follow the Sunday keeping majority!!!
No, majority is not always an indicator of truth, neither is minority. The only indicator of truth is hard scriptural evidence. Scripture must interpret Scripture and so far the only scriptures that the author has presented that come anywhere near to relating to the subject in question are those in Genesis 1 and I have already demonstrated that they are subject to interpretation. On the flip side it could be just as easily said that minority belief is not an indicator of truth either. I have run across a number of individuals with different and diametrically opposed views on this very topic. They are definitely the minority. Does that make them all right? No, it does not. What makes someone right is proof!!!
Let’s take a real life example such as a murder case. Does a detective simply take one look at the crime scene and decide the husband did it – arrest and prosecute him? No, he closes off the crime scene so it cannot be contaminated. He examines all the evidence left at the scene and determines which pertain to the crime and eliminates all the rest. Then he takes the qualifying evidence back to the lab for more intricate examination and allows the evidence to dictate who gets arrested. If the cop were to go to the D.A. with what has been presented by this writer so far, he would be laughed out of the office.
Could this be evidence of satan corrupting Elohim's truth at every possible level?
If Elohim did constitute 'a day' from morning to morning; then not only has satan corrupted 'which day' is Holy; he may have also corrupted 'what constitutes a day'.
IF. IF. IF. The burden of actual proof is on you and you have not met that burden yet! You state what tradition the Jews came out of Babylon with but have not proven what tradition they went into Babylon with. We have already verified the confirmation of Yahushua that they were keeping the Mosaic Law exactly as it was originally given.
It is clear that 'majority belief' is not a reliable gauge of truth.
Yahshua actually indicated that it would be 'a minority' whom would find the true path;
(Mat 7:14) …narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.
SO? Is this passage supposed to support your theory? What is the connection?
So to be safe, let’s have an in-depth look into what the Scriptures have to say on the subject, to pursue a clearer answer to this question.
Taking another look from the beginning;
(Gen 1:5) And Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
This account of 'day one' is no different to describing the age of a child. You are not one year old until you have lived to the one-year mark. Likewise, Genesis describes the creating that took place during the day, then added evening through to morning and called it "the first day".
I already noted that the only reason verse 5 names the day light period first is likely because that was the subject of the previous verse. The rest of the verse is a totally different statement in which the writer puts them back in their proper order, as he does for the remaining days.
So in the beginning there is nothingness, or darkness. At the commencement of 'day one', Elohim creates light and calls it "day". That is the start of what Elohim calls 'the first day'.
Scripture states that evening came, then morning, completing the first day (therefore being also the start of the next day). The creation process continues like this for six days.
Which beginning? There is the very beginning when Yahuwah created Yahushua. Then there is the beginning of the creation of the angels. The angels were present and witnessed the creation of the worlds. And finally we have the creation of life on earth and the beginning of the creation of man. We yet have one more creation to experience. Gen. 1:1 mentions only the creation of the world. A long time could have passed from that creation to the creation of a livable habitat on the earth. Day one of the creation of life and man on the earth does not start until Yahuwah created light on the earth. Whatever the case, the earth was already here and was found in a state of chaos. So there were at least three things created before light – darkness, the earth and chaos.
Watch the pattern for 'day two'. First He creates;
(Gen 1:6) And Elohim said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters…
(Gen 1:8) And Elohim called the firmament Heaven. (and when He had finished creating) And the evening and the morning were(H1961) the second day.
From the concordance; H1961 can also be translated as 'became', 'accomplished' or 'altogether become'.
So a day started with the creating, then
…the evening and the morning 'accomplished' the second day.
DAY (Create) - EVENING - MORNING.
l<<<<<<<<<< First Day >>>>>>>>>>l
Is it really that simple?
From this a day is quite clearly shown to be morning to morning.
No it is not that simple and it is not clear! It is like the age old controversy over what came first, the chicken or the egg. No one can prove the answer to the full satisfaction of the other party. It will be the same with this argument. If you want to believe it bad enough you will make the evidence fit. Life is a circle. Try to fix a starting or stopping point on a circle. Without a tool mark or seam, it is impossible. That is why Yahuwah had to determine the beginning spot, which just happened to be evening.
I have had one contact that believed the Sabbath only covered the daylight portion of the 7th day. I had another contact that believed the Sabbath could land on any day of the week. Where does it stop.
How about the fact that Yahushua never once scolded the Pharasees for not keeping the Sabbath at the right time. Why did he not teach his apostles the truth. Why did he command his apostles to do what the Pharisees said, but not what they do, because they sat in Moses’ seat – inferring that they spoke Moses’ words.
Let's look at it another way;
“And the evening and the morning were the second day.”
Evening to morning is 12 hours.
Unless we believe a day consists of only 12 hours; where do we put the other 12 hours?
Do we put it before the evening, or after the morning?
And what authority do we use in deciding where to put it?
We have to let the verse decide.
The only other activity Yah reveals in the verses for 'each day'; is before the evening, when He performs the creating.
Or he did His creating after the previous evening. These verses do decide – 7 times. The evening (night) and the morning (day) constituted a 24 hour day with whichever day you choose.
Does it really matter when a day begins?
Yes, we need to know which portion of time is Holy to YHWH. It is Sin to work on the 24 hours of Sabbath.
At the end of the six days of creation we read:
(Gen 2:1) Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
(Gen 2:2) And on the seventh day Elohim ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made.
(Gen 2:3) And Elohim blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which Elohim created and made.
Once again you have just blown your own argument out of the water. When did Yahuwah finish his work? At the end of the sixth day! At evening! Then he rested starting at the beginning of the seventh day following sunset. It says right here that on the seventh day He rested. When he finished his work at sunset on the sixth day, He “packed up His tools and rested. It was the beginning of the seventh day when he rested. Therefore, the seventh day began when He rested following sunset or evening of the 6th day, not 12 hours later.
As we continue through Scripture, we actually find many narratives that define a 24-hour day as beginning in the morning.
Following are some of the most straightforward examples:
(Gen 1:16) And Elohim made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night:…
So far YHWH is still maintaining a consistent pattern of daytime preceding nighttime.
Here we go again. The author uses this example when convenient and comes up with an entirely different argument when confronted with the opposite order. These he calls “anomalies”.
(Gen 1:18) And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and Elohim saw that it was good.
Again the same order: day then night, light then darkness...
Again the same argument – same comment.
Let's now look beyond creation week to some more examples;
(Gen 19:33) And they made their father drink wine that night: and the firstborn went in, and lay with her father; and he perceived not when she lay down, nor when she arose.
(Gen 19:34) And it came to pass on the morrow (ie, tomorrow or the next day), that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay last night with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also;…
First point: The morrow (i.e., next day) followed the night. You wouldn't call the next day "tomorrow", if it belonged to the same 'day' as the night in question!!
You would if you referring to the 12 hour portion of daylight (or the next work day) only. We do it all the time. Even if it is past midnight well into what is officially the morning we often refer to the coming daylight period as tomorrow.
The Second point also confirms this: The next day, the sister said "last night" as in belonging to a previous 'day'. This is also confirmed in that she also said "this night", as in belonging to the 'day' at hand.
Again the author is confusing the 24 hour day with the 12 hour portions of daylight and night. If you are referring to the past period of darkness you would say “last night. If you are talking of the coming period of darkness, you would say “this night”. It has nothing to do with the 24 hour day.
Another example;
(Exo 10:13) So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and YHWH made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts;
From this verse we see "that day" belongs to "that night", then "morning" marks a new day.
Moses was only referring to the time frame in which the wind blew and brought the locusts to the land. He was not making any reference whatsoever as to when a day began and ended. Again the author is reading into this verse what he wants to hear.
More from Exodus-
(Exo 16:22) And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
(Exo 16:23) And he said unto them, This is that which YHWH hath said, Tomorrow is the rest of the (set apart) Sabbath unto YHWH: bake that which ye will bake, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
(Exo 16:24) And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.
(Exo 16:25) And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a sabbath unto YHWH…
Notice the order. On the sixth day, Moses said "Tomorrow" was Sabbath, and they were therefore to "lay it up till morning". Then when "morning" comes, Moses says, "eat that today, for today is a Sabbath".
Now it is talking of a 24 hour day. On the sixth day they gathered a double portion of manna to carry them through the seventh day, when there would be no manna. There is no indication what time of the day these words were spoken. However, it was in the morning that they normally gathered the manna and one would figure that they would likely have spoken these words at the end of the time of gathering, while yet during the daylight hours. If it was before sunset, then it would have been appropriate to call the next day tomorrow.
Moses made the declaration “today is the Sabbath” the next day which was appropriate to do. Just because he made this statement in the morning does not equate declaring that the morning was the beginning of the day or the Sabbath. Would this author have been more satisfied if Moses stayed up all night declaring “Today is the Sabbath! Today is the Sabbath!”? This is all simply foolishness.
More evidence-
(Lev 6:20) This is the offering of Aaron and of his sons, which they shall offer unto YHWH in the day when he is anointed; the tenth part of an ephah of fine flour for a meat offering perpetual, half of it in the morning, and half thereof at night H3915.
The first point to note is that 'night' is not referring to 'evening'. It is referring to the 'darkness' period that commences after evening. Compare the use of H3915 below-
(Gen 1:5) And Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night H3915.
Therefore, because they had to make the offering 'in the day' he is anointed, why would the first half be offered 'in the morning', and the other half 'at night', (which would actually be the next day, if the day started at evening)?
Once again, there were always morning and evening sacrifices – every 12 hours. An animal cannot be sacrificed at evening – at or following sunset - and be ready to eat instantly. This is not KFC! What is sacrificed at the end of day one cannot be eaten until the beginning (evening) of day two because it would be raw and unlawful to eat. In the case of the manna, the cakes and whatever they made from the manna had to last them from the morning when they were made until the next work day began the following morning. It could not be eaten after that because the heat turned it to worms. The new WORK DAY began and a fresh supply of manna had arrived for them to work with. The beginning of the 12 hour work day and the beginning of the 24 hour day do not have to coincide and in fact do not. If so, how does the author get around the fact that the work day ends at sunset? Could one not build a whole new argument concerning what constitutes the end of a day as sunset using this writer’s own arguments?
Another example-
(Num 11:32) And the people stood up all that day, and all that night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails:…
Again, "that day" belongs to "that night", then "the next day" comes.
