by
Keith Hunt
Some years back one of the publications from one of the
Sabbath/Festival observing groups of the Church of God, stated
this in their study paper:
"....#6153 ....erev: this word is generally translated as
'evening' and comes from the root with the suggested original
meaning of 'enter, go in' (as in Assyrian). It refers not
to sunset, but rather the period before sunset (possibly
beginning at noon, when the sun begins its descent). Thus, it
primarily refers to the late afternoon periods of the day....."
(Answers Publication, 1991).
Now, they want us to believe that "evening" can be anytime
from NOON, and they also assert this Hebrew word "PRIMARILY
refers to the LATE AFTERNOON periods of the day."
Wow, I think that is quite a mouth-full, to have us believe,
they say that evening can be NOON or anytime after. I'm
scratching my head on this one. If "even" or "evening" in the
Bible, the Old Testament anyway, really means ANY TIME after NOON
to dark or primarily refers to LATE AFTERNOON, then what may I
ask does the words, "mid-afternoon" or "late afternoon" or "early
afternoon" mean? If "evening" means "late afternoon" them maybe
"late afternoon" means "evening" with this reasoning and
understanding of words. Maybe "morning" means "afternoon" and
"late in the day" means "late in the morning" and "day" means
"night" and "night" means "day."
Is the Bible written in some "secret code" or strange
language that needs a degree in lock-smithing to open it up and
REALLY understand what it is saying, or was it written
in pretty well the common every day language of the time?
I have shown in my in-depth study called "Evening - How it
is used in the New Testament" on this Website, that as far as the
NT goes at least, the word "evening" is never from NOON, or in
the "late afternoon" or "middle afternoon" but is from EITHER
"sunset" or "after the twelfth hour" or after what we call 6 p.m.
I ask the reader to study carefully my study mentioned above, and
clearly have this truth of the NT demonstrated and proven, as the
NT interprets the NT on what "evening" means.
We commonly refer to "evening" as sunset and after, or after
6 p.m. or the twelfth hour of the day as used by the Jews (in
Jesus' day. You will remember Jesus saying, "Are there not twelve
hours in the day......").
It was no different in Jewish life or the life of Israel,
back in the Old Testament days, and for those whom God inspired
to write the books of the OT. The Bible is full of common
everyday understandable use of language. Morning means morning
and not afternoon. Night time means night time and not day time
or noon time. Noon means noon and not morning or day break.
Morning means that time of day up to noon. Night time means that
time when is dark. Afternoon means from noon to evening. Evening
means from either sunset to dark or the time after the twelfth
hour or 6 p.m.
The evening for Bible times was not shortly after noon, or
middle afternoon. If words for the time of day can have large
boarders such as "evening" meaning the second after noon time,
then words to express certain time frames have lost all meaning,
and then truly those who say the Bible can say whatever anyone
wants it to say, is indeed true.
But the Bible cannot be made to say anything that people
want it to say, although many do indeed choose to read it this
way. The NT has some serious words to say to readers that want to
make the Bible say what they want it to say. Such people Peter
said, "twist and wench the Scriptures to their own destruction."
Answers Publication list a number of passages they think
uphold their theories and ideas on the word "evening." The
Passages they list are:
Judges 19:9,14; 1 Sam.17:16; Genesis 8:11; Gen. 24:11; 2
Sam.11:2; Joshua 8:29; Gen. 19:1; Exodus 12:8; Deut. 16:6; 2
Chron. 18: 34.
I shall go over them shortly, but first let's take a look at
THREE very respected Hebrew Word expounding sources: The
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Nelson's Expository
Dictionary - The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament.
The INTERNATIONAL STANDARD BIBLE ENCYCLOPEDIA
EVEN...EVENING...EVENTIDE......The words are used in
slightly different meanings: (1) The time of sunset, the
beginning of the Heb.day, as in Lev. 15, where direction are
given for the removal of uncleanness, which took place at sunset.
