A Jewish Day vs. A Gentile Day
You know, we Gentiles look at a typical day the exact opposite as does a Jew. I mean to say, they start their day, in biblically correct fashion, in the evening! 6:00 P.M. starts the Jewish day, at sunset. I will use an unusual piece of text where it is written verbiage that defines the end of a day. "And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance." (Deut. 21:22-23) So here we see in Deuteronomy that in order for a body to be buried "that day", and not hang there in the night, it could not be on the cross it hanged on any later than twilight, which in the Talmud is called Shema, or hour of prayer. For the Jew, each day begins with a time to sleep. "And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep." (Gen. 28:11) Now if there was business to be taken care of, sometimes that continued from one day to the next! "But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun." (Exod. 17:12) "And the king of Ai he hanged on a tree until eventide: and as soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones, that remaineth unto this day." (Josh. 8:29) Note here that Joshua obeyed the law set in Deuteronomy!
Now there are English divisions of the new day of the Jews that are typical designations of the Jews. For example, the first watch ends at 10:00 P.M.; "Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street." (Lam. 2:19) Midnight for the English is the same as for the Jew, and there is scripture for that. "And Moses said, 'Thus saith the LORD, "About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts."'" (Exod. 11:4 - 5) "And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet." (Ruth 3:8) We can see here, too, that Jews aren't necessarily interested in sleeping during the dark of night, not anymore than God; but of course, God NEVER sleeps! Jesus spoke on two occasions of Jews being busy during the night, one of a wedding (Matt. 25:6), another of one merely going to a neighbor to borrow bread (Luke 11:5)!
At 2:00 A.M. is another division of the Jewish day, and that is when the second watch ends. "So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands." (Judges 7:19) Now it may seem that the Jews are awfully busy at night, but it was typical then, because someone had to guard camps and cities all night from enemy attack, and those that were awake at night had to resort to sleeping in the day!
3:00 A.M. for the Gentile has the designation of rooster crow for the Jew; "Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping." (Mark 13:35 - 36) "And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, 'Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice.' And he went out, and wept bitterly." (Matt. 26:75) So here is revealed a little piece of trivia; you can ask people what time of day was it when Peter denied Jesus for the third time, and you'll have many scratching there heads for days!
4:30 A.M. is designated as second rooster crow in the Jewish division of the day. "And Jesus saith unto him, 'Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice.'" (Mark 14:30) In the Talmud, this is twilight of sunrise, as opposed to the twilight of sunset.
6:00 A.M. is designated as sunrise, and this is when the third watch ends for the Jew. In the Talmud, it is called for that there be three trumpet blasts. "The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar." (Gen. 19:23) Ah, another brain buster of Bible trivia! What time was it when Lot entered Zoar? "And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians," (Exod. 14:24) Note on this verse the last watch of nightfall ends. "Until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as He hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD'S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising." (Josh. 1:15) Another brain buster to stump the congregation Bible whiz! "And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together." (1 Sam. 11:11) From this information we can gather that it took at least 6 hours for Saul to slay the Ammonites. Now for two armies to battle it out in that short of a time, either the Ammonites were well-outnumbered, or The Israelites were some pretty good warriors! Gives authority to the verse, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31)
9:00 A.M. is the first hour of prayer for the Jew. "For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day." (Acts 2:15) Now this verse is obscure in designating the time of day for the Gentile, but for the Jew, the third hour is 9 A.M., when Jews engaged in the exercises of the synagogue. On feast days they neither ate nor drank until 10:00 A.M. or noon, and this was what Peter was using to prove that the amazing feat of the apostles speaking in many tongues was not the result of being drunk with wine.
12:00 A.M. is noon, first Mincha, according to the Talmud; a time to pray and eat! "And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon." (Gen. 43:16) "And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, 'O Baal, hear us.' But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made." (1 Kings 18:26)
1:30 P.M. for the Gentile is great vesper time for the Jew. Called the second Mincha in the Talmud; prayer time! 3:30 P.M. is designated as small vesper time for the Jews. A time of 9 blasts on the trumpet, according to the Talmud.
6:00 P.M. comes once again, sunset. The Talmud calls for 6 blasts on the trumpet on the eve of the Sabbath. "Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them, and healed them." (Luke 4:40)
Now wasn't this an interesting peek into the typical day of the Jews? Their day starts in the evening - "And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." (Gen. 1:5), and many noteworthy things happened in biblical history. Can you hardly wait to use the newly given Bible trivia you now have?