Here we go again. The scripture is clearly talking of 3 x 12 hour periods starting with 12 hours of daylight, then 12 hours of night and the following 12 hours of daylight. This author is turning simple figures of speech into doctrine. “That night” simply means the night time portion in which this event occurred. The context of this verse has nothing to do with determining when a day begins. It was merely setting a time frame of 36 hours in which they were to gather as many quail as they could.
Some very clear evidence from 1 Samuel-
(1Sa 19:10) And Saul sought to smite David even to the wall with the javelin; but he slipped away out of Saul's presence, and he smote the javelin into the wall: and David fled, and escaped that night. (ie, darkness).
(1Sa 19:11) Saul also sent messengers unto David's house, to watch him, and to slay him in the morning (ie, after darkness) and Michal David's wife told him, saying, If thou save not thy life tonight (during darkness), tomorrow thou shalt be slain.
It was already "night" when Michal told David to flee, for "in the morning", or "tomorrow" he was to be killed. If a day begins at evening, and David was to be killed in the morning, then Michal should have said "today thou shall be slain", and not "tomorrow thou shalt be slain".
Same argument as above. Same reply. This is talking of 12 hour periods not 24. The context has nothing to do with establishing the beginning of a day.
Another example from 1 Samuel;
(1Sa 28:8) And Saul disguised himself, and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him, and they came to the woman by night (darkness): and he said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring him up, whom I shall name unto thee….
(1Sa 28:11) Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up unto thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel….
(1Sa 28:16) Then said Samuel, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing YHWH is departed from thee, and is become thine enemy?...
(1Sa 28:19) Moreover YHWH will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines: and tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me: YHWH also shall deliver the host of Israel into the hand of the Philistines.
Again, if a day begins at evening, because Saul came at "night"; fighting the Philistines should have been referred to as "today", not "tomorrow".
Again this can just as likely be speaking of the next day or the next 12 hour daylight portion. This is not clear and precise evidence of anything.
Moving on to 2 Samuel-
(2Sa 24:13) So Gad came to David, and told him, and said unto him, Shall seven years of famine come unto thee in thy land? or wilt thou flee three months before thine enemies, while they pursue thee? or that there be three days' pestilence in thy land? now advise, and see what answer I shall return to him that sent me.
(2Sa 24:14) And David said unto Gad, I am in a great strait: let us fall now into the hand of YHWH; for His mercies are great: and let me not fall into the hand of man.
(2Sa 24:15) So YHWH sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed:…
Notice the "three day" plague started in the "morning", not at 'evening'. This would support a 'day' commencing with morning.
The only thing this phrase supports is that the plague began in the morning – the beginning of the daylight portion. The context is speaking of nothing else. 72 hours equals 3 days the same as 3 feet equals a yard. It doesn’t matter when or where you start and finish.
We find the same pattern in the following verse;
(Lev 8:35) Therefore shall ye abide at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation day and night seven days,..
A period of seven 'days' is defined here, and again the day precedes the night.
Again it talking of 12 hour periods not 24 hour periods and the context has nothing to do with what constitutes the beginning of a day. It is talking of the duration of this particular service. It is to last for 7 x 24 hour periods. If it starts in the morning then it will end in the morning of the 7th day. One can say that it is 6 actual 24 hour days and 2 x ½ days, but it remains 7 x 24 hour periods which can still be classified as 7 days. For instance, if I announce at 10:00 today that I will see you at the same time tomorrow, does that mean that the day begins at 10:00 in the morning? Of course not. I WILL SEE YOU 1 DAY 0R 24 HOURS LATER. But that is exactly what this author is claiming. Yet 24 hours which equals one day will have passed.
And yet again, another period of time, with the day proceeding the night;
(Gen 7:4) For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living substance that I have made will I destroy from off the face of the earth.
Same argument, same reply.
The following verse also conforms to 'morning' starting a day;
(Lam 3:22-23) It is of YHWH's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning:…
"New every morning", would indicate morning is a new day.
This verse is talking about Yahuwah’s mercies being new every morning. In other words we wake up to new mercies every morning. It does not mean that the morning is the beginning of a new 24 hour day.
The pattern continues-
(Zec 14:7) But it shall be one day which shall be known to YHWH, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
This verse is speaking of something totally different. The “one day” be talked about is commonly known as the Day of Yahuwah. In this context “day” simply means an undefined period of time. This might be a 24 hour period, or it might be a period of any number of days. At that time the sun and moon will only give half their light. In reading the entire context of this verse we find out that in the span of this “day”, Jerusalem falls (v. 2), half the city goes into captivity, Yahuwah goes forth to fight against the nations that came against Jerusalem (v. 3), Yahushua is going to make his triumphant stand upon Mt. Olives (v. 4) and the inhabitants shall flee to the mountains (v. 5). During this entire time the earth is going to be cast in a consistently dull light 24/7. It will be no lighter during the day than at night. It will be no darker at night than during the day. Then we are really going to be in a pickle trying to figure out when a new day begins and ends.
Again, this verse has nothing to do with what determines the beginning of a day; therefore, it is not evidence of anything except in the fertile imagination of the author.
(i.e., the remainder of that 'one day' shall be light)
A 24 hour 'day' is mentioned here, with the day preceding the night.
Where is a 24 hour day mentioned??? It is not. The term “Day of Yahuwah” (or Day of the Lord if you prefer) does not necessarily constitute a 24 hour day but a time frame of a number of days – perhaps as long as a year (since the day for a year principle is often used in Scriptures).
So do we find a similar pattern in the New Testament?
(Mat 28:1) In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.
This verse indicates dawn (morning) as being 'the end of the Sabbath'.
In all the following examples the Sabbath ended at "dawn"
Is the author here also indicating that Yahushua was resurrected just before dawn on the 1st day of the week? If so His own words would disqualify him as the Saviour. He died on the cross at 3:00 pm on a Wednesday (Passover day). He said he would be in the grave three days and nights. By the Author’s criteria, because He named day before night, that would mean that he was not buried till the next morning, which would by the author’s own definition be on the 1st Day of Unleavened Bread and would have been against the law. There was a rush to bury him before evening because the annual high day (1st Day of UB) began following sunset, as the author has already testified to, was the custom of the time. It would have been illegal to bury him at any time after that until Thursday evening. The Scriptures plainly tell us that he was buried before the evening of the Passover Day (the 14th). Since his claim to His Messiahship depended upon him being exactly 3 full days and 3 full nights in the grave, He would have had to have been resurrected before the evening of the 3rd day (the 17th day of the first month – before or by Saturday evening). That means that the tomb stood empty and uncovered for the entire night-time portion and was already EMPTY (as stated) when the women came to it just before sunrise.
(Mar 16:1) And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him.
This particular verse is not even talking of the same Sabbath as the others. It was after the High Sabbath (Thursday after sunset) that the women would have again been able to work. However, they could not purchase what they needed till the markets opened. They went out to purchase the spices and begin to prepare them on Friday morning, making them ready before the weekly Sabbath began (Friday evening – the final 12 hour portion of night) for the Sunday morning when the next work day began and they would be able to work again and were planning to anoint Yahushua with them. There were two Sabbaths that week. The 1st Day of Unleavened Bread began Wednesday at sunset and ended Thursday at sunset. The weekly Sabbath began Friday at sunset and ended Saturday at sunset. They were only able to work from Thursday (sunset) to Friday sunset; and then from Saturday (sunset) onward.
Even so, all Sabbaths are the same, beginning the evening of the previous day and ending the evening of that day. If, as the author claims, these women came to the tomb during the night while it was still the Sabbath, they would have been in violation of breaking the Sabbath and worthy of death. Therefore, the 12 hour portion of dark that particular night can ABSOLUTELY be connected to the following 12 hour period of daylight as being part of the 24 hour period known as the 1st day of the week. Finally a scripture that is clear and precise.
(Mar 16:2) And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun.
Again if sunrise marks the beginning of a day and they were already before the tomb when the sun rose, then they were in violation of the Sabbath! “Very early in the morning” even today suggests before sunrise. Thus, the term suggests that the predawn hours are part of that following daylight period and therefore part of that 24 hour day beginning the evening before and ending at sunset.
(Luk 24:1) Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher,…
Same argument, same answer.
The account given in John is the only one that appears to disagree with the above three witnesses;
(Joh 20:1) The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher.
The fact that 1 out of 4 appears to disagree, means the translation of "yet" dark may need to be examined, (because we know the Scriptures don't contradict themselves).
The Greek word translated as 'yet' = "eti" G2089, can also mean "no longer".
Notice other use of the same word;
(Luke 16:2) …give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. G3621 G3756 G2089
Here we go with the “word game” again. When the author comes to a scripture that he cannot explain, he changes direction. He just finished claiming that simply because the majority agrees, it does not constitute truth. Here he is going with the majority himself because it suits his theory. There is a number of differences between the different gospel accounts. We cannot simply choose and discard whatever we want. In this case the language is similar enough to leave perhaps only mere minutes of difference (i.e “early morning”, “very early in the morning”, “began to dawn toward the first day of the week”, “in the end of the Sabbath”, “when the Sabbath was past”, “at the rising of the sun” and “while it was yet dark”. The tomb was already empty. All 4 witnesses were referring to a point in time BEFORE sunrise. They did not witness the actual resurrection. The only ones that did were the soldiers guarding the tomb and they weren’t talking (not the truth, at least). Therefore, all who believe in Yahushua must believe that He fulfilled his one and only sign that proved he was the Messiah and truly was in the Tomb for 3 literal days and nights - 6 X 12 hour periods = a total of 72 hours. So if He were placed in the ground Wednesday at sunset, He had to be resurrected Saturday at sunset. Otherwise, He is NOT the Messiah.
(Luke 20:36) Neither can they die any more: G2089 for they are equal unto the angels;
(Heb 10:17) And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. G3364 G2089
So using the meaning of G2089, as seen in the previous examples, the verse in John could well be saying "when it was 'no more' dark" or 'no longer' dark".
This would also eliminate the apparent contradiction between the 4 gospel accounts.
Very convenient but not convincing. Ifs and maybes do not equal truth.
The following verse also appears to contradict the Sabbath beginning at evening;
(Mar 15:42) And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath,
(Mar 15:43) Joseph of Arimathaea, an honorable counselor, which also waited for the kingdom of Elohim, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Yahshua.