(2) Twilight, the time of approaching darkness when lamps are
lighted; Ex. 30; 8 (lit. "between the two evenings); Jer. 6:4
("the shadows of the evening"). (3) The early part of the night
(Prov. 7:9; Ezk. 12:7)......"Eventide" 'eth erebh,' "time of
evening" (2 Sa. 11:2; Isa. 17:14)......
NELSON'S EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY
ereb..."evening, night." The noun 'ereb' appears about 130
times and in all periods. This word represents the time of the
day immediately preceding and following the setting of the sun.
During this period the dove returned to Noah's ark (Gen. 8:11).
Since it was cool, women went to the wells for water in the
"evening" (Gen. 24:11). It was at "evening" that David walked
around on top of his roof to refresh himself and cool off, and
observed Bathsheba taking a bath (2 Sam. 11:2). In its first
biblical appearance, 'ereb' marks the "opening of a day" - "And
the evening and the morning were the first day" (Gen.1:5).
The phrase "between the two evenings" means the period
between sunset and darkness, "twilight" (Exod. 12:6; KJV, "in the
evening").
Second, in a late poetical use, the word can mean "night: -
"When I lie down, I say, When shall I arise, and the night be
gone? and I am full of tossings to and fro unto the dawning of
the day" (Job 7:4).
The THEOLOGICAL WORDBOOK OF THE OLD TESTAMENT
ereb. Evening, night. This common masculine noun for
"evening" likely developed from the expression, "the setting of
the sun, sunset." It is cognate to Akkadian 'erebu' a common verb
of wide usage, which includes "to enter, go down (of the sun)."
Akkadian 'erib samsi' means "sunset." Compare Arabic 'garifa'
"to set (of the sun),' and Ugaritic 'rh sps ( - m'rb),
"sunset."......
ereb is found 131 times in the OT. The phrase "there was an
evening and there was a morning" occurs six times in the creation
narrative (Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31)........
ereb in Levitical legislation respecting uncleanness. One
was considered unclean because of certain acts "until the
evening" (Lev. 11:24, plus thirty times). That is, one was
unclean for the duration of the day.
Evenings were quite important for sacrificial acts and
ceremonial meals in ancient Israel. The Passover began on the
evening of the fourteenth day of the first month (see
Ex. 12:6, 18). Sometimes, as in Ex. 12:6, the Hebrew reads
literally, "between the two evenings," likely "twilight," the
time interval between sunset and darkness in which there
is a state of illumination. Only in Job 7:4 does 'ereb' denote
"night" proper.
There it is, from three highly respected theological
sources. One of them does say the word means "immediately
before" sunset. But "immediately before" is a LONG way from NOON
or any time thereafter, or middle afternoon, as Answers
Publication wants you to believe the word means.
The truth of the matter is that such a meaning has been
FORCED into the word by the sect of the Pharisees to uphold their
Passover time practice, from the time when the Pharisees came
into being in the centuries after the 70 year Jewish captivity by
the Babylonians (in the 5th century B.C.). And such a teaching as
this word supposedly meaning anytime from noon and after, has
been blindly swallowed by people and groups of people who did not
research the matter carefully and deeply enough.
As we shall now proceed to see the word "evening" or 'ereb'
in the Hebrew means sunset or the length of time from sunset to
darkness. And there is also the common usage of "evening" as
AFTER the 12th hour of the day, which in Israel's (and the Jews
of Jesus' day) was the time AFTER what we call 6 p.m. Again, this
I prove from the NT interpreting itself....Bible interpreting the
Bible, as I show in my study called, "Evening - the word as used
in the NT"
THE PASSAGES GIVEN BY
ANSWERS PUBLICATION
Judges 19: 9,14
A careful study of this section of Scripture shows that it
does not say what ANSWERS PUBLICATION says it says. You may want
to use the KJV translation. I will quote from the TANAKH - an
English translation from the Hebrew by the Jewish Publication
Society.
