FAQ - When Does a Day Begin?

Answer:All scholars agree that there is always 24 hours for any given calendar date, which encompass both the daylight and the darkness. But according to Genesis 1:1-5, each calendar date is divided into two parts - light and dark, day and night. Therefore when Scripture defines the parameters of a day it is usually describing the daylight, and likewise when defining night it is referring to the darkness.

Following each daylight of creation, Elohiym declared that evening together with the morning equals a daylight, not a complete 24 hour period of darkness and light. These first five verses are dominated by Elohiym making a distinction between the light and the darkness by separating them, and not in grouping them together. This is a simplistic math equation:

1. Evening + morning = day (daylight is 12 hours from sunrise to sunset)
2. Darkness = night (12 hours from sunset to sunrise)
3. Day + night = One "calendar date" (a 24 hour period, but this is not discussed in Gen.1)

Where does it say in Genesis 1 that evening is part of the darkness of night? It is not there! But over and over Genesis states that evening and morning are part of the day. In other words daylight is made up of two parts called evening and morning. Evening is not part of the darkness of night. But rather it is the darkness of night that marks the end of the evening.

The WORD made flesh and dwelt among us in the person of Christ Yahushua confirms that according to Scripture, a day (as in daylight) is a 12 hour period.

"Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him." John 11:9-10

A divine principle that threads it's way throughout Scripture reflects this distinction that Elohiym made in that first week of creation when He separated the light from darkness, the day from night.

"Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness." 1 Thessalonians 5:5

Answer:The evening together with the morning make up the first daylight. This is a simple math equation: .5 + .5 = 1 whole daylight. Therefore the first daylight was made up of two parts, morning and evening. Morning begins at sunrise and ends at noon; evening begins at noon and ends at sunset. With a good Hebrew concordance you will discover that the terms, evening and morning are more accurately stated, the evening together with the morning were the first day.

"God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. So the evening and the morning were the first day." Genesis 1:5 NKJV

Answer:On the surface this would appear to be the case, however a quick look into any concordance or lexicon will provide ample evidence that the word "and," which is placed between the words "evening and the morning," does not belong. In the original Hebrew, the word that has been, erroneously translated as "and," also has no connection to that word at all.

A better translation of the Creator's profound week of time centric events could be more accurately stated by any of the following options.

Strong's Concordance Hebrew and Greek Definitions

#1961 (hayah) = to exist; be or become; come to pass; follow; break; happens; pertains; altogether; beacon;

Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew Lexicon

#1961 (hayah) = to accompany; to be with;

• Therefore, it came to pass that the evening (noon to sunset) together with the morning (sunrise to noon) became ordained as the first daylight.
• Altogether, the evening (noon to sunset) following the morning (sunrise to noon) were the first daylight.
• So it became, that the evening (noon to sunset) accompanying the morning (sunrise to noon) were the first daylight.

Please notice that the word "and" is clearly not an option in the Hebrew text. Yet, that tiny word has confused and confounded the whole world into a misunderstanding of when the day begins according to the Genesis account.

Answer:The Creator Yahuwah said that, "evening and the morning were the first day." If the evening was to be part of the night, and the true commencement of the day, this was the place in Scripture where He would have stated it. But not one word is said connecting the evening with the darkness of night. He either missed His opportunity, or it is stated correctly that evening plus morning equals a daylight.

"God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. So the evening together with the morning were the first day." Genesis 1:5 NKJV

Answer:They are called "hours." The daylight, from sunrise to sunset, consists of twelve hours. Hours were reckoned by the shadows on a sundial. Even though the days of summer are longer than the days of winter, it always shows up on a sundial as 12 hours.

"And when those came who were hired about the eleventh hour, they each received a denarius." Matthew 20:9-10 NKJV

Jesus answered, "Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if one walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him." John 11:9-11 NKJV

Answer:Both are speaking of sunrise. We can know with certainty that the daybreak spoken of is specific to sunrise, because it is clarified that these things occurred all night. The twilight period is known as the fourth watch of the night or the Daybreak Watch. Daybreak itself is synonymous with the sunrise. The Daybreak Watch does not commence, but terminates at daybreak.

