12 hour Sabbath
A 12 hour Sabbath? Isn’t the Sabbath 24 hours?
Now we have done several posts proving that the biblical day began in the morning and not the evening as is widely believed. We would like to continue this series by looking at one incident that proves that the Sabbath lasts for 12 hours, from morning to evening. Indeed, the Messiah said this:
John 11:9 Yahusha 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.
The Messiah was stating something that was obvious at the time, that there are 12 hours in the day. However, that is no longer the case as we have moved away from the Hebraic roots of the bible. We are now under Romanesque roots.
So, let us prove that the Sabbath was held for the 12 hours in the Bible.
The Messiah in Capernaum
Now, we first have to establish that our account occurred on the Sabbath day.
Mar 1:21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.
Now what happened in the evening at sunset?
Mar 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.
Mar 1:33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.
The sunset signaled the end of the Sabbath. How do we know this? The entire town gathered at his door after sunset. This would not happen during the Sabbath as during the Sabbath, most would be in the synagogue. The entire town would not be congregating at other persons’ dwellings on the Sabbath.
Now the evening to evening Sabbath believers will say, yes! This proves the Sabbath and by extension, the day, begins in the evening. But let’s see as the saga continues.
Mar 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.
According to evening to evening believers, the day began in the evening after the Sabbath (Mark 1:32). However, as we see above in verse 35, that the day began the next day! How can we deduce that?
Meanings of “Morning” and “Before Day”
Going back to the meaning of the words before their English translation will tell us what meaning the verse was intended to convey.
So first, morning:
Greek: πρωΐ́
Transliteration: prōi
Pronunciation: pro-ee’
Definition: Adverb from G4253; at dawn; by implication the day break watch: – early (in the morning) (in the) morning.
KJV Usage: in the morning (5x), early in the morning (2x), early (2x), morning (1x).
Occurs: 10
Now let’s look at the meaning of “before day.”
It is from the Greek ennuchon, and this word is used only once in the Bible. It really means as the English translation says: a great while before day/daybreak/daylight).
Greek: ἔννυχον
Transliteration: ennuchon
Pronunciation: en’-noo-khon
Definition: Neuter of a compound of G1722 and G3571; (adverbially) by night: – before day.
KJV Usage: a great while before day (with G3129) (1x).
Occurs: 1
In verses: 1
So the morning was the start of the next day. Morning began when it was yet dark, when it began to light, but the light had not yet fully overcome the dark. The day did not begin the evening before.
See also: Clues from the word “morrow.”
Sabbath morning
That means the Sabbath began in the morning which began the day. They went into the synagogue on the Sabbath DAY and in the evening when the sun was set, the Sabbath day was over (12 hour Sabbath). The entire city came to the house, because the Sabbath was over.
In the morning early before day began, he rose up to pray (Mark 1:35). The day did not begin the evening before.
Confirmation from John 20
Let us now give a confirmation of that in the book of Yahuchanon (John).
Here is a similar time in which Mary came. Early in the morning when light is breaking forth from the darkness of the night, it would still be dark.
Joh 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.
Now we see the evening being described as the same day (that Mary came early in the morning). This also proves that the previous description (John 20:1) was of the morning:
Joh 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.
What Does This Tell Us?
Now if the evening is the same day as the morning before, it confirms that an evening does not begin a day. Rather it ends it.
When the sun is set, then the night begins. 12 hours later, the next day begins in the morning. The morning and the evening marked a 12 hour day matched by 12 hours of night. All this is consistent with the illustration below. :
12 Hour Sabbath Confirmed
So similar to the account of Yahusha in Capernaum, we have the day beginning early in the morning and ending in the evening with the evening being a part of the day, not a new day.
So that one account of Yahusha in Capernaum (in Mark 1), gives us the evidence that a 12 hour sabbath was kept in the Bible. The evening to evening Sabbath is not biblical. It is a tradition of man.
See: Religion vs The Way: Which One Are You Following?
You could also have included Genesis 1:5: “And Elohim called the light ‘day’ and the darkness He called ‘night.’” and then the confirming verse of the time of incest with Lot’s daughters Genesis 19:34 “And it came to be on the next *day* that the first-born said to the younger, “See, I lay with my father last *night*….”. If the DAY also includes the previous NIGHT, how can it be the next day?
Search the scriptures for passages with ‘break’/’breaking’ and ‘day’, ‘dawn’/’dawning’ and ‘day’ and even the phrase ‘next day’ which always has context of the next day in today’s standards – SHOCKING! Plus also ones with ‘evening’. why would that be mentioned is that was the next day? And then there are the passages with ‘early’ and ‘day’ meaning the dawning of the sun. It does not mean the time right after the sun set! Also look for passages with ‘night’ and ‘day’ which means they are separate periods.
People with a bias to prove will use Exodus 12:6 to say that every single day of the week starts in the evening or atdusk. Let’s nip that in the bud right now.