Verse 9: "Then the man....started to leave. His
father-in-law, the girl's father, said to him, 'Look, the day is
WANING TOWARDS evening; do stop for the night. See the day is
declining, spend the night here.....' "
Ah! Did you see it? It was not YET evening; it was WANING
TOWARDS - heading towards evening, but it does NOT say it was
evening. There is a BIG difference between heading towards a town
in your car and actually being at the town.
The man heads out and was determined to spend the night
either in Gibeah or in Ramah - verses 10 to 13. It was still not
evening; it was only WANING TOWARDS evening.
Now notice verse 14. "So they travelled on, and the SUN SET
when they were near Gibeah of Benjamin."
Here we have Biblical proof that evening and sunset are
CONNECTED. The man travelled as "the day was very far spent"
(verse 11) - as the day was WANING TOWARDS evening (verse 9), but
NOT YET evening for the sun had not yet set. In this particular
case evening is thought of as sunset. When sunset and evening
came, the man spent the night at Gibeah.
ANSWERS PUBLICATION do themselves say very early on in their
study paper that a day starts and ends "approximately at sunset"
to use their very own words.
There is NOTHING in this account in Judges 19 to warrant a
teaching that "evening" is any time after noon time or even the
middle of the afternoon.
1 Samuel 17: 16
As the sun goes down behind the hills in Palestine - as it
sets in the evening - it does not immediately become BLACK with
night. There is some time where it is still light; a time the
Bible calls "the shadows of the evening" (Jer. 6:4). And also,
"In the twilight, in the evening" (Prov. 7:9).
During this time you could still see sufficiently to do many
things. It would not have taken long for an Israelite to have
mounted a horse and galloped down the hillside to fight
the Philistine, or have run on foot to meet him, and do battle
with him. Remember the Philistine had made it his habit to come
at "evening" to challenge someone from the army of Israel to
fight him. The Israelites knew he would appear at evening time,
and anyone going out to fight him could be ready beforehand, with
all his armor on, to meet his challenge.
It would not have taken that long, just a few minutes, for
David to gather five smooth stones from the brook for his sling,
to get ready to fight the huge champion fighter from the
Philistines.
If we take this wording to mean it was sunset and not the
thought that it could have been evening after the 12th hour or
after our time we call 6 p.m., we still have plenty of time for
two men to do physical battle against each other. With two men in
armor, a spear, a sword, a dagger, going to go at it with hand to
hand combat, I doubt very much the fight would have lasted more
than half an hour. Just the weight of the armor alone would have
weakened one of them within a half hour of hand combat. So
two men fighting at sunset under those physical conditions would
not have been abnormal or out of the question at all. We are
after all talking here about two hand to hand combat men, not a
run and hide and fight merry-go-round scenario that could last
for a few hours.
And the way David had it panned out it was only going to
take a few minutes to kill this giant of a man.
All this taking place at sunset is well within the time
before it would be dark with night.
Genesis 8:11
Can a dove fly at sunset, when the sun has just gone below
the horizon, and it is still light? Yes of course it can. Then
the dove may have already been flying for an hour or so before
arriving back on the ark at evening or sunset. It was evening
that the dove landed on the ark, but it may not have been evening
when the dove started on its journey BACK to the ark. There is
nothing here to suggest we understand "evening" as anything
but sunset when the dove actually came to Noah's hand and back
onto the ark.
Genesis 24:11
What could be nicer than after a long hot day in Palestine
under a blazing sun, than to have it sink behind the hills
leaving shadows of coolness. What better part of the day could
there be to water your live stock? There's still enough light to
see your flocks and do these last chores before bedding down for
the dark night.
