Chapter 7
How the Bible measures Time
Time. The basis of the Hebrew measurement of time was the day and the lunar month, as with the Semites generally. The division of the day into hours was late, probably not common until after the exile, although the sun-dial of Ahaz (2 Kgs 20:9; Isa 38:8) would scent to indicate some division of the day into periods of some sort, as we know the night was divided, The word used for “hour” is Aramaic sha (shata), and does not occur in the Old Testament until the Book of Daniel (4:33 and 5:5), and even there it stands for an indefinite period for which “time” would answer as well.
Day. The term “day” (yom) was in use from the earliest times, as is indicated in the story of the Creation (Gen chpt. 1). It there doubtless denotes an indefinite period, but is marked off by “evening and morning” in accordance with what we know was the method of reckoning the day of 24 hours, i.e. from sunset to sunset.
Night. The night was divided, during pre-exilic times, into three divisions called watches (ashmurah, ashmoreth), making periods of varying length, as the night was longer or shorter (Jdgs 7:19). This division is referred to in various passages of the Old Testament, but nowhere with indication of definite limits (see Psa 90:4; Psa 119:148; Jer 51:12; Hab 2:1)
In the New Testament we find the Roman division of the night into four watches (phulake) in use (Mtt 14:25; Mk 6:48), but it is possible that the former division still persisted. The use of the term “day” for the period from sunrise to sunset, or for day as distinguished from night, was common, as at present (Josh 10:13; Psa 19:2; Prov 4:18; Isa 27:3; Jhn 9:4). But the use of the word in the indefinite sense, as in the expressions: “day of the Lord,” “in that day,” “the day of judgment,” etc., is far more frequent. Other more or less indefinite periods of the day and night are; dawn, dawning of the day, morning, evening, noonday, midnight, cock-crowing or crowing of the cock, break of day, etc.
Week. The weekly division of time, or the seven-day period, was in use very early and must have been known to the Hebrews before the Mosaic Law, since it was in use in Babylonia before the days of Abraham and is indicated In the story of the Creation. The Hebrew shabhu used in the Old Testament for “week,” is derived from shebha, the word for “seven.” As the seventh day was a day of rest, or Sabbath (Hebrew shabbath), this word came to be used for “week,” as appears in the New Testament (sabbaton), indicating the period from Sabbath to Sabbath (Mtt 28:1). The same usage is implied in the Old Testament (Lev 23:15; Lev 25:8). The days of the week were indicated by the numerals, first, second, etc., save the seventh, which was the Sabbath. In New Testament times Friday was called the day of preparation (paraskeue) for the Sabbath (Lk 23:54).
Month. The monthly division of time was determined, of course, by the phases of the moon, the appearance of the new moon being the beginning of the month, ḥōdhesh. Another term for month was yera meaning “moon,” which was older and derived from the Phoenician usage, but which persisted to late times, since it is found in the Aramaic inscriptions of the 3rd century AD in Syria. The names of the months were Babylonian and of late origin among the Hebrews, probably coming into use during and after the Captivity. But they had other names, of earlier use, derived from the Phoenicians, four of which have survived in “Abib,” “Ziv,” “Ethanim” and “Bul.”
Year. The Hebrew year shanah was composed of 12 or 13 months, the latter being the year when an intercalary month was added to make the lunar correspond with the solar year. As the difference between the two was from ten to eleven days, this required the addition of a month once in about three years, or seven in nineteen years. This month was added at the vernal equinox and was called after the month next preceding, adhar, or the “second Adar.” We do not know when this arrangement was first adopted, but it was current after the Captivity.
There were two years in use, the civil and the ritual, or sacred year. The former began in the autumn, as would appear from Exo 23:16; Exo 34:22, where it is stated that the “feast of ingathering” should be at the end of the year, and the Sabbatic year began in the 7th month of the calendar or sacred year, which would correspond to September-October (Lev 25:9). Josephus says that Moses designated Nican (March-April) as the 1st month of the festivals, i.e. of the sacred year, but preserved the original order of the months for ordinary affairs, evidently referring to the civil year. This usage corresponds to that of the Turkish empire, where the sacred year is lunar and begins at different seasons, but the financial and political year begins in March. The beginning of the year was called rosh ha-shanah, and was determined by the priests, as was the beginning of the month. Originally this was done by observation of the moon, but, later, calculation was employed in connection with it, until finally a system based on accurate calculation was adopted, which was not until the 4th century AD. The New-Year was regarded as a festival.