Joseph requested the body of Yahshua when even was come. If Sabbath started at even, he wouldn't have had much time to get Yahshua's body down, wrap it, place it in the tomb, and position the stone over the entrance, all before even! Remember, Scripture says "when even was come". If Sabbath begins at even, it would be like saying "when Sabbath was come".
Evening Strong’s # 6153 – (“ereb”) evening, twilight, fading of the day, twilight can extend into the dark of night.
Evening does not occur at a precise moment and is over. It spans a certain length of time. In Jewish tradition evening is considered to start at 3:00 pm, when the slaughter of the lambs began. It extended up until some point in the darkness. Since Yahushua died at 3:00 pm, He died at the beginning of the evening and Joseph had at least 3 hours or more to bury Yahushua. It is told in another place that there was a garden where Yahushua was crucified and that Joseph’s tomb was located in that garden, so he would have had far to remove the body.
Another example-
(Acts 4:3) And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide. (i.e., nightfall or dark).
If evening was the start of a new day, then the verse would not say 'the next day', as it would be part of the same day.
Eventide - STr. # G2073 (eschatos) – last (of a series), last, least, ends, latter, lowest, uttermost part, uttermost.
Again this can just as easily be talking of the next 12 hour daylight portion of time or the next business day when the courts would again be opened for business.
We find the same pattern in the following verse-
(Act 23:31) Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris.
(Act 23:32) On the morrow (i.e., tomorrow, the next day) they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle:
Again, how could it be referred to as 'the next day' or 'tomorrow', if the day began at evening? Otherwise it should say "on that day".
Same argument, same answer. Morning is also referred to as morrow as I have already shown. Here it is only referring to the next business day – the next 12 hour portion of daylight.
As we looked at earlier, there is Scriptural evidence that more than one method of time keeping was in use at the time of Yahshua.
Not so, as I have already explained.
Consider the following verse-
(Mar 15:25) And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.
(Mar 15:33) And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
(Mar 15:34) And at the ninth hour Yahshua cried with a loud voice,…
(Mar 15:37) …and gave up the spirit.
We must ask; the third, sixth, and ninth hour from what?
From 6:00 am as I have already explained.
Unlike our part of the world, in Jerusalem, sunrise and sunset is fairly consistent all year round. Not like here where sunset can vary from 5pm in the winter, to 9pm in summer. First light in Jerusalem is about 6 a.m., so it appears Mark was quoting time based on counting from morning. So the third hour was what we call 9 a.m., the sixth hour 12 p.m., and the ninth hour when Yahshua died was 3 p.m.. Luke confirms this time-
(Luke 23:44) And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
Again, I have already explained this.
As does Matthew-
(Mat 27:45) Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
(Mat 27:46) And about the ninth hour Yahshua…
(Mat 27:50) …when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the spirit.
As we covered earlier, we find that John quotes a midnight calendar (like we use today);
Wrong, wrong, wrong, as I have already explained. The night time and daylight hours were counted separately – night = 6:00pm – 6:00 am, day = 6:00 am – 6:00 pm.
(Joh 19:14) And it was the preparation of the Passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!
(Joh 19:15) But they cried out, Away with Him, away with Him, (impale) Him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King?
This sixth hour is probably 6 a.m., when Yahshua was taken to Pilate.
Wrong again. This would have been midnight, the sixth hour of the night counting from 6:00 pm.
It is clearly a different 'sixth hour' to the accounts of Mark, Luke and Matthew, because at their sixth hour, Yahshua had already been on the (stake) for 3 hours.
Congradulations. You finally got something right.
So which apostles were recording time, according to how YHWH had set up the day?
Did a day start at evening, at midnight as in John's account, or morning as in Mark, Luke and Matthew?
All four apostles were keeping time the same way – counting the night-time and daytime hours separately.
Interestingly, Yahshua uses the morning time method in His parables-
(Mat 20:3) And he went out about the third hour (9 am), and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
(Mat 20:4) And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
(Mat 20:5) Again he went out about the sixth (12 pm) and ninth hour (3 pm), and did likewise.
(Mat 20:6) And about the eleventh hour (5 pm) he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
(Mat 20:7) …Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
(Mat 20:8) So when even was come (6 pm), the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire,…
(Mat 20:9) And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour (5 pm), they received every man a penny.
(Mat 20:10) But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more;…
(Mat 20:12) Saying, These last have wrought but one hour (ie, 5 pm to 6 pm), and thou hast made them equal unto us,
So Yahshua clearly also counted time from the morning.
Of course He was counting from the morning because he was speaking of the daylight hours, beginning at 6:00 am. Once He reached 6:00 pm he would have begun counting the night time hours. This is common knowledge. The author could have easily found this out.
The Jews referred to the nighttime period as 'watches'.
The 'first watch' was what we know as 6 pm to 9 pm; the 'second watch' 9 pm to 12 am; the 'third watch' 12 am to 3 am; the'fourth watch' 3 am to 6 am.
Yahshua also confirmed this method for counting the darkness hours;
(Luk 12:38) And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
The watches refer to the “watchers” who watched over the city while the rest slept. Each of their watches was 3 hours long. They started at 6:00 pm Roman time, the same time as the night time counting of the hours began. The first man’s watch would have ended at the 3rd hour of darkness (9:00 pm), the secondman’s at the 6th hour of darkness (midnight or 12:00 am) and so on until 6:00 am.
ANOMOLIES ???
Dictionary.com
a·nom·a·ly
/əˈnɒməli/ Show Spelled[uh-nom-uh-lee] Show IPA
noun, plural -lies.
1.
a deviation from the common rule, type, arrangement, or form.
2.
someone or something anomalous: With his quiet nature, he was an anomaly in his exuberant family.
3.
an odd, peculiar, or strange condition, situation, quality, etc.
4.
an incongruity or inconsistency.
1/ With so many Scriptural references defining the day and when it begins, one wonders what compels some to hold to the traditions of the evening to evening Sabbath?
Likely because that is what the word of Yahuwah clearly states. True Believers acknowledge only one source of truth and put His word above all others.
To be fair there are a couple of references that can cause confusion if taken out of context…
So far, the author has taken every single verse out of context. Now he finally comes to one of the few verses in all of the Scriptures that actually defines a day “clearly and precisely” and he blows it off, claiming that it is different from the other Sabbaths. HOW DO YOU FIGURE???
(Lev 23:26) And YHWH spoke unto Moses, saying,
(Lev 23:27) Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto YHWH.
(Lev 23:28) And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before YHWH your Elohim.
(Lev 23:29) For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.
(Lev 23:30) And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people.
(Lev 23:31) Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
(Lev 23:32) It shall be unto you a Sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls: in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
It is quite clear in the context of this Law, that the Sabbath for the Day of Atonement differs from other Sabbaths, in that Elohim specified this particular Sabbath to be kept from evening to evening.
It is only different in this author’s imagination.
Given the context of the above verse (the Day of Atonement), we couldn't use the above verse for verification of when to keep the weekly Sabbath.
Interestingly, this is the only verse in Scripture that uses the phrase "from even unto even".
Of course you can’t use it. It blows your theory completely out of the water. What happened to minority = truth? So what, you just throw this one out because it doesn’t “seem” to fit your theory? And this is not the only verse that uses the term “evening to evening” as I will soon show.
Notice that Elohim makes it clear by numbering the days; that the Day of Atonement is on the "tenth day" but the fast commences on the "ninth day" at evening.
Why would YHWH Command to start the fast on the ninth day at evening if the tenth day started at evening anyhow?
To make it “clear and precise” for people like you who would look for any excuse to profane the word of Yahuwah and the sanctity of His Sabbath!
He could have just said you must fast the tenth day.
Then you wouldn’t start fasting until dawn and would be guilty of profaning the Sabbath and worthy of destruction. If the old day ends at even, then the new day would naturally begin at 1 milli-second after even. The same terminology is used here as with regards to the Passover. The same rules apply. This Sabbath is no different than the others – spanning from even to even.
As seen below, a morning to morning 'day', still fits harmoniously with the above description;
It does not and it never did.
Other thoughts to consider from the 'Holy Day' instructions in Leviticus 23—
Why would YHWH say to keep the Passover Sabbath "between the evenings", and the Day of Atonement from "evening to evening", if it was the same as all other Sabbaths?
Once again the author needs to educate himself better. Again, the term between the two evenings spans from 3:00 pm to approximately 6:00 pm. These two terms mean something totally different and is like comparing apples to oranges. One could just as easily contend that the Passover is only 3 hours long according to this authors (lack of) understanding.
In Leviticus 23:3, YHWH says to keep the weekly Sabbath, without mentioning an "evening to evening" observance; but mentions two verses later, a "between the evenings" observance with Passover.
He does not mention a start time with any other Holy days, until again in verse 32, with the ONLY "evening to evening" reference, for the Day of Atonement. Why?
If this is the way we are to observe all Sabbaths, why not say so in verse 3, in the weekly Sabbath instructions?
And if it is because they already knew all Sabbaths were kept "evening to evening", why mention it at all?
This was a special Sabbath to Yahuwah and the consequences of violating it were quite severe. It was to be kept with strict reverence. Yahuwah wanted to make quite sure there was no misunderstanding of what He meant.
And if because they didn't know; why mention it only for the Passover and Day of Atonement, and not mention it for the other Sabbath commands in this chapter?
Why explain this format only for these two Holy days specifically, if there wasn't any difference to other Sabbaths?
Were the Israelites slow of understanding that they had to be reminded every Sabbath when it started and ended? The Sabbath command was given from the beginning of the creation of man and has been kept by Yahuwah’s anointed people in the very same manner since that time. All Sabbaths are kept the same, because all days are kept the same. Is this author pretending to know more than the ancient patriarchs? More than Moses? More that the Levitical Priesthood? More than Yahuwah who gave the commandments to Israel? He has offered no clear and precise proof that the Sabbath was kept any differently before the Babylonian captivity than it was afterward – at least, not among Yahuwah’s people. And he simply throws out the only verse so far (that he found) in the entire Scriptures that “clearly and precisely” nails down when a Sabbath (new day) starts and finishes.
As touched on earlier, another area of confusion is the night of the Passover, in which YHWH led His people out of Egypt:
(Lev 23:5) In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is YHWH's Passover.