I know how nice this is for I have had first hand experience
at doing this very thing. As a young man in my early 20s working
in a Horse Riding Dude Ranch, I often, after a hard day in the
sun, with the horses on the trail, would unsaddle them and lead
them to water as the sun set and the evening began. It was a
great part of the day - cool shadows, yet enough light to
accomplish the job before me.
The again, if we take "evening" to be AFTER the 12 hour (or
our 6 p.m.), it could mean that if sunset was 9 p.m. you may be
watering your live-stock at say 8 p.m. The hot daytime sun would
have replaced with the cooler evening sun even if it had not yet
set.
2 SAMUEL 11:2
Again, what better part of the day to bathe ones self in the
outdoor pool, than the time when the sun was just setting,
falling behind the hills - in the cool of the evening,
before the darkness set in for the night, unless there was a
clear sky and a bright full moon.
There is a time lapse of up to an hour in some parts of the
world, from sunset to the blackness of night. Indeed, plenty of
time to bathe ones self in the outdoor pool. We need to remember
that the account does not say Bathsheba was naked, only that she
was very beautiful to look upon. When I lived in Florida for 3
years and walked the beach at sunset time, many women with little
on were still on the beach, and I could easily see if they had a
great figure or if they were beautiful to look upon. It would
seem David could also.
JOSHUA 8:29
This verse can prove that "eventide" equals "sun-set." It is
TWO ways of saying the same thing, a figure of speech often used
in the Bible. We today often use this figure of speech. You say
it one way and say it again another way as you emphasize and
amplify what transpired at that point in reference that you are
using. The twilight - shadows of the evening - would still afford
them the light they needed to do the task they were given. The
king Ai was hanging on the tree until "eventide" - having been
hanging for some time before eventide. Then at eventide or as the
sun set Joshua commanded they take Ai down from the tree.
GENESIS 19:1
When the sun sets it does not instantly become "black as
coal" but is "twilight time." I can still see my neighbor working
in his garden, or the children playing in the school yard across
from my house. So also could Lot see the angels coming to Sodom
during the evening part of the day - dusk: when the sun has gone
down below the horizon or hills but it is not yet dark night.
EXODUS 12:18
The "even" here is the same as "between the two evenings" of
verse 6 - DUSK or TWILIGHT. This verse is fully explained in my
study "Was the Passover/Feast of Unleavened Bread 7 or 8 Days in
Length?" The phrase "between the two evenings" I have also fully
explained in another study under the Passover topic.
DEUTERONOMY 16:6
The phrase "at the going down of the sun" cannot be taken as
automatically meaning when it first starts to descend after
reaching its highest point in the sky, i.e. going down from noon
time. The word "even" comes before this phrase, so understanding
even to be sunset of the period of time from after the 12 hour of
the day, we should certainly not jump at the idea of "even" means
from anytime from noon onwards. This verse is also talking about
the time of the Passover, so the reader should study all my other
studies on the Passover time issue.
2 CHRONICLES 18:34
This is as we have covered in Joshua 8:29. It is two ways of
saying the same thing. He lived until EVEN, at the time of the
sun going down (sunset), the beginning of the evening - he died.
Such figures of speech abound in the Bible, so much so that
Bullinger thought it necessary to write a thousand page plus book
dealing with figures of speech in the Bible.
None of the above prove that "even" - "eventide" - is NOON,
or MIDDLE AFTERNOON, or LATE AFTERNOON, as the Answers Study
paper would like you to believe that it can mean.
...........................
Written 1991 and re-written 2003
PASSOVER
UNDERSTANDINGS
BETWEEN THE TWO EVENINGS
Written March 1997
by
Keith Hunt
The Hebrew for in the evening in Exodus 12:6 is better
translated as the KJV margin gives: "between the two evenings."
Now what on earth does that phrase mean? Can we even know
what it means? How did the Jews interpret its meaning? Were the
Jews in total agreement as to its meaning?
Let me answer the last question first. NO! The Jews
themselves could NOT agree with each other as to the exact
meaning of this phrase. I will quote from THE INTERPRETER'S BIBLE
under Exodus 12:6.
