What is the biblical reckoning of the beginning and the ending of a day?

What does the Bible have to say about this?

Jesus was dead for "three days" from about the "ninth hour" on Friday to "very early in the morning . . . at the rising of the sun . . . when it was yet dark" ( about the first hour) on Sunday - approximately 39 hours.

The Jews divided a day from sunrise to sunset into 12 equal parts regardless of how many actual minutes there are on any given day of the year. Thus, an "hour" of Jewish time varies every day. "For example, on a day when the sun rises at 5 a.m. and sets at 7:30 p.m., one sha'ah zemanit, or proportional hour, will be 72.5 minutes long." Jewish Hour

The time of year Jesus died, Easter, sunrise and sunset were close to 6am and 6pm. Days and nights were almost equal. 12 hours each. Thus, Jesus died at approximately 3pm on Friday and rose at 6am on Sunday - about 39 hours or "three days".

The wording of Genesis 1:5 is interesting-

"And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." (KJV)

Evening is listed before morning here and in the following days. The original Hebrew text appears to be in this order as well. Young's Literal Translation says-

"and God calleth to the light 'Day,' and to the darkness He hath called 'Night;' and there is an evening, and there is a morning -- day one." (YLT)

The English Revised Version is similar-

"And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day." (ERV)


The Pulpit commentary notes an interesting connection with Daniel 8:14, which in the KJV says "Unto two thousand and three hundred days" but in many other translations, such as the ERV, say "Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings".


Also, chapter 16 on page 119 of Testimonies, vol 1, is interesting (italics in original)-


As we now know, Sabbath begins at sundown, but what does the angel mean, “Ye shall understand, but not yet, not yet.”? What is "even" that it's treated as some mystery?

Did Ellen White ever find out why it is important to commence the Sabbath at sundown?

This, from EGW and Her Critics, seems to explain it.

I think the issue was that it is for everyone to investigate the Bible and they had not thoroughly done so. I think the thing to understand was a lesson that they needed to search more carefully.


Here's a few excerpts-

From James White-From Brother Andrews-
From James again-From the book's author-

Thank you. Interesting. I thought maybe it had something to do with the eventual enforcement of the mark of the beast.

I remembered reading in Great Controversy on page 566- "An edict from the king of Scotland declared that Saturday from twelve at noon ought to be accounted holy, and that no man, from that time till Monday morning, should engage in worldly business."

Looking it up, there's actually some people arguing that from noon onwards is "evening" because the sun is in a downward progression at that point.

In fact, Exodus 12:6 in the KJV says "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." In some other translations instead of "evening" they say "between the evenings" (YLT).

Pulpit commentary on that verse says "In the evening. Literally, "between the two evenings." This phrase has been explained in two ways. Some regard the first evening as commencing when the sun begins visibly to decline from the zenith, i.e. about two or three o'clock; and the second as following the sunset. Others say, that the sunset introduces the first evening, and that the second begins when the twilight ends, which they consider to have been "an hour and twenty minutes later" (Ebn Ezra, quoted by Kalisch)..." and goes on to endorse the second explanation.

Gill's commentary, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Barnes, and others endorse the first explanation.

I met some Adventists in NY who aggressively believe Sabbath begins Saturday morning.

I forget there is nothing new under the sun. I had thought this was a new thing invading.

MM, by any chance did those you meet happen to be also keeping the convenient aspects of the Jewish feast days?

In the first chapter of Genesis the day is defined as evening and morning.

A few texts in proof of sunset time.

Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31; "And the evening and the morning were the ___ day."

Lev. 23:32 " a sabbath of rest... from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath."

Joshua 8:29;
10:26, 27; Gives hints that the day ended at evening.

Eze. 46:1, 2; "The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the sabbath it shall be opened...the gate shall not be shut until the evening."

Luke 23:54, 56; "And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on....they laid Him in the sepulchre...and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment."
24:1 "Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning,

If the Sabbath would be from daylight to daylight, then the disciples went to the tomb on the seventh day, instead of the first day, for according to John's testimony (See John 20:1) they came when it was yet dark. But John, with all the rest, claims that they came on the first day.

Mark 1:29 "they were come out of the synagogue,...1:32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils."



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."