One glaring problem of the evening to evening observance is that it is impossible to celebrate your Passover on the evening of the 14th and eat your celebration meal "that night", the 14th!
Nowhere does it say the Passover was to be eaten ON the 14th. Evening according to Hebrew tradition began at 3:00 pm. That was when the lambs were killed. That is when the Passover celebration began. The 9 daylight working hours previous were spent in preparation for this time (i.e. getting rid of all leaven, making unleavened bread and preparing all other aspects of the meal). On this last Passover that our Messiah was part of, He kept the traditional Seder meal the evening before to begin the preparation day, a clear and precise indication that the day began at evening just as the 13th day of the month ended at evening. We have Joseph rushing to bury Yahushua before the evening of the 14th finishes and when the annual High Day began. We have Yahushua being buried by evening of the 14th day - a Wednesday – and being resurrected on the weekly Sabbath by evening. It is soooo clear and precise that the day begins at evening and ends at the following evening, it virtually leaps right out at you.
We looked earlier at how the Passover lamb was to be killed and eaten on the 14th;
(Num 9:11) The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
The 14th ENDS at even. The lamb cannot be both killed and eaten within that time frame. It takes TIME to cook. The Passover is to be eaten with unleavened bread. Therefore, it was intended to be part of the 1st Day of Unleavened Bread celebration – i.e. the beginning of the 15th. The lamb had to be killed and prepared on the 14th because they would not be able to do any work after the 14th finished and the 15th began – at evening. That is why it is called the preparation day. Eating was not considered work so they were allowed to eat the meal on the High Sabbath. The one and only time that work was allowed to be done on this annual Sabbath was the very first one, which marked the beginning of the exodus. The only difference between the Day of Atonement and all the other annual High Days is that on this one particular day one is expected to fast not feast. On this day only the preparation and eating of food is not allowed. This day is so sacred that absolutely no work is to be done.
If your "day" starts in the evening, then you have passed into the 15th according to an evening to evening reckoning;
(Exo 12:6) And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening (usually around 3pm).
(Exo 12:7) And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.
(Exo 12:8) And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
This whole Festival takes place on the one day of the 14th, killing the lamb around 3pm (same time Yahshua died), and continuing that night!
No it does not. The 14th is the preparation day for the Passover and the Passover meal is eaten on the 15th. “Eating the flesh that night” is simply referring to the next 12 hour night time period. If he were referring to the previous 12 hour portion of darkness, he would have said last night.
(Deu 16:6) …thou shalt sacrifice the passover at even, at the going down of the sun, … (ie, from around 3pm).
The lamb is sacrificed (killed) then but not eaten. It is impossible for a whole lamb to cook that fast and still be edible. It is obvious that since the Passover had to be sacrificed “at even, at the going down of the sun” that it was the final act of that work day – i.e. the end of the day. The beginning of a 24 hour day cannot be sunrise if sunset marks the end of a 24 hour day.
The Passover feast day was not to be kept at their homes;
(Deu 16:5) Thou mayest not sacrifice the passover within any of thy gates…
The killing of the lambs took place outside the city but then they took the dead animal to their homes to cook it. In fact they were commanded not to leave their homes until the morning, till after the death angel passed over them.
Ex. 12:22 - And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning.
The following is a verse this author conveniently overlooked. Must be another anomalie.
Ex. 12:18 - In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at even, ye shall eat unleavened bread, until the one and twentieth day of the month at even.
Here we have another truly clear and precise rendering of when the 7 day festival of Unleavened Bread started and when it ended – at the EVENING of the 14th till the EVENING of the 21st day. How much more clear and precise can it be?
However, at the end of the feast day, they could return home;
THE FEAST DAY IS NOT UNTIL THE 15TH. The 14th day is the preparation for the 15th day, the beginning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread. The Lamb was to be eaten with unleavened bread. The two were part of the same feast.
(Deu 16:7) And thou shalt roast and eat it in the place which YHWH thy Elohim shall choose: and thou shalt turn in the morning, and go unto thy tents.
i.e., go home at the end of the 24-hour 'Passover feast day'; at morning.
They were not turning in because the day was over, but because they needed to sleep before the next daylight portion’s activities began. The Passover feast was not held until the beginning (evening) of the 15th day, just as the Seder meal began the preparation day at evening of the 13th day. The Seder meal was the last meal that Yahushua enjoyed with his apostles before his execution. This meal was never commanded but was instituted to further distinguish the 14th day and honour it.
So this 'morning' (first light) would also mark the beginning of the 15th day;
(Num 33:3) And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the Passover the children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.
The author is still confused by the term “Passover” and how it is traditionally used. It can be referring to a single day (the 14th which is also called the preparation day which is NOT a High day). It refers to the meal eaten with unleavened bread at the beginning (evening) of the 15th day (which is a High Day). And it can also refer to the entire feast starting at evening of the 13th day and continuing through till the evening of the 7th Day of Unleavened Bread.
Notice the day they left Egypt was 'a new day' (the morrow) in relation to when the 'passing over' Egypt took place at midnight.
As covered earlier, how could the 15th be called "the morrow" after YHWH 'passed over' Egypt, if the 15th commenced at sunset (before the midnight Passover had even occurred)?
Because it was the next 12 hour daylight portion of the day. It distinguishes this portion of the day from the night time portion. Where does it say it was a new day?
They were ordered to leave, after the firstborn of Egypt were struck dead at midnight;
(Exo 12:31) …he (Pharaoh) called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people,…
During the hours that followed, the Israelites made haste and gathered all their belongings, their cattle, along with a great looting from among the Egyptians;
(Exo 12:35) And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment:
(Exo 12:36) And YHWH gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians.
So by night, Israel were released from slavery, and by first light on the 15th they were assembled with their families, their cattle, and all they had taken from the Egyptians, and journeyed out of Egypt on the 15th;
It only makes sense that they journeyed during the daylight hours. How confusing would it have been dragging 150,000,000 people plus flocks and herds through the wilderness in the dark? It doesn’t mean that that was the beginning of a new day. It just means that they used common sense to do their travelling when they could see where they were going.
(Num 33:3) And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.
The next daylight portion of the day following the night time portion when the Passover celebration took place when it would have only made sense to depart.
It should be pointed out at this time, that a day begins at 'first light', not at 'sunrise'.
The 'creation of light' commenced the 'first day', not sunrise (remember the sun was not even created until day 4).
So 'the day' actually begins approx. 1 hour before the physical sighting of the sunrise. This makes more sense, because for someone living under the shadow of a hill, sometimes they may not even see the sun until 11am!
Basing the day on 'first light' means that everyone uses a common time to mark the beginning of the day.
Again, it was dark before the light was created. Yahuwah created all things so the darkness was obviously created first. The dark followed by the light could be taken as nature’s way of showing us Yahuwah’s plan of bringing us out of the darkness into the eternal light. We must experience the darkness before we can appreciate the light. The darkness was meant to be temporary and the light for all eternity. See, how easy it is to invent a theory? I’ll bet I can go through the entire Scriptures and extract a great many verses that would seem to back up my theory.
2/ Another apparent anomaly is-
(Neh 13:18) Did not your fathers thus, and did not our Elohim bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? Yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath.
(Neh 13:19) And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the Sabbath day.
(Neh 13:20) So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice.
(Neh 13:21) Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? If ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the Sabbath.
"As it began to be dark before the Sabbath" could infer that the Sabbath starts when the sun goes down, but does not have to be the case. Against the weight of all other Scripture, it would be foolish to base the Sabbath on this one verse. In fact, it was customary to close the gates at night, and earlier in Nehemiah we see why they were closing the gates;
(Neh 7:3) And I said unto them, Let not the gates of Jerusalem be opened until the sun be hot; and while they stand by, let them shut the doors, and bar them: and appoint watches of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, every one in his watch, (i.e., at night).
Nehemiah had ordered them to shut the gates at night anyway, and they were not to be opened "until the sun was hot". As we can see from the context of the Scripture, Nehemiah did not want the Sabbath profaned by merchants carrying in their wares and selling on the Day of rest. Some merchants undoubtedly travelled on the sixth day and arrived toward the end of the day, so Nehemiah simply shut the gates on them.
If the Sabbath began at sunset, why would they leave the gates open all night, just to shut them at sunrise?
Doing this, merchants coming at first light would have still made it into the city, potentially defiling their Sabbath. It would make more sense to close them the night before. Therefore the time that the gates were closed, does not provide clear evidence of when the Sabbath started.
In this writer’s case, “anomaly” seems to take on the meaning of discarding all “clear and precise” evidence that is contrary to their theory. The author is really grasping at straws here. Yes the gates were normally closed at night; however, in this case they were going to stay closed for the Sabbath and not open until the day following the Sabbath. It was why they had to lodge outside “once or twice”. If they arrived after sunset on Friday night, they would find themselves locked out and have to stay outside the walls until Sunday morning (i.e. two nights, since the gates were always closed at night anyway). There is nothing in these verses to suggest that the day began at sunrise. In fact there is no statement suggesting what time the day started at all.
3/ Another apparent anomaly is- There are also a great number of Scriptures that declare uncleanliness till evening and certain events taking place before evening that give some the assumption that a day starts in the evening. None of these Scriptures actually state this, and it is common sense to be made clean at evening, so the persons may come into the camp to spend the night, as it was unlawful for an unclean person to come into the camp. More importantly, if the next day were a Sabbath, an individual would not be able to participate in any set-apart assembly and would have to wait for the next evening.
Another anomaly? Well it certainly doesn’t fit the author’s theory. Being unclean meant that they had to stay outside the walls until they were deemed clean. They did not come in at night to sleep. If they were unclean for 7 days, they stayed outside a full 7 days ending at evening of the 7th day. The author is simply making things up as he goes. Does it not make sense that their period of isolation would terminate at the end of a day (i.e. the going down of the sun)? If the length of their uncleanness was 7 days that is exactly how much time they must remain removed. Now the author brings out the fact that I have been hailing all along – “None of these Scriptures actually state this”. Neither do any of the scriptures he has been subjecting us to so far “actually” say that a day begins at sunrise. In fact, the inference, over and over again, is that it ends and begins at sundown.