"......In Jewish orthodoxy the time of the slaughter,
between the two evenings, is specified as in the afternoon,
before sunset; especially, the time approaching sunset.
The Mishnah implies that any time after noon was valid for the
slaying (Pesahim 5:3).
SAMARITANS, KARAITES, and SADDUCEES specify the time as AFTER
SUNSET AND BEFORE DARKNESS. The latter probably designates the
more archaic practice."
AAAHHH, there it is(and you can find the same information in
the Jewish Encyclopedia), the Jews were NOT IN AGREEMENT with one
another as to how to understand this phrase "between the two
evenings."
The Sadducees DID NOT AGREE with the Pharisees on how what
"between the two evenings" was meaning.
The Sadducees and Karaites(Jews) of TODAY do not agree with
the Pharisee Jewish orthodoxy.
In practice the Jews with their various religious fractions
DO NOT AGREE with each other as to how to interpret the phrase
"between the two evenings."
Before we seek to see if the Bible itself interprets this
phrase, I want to give you some of the various English
translations, and how they render this phrase in Exodus 12:6.
The NKJV: "......shall kill it at twilight."
The Lamsa translation: ".....shall kill it at sunset."
The Everyday Bible: ".....will kill them in the evening
before dark."
The RSV translates the phrase as "evening" but in Exodus
16:12 where it is used again they render it as "twilight."
Moffat's translation of Ex.12:6 and 16:12 is "between sunset
and dark."
The New English Bible gives: "between sunset and dark."
The New American Standard Bible renders this Hebrew beyn
ha-arbayim of Ex.12:6 as "twilight."
New Jerusalem Bible has: "....slaughter it at twilight."
The Amplified Bible renders this phrase as "evening" in
Ex.12:6 but in chapter 16:12 where it is again used they render
it as "at twilight."
NIV - Children's Edition, renders "between the two evenings"
in Ex.12:6 and 16:12 as "at twilight."
NOW as for the two English translation by the main stream
body of Jews themselves, the Jews who are the spiritual offspring
of the Pharisee sect of Jesus' age, the sect of Judaism that
practiced and taught the slaughtering of the lambs in the Temple
starting at 3 p.m. LOOK AT HOW THEY RENDER THIS PHRASE TODAY!
The Jewish Publication Society of America in their old
translation of the Hebrew from the Masoretic text, translates
beyn ha-arbayim(between the two evenings) consistently(every
place it is used) as "DUSK."
In their new TANAKH translation they render this phrase in
EX.12:6 and 16:12 as "AT TWILIGHT."
WOW! Even the modern offspring of the Pharisees in their
modern study of this phrase feel the correct way to render it in
English is either "dusk" or "twilight." Neither of these words
in English can be thought of as meaning 3 p.m. in the afternoon!!
Certainly not from any time after noon or 12 p.m. or from one
evening at the beginning of a day to the next evening at the end
of the day(about 24 hours).
I will quote from a book called AID TO BIBLE STUDY, article
"Passover" page 1273.
"The Israelites measured their day from sundown to sundown.
So Passover day would begin at sundown at the end of the
thirteenth day of Abid(Nisan). The animal was to be slaughtered
'between the two evenings' (Ex.12:6). There are differences of
opinion as to the exact time meant. According to some
authorities, as well as the Karaite Jews and the Samaritans(they
forgot to mention the Sadducees - KH), this is the time between
sunset and deep twilight. The Pharisees and Rabbinists considered
it otherwise.......On this point Professors Keil and Delitzsch
say: ' Different opinions have prevailed among the Jews from very
early date as to the precise time intended. Aben Ezra agrees with
the Karaites and Samaritans in taking the first evening to be the
time when the sun sinks below the horizon, and the second the
time of total darkness; in which case, between the two evenings,
would be from 6 o'clock to 7.20......According to the rabbinical
idea, the time when the sun began to descend, viz. from 3 to 5
o'clock, was the first evening, and sunset the second; so that,
between the two evenings, was from 3 to 6 o'clock. Modern
expositors have very properly decided in favor of the view held
by Aben Ezra and the custom adopted by the Karaites and
samaritans......."