Exodus 12:6: “between the evenings” as when the Sabbath is observed. “לחדשׁ הזה ושׁחטו אתו כל קהל עדת ישׂראל בין הערבים” (right to left) which is “ha’arbêyn Yiśrâ’êl ‛êdâh qâhâl kôl ‘êth shâchaṭ haszeh laChôdesh” (right to left), each word translated:
laChôdesh = of the new moon
haszeh = has the same
vashâchatụ = shall kill
‘êth = (sense of self)
kôl = entire
qâhâl = assembly
‛êdâh = of the congregation
Yiśrâ’êl = Israel
bêyn = in
ha’ar = at eve
How does the Hebrew phrase end? at eve/at the evening/at dusk. There is zero ‘between the evenings’ which was put in by biased translator.
The observation of the sunset as start of the day has pagan roots which being in the Talmud is self-evident. paganism will not be observed in paradise!
The 24-hour day is an attempt to whitewash away the 12-hour day. Don’t fall for it!
Many thanks for your comment, Kevin. It has really added confirmation as well as more clarity to this article.
I’m very happy for this comment as I have been diligent in trying to figure out why messiah says 12 hours in a day! & you just gave me more reason to seek the words you provided for study!
A good clue to the sabbath being daylight time is that New Jerusalem will be light only (no night). And the sabbath, being a shadow of things to come (glimpse of the millennial New Jerusalem reign), then the sabbath should only be day and no night as well.
Wow. Now that really makes sense. Never thought of that. Thanks Drew!
I have been researching this for a while myself, because one day in the Fall of 2018, I began to wonder why the Jews kept the Sabbath from evening to evening. Revelation after revelation kept coming, and I kept researching. I watched a woman speak, who had kept the Sabbath all of her life and she watched her family rush around on Friday, just to get ready for the evening. I came across so many wonderful websites revealing verses which showed when the day began. And today I discovered yours. Thank you so much for your wonderful work. I love all of the comments as well. Just wanted to also share a verse in Isaiah.
Isaiah 5: 20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, the light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
This is serious.
Thanks for sharing your experience Linda. indeed, all the comments, including yours, have added value to this post. That Isaiah 5:20 is one I will use in the future. Never thought about it as it pertains to the evening to evening Sabbath. Thanks again.
Great verse!!!! I finally got confirmation on this! The day is exactly what scripture says. Not the night & day. HaleluYAH!!!
What do we do with Matthew 18:1? There it states ” In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.” Doesn’t that verse suggest that the Sabbath (the set apart hours) end before dawn? What are your thoughts and Why? this is from the KJV, other translation make it even clearer, but what is correct?
Thanks for your question, Walter.
Now to show definitively that the Sabbath does not begin at evening on preparation day, but on the morning of the 7th day, take a look at this verse that we have read so many times:
Mar 15:42 — Mar 15:43
And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of Elohiym, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Yahushua.
The evening was the preparation, the day before the Sabbath. According to our evening start of Sabbath, it would have been the Sabbath!
But wait, are you thinking this could be referring to the evening start of the preparation day? Example being from “Thursday” evening start to Friday evening as we now observe? Let’s solve that problem:
This was the same incident in the Book of Luke:
Luk 23:52 — Luk 23:54
This man went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Yahusha. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
So when he did it, the Sabbath drew on. But what does “drew on” mean?
English: drew on
Greek Transliteration: epiphosko
Pronunciation: ep-ee-foce’-ko
Definition: A form of G2017; to begin to grow light: – begin to dawn X draw on.
KJV Usage: begin to dawn (1x), draw on (1x).
Occurs: 2
That meaning proves 2 things:
1) That the incident referred to the preparation evening, which we would say is the beginning of Sabbath.
2) The Sabbath began to grow light shows that the Sabbath is at dawn!
Why not let’s add a little more icing to the cake?
Matthew 28:1
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
The first day of the week began at dawn!
The previous was taken from our post, When Does The Sabbath Begin. The hull post can be found here: https://justaword.org/when-does-the-sabbath-begin/.
Matt 28:1
I believe his question is the verse seems to be saying In the end of the sabbath Mary was coming and it is still dark on Saturday evening coming towards the dawn of the first day. So does the sabbath go all night or just the 12 hours? Perhaps it is just referring to the whole 24 sabbath day and not the 12 hours of observance?
Check your version of Matthew 28:1. When I use my Bible Hub lexicon, the verse reads as follows:
“Now, after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day,”…..
And the word for AFTER is “opse,” which is Strong’s 3796, and actually means “long after.”
So, Walter, this seems to suggest that the Sabbath had been over for quite some time and yet the first day of the week still had not begun. I’m still doing my own research on all this so keep praying and asking the Holy Spirit to show you the truth! I’ve been observing a 24-hour Sabbath but am now leaning towards the 12-hour morning-start Sabbath (on Saturdays). To God be the Glory.
Love, Emily
Very good catch on that verse!! also it’s good to find that they killed messiah on the true sabbath but for the Pharisees theirs had not begun yet!! You’ll have to study it out but it’s insane once you see it.
Peace
Yahusha died in the midst of the week that’s the 4th day (Daniel 9:27)
He was in the tomb 3 days (12 hours) 3 nights (12 hours) (Matthew 12:40)
Mary came to the tomb on the 1st day of the week.
Day 1 not dead
Day 2 not dead
Day 3 not dead
Day 4 dead (evening 12 hours)
Day 5 dead (day + evening 24 hours)
Day 6 dead (day + evening 24 hours)
Day 7 dead (day 12 hours)
Day 1 Mary came at the beginning of the week when it was still dark (John 20:1)