Further points-
Looking at the Scriptures as a whole, it is interesting to note that the phrase "night and day" appears 13 times in Scripture,
yet the phrase "day and night" appears 28 times (twice as many).
The order of "day" preceding "night" in Scripture is used 84 times compared to only 19 of the opposite (over four times as many).
Make up your mind. How many times do they appear? What difference does it make?
When determining a set period of time (i.e. "forty days and forty nights" which appears 11 times), the Scriptures always use the order of day and night.
Why would the Scriptures record a 'count of days' starting with the "day" if a day starts with a night?
SO WHAT? This argument has worked both for and against this theory but so far, the context of these verses, have nothing to do with establishing a fixed time to begin a day.
Notice the order of the natural processes that YHWH has ordered-
(Gen 8:22) "As long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease."
Does this prove what season came first? The seasons are shown in this order – spring, fall, winter and summer. Is that the order they fall in? I am sure that everyone will agree they do not. So why so much attention to what order “day and night” are placed. It takes us right back to Genesis 1 where the order is “and the evening and the morning were the first day.” The author disregards the order when it suits him. What about the author’s contention that majority does not equal truth? He certainly seems to flip-flop when the occasion suits him.
This is what YHWH has to say about the order of day and night;
(Jer 33:20) Thus saith YHWH; If ye can break My covenant of the day, and My covenant of the night, and that there should not be day and night in their season;…
and continuing...
(Jer 33:25) Thus saith YHWH; If My covenant be not with day and night, and if I have not appointed the ordinances of heaven and earth;…
Again, SO WHAT? There is absolutely nothing in these verses that are alluding to a start time for a day.
OTHER COMMENTARIES
Some who are encountering this topic for the first time may think; "if this is fact; how could it go hidden from our sight for so long?".
Well, the truth is, this matter has actually been a source of debate, as far back as records exist. So far we have examined the Scriptures from which should come all our doctrine; but it is also interesting to delve into some of the studies of historians and commentaries...
Are we now to take the word of historians and commentators over that of Scripture?
"...The night time is considered as belonging to the preceding period of daylight. from this there developed the meaning of "day" in the sense of the cycle made up of one period of daylight and one period of darkness, or according to our modern reckoning, twenty-four hours...from the natural viewpoint the twenty-four hour day begins at sunrise...
however, beside this conception there arose another idea of the twenty-four hour day, according to which this daily period began at sunset. It was no doubt the lunar calendar of the Jews which gave rise to this viewpoint... although the earlier computation did not die out completely, the custom of considering the day as beginning at sunset became general in later Jewish times..." (Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Bible. p.497).
The “natural” view point would also be that a day ends at sunset – IF you are merely considering the daylight portion of the day. However, one has to stick the nighttime portion somewhere to make a 24 hour day. Whether it comes before or after, does not really make any difference – any 24 hour period = one day – just like 3 feet = one yard. Yet, since we have already established that the darkness was already in existence when the light was created, and since the author is placing such importance on the order of creation, then it only stands to reason that the one day ends and the next begins at sunset.
"There can be no doubt that in pre-exilic times the Israelites reckoned the day from morning to morning. The day began with the dawn and closed with the end of the night following it..." (Jacob Zallel Lauterbach, Rabbinic Essays, (Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College Press, 1951), p. 446).
In pre-exilic times, the Jews were transgressing the Sabbath and following other gods. That is one of the reasons they went into exile. All “clear and precise” scriptural evidence points to an evening to evening day. Therefore, it should not be uncommon to find evidence of them keeping a sunrise to sunrise day when they were violating the Sabbath.
Ezek 8:13 - He said also unto me, Turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations that they do.
14 - Then he brought me to the door of the gate of Yahuwah’s house which was toward the north; and, behold, there sat women weeping for Tammuz.
15 - Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.
16 - And he brought me into the inner court of Yahuwah’s house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of Yahuwah, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of Yahuwah, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.
17 - Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, O son of man? Is it a light thing to the house of Judah that they commit the abominations which they commit here? for they have filled the land with violence, and have returned to provoke me to anger: and, lo, they put the branch to their nose.
18 - Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
The Babylonian Mystery Religion is the worship of nature, not Yahuwah. Tammuz was their sun deity. The sun was their main deity but they worshipped the moon as well since it was part of nature. They gathered every morning at sunrise, with their backs to the temple (symbolic of rejection) and facing the rising sun. With sun worship one would expect the rising of the sun to mark a new day. With Yahuwah, one would expect the opposite of what is natural as in so many other cases - e.g. looking to the first visible crescent of the moon instead of the “dark” new moon to begin a month. Perhaps Yahuwah desired His people to start the day at evening specifically so they would not be drawn into sun worship (worshipping the sun as it rose in the sky) like all their neighbours.
"...To the Light He gives the name Day, to the Darkness the name Night...Thus the work of the first day, reckoned probably from morning to morning, is accomplished. The period of Light is followed by Evening and Darkness, which comes to an end with the next morning when the second day begins..."
(Peake's Commentary on The Bible, p.136).
According to nature it would seem so, but Yahuwah does not always work in ways we expect him to. That is one reason why so many in the world refuse to believe in Him. Neither was Yahushua the Messiah the world was expecting. Therefore, so few in the world believe in him.
"In the Old Testament the earlier practice seems to have been to consider that the day began in the morning. In Gen. 19:34, for example, the "morrow" (ASV) or "Next Day" (RSV) clearly begins with the morning after the preceding night..." (Jack Finegan, The Handbook of Biblical Chronology, p.7-8).
The following is the scripture referenced in its entirety.
Gen. 19:34 - And it came to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father: let us make him drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father.
It is just as easy to say that the morrow alludes merely to the next daylight, 12 hour portion of the day – i.e. the morning. Again the subject of this passage is not to determine the beginning of a day. Therefore, it cannot be used to answer the question. This author too, is confusing simple figures of speech with literal translations. She had laid with him during the previous 12 hour portion of night and therefore referred to it as yesternight as opposed to the next 12 hour night time portion which she would have referred to as “next” or “this night”.
"...In earlier traditions a day apparently began at sunrise (e.g., Lev. 7:15-17; Judg. 19:4-19)... later its beginning was at sunset and its end at the following sunset...
this system became normative... and is still observed in Jewish tradition, where for example , the sabbath begins on Friday evening at sunset and ends Saturday at sunset..." (Oxford Companion to the Bible, p.744).
Jud. 19:4 - And his father in law, the damsel’s father, retained him; and he abode with him three days: so they did eat and drink, and lodged there.
5 - And it came to pass on the fourth day, when they arose early in the morning, that he rose up to depart: and the damsel’s father said unto his son in law, Comfort thine heart with a morsel of bread, and afterward go your way.
There is nothing here suggesting that the morning was the beginning of the fourth day. They were merely giving a time frame of when they rose up to depart.
6 - And they sat down, and did eat and drink both of them together: for the damsel’s father had said unto the man, Be content, I pray thee, and tarry all night, and let thine heart be merry.
7 - And when the man rose up to depart, his father in law urged him: therefore he lodged there again.
8 - And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart: and the damsel’s father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until afternoon, and they did eat both of them.
Again there is nothing to suggest that morning began the fifth day. It was merely the time when the man preferred to begin to travel (as it is with most of us). Also, how early is “early in the morning”? It could be the middle of the night. It can be anytime before sunrise if one does not want to waste any daylight hours.
9 - And when the man rose up to depart, he, and his concubine, and his servant, his father in law, the damsel’s father, said unto him, Behold, now the day draweth toward evening, I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here, that thine heart may be merry; and to morrow get you early on your way, that thou mayest go home.
Here we have another of this author’s “anomalies”. “The day draweth toward evening” / “the day growth to an end”. Is this not “clear and precise” evidence that the day ends at evening?
"That the custom of reckoning the day as beginning in the evening and lasting until the following evening was probably of late origin is shown by the phrase "tarry all night" (Jdg 19:6-9); the context shows that the day is regarded as beginning in the morning; in the evening the day "declined," and until the new day (morning) arrived it was necessary to "tarry all night" (compare also Num 11:32)"(International Standard Bible Encyclopedia).
How does the expression “tarry all night” support the rising sun as beginning a day? All this is supposition. There are no “clear and precise” facts to support the author’s claim. He continuously selects passages that have nothing to do with determining the beginning of a day and tries to make them fit his theory.
"...It is also interesting that according to the Karaite historian Al-QirqisanI (ca. 975 CE), the dissident Meswi al-Okbari (ca.850 CE) broke from traditional Rabbinical Judaism in an attempt to get back to the original religion and began the reckoning of the day from sunrise. (The Itinerary of R. Benjamin of Tudela, ix, 5-8, ed. Gruhut-Adler, (1904), p. 23)
Are we to listen to every dissident now? The “original religion” by whose perspective? Opinions seem to differ. None of the evidence is “clear and precise” except that which supports an evening to evening day.
"Among the Greeks the day was reckoned from sunset to sunset..." (Handbook of Chronology, op.cit., p.8).
"Among the ancient Israelites, as among the Greeks, the day was reckoned from sunset to sunset. This was the custom also of the Gauls and ancient Germans, and was probably connected originally with the cult of the moon. There is, however, evidence that this was not the custom at all times..." (Delitzsch in Dillmann's commentary on Gen. i. 5).
Now we have a clear contradiction. The author previously was trying to tell us that the pre-exilic Israelites reckoned the day from sunrise to sunrise and that they adopted the evening to evening reckoning AFTER they left Babylonian captivity. Now we have a totally opposite report. During the times of Israelite rebellion we would expect to see the timing of a day compromised. Just because a group of people use a lunar calendar to set their beginning of a day does not mean that they worship the moom. If they were facing the moon (with their backs toward the temple) during their worship services, that would be a different story.
"...Early in the old testament period, when Canaan was under Egypt's influence, the day started at sunrise... later, perhaps under Babylonian influence, the calendar seems to have changed… The day began at moonrise (1800 hrs) … (Lion Encyclopedia of the Bible - p.163).
The Egyptians were SUN WORSHIPPERS. That is why they reckoned a day from sun rise to sun rise. This is clear and precise evidence that such reckoning is of PAGAN origin, and that the only times the Israelites reckoned the day as such was when they were worshipping the sun like their pagan neighbours.
"...The Israelites, like the Babylonians, counted their days from sunset to sunset..." (NIV Study Bible, p.707).