"Then they took up Asahel and buried him in his father's tomb, which was in Bethlehem. And Joab and his men went all night, and they came to Hebron at daybreak." 2 Samuel 2:32 NKJV

"But the men would not heed him. So the man took his concubine and brought her out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until morning; and when the day began to break, they let her go." Judges 19:25 NKJV

Answer:The day was reckoned by the daylight hours only, and began at sunrise and ended at sunset. If the day also began at sunset, it would be like saying light equals darkness. "God called the light day, and the darkness He called night." Genesis 1:1-5

Answer: It was made to rule over the day and not the darkness of night.

"Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for days and years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth;" and it was so. Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:14-18 NKJV

Answer:It is the celestial star/planets in the heavens above that determine the parameters of the four watches of the night (Mark 13:35).

Answer:As you know, no where in Scripture, whether Old or New Testament, are the words Friday, Saturday or Sunday used in Hebrew or Greek. These names for pagan deities have never been synonymous with the 6th day, 7th day or 1st day of the Scriptural Hebrew lunisolar calendar week. They simply are not in sync. Most Jews or trained Rabbi's today are still deeply entrenched in their oral traditions which is not Scriptural. They either knowingly or unknowingly have bowed to the Roman mandated calendation that can be traced back to Hillel II of the fourth century A.D. Notice the following quote from the Universal Jewish Encyclopedia.

"Sabbath and New Moon (Rosh Hodesh), both periodically recur in the course of the year. The New Moon is still, and the Sabbath originally was, dependent upon the lunar cycle."Universal Jewish Encyclopedia, p. 410.

Answer:According to Scripture it was His custom to enter the synagogue during the daylight. No where is it recorded that He went to the synagogue to worship during the dark of night. The traditional Jews are not able to utilize this detail.

"And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read." Luke 4:16 NKJV

Answer:If you say it was the third hour of the "day", then you must realize that this time continuum is counting from sunrise, making sunrise the beginning of each new day. Thus it would place the Saviour on the cross at approximately 9:00 A.M. However, if you say "night", because you believe Sabbath began counting from sunset, then you are saying that the Saviour was crucified at approximately 9:00 P.M. and died about 3:00 A.M. (Gregorian time) during the darkness of night. It simply can't be both ways.

If this seems confusing, just remember when the term "hour" is used it is nearly always referring to daylight, the period from sunrise to sunset. This is because hours are only produced as the radiant beams of sunlight cast defined shadows upon a sundial.

The only reason the Saviour's body was not embalmed during the dark hours after His death was because the Feast of Passover was to commence at sunset, a Holy Convocation, and also called a yearly Sabbath. This Feast of Passover was the only Holy convocation to be kept during the darkness of night, representing earth's darkest hour, which began at sunset on the 14th of Abib. This was not because a seventh-day Sabbath was to begin at sunset, as many have assumed. Rather, the seventh-day Sabbath began the next morning at sunrise, just as Passover was ending and the Feast of Unleavened bread was commencing. The traditional Jews are not able to utilize this detail.

Answer:If the Sabbath day begins at sunset, evening or at the first light of dawn, as many people believe, then the following verses would make no sense whatsoever. Scripture clearly defines that the praising of the Almighty God of Heaven is done from sunrise to sunset.

From the rising of the sun to its going down the Lord's name is to be praised. Psalms 113:3 NKJV

The Mighty One, God the Lord, has spoken and called the earth from the rising of the sun to its going down. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God will shine forth. Psalms 50:1-2 NKJV

For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles; in every place incense shall be offered to My name, and a pure offering; for My name shall be great among the nations," says the Lord of hosts. Malachi 1:11 NKJV