The scholars that wrote NELSON'S EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF
THE OT AND VINE'S COMPLETE EXPOSITORY DICTIONARY OF OLD AND NEW
TESTAMENT WORDS, said this : "The phrase 'between the two
evenings' means the period between sunset and darkness. twilight'
(Ex.12:6; KJV, 'in the evening').
From the scholastic and in-depth work of the THEOLOGICAL
WORDBOOK OF THE OLD TESTAMENT we read this concerning the phrase
under question: "The Passover began on the evening of the
fourteenth day of the first month (see Ex.12:6, 18). Sometimes,
as in Ex.12:6, the Hebrew reads literally, 'between the two
evenings,' likely 'twilight,' the time interval between sunset
and darkness in which there is a state of illumination......"
HOW OFTEN IS BEYN HA-ARBAYIM USED?
The ENGLISHMAN'S HEBREW AND CHALDEE CONCORDANCE OF THE OT
page 976 lists every verse in the Bible where this Hebrew phrase
is used. It is found ONLY in the books of Moses, or to be more
specific, in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers.
This phrase is used ELEVEN TIMES in total. Here they are:
Ex.12:6; 16:12; 29:39,41; 30:8; Lev.23:5; Num.9:3,
5, 11; 28:4, 8.
Let us look at all of them.
Ex.12:6 is when the Passover lamb was to be killed.
EX.16:12 is when God sent the quails for Israel to eat
flesh.
Ex.29:39,41 a lamb was to be offered in the evening or
"between the two evenings."
Ex.30:8 Aaron was to light the lamps between the two
evenings.
Lev.23:5 was the Passover "between the two evenings" on the
14th day of the first month.
Num.9:3,5 the Passover was observed in the second year after
coming out of Egypt, in the 14th day of the first month, at even,
or "between the two evenings."
Num.9:11 the second Passover for those not able to observe
the first one, was to be observed in the second month, between
the two evenings , on the 14th day.
Num.28:4,8 the daily lamb offering, one in the morning and
the other in between the two evenings, a morning and evening lamb
sacrifice.
DOES THE BIBLE ITSELF INTERPRET "BETWEEN THE TWO
EVENINGS"?
One key to understanding the word of God is to let that word
INTERPRET ITSELF!
If we as humans interpret the word out of our own mind, and own
ideas, then we can truly come up with MANY interpretation for a
phrase or a word or a sentence. Then it would be correct when
some people say, "Oh, anyone can prove anything from the Bible."
When we are in doubt about what a phrase could mean, the
first things we should want to do is see if the Bible itself
explains to us the meaning of the phrase, symbol, passage etc. If
it does then our ideas mean NOTHING. We could have the whole
world believing our idea is correct, but if the Bible clearly
shows the meaning, and if that meaning is not according to our
believe or practice, then we ARE WRONG! And if the world is
following our wrong belief and practice then the whole world is
wrong, and God is true though every man be a liar.
Does God's word interpret for us the meaning of this Hebrew
phrase "between the two evenings"? YES IT DOES INDEED!! We do
not have to guess, or ponder, or dream up meanings for it. God
tells us, shows us VERY CLEARLY what the meaning is to that
phrase found in first in Exodus 12:6.
The Bible explanation and interpretation of this phrase is
found and demonstrated to us within the context of the Sabbath
day and the eating of quails, as given in Exodus chapter
sixteen!!
Fed Coulter has in his book "The Christian Passover" gone
into detail explaining this chapter for the purpose of showing
how God inspired Moses to use this phrase "between the two
evenings." It is not my plan to repeat all that Mr. Coulter has
written.