The Egyptians worshipped the sun and the Babylonians worshipped both the sun and the moon. Both were worshippers of the creation, not the Creator. Just because one imitates the Way of Yahuwah in this matter, does not mean that Israel borrowed from the Babylonians. The Sabbath was established in the very beginning of the creation of man. Yahuwah established it, not man. Therefore, this would have been the very first reckoning of what constitutes a day. As we have already “clearly and precisely” determined, in the beginning the evening (night) preceded the morning (day) portion.
"We know little about the old Israelite calendar, apart from the laws of the festivals. But the Mishnah (the collection of Jewish law made at the end of the 2nd century AD) fully describes the system which the Jews had worked out under Babylonian influence..."(Eerdman's Handbook to the Bible).
"When the Jews returned to Palestine after their Babylonian exile (516 B.C.E.) they brought back with them the Babylonian astronomy and way of reckoning time..." (What is a Jew, p. 108).
If they know little about the “old” Israelite calendar, how do they know what changes were made to it after the Babylonian captivity? The only thing we know they changed was the numbered months to named months and the beginning of the year from spring to fall. The names of the days came from Rome. There is no evidence that the reckoning of a day was changed by the Israelites at all. Why was Ezra praised by Yahuwah for restoring the law to Israel if he were profaning the Sabbath and what constituted a day?
"In order to fix the beginning and ending of the Sabbath-day and festivals and to determine the precise hour for certain religious observances it becomes necessary to know the exact times of the rising and setting of the sun. According to the strict interpretation of the Mosaic law, every day begins with sunrise and ends with sunset... (Jewish Encyclopedia, p. 591-597).
Is this not clearly speaking of the DAYLIGHT portion of the day only? Where is the night time portion? How does this fit into this argument?
"Days were reckoned from morning to morning... Following the reign of King Josia (c. 640-609), and especially after the Babylonian exile a number of significant and enduring changes occurred in the Israelite calendar showing that the Jews gradually adopted the Babylonian calendar of the time...the seven day week persisted despite its failure to divide evenly either the month or the year. The day however, was counted from evening to evening, after the Babylonian fashion..."
(New Catholic Encyclopedia -Volume 11, p.1068).
Check out carefully what this is saying. “Days were reckoned from morning to morning following the reign of King Josiah (c. 640-609)”. One can read both accounts in 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles and not find anywhere where it states they were keeping their days wrong or where Josiah instituted any change to the keeping of a day. Catholicism is the extension of ancient Roman worship of Sol Invictus (sun worship). It would be natural for them to gravitate toward a sunrise to sunrise day.
2 Kings 23:5 - And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
2 Kings 23:21 - And the king commanded all the people, saying, Keep the passover unto the LORD your God, as it is written in the book of this covenant.
22 - Surely there was not holden such a passover from the days of the judges that judged Israel, nor in all the days of the kings of Israel, nor of the kings of Judah;
23 - But in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, wherein this passover was holden to the LORD in Jerusalem.
These verses are speaking of king Josiah and how he restored the Way of Yahuwah to Judah. Notice that in the worship of Baal the sun, moon and planets were all worshipped. Notice also that not one of the kings from the time of the judges had kept the Passover. Does that mean that the Passover was no longer valid? The 2 chapters in 2 Kings list all of the abominations that Judah was guilty of but nowhere is the Sabbath or the determination of a day mentioned. So, where are they getting such information from?
If you really want to get confused, check out what the angel told Enoch in regards to determining a year.
Enoch 72
1 The book of the courses of the luminaries of the heaven, the relations of each, according to their classes, their dominion and their seasons, according to their names and places of origin, and according to their months, which Uriel, the holy angel, who was with me, who is their guide, showed me; and he showed me all their laws exactly as they are, and how it is with regard to all the years of the world 2 and unto eternity, till the new creation is accomplished which dureth till eternity. And this is the first law of the luminaries: the luminary the Sun has its rising in the eastern portals of the heaven, 3 and its setting in the western portals of the heaven. And I saw six portals in which the sun rises, and six portals in which the sun sets and the moon rises and sets in these portals, and the leaders of the stars and those whom they lead: six in the east and six in the west, and all following each other 4 in accurately corresponding order: also many windows to the right and left of these portals. And first there goes forth the great luminary, named the Sun, and his circumference is like the 5 circumference of the heaven, and he is quite filled with illuminating and heating fire. The chariot on which he ascends, the wind drives, and the sun goes down from the heaven and returns through the north in order to reach the east, and is so guided that he comes to the appropriate (lit. ' that ') portal and 6 shines in the face of the heaven. In this way he rises in the first month in the great portal, which 7 is the fourth [those six portals in the cast]. And in that fourth portal from which the sun rises in the first month are twelve window-openings, from which proceed a flame when they are opened in 8 their season. When the sun rises in the heaven, he comes forth through that fourth portal thirty, 9 mornings in succession, and sets accurately in the fourth portal in the west of the heaven. And during this period the day becomes daily longer and the night nightly shorter to the thirtieth 10 morning. On that day the day is longer than the night by a ninth part, and the day amounts exactly to ten parts and the night to eight parts. And the sun rises from that fourth portal, and sets in the fourth and returns to the fifth portal of the east thirty mornings, and rises from it and sets in the fifth 12 portal. And then the day becomes longer by two parts and amounts to eleven parts, and the night 13 becomes shorter and amounts to seven parts. And it returns to the east and enters into the sixth 14 portal, and rises and sets in the sixth portal one-and-thirty mornings on account of its sign. On that day the day becomes longer than the night, and the day becomes double the night, and the day 15 becomes twelve parts, and the night is shortened and becomes six parts. And the sun mounts up to make the day shorter and the night longer, and the sun returns to the east and enters into the 16 sixth portal, and rises from it and sets thirty mornings. And when thirty mornings are accomplished, 17 the day decreases by exactly one part, and becomes eleven parts, and the night seven. And the sun goes forth from that sixth portal in the west, and goes to the east and rises in the fifth portal for 18 thirty mornings, and sets in the west again in the fifth western portal. On that day the day decreases by two parts, and amounts to ten parts and the night to eight parts. And the sun goes forth from that fifth portal and sets in the fifth portal of the west, and rises in the fourth portal for one- 20 and-thirty mornings on account of its sign, and sets in the west. On that day the day is equalized with the night, [and becomes of equal length], and the night amounts to nine parts and the day to 21 nine parts. And the sun rises from that portal and sets in the west, and returns to the east and rises 22 thirty mornings in the third portal and sets in the west in the third portal. And on that day the night becomes longer than the day, and night becomes longer than night, and day shorter than day till the thirtieth morning, and the night amounts exactly to ten parts and the day to eight 23 parts. And the sun rises from that third portal and sets in the third portal in the west and returns to the east, and for thirty mornings rises 24 in the second portal in the east, and in like manner sets in the second portal in the west of the heaven. And on that day the night amounts to eleven 25 parts and the day to seven parts. And the sun rises on that day from that second portal and sets in the west in the second portal, and returns to the east into the first portal for one-and-thirty 26 mornings, and sets in the first portal in the west of the heaven. And on that day the night becomes longer and amounts to the double of the day: and the night amounts exactly to twelve parts and 27 the day to six. And the sun has (therewith) traversed the divisions of his orbit and turns again on those divisions of his orbit, and enters that portal thirty mornings and sets also in the west 28 opposite to it. And on that night has the night decreased in length by a ninth part, and the night 29 has become eleven parts and the day seven parts. And the sun has returned and entered into the second portal in the east, and returns on those his divisions of his orbit for thirty mornings, rising 30 and setting. And on that day the night decreases in length, and the night amounts to ten parts 31 and the day to eight. And on that day the sun rises from that portal, and sets in the west, and returns to the east, and rises in the third portal for one-and-thirty mornings, and sets in the west of the heaven. 32 On that day the night decreases and amounts to nine parts, and the day to nine parts, and the night 33 is equal to the day and the year is exactly as to its days three hundred and sixty-four. And the length of the day and of the night, and the shortness of the day and of the night arise-through the course 34 of the sun these distinctions are made (lit. ' they are separated '). So it comes that its course becomes 35 daily longer, and its course nightly shorter. And this is the law and the course of the sun, and his return as often as he returns sixty times and rises, i.e. the great luminary which is named the sun, for ever and ever. And that which (thus) rises is the great luminary, and is so named according to 37 its appearance, according as the Lord commanded. As he rises, so he sets and decreases not, and rests not, but runs day and night, and his light is sevenfold brighter than that of the moon; but as regards size they are both equal.
Did you make any sense out of that? Is this the “natural” way that man reckons a year? According to Enoch there are 364 days in a year. That does not coincide with anything that seems natural to man.
"So far as we know, the Babylonian calendar was at all periods truly lunar... the month began with the evening when the new crescent was for the first time again visible shortly after sunset. Consequently, the Babylonian day also begins in the evening..." (Exact Sciences in Antiquity, p.106).
So, the Babylonians copied the Israelites or their ancient forefathers who would have been Noah and his sons. Prove otherwise.
"...Numerous scholars have argued for the existence in Bible times of a sunrise method of day reckoning...the evidence for the sunrise reckoning is significant and cannot be ignored..." (The Time of the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, Chapter 5).
I hope their “evidence” is better than what this author has provided. He does not show this evidence; therefore we cannot determine its validity. Their evidence definitely can be ignored else no one would be arguing about it. I have already showed clear and precise evidence to the contrary.
"In Israel, the day was for a long time reckoned from morning to morning...and it was in fact in the morning, with the creation of light, that the world began; the distinction of day and night, and time too, began on a morning (Gen. 1:3-5, cf. 14:16, 18). The opposite conclusion has been drawn from the refrain which punctuates the story of creation: "There was an evening and there was a morning, the first, second, etc., day"; This phrase, however, coming after the description of each creative work (which clearly happens during the period of light), indicates rather the vacant time till the morning, the end of a day and the beginning of the next work...The change of reckoning must therefore have taken place between the end of the monarchy and the age of Nehemias... this would bring us to the beginning of the exile..."
(Ancient Israel, p.181-182).
Again, the creation of the world did not begin with the creation of light. In the beginning Elohim created the heaven and the earth. We have no idea how much time passed from that point until He created the light and all other life on Earth. Certainly the planet would have needed a long time to cool off. All that time in between was a time of darkness and chaos on the earth. Out of the darkness and chaos came light and life. Since these authors do not give any specifics, how can their opinions be taken as facts?