Now there are English divisions of the new day of the Jews that are typical designations of the Jews. For example, the first watch ends at 10:00 P.M.; "Arise, cry out in the night: in the beginning of the watches pour out thine heart like water before the face of the Lord: lift up thy hands toward him for the life of thy young children, that faint for hunger in the top of every street." (Lam. 2:19) Midnight for the English is the same as for the Jew, and there is scripture for that. "And Moses said, 'Thus saith the LORD, "About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt: And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts."'" (Exod. 11:4 - 5) "And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was afraid, and turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at his feet." (Ruth 3:8) We can see here, too, that Jews aren't necessarily interested in sleeping during the dark of night, not anymore than God; but of course, God NEVER sleeps! Jesus spoke on two occasions of Jews being busy during the night, one of a wedding (Matt. 25:6), another of one merely going to a neighbor to borrow bread (Luke 11:5)!
At 2:00 A.M. is another division of the Jewish day, and that is when the second watch ends. "So Gideon, and the hundred men that were with him, came unto the outside of the camp in the beginning of the middle watch; and they had but newly set the watch: and they blew the trumpets, and brake the pitchers that were in their hands." (Judges 7:19) Now it may seem that the Jews are awfully busy at night, but it was typical then, because someone had to guard camps and cities all night from enemy attack, and those that were awake at night had to resort to sleeping in the day!
3:00 A.M. for the Gentile has the designation of rooster crow for the Jew; "Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping." (Mark 13:35 - 36) "And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, 'Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny Me thrice.' And he went out, and wept bitterly." (Matt. 26:75) So here is revealed a little piece of trivia; you can ask people what time of day was it when Peter denied Jesus for the third time, and you'll have many scratching there heads for days!
4:30 A.M. is designated as second rooster crow in the Jewish division of the day. "And Jesus saith unto him, 'Verily I say unto thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice.'" (Mark 14:30) In the Talmud, this is twilight of sunrise, as opposed to the twilight of sunset.
6:00 A.M. is designated as sunrise, and this is when the third watch ends for the Jew. In the Talmud, it is called for that there be three trumpet blasts. "The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot entered into Zoar." (Gen. 19:23) Ah, another brain buster of Bible trivia! What time was it when Lot entered Zoar? "And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians," (Exod. 14:24) Note on this verse the last watch of nightfall ends. "Until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as He hath given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them: then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD'S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising." (Josh. 1:15) Another brain buster to stump the congregation Bible whiz! "And it was so on the morrow, that Saul put the people in three companies; and they came into the midst of the host in the morning watch, and slew the Ammonites until the heat of the day: and it came to pass, that they which remained were scattered, so that two of them were not left together." (1 Sam. 11:11) From this information we can gather that it took at least 6 hours for Saul to slay the Ammonites. Now for two armies to battle it out in that short of a time, either the Ammonites were well-outnumbered, or The Israelites were some pretty good warriors! Gives authority to the verse, "What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?" (Rom. 8:31)
9:00 A.M. is the first hour of prayer for the Jew. "For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day." (Acts 2:15) Now this verse is obscure in designating the time of day for the Gentile, but for the Jew, the third hour is 9 A.M., when Jews engaged in the exercises of the synagogue. On feast days they neither ate nor drank until 10:00 A.M. or noon, and this was what Peter was using to prove that the amazing feat of the apostles speaking in many tongues was not the result of being drunk with wine.
12:00 A.M. is noon, first Mincha, according to the Talmud; a time to pray and eat! "And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the ruler of his house, Bring these men home, and slay, and make ready; for these men shall dine with me at noon." (Gen. 43:16) "And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, 'O Baal, hear us.' But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made." (1 Kings 18:26)
1:30 P.M. for the Gentile is great vesper time for the Jew. Called the second Mincha in the Talmud; prayer time! 3:30 P.M. is designated as small vesper time for the Jews. A time of 9 blasts on the trumpet, according to the Talmud.
6:00 P.M. comes once again, sunset. The Talmud calls for 6 blasts on the trumpet on the eve of the Sabbath. "Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them, and healed them." (Luke 4:40)
Now wasn't this an interesting peek into the typical day of the Jews? Their day starts in the evening - "And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." (Gen. 1:5), and many noteworthy things happened in biblical history. Can you hardly wait to use the newly given Bible trivia you now have?
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