Seasons. The return of the seasons was designated by summer and winter, or seed-time and harvest; for they were practically the same. There is, in Palestine, a wet season, extending from October to March or April, and a dry season comprising the remainder of the year. The first is the winter (horeph) and this is the seed-time (zera) especially the first part of it called yoreh, or the time of the early rain; the second is the summer (kayic “fruit-harvest” or “harvest”). Seed-time begins as soon as the early rains have fallen in sufficient quantity to moisten the earth for ploughing, and the harvest begins in some parts, as in the lower Jordan region, near the Dead Sea, about April, but on the high lands a month or two later. The fruit harvest comes in summer proper and continues until the rainy season. “The time when kings go out to war” (2 Sam 11:1; 1 Kgs 20:22) probably refers to the end of the rainy season in Nican.
The Jubilee. The Jubilee (Hebrew Yovel, every 50th year) and the Sabbatical year (every seventh year) are Biblical commandments concerning ownership of land. The laws concerning the Sabbatical year are still observed by many religious Jews in the state of Israel, while the Yovel has not been observed for many centuries. According to the Hebrew Bible every seventh year farmers in the land of Israel are commanded to let their land lie fallow. The celebration of the Jubilee is the 50th year, that is, the year after seven Sabbatical cycles. Jubilee comes from the Hebrew term yobel refers to the blast of the shofar on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, announcing the jubilee year (hashanah yobel).
This law is ascribed to the legislation on Mount Sinai (Lev 25:1). It was to come into force after the Israelites should be in possession of Canaan, Israel. “When you come into the land which I give you”. The law provides that one may cultivate his field and vineyard six years, but “in the seventh year shall be...a Sabbath for the Lord,” during which one shall neither sow nor reap for one's private gain, but all members of the community — the owner, his servants, and strangers — as well as domestic and wild animals, shall share in consuming the natural or spontaneous yield of the soil.
The 50th year, i.e., that following the last year of seven Sabbatical cycles, is the jubilee; during it the land regulations of the Sabbatical year are to be observed, as is also the commandment “You shall return every man unto his possession” (vs. 10), indicating the compulsory restoration of hereditary properties (except houses of laymen located in walled cities) to the original owners or their legal heirs, and the emancipation of all Hebrew indentured servants whose term of six years is unexpired or who refuse to leave their masters when such term of service has expired (Gen 18:6). The regulations of the Sabbatical year include also the annulment of all monetary obligations between Israelites, the creditor being legally barred from making any attempt to collect his debt (Deut 15:1). The law for the jubilee year has not this provision.
Fifty, and forty-nine-year Jubilee cycles. There is a dispute in the Talmud as to whether the jubilee year was included in or excluded from the forty-nine years of the seven cycles. The majority of rabbis hold that the jubilee year was an intercalation, and followed the seventh Sabbatical year, making two fallow years in succession. After both had passed, the next cycle began. They adduce this theory from the plain words of the Law to “hallow the fiftieth year”, and also from the assurance of God's promise of a yield in the sixth year sufficient for maintenance during the following three years, “until the ninth year, until her fruits come in” (Lev 25:22), which, they say, refers to the jubilee year.
Judah haNasi, however, contends that the jubilee year was identical with the seventh Sabbatical year (Talmud tractate Rosh Hashanah). The opinion of the Geonim and of later authorities generally prevails, that the jubilee, when in force during the period of the First Temple, was intercalated, but that in the time of the Second Temple, when the jubilee was observed only “nominally”, it coincided with the seventh Sabbatical year.
In post-exilic times the jubilee was entirely ignored, though the strict observance of the shemittah was steadily insisted upon. This, however, is only according to a rabbinical enactment, as by the Mosaic law, according to Rabbi Judah, shemittah is dependent on the jubilee and ceases to exist when there is no jubilee.