And, how does Gen. 14:16 & 18 fit into all of this?
Gen. 14:16 - And he brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother Lot, and his goods, and the women also, and the people.
17 - And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s dale.
18 - And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
"The first evening was not the gloom, which possibly preceded the full burst of light as it came forth from the primary darkness, and intervened between the darkness and full broad daylight. It was not till after the light had been created, and the separation of the light from the darkness had taken place, that evening came, and after the evening the morning...It follows from this, that the days of creation are not reckoned from evening to evening, but from morning to morning..."
(Commentary on the Old Testament, The First Book of Moses, p. 51).
How do they PROVE this theory? They weren’t there. Where is this information recorded? They give no source for their information. Again it is simply a man’s opinion.
"In early Jewish practice,... it seems to have been customary to reckon the day from sunrise to sunrise, or, rather, from dawn to dawn. Thus the law for the "praise-offering" (lev. 7:17 (pt) specifies that this sacrifice must be eaten on the day upon which it is offered, and that nothing may be left until morning. The repetition of the law in Lev. 22:30... is even more explicit: "On that very day (when it was sacrificed) it shall be eaten; ye shall not leave anything of it until morning. Clearly the next morning is here reckoned as belonging to the next day, and not the same day as the preceding evening and night. In other words, the day is reckoned here from sunrise to sunrise...
Or the food would not be fit to eat past morning. Don’t forget, they had no refrigeration in those days and it got pretty hot once the sun came up. Since the sacrifices had to be of the best quality, offering stagnant meat would have constituted and unfit sacrifice. And again, this passage has nothing to do with the timing of a day.
Likewise in Exod. 16:19f...the manna was given to the people in the morning, just at dawn and before the sun had become warm (16:21). It was to be eaten only on the day upon which it was gathered; nothing was to remain over until the next morning; that which did so became foul. Here, too, the day seems to have been reckoned from dawn to dawn...From Matt. 28:1 It may be inferred that the practice of reckoning the day from sunset to sunset was not universal in Israel, but in certain circles the older practice continued for several centuries...It is manifest that the day is still reckoned here from dawn to dawn. This is also the implication of the parallel passage, Mark 16:1f...Luke 23:56b-24:1 seems to imply the same...
We have already covered these verses. There is no need to regurgitate them all over again.
Finally, it is significant that in the second Temple, throughout its entire existence, the practice seems to have been in all ritual matters to reckon the day from dawn to dawn, and not according to the later practice, from sunset to sunset...even the rabbis, who, themselves, reckoned the day from sunset to sunset, and refused to admit the legitimacy of any other practice, or rather, absolutely ignored all divergent practice, none the less had to admit the validity of the interpretation of Lev. 7:15... the day was at one time reckoned from sunrise to sunrise...
This is like trying to figure out the starting point of a circle. Any place you point to could be the potential starting point. The question is, “How do you prove it?” Or is it actually provable? I believe that the 3 main “anomalies” that have been pointed out to you is all the legitimate proof there is of what Yahuwah considers a day. And, since it was Yahuwah that dictated what to write to Moses, His is the only word I will accept.
The earlier practice, which continued until the time of the secondary strata of the Priestly code, was to reckon the day from dawn to dawn... The later practice was to reckon the day from sunset to sunset...
Show me proof!
It is impossible to tell exactly when this change in the mode of reckoning the day took place in Israel, and what causes brought it about. Possibly it may have had something to do with the introduction of the lunar calendar instead of the solar, for the lunar calendar naturally presupposes a reckoning of the day from nightfall to nightfall...
It was probably coincident with the revision of the festival calendar, which took place in the period after the time of Ezra, and was, in all probability, the work of the soferim or of the Great Synod in the fourth century B.C. This may also be inferred from the statement in the Talmud (Berachoth 33a) that the men of the Great Synod instituted the ceremonies of Kiddush and Havdalah, the solemn sanctification of the Sabbath on Friday eve, and its equally solemn ushering out on Saturday eve, in other words, ceremonies specifically marking the beginning and close of the Sabbath as at sunset. These were ceremonies for the Jewish home instead of the Temple. This, coupled with the fact that in the second Temple the old system of reckoning the day from dawn to dawn continued to be observed, as we have seen, may perhaps indicate that this entire innovation was the work of an anti-priestly group or party in the Great Synod..." (The Sources of the Creation Story - Gen. 1:1- 2:4, p. 169-212).
Esra 3:2 - Then stood up Jeshua the son of Jozadak, and his brethren the priests, and Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and his brethren, and builded the altar of the God of Israel, to offer burnt offerings thereon, as it is written in the law of Moses the man of God.
The post-exilic restorers of the Temple studied very carefully to make sure they restored things exactly as Moses commanded them. Any trespass would have been addressed. Since no change to the beginning of a day was addressed, one can assume that no change occurred. The only changes would have been made with those who remained in Babylon. If the Israelites were observing a solar calendar before the exile and they went into captivity for transgressing the commandments of Yahuwah, perhaps this was one of the commandments they were transgressing. That would mean that the emergence of a lunar calendar following their release was merely a restoration of the original.
"A new stage in the investigation of the problem of the calendar of ancient Israel was marked by the appearance of a learned article by E. Koenig in 1906...He maintains that two distinct calendars were current in ancient Israel. The first, a solar calendar...This solar calendar was well adapted to the conditions of the simple, agricultural life which the Israelites lived during the first period of their sojourn in Palestine. It reckoned the day from sunrise...
The second calendar was a luni-solar year...The day now came quite naturally to be reckoned from sunset...This second calendar was obviously based upon Babylonian models and was adopted under direct Babylonian influence at about 600 B.C., when Babylonian religion and general culture began to affect with steadily increasing force the Jewish exiles in Babylonia and, through those of them who return from exile, the Jews who had remained in Palestine.
In some areas I would agree with this, but believe the sanctity of the Sabbath always was maintained. If not the returning exiles would have been called on it. In Josiah’s day they did their best to restore all the truths of Yahuwah and nowhere is there any mention made of the Sabbath being transgressed. There are a lot of different angles in which this question can be examined – not only by what is said, but by what is not said, as well.
This broadly sums up Koenig's conclusions...
...the time of the transition from the reckoning of the day as beginning with morning to the reckoning of it as beginning with evening...
...that in the earlier calendar and in the literature which records this the day was reckoned from the morning, presumably from sunrise, while in the later calendar and the literature pertaining thereto the day was reckoned from the evening...must be eaten upon the day upon which it is sacrificed, and that nothing of it must be allowed to remain over until morning. Obviously the implication here is that the next morning is no longer a part of the day upon which the sacrifice was offered, but marks the beginning of the next day...
...Elsewhere we have presented quite a mass of evidence which establishes conclusively that the earlier practice in Israel during the biblical period was to reckon the day from sunrise to sunrise...
Where is this evidence? How are we to evaluate it if you don’t document it.
...That in the earliest period of Israelite sojourn in Palestine, under calendar 1, the day was reckoned from morning to morning is established by a superabundance of evidence...
Show us this calendar.
...This in turn, together with other important considerations, would point to a time approximately about the beginning or the first half, of the third century B.C. as that of the introduction of the new system of reckoning the day." (Supplementary Studies in The Calendars of Ancient Israel, p. 1-148).
Where are all these “important considerations he is talking about? If they got such determination of a day from Babylon, why was it not the norm immediately after leaving their exile? Why did they wait until the 3rd century BC to institute these changes. Did the author not previously contend that they came out of Babylon with these changes already intact?
It is interesting to note the wide variety of commentators who may not agree on many points of doctrine, but do agree that the Scriptural day begins at first light in the morning.
Good for them. They are not Yahuwah, Moses or the Messiah. Who are we going to follow? Yahuwah is quite clear and precise concerning the timing of his feasts in the first 5 books of the Scriptures. I see no reason to doubt Him.
Summary.
In searching the Bible from cover to cover, there does not appear to be any Scripture defining 'a day' as commencing at sunset.
However, there are many verses indicating that morning marks the beginning of 'a day'.
Yes there are scriptures defining a day. They are the ones you have classified as “anomalies”, remember? The “many” verses you are speaking about have nothing to do with the definition of a day. They were talking about something totally different.
More Evidence to Consider
Let’s take a look at some additional verses that have not been previously mentioned. Mind you, these verses are not hard evidence, but to counter all the vague verses this author has presented, I feel justified in presenting these that suggest the day ENDS at evening.
Ex. 16:6 - And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
7 - And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that Yahuwah hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:
8 - And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of Yahuwah;
This verse is talking about Yahuwah sending the quail in the evening and the manna in the morning. If the day begins at sunrise, why is the evening blessing mentioned first.
Lev. 11:24, 25, 27, 31, 32, 39, 40, 14:46, 15:5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 17:15, 22:6, 23:32. Num. 9:3, 5, 11, 15, 19:7, 8, 10, 19, 21, 22.
All of the above deal with a person being unclean until evening – i.e. the end of a day. If sunset marks the end of a day, then that must also mark the beginning of a new day.
Deut. 23:10 - If there be among you any man, that is not clean by reason of uncleanness that chanceth him by night, then shall he go abroad out of the camp, he shall not come within the camp:
11 - But it shall be, when evening cometh on, he shall wash himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into the camp again.
Again, this verse clearifies what is meant by evening.
Josh. 7:6 - And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of Yahuwah until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.
The same rule applies to mourning for the dead. The morning ceased at evening – the end of the day.
Josh. 10:26 - And afterward Joshua smote them, and slew them, and hanged them on five trees: and they were hanging upon the trees until the evening.
27 - And it came to pass at the time of the going down of the sun, that Joshua commanded, and they took them down off the trees, and cast them into the cave wherein they had been hid, and laid great stones in the cave’s mouth, which remain until this very day.
Dead bodies had to be buried or otherwise disposed of by evening – the end of the day. Executed criminals were not allowed to be displayed past evening.
Jud.20:26 - Then all the children of Israel, and all the people, went up, and came unto the house of Elohim, and wept, and sat there before Yahuwah, and fasted that day until even, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before Yahuwah.
