Living in a world which no longer keeps time according to a Biblical standard we sometimes inadvertently assume our own concept of timekeeping when interpreting certain passages of Scripture. In this article I would like to look at one of the most basic concepts of Biblical time. What is the definition of a “day” according to a Biblical reckoning of time? I’ve found that once I understood a Biblical “day” I was able to see some of the great events of the Bible from a different perspective.
Today you and I understand a “day” as a period of 24 hours beginning at 12:00:01 am (midnight). This is the point when our calendar day changes. A Biblical day on the other hand begins at “even”. In the Bible the first definition of a day is found in Genesis 1:5.
Genesis 1:5 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
Notice how the “first day” is ordered: “…the evening and the morning”. Evening is mentioned first. The word “evening” used in this text represents the Hebrew word ereb. It means evening, night, or sunset. Traditionally, it is understood that this means the day begins at sundown. Granted, Genesis 1:5 is not the most concrete definition of a day one might like to find, but it does provide at least a glimpse of how a “day” is ordered in the Scripture. To get a more conclusive definition of a day we must turn to Leviticus 23. Here a very special day is described and delimited.
Leviticus 23:27-32 27 Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto YHWH. 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 God. 29 For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people. 30 And whatsoever soul it be that doeth any work in that same day, the same soul will I destroy from among his people. 31 Ye shall do no manner of work: it shall be a statute for ever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 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.
The passage above gives specific instructions for celebrating the Day of Atonement also known as Yom Kippur. Notice verse 27 clearly states this day is to be observed on the 10th day of the 7th month. Verse 32 goes on to say this day was to be a “Sabbath of rest”. Further it defines this special day as beginning on the 9th day at “even”, “from even unto even”. This confirms for us that a “day” does indeed begin at ereb or sundown as first indicated in Genesis 1:5. Further the text shows us that when “even” is used in connection with a Biblical calendar day it designates the end of the day mentioned and the start of the next day. The ninth day “at even”, in this case, clearly refers to the start of the 10th day.
The chart below gives a visual of the above information. Click on Image to enlarge.
Book 1
Book I - Description
The 13th Enumeration
"A book that will change how you look at the Bible's Messianic Symbolism."
The Jubilee Code -
"A book that will show you real Biblical evidence for Yahweh's guiding in hand history bringing about His redemptive plan for mankind."
Have you ever wondered about the Biblical definition of time? Most scholars trace the origins of Biblical time to Genesis 1:14:
Genesis 1:1414 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:
From this verse we see the origins of the daily and yearly cycles. The verse also indicates that the “lights in the firmament” are for “signs” and “seasons”. The word “signs” comes from the Hebrew ‘owth {oth} which means sign, signal or remembrance. The word “season” comes from the Hebrew mow’ed {mo-ade’} which means an appointed place, appointed time, sacred season, or appointed meeting. The first usage of mow’ed after Gen. 1:14 is when YHWH promises Abraham that Sarah would bear him a son the following year at the mow’ed or set time. After that mow’ed is used to describe the Biblical holy days as given by YHWH to Moses and Israel. In the book of Exodus, we learn these holy days or mow’ed are counted based upon the lunar cycle.
So in summary Genesis specifically identifies the “lights in the firmament” as the means by which the daily and yearly cycles are regulated. These “lights” are for “signs” and “seasons” which further defines Biblical time in terms of the lunar cycles.
Having said that, did you know there is no place in the Scripture which specifically spells out the relationship between the lunar/solar cycle and their intercalations as they relate to the Biblical calendar? While this may seem confusing to us it is important to remember the context. I dare say many of us have never looked up at the moon in the night sky and thought of it in terms of where it was at in its lunar cycle. Back during the Biblical era it was known intuitively. Everyone back then knew there were 13 or 14 days of waxing light followed by 13 or 14 days of waning light. The moon was their calendar! It was such a part of their existence it didn’t have to be explained. That is the real reason you will not find the lunar/solar cycles explained in relation to the Biblical calendar. In order to find any evidence of the relationship between the lunar cycle and solar year we have to look beneath the surface of the Biblical record.
The only place (that I am aware of) which gives any evidence for an intercalated lunar/solar cycle is found in the book of Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 1-4, YHWH uses the prophet Ezekiel to give Israel and Judah an object lesson. YHWH instructs Ezekiel to lay on his side 390 days for the sins of Israel. He goes on to instruct him to lay on his other side for 40 days for the sins of Judah. These unusual instructions provide us a rare opportunity to define the lunar/solar calendar and its intercalations.
In the 5th year of Jehoiachin’s captivity, in the 5th day of the 4th month, Ezekiel was given commanded to lay on his left side for 390 days for the iniquity of Israel. Following this he was commanded to lay on his right side for 40 days for the house of Judah. This was a total of 430 days.
In the 6th month of the following year after completing his object lesson Ezekiel was sitting in his house with some of the elders of Judah. From this gathering YHWH physically took Ezekiel and showed him the departure of the Shekinah from Jerusalem. (Eze. 8-10) There are three possible ways to calculate the amount of time between the 4th month of Ezekiel’s 5th year and the 6th month of his 6th year. They are listed in the chart below:
Only the 3rd option allows for the necessary time given the chronological evidence provided in the text. In order for Ezekiel to have lain on his side for 430 days, the 5th year of Jehoiachin’s captivity must have had an intercalary or 13th month. Incidentally this is of great value to the chronologist who is interested in synchronizing the lunar/solar cycle in terms of the macro chronological record. As far as I know this is the only place in the Scripture which provides evidence of an intercalary month. Contextually, this shows that during the captivity period the Jewish people understood time in the sense of an intercalated lunar/solar calendar. Their religious calendar was normally 12 lunar months of 29.53 days each followed by an intercalary or 13th month every 2 or 3 years.
In a symbolic sense the rising and setting of the sun regulated man’s labor and rest throughout the solar year. The lunar cycle on the other hand regulated the religious calendar and its mow’eds (appointed times). These two cycles were synchronized by the 13th Month.
Authors note:On the subject of time and calendars, some today claim the 30 day months of Genesis shows that a different calendar was used pre-flood. Some even suggest that the length of the lunar or solar cycles were substantially different that they are today. Based on my own research I do not believe this to be the case. There is evidence which shows that ancient Egypt did in fact have a 30 day month in their calendar. Here is the catch. Their records indicate they realized they were 5 days short of a complete solar cycle. This they called “5 days over the year”. Some of their dynasties intercalated this 30 day monthly calendar and added an additional month every 5 or 6 years. Others made no intercalations and from them we get a “wandering” calendar where their months began to wander in the solar cycle, no longer rooted in the reality of the seasons.
For those who use this 30 day month to calculate the Prophecy of Daniel’s Seventy weeks it would be good to keep the above information in mind.
Book 1
Book I - Description
The 13th Enumeration
"A book that will change how you look at the Bible's Messianic Symbolism."
The Jubilee Code -
"A book that will show you real Biblical evidence for Yahweh's guiding in hand history bringing about His redemptive plan for mankind."
Ezekiel 4:4-64 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity. 5 For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house of Israel. 6 And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed thee each day for a year.
Ezekiel 1:1-3Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the captives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God. 2 In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, 3 The word of YHWH came expressly unto Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand of YHWH was there upon him.
Ezekiel 8:1And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, in the fifth day of the month, as I sat in mine house, and the elders of Judah sat before me, that the hand of the Lord YHWH fell there upon me.