But a few points I do need to say for the reader. If we work our
way backwards in Exodus 16, we shall see that the 15th of the
second month that Israel came out of Egypt, was indeed a Sabbath
day.
It was a Sabbath day that God did not send any manner(verses
27-30), the day before they were given twice as much to gather,
to see them through the Sabbath(verses 22-24). Going back six
days we come to the morning when manner was given for the first
time(verses 12-21). Today we would call it Sunday morning. The
quails came upon the camp the previous evening or the previous
"between the two evenings" to this Sunday morning(verses 12-13).
The day before the quails came was then a Sabbath day - the
15th of the second month(verse one).
It was AFTER the Sabbath that God sent the quails for them
to eat! It was in the "evening" and "between the two evenings."
Would God have sent the quails from sometime between the first
evening of the Sabbath and the second evening, or end of
the Sabbath(if "between the two evening" is a 24 hour period as
some contest)? Would God have sent the quails from sometime
after 12 p.m. on the Sabbath to the evening of the Sabbath(the
end of)? Would God have sent the quails from about the mid
afternoon, say about 3 p.m. (first evening as some say) to the
second evening(end of Sabbath)?
Would God have sent the quails on the Sabbath period?
You may argue that we can eat and can prepare food on the
Sabbath, BUT COME ON NOW, this was no ordinary relaxed Sabbath
meal they would have had, if the quails had been given to them on
the Sabbath. We have a group of people probably well over
a million in adults(Ex.12:37-38), who were longing and lusting
after flesh to eat(chapter 16:1-12). Can you imagine the scene,
and on the Sabbath day, if the quails came on any part of that
day? Thousands, tens of thousands of men and women, going crazy,
frantically catching, killing, pulling feathers, gathering wood,
making fires, roasting and eating these quails, acting like
starving wild animals deprived of flesh eating for two whole
months. The bedlam, confusion, uproar, pandemonium, and wild
tumult that would have erupted can hardly be imagined. This would
have been no casual relaxed spiritual overtone Sabbath meal, not
at all. And anyone thinking it would have been is surely day-
dreaming in naive blissfulness.
It is clear from all that God says regarding the observing
of His Sabbath day, that He would not have sent those quails to
this lusting after flesh to eat, carnal freed slaves, who were
moaning and groaning against God, because of all the good food
they have left behind in Egypt.
WHEN THE SABBATH DAY WAS OVER, in the evening, at sun set,
when the sun went down over the horizon, when it was DUSK, when
it was TWILIGHT time, when it was "between the two evening," when
it was evening to start a new day(Gen.1), then God sent them the
quail to eat.
Ah, now we can see why Aaron was to LIGHT THE LAMPS "between
the two evenings" as instructed in Exodus 30:8. He was not to
light them anytime over a 24 hour period, or at noon time, or at
3 p.m. in the full sun of the afternoon. He was to light them
WHEN LIGHT WAS NEEDED, at dusk time, at twilight time, when the
EVENING sacrifice was to be offered.
And that is when the evening sacrifice was offered
ORIGINALLY! When they offered it after the 70 year captivity of
Judah in Babylon, when they offered it after the days of Ezra,
when they offered it in the time of Christ, HAS LITTLE TO DO WITH
WHEN GOD TOLD THEM TO DO IT ORIGINALLY! The Jews came to do MANY
things through their own traditions that were contrary to the
commandments of God, as Jesus often openly told them.
There can be NO DOUBT, the phrase "between the two evenings"
can ONLY MEAN one thing - BETWEEN SUNSET AND COMPLETE DARKNESS!!
NUMBERS 28
If we are to believe that the Passover was from the start
sacrificed at the END of the 14th day, in the afternoon of the
14th day of the first month, then by the very wording in Numbers
28 and verses 16 and 17, we could only conclude that the feast of
Unleavened Bread was to start