They “fasted that day until evening”. This is clear and precise evidence that a day of fasting ended at evening. We cannot have both a day beginning at sunrise and ending at sunset. That is talking of the daylight portion of the day only. To end a day at evening, the day must begin at evening.
1 Sam 14:24 - And the men of Israel were distressed that day: for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged on mine enemies.
This is talking of his men being commanded not to stop to eat until evening. The men affirmed this oath and the oath ended at sunset – i.e. the end of the day.
20:5 - And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even.
The third day ended at even.
2 Sam. 1:11 - Then David took hold on his clothes, and rent them; and likewise all the men that were with him:
12 - And they mourned, and wept, and fasted until even, for Saul, and for Jonathan his son, and for the people of Yahuwah, and for the house of Israel; because they were fallen by the sword.
Another verse in regards to mourning and fasting – again ending at even.
Ps. 55:17 - Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.
The Psalmist prayed 3 times a day like many of the other patriarchs. The first prayer of the day was at evening, the last prayer of the day was at noon. Is this not clear and precise evidence of an evening to evening day?
Dan. 8:26 - And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
The vision came to Daniel at the time of the first prayer of the day, in the evening.
Matt. 14:15 - And when it was evening, his disciples came to him, saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now past; send the multitude away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves victuals.
Evening typically marked the end of the day when they would cease from their labours and retire to eat and sleep. Again it only makes sense for the work day and the literal day to end at the same time. Again, it is my belief that Yahuwah’s day was purposely arranged this way to contrast the natural tendency to consider sunrise the beginning and worship the sun as it was rising.
Matt. 16:21 - From that time forth began Yahushua to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Yahushua prophesied concerning his resurrection that he would be 3 days and 3 nights in the grave and would be resurrected ON the third day. To be raised on the third day and still hold with the prophesy, he had to have been resurrected as the sun was going down – i.e. the END of the third day - Saturday.
Luke 24:29 - But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them.
The day was “far spent”. In other words it was drawing to an end. When were these words uttered? They were uttered “toward” evening.
Acts 4:3 - And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.
It was “now” eventide, therefore the “next day” began following eventide.
As vague as some of these verses seem to be, they are more clear and precise that those offered by the unknown author of this article.
My Conclusion
Do You remember the title of this article? Final Warning, YHWH’s Way or Our Way? We have our answer. YHWH’s way is rendering the day from evening to evening, the polar opposite of what would seem natural to man, and it is man’s way to render a day from sunrise to sunrise. Thus in all sun worshipping religions we have the people waiting for the rising of the sun every morning and worshipping it.
One of the few things I agree with this author about is that it is natural for mankind to think a day begins at sunrise and we all think when we get up in the morning, “Oh, a brand new day”, even though our day officially starts at midnight. However, that does not mean that this is Yahuwah’s way of beginning a day. Yahuwah’s way is often opposed to the way man is naturally inclined to think. This is all part of the testing of man. Yahuwah wants us to go against our nature in most cases. Our own nature is naturally inclined toward sin. We must fight our nature to overcome sin every day.
And so, because of his sinful nature, man is normally and naturally in a state of rebellion against Yahuwah. That is why there are so many different religions and so many different denominations of each. Men, quite simply, cannot agree on anything. That is why Yahuwah gave mankind his gift of the written Scriptures and most of all, the gift of the example of His Only Begotten Son. When in doubt, we must look to these two gifts for the answers. Yet there remain those who still rebel simply because nature is telling them otherwise. Overcoming the world is all about going against our nature and taking on the nature of Yahuwah.
I have encountered this argument and others concerning the Sabbath time-frame before and have proved them to be without merit. So I was somewhat biased when I began to read this article. However, it was not merely a passion for my current beliefs, but having already studied into these matters several times before, that fuelled my bias.
Even still, if the author had of truly presented “clear and precise” scriptural evidence of his claims, I would have been inclined to listen. However, one cannot choose verses that are not even dealing with the particular subject and make them fit their case. It is like taking evidence that has nothing to do with a crime and trying to condemn the defendant on that evidence. It would not be allowed in a proper court of law and we should not allow it in our studies into such matters.
The author, in this case, presented verse after verse of so called “clear and precise evidence” that was not evidence at all because those verses were not dealing with a time frame for a 24 hour day. The ones that did, he called anomalies. He threw out or omitted all the evidence that actually did show a time frame for a day, because it did not agree with his understanding. Therefore, it is obvious that he had a bias in this matter before he began his study and was not allowing the real evidence to lead him to a conclusion. I knew what I was in for after only a couple of paragraphs just from the way it was being presented and really agonized over having to go all though this again, but now I am glad I did. The other studies I had done burnt in the house fire I had and it really doesn’t hurt to review such doctrines with a fresh mindset once in a while.
This study should have been quite short because there really are but a few verses in the Scriptures that actually deal with the subject. Instead the author forces the reader to wade through a mountain of non-evidence to get to the verses that really deal with the subject, just to summarily dismiss them because they did not agree with his non-evidence, calling them anomalies. We were even forced to go through some of this non-evidence two or three times. He sounded like a defense lawyer that knows his client is guilty as can be and is grabbing at straws to save him.
I believe that the author is sincere in his beliefs and is not consciously trying to deceive anyone. I don’t even know who the author is, so I have no personal axe to grind. However, I consider it a serious matter to attempt to lead others astray in matters of righteous doctrine. So, it may sound like I came down a little hard on this individual, but I thought such rebuke was necessary to keep others from following in this person’s footsteps.
We have only one source for all truth and that is the Scriptures. The worldly encyclopedias are certainly of some value but personal biases cannot be ignored. With the word of Elohim (the 5 Books of Moses) there are no personal biases. For example, most Biblical encyclopedias and commentaries were written by Trinity-believing, emperor-worshipping Christians and their biases come out strongly in their writings. Therefore, we have to carefully weigh everything we read against the Scriptures to find truth. Yahuwah’s word is truth. If we don’t believe that, we have no right calling ourselves followers of Yahuwah.
I began to suspect part way into this study that the author first learned of this doctrine from one of the worldly books rather than the Scriptures. The reason for my suspicions was that he refers to all the verses quoted by the writers of those worldly books and none of his own. This is like reading the Talmud in place of the Scriptures and believing only in the interpretations of those writers, and then trying to examine the Scriptures with those wrong interpretations foremost in your mind. You are naturally going to read into the Scriptures the understanding you already hold. This is difficult not to do.
Like I said earlier, there are two other schools of thought on this issue that I have run across and examined also. One is that the Sabbath is only during the daylight period of the 7th day (which was the easiest to debunk). The other went strictly by the lunar calendar and held that the Sabbath could occur only at the different quarters of the moon. Thus the Sabbath could end up being on any day of the week. The immediate problem that I saw with this doctrine was that it didn’t add up mathematically. It only allowed for a 28 day month and simply discarded the remaining day and a half. Therefore, at the end of the year, you ended up with 18 missing days (two of which should have been Sabbaths). The Scriptural Sabbath was clearly set according to the sun and not the moon. Right from the beginning it was set for the 7th day, not the quarter moon. The moon was not even created until the fourth day of the creation week.
Again, there was no scriptural evidence to back up either of these claims. Both came from the fertile imaginations of men who then tried to find verification in the Scriptures. This method simply does not work. Experienced investigators can pick out their flaws quite easily. They all read their understanding into vague scriptures that have nothing to do with the subject and then try to convince others of their validity. Simply calling their evidence “clear and precise” enough times does not make it so. One has to PROVE it. In this case the author has failed to meet the burden of proof.
The two greatest teachers in the Scriptures are Moses and Yahushua. Both were given their wisdom and instructions directly from the Father. These are the two we have to listen to. Both verified which day was the Sabbath and how it was to be kept by their own examples. We are to look to these two teachers foremost for all scriptural instruction. Yahushua instructed his followers that the Pharisees sat in Moses’ seat and that they were to listen to their instruction but not do as they did; for they focused on the strict letter of the law and ignored the spiritual elements. They were also puffed up with vanity because of their power and authority over the people; and instead of becoming servants of the people, became harsh task masters.
Yahushua’s own example was to keep the Sabbath and all the set-apart days according to the Jews of his day. The Jewish calendar did undergo changes during the Babylonian captivity. These where the naming of the months and the changing of the new year to the fall from the spring. Again in the 3rd century AD, they changed the determining of the beginning of a month from the observation of the first visible crescent to the dark new moon. They also began to determine the Passover date by counting backwards from Tishri 1 (the 1st day of the 7th month) instead of by the spring solstice and the coming forth of green ears of grain. In this manner they could determine an exact day for the festivals years in advance. It made a lot of sense from an economic/commercial point of view. However, if Yahuwah’s Way is to begin a month at the 1st crescent (as it was observed in Yahushua’s day), that means that the Jews keep the annual festivals one day early. Since these days mark significant events both past and future, the Jews will miss out on the future events because they will not be worshipping on those days. They also trespass some of these days by working on the actual Sabbaths.
Again, what makes sense to man is not necessarily a true guide to what makes sense to Yahuwah. Man’s way naturally gravitates toward sin. We must force ourselves to deny such natural gravitation to find the way that is pleasing to Yahuwah. That is why the group of true believers is so small and is hated so much by the world. Our way is the complete opposite of the ways of the world. We are like salmon swimming upstream to lay eggs, always running into roadblocks and other perilous interference. By standing strong in the word of Yahuwah and after much “battle field experience” we become spiritually strong against all worldly deceptions.
Those who try to deceive us are themselves deceived. If they knew they were deceived, they would not be deceived. That is their only defense. It is much more difficult to un-deceive someone than to instruct someone with an open mind. People such as the author of this article work their deceptions best on those who are “spiritual babes” in the faith, snatching them away at birth to raise them with a different family. There are plenty of such people out there and we have to be aware of them. The longer we remain fast in the word of our Elohim, the easier it becomes to recognize them. All we can do for them is to point them to the true word of Elohim on the matter and hope that Yahuwah opens their eyes and their minds to the truth. Let Yahuwah rebuke them with His own words. Hopefully they will hear and understand the rebuke and repent.
I never intended to spend this much time on this argument but am now glad I did. I can post it on my website and it will be there for any to examine. I hope that I have done this reply justice and it will help those who are seeking the truth in this matter. I welcome any dialogue on the matter.
Yahuwah Bless
G.P.