806. The Hours of the Day

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The Jewish day was reckoned from evening to evening. See note on 1 Corinthians 15:44And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (1 Corinthians 15:4) (#868). The word “day” was, however, used in another sense also, as with us, to denote that portion of the twenty-four hours during which the sun shone. While the night was divided into watches (see note on Mark 13:3535Watch 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: (Mark 13:35), #743) the day was divided into hours; each of these hours being one twelfth of the time between sunrise and sunset Thus the hours varied in length according to the time of year, the summer hours being longer than those of winter. In the latitude of Palestine the longest day has, according to our reckoning, fourteen hours and twelve minutes, and the shortest nine hours and forty-eight minutes. This makes a difference of four hours and twenty-four minutes between the longest day and shortest. If we divide the day into twelve hours, there will be found a difference of twenty-two minutes between the longest hour and the shortest, the length of the hour varying from forty-nine minutes to seventy-one.
The first hour began at sunrise, the sixth ended at noon, and the twelfth ended at sunset. The third hour divided the period between sunrise and noon, and the ninth between noon and sunset. The first at its close corresponded nearly to seven o’clock A. M. of our time, and the twelfth hour to six o’clock P. M.
The “third hour” is mentioned in Matthew 20:33And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, (Matthew 20:3); Mark 15:2525And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. (Mark 15:25); Acts 2:1515For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. (Acts 2:15). It may, be roughly reckoned at nine o’clock A. M. of our time. The “sixth hour” is named in Matthew 20:5; 22:455Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. (Matthew 20:5)
45If David then call him Lord, how is he his son? (Matthew 22:45); Mark 15:3333And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. (Mark 15:33); Luke 23: 44; John 4:6; 19:146Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. (John 4:6)
14And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! (John 19:14); Acts 10:99On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the housetop to pray about the sixth hour: (Acts 10:9). It corresponded exactly to twelve o’clock noon of our time. The “seventh hour” is mentioned in John 4:5252Then inquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. (John 4:52). It was about one o’clock P. M. The “ninth hour” is spoken of in Matthew 20:5; 27:45-465Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. (Matthew 20:5)
45Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. 46And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:45‑46); Mark 15:33, 3433And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Mark 15:33‑34); Luke 23:4444And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. (Luke 23:44); Acts 3:1; 10:31Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. (Acts 3:1)
3He saw in a vision evidently about the ninth hour of the day an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto him, Cornelius. (Acts 10:3). It was about three o’clock P. M. The tenth hour” is named in John 1:3939He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. (John 1:39). It was about four o’clock P. M. Some commentators, however, contend that John, writing this Gospel in the later years of his life, referred to Roman time and not to Jewish, thus making the hour ten o’clock A. M. This could hardly be, unless all his other estimates of time were reckoned in the same way, which, from a consideration of various texts, is highly improbable; besides, as Lucke (cited by Alford) remarks, even among the Romans the division of the day into twelve equal hours was, though not the civil, the popular way of computing time. The “eleventh hour” is mentioned in Matthew 20:6,96And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? (Matthew 20:6)
9And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. (Matthew 20:9), and corresponds nearly to five o’clock P. M.