No Era. We have no mention in the Old Testament of any era for time reckoning, and we do not find any such usage until the time of the Maccabees. There are occasional references to certain events which might have served for eras had they been generally adopted. Such was the Exodus in the account of the building of the temple (1 Kgs 6:1) and the Captivity (Ezek 33:21; Ezek 40:1) and the Earthquake (Amos 1:1). Dates were usually fixed by the regal years of the kings, and of the Persian kings after the Captivity. When Simon the Maccabee became independent of the Seleucid kings in 143-142 or 139-138 BC, he seems to have established an era of his own, if we may attribute to him a series of coins dated by the years “of the independence of Israel”. The Jews doubtless were familiar with the Seleucid era, which began in 312 BC, and with some of the local eras of the Phoenician cities, but we have no evidence that they made use of them. The era of the Creation was not adopted by them until after the time of Christ. This was fixed at 3, 830 years before the destruction of the later temple, or 3760 BC.
(The above articles on “Time” are taken from The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
Chapter 8
Scriptural references to Time
The duration of the world Job 22:16; Rev 10:6
The measure of the continuance of anything Jdgs. 18:31
An appointed season Neh 2:6; Eccel 3:1; 3:17
Biblical time is computed by:
Years Gen 15:13; 2 Sam 21:1; Dan 9:2
Months Nmbrs 10:10; 1 Chron 27:1; Job 3:6
Weeks Dan 10:2; Lk 18:12
Days Gen 8:3; Job 1:4; Lk 11:3
Hours after the captivity Dan 5:5; Jhn 11:9
Moments Exo 33:5; Lk 4:5; 1 Cor 15:52
The heavenly bodies were appointed by God as a means for computing Gen 1:14
The sun-dial early was invented for pointing out time 2 Kgs 20:9-11
Eras from which time was computed:
Nativity of the patriarchs during the patriarchal age Gen. 7:11; Gen. 8:13; Gen. 17:1
The exodus from Egypt Exo. 19:1; Exo. 40:17; Nmbrs. 9:1; Nmbrs. 33:38 1 Kgs. 6:1
The jubilee Lev. 25:15
Accession of kings 1 Kgs. 6:1; 1 Kgs. 15:1; Isa. 36:1; Jer. 1:2; Lk. 3:1
Building of the temple 1 Kgs. 9:10; 2 Chron. 8:1
The captivity Ezek. 1:1; Ezek. 33:21; Ezek. 40:1
Part of a period usually counted as the whole 1 Sam. 13:1; Est. 4:16; Est. 5:1
In prophetic language, means a prophetic year, or 360 natural days Dan. 12:7; Rev. 12:14
Shortness of man's portion Psa. 89:47
Time should be redeemed Eph. 5:16; Col. 4:5
Should be spent in fear of God 1 Pet. 1:17
Particular periods of time mentioned;
The ancient time Isa. 45:21
The accepted time Isa. 49:8; 2 Cor. 6:2
The time of visitation Jer. 46:21; Jer. 50:27
The time of refreshing Acts 3:19
The time of restitution of all things Acts 3:21
The time of reformation Heb 9:10
The time of healing Jer. 14:19
The time of need Heb 4:16
The time of temptation Lk. 8:13
The evil time Psa. 37:19; Eccel. 9:12
The time of trouble Psa. 27:5; Jer. 14:8
All events predetermined by God Acts 17:26
All God's purposes fulfilled in due time Mk. 1:15; Gal. 4:4
The above references come from R. A. Torrey’s New Topical textbook
Other aspects relating to Time
Beginning of Time - Gen. 1:1; Gen. 1:14
Time before the flood - Josh. 24:2
The exodus time - Exo. 19:1; Exo. 40:17; 1 Kgs. 6:1
Daniel's reckoning of time, and times, and dividing of half times - Dan. 7:25; Dan. 12:7
Time as indicated by a sundial - 2 Kgs. 20:9-11; Isa. 38:8
Division of time into watches - Exo. 14:24; 1 Sam. 11:11; Mtt. 14:25; Mk. 6:48
Time reckoned as one day as a thousand years - 2 Pet. 3:8
Fullness of Time - Gal. 4:4; Eph. 1:10
End of Time - Job 26:10; Rev. 10:6
The above references come from Nave’s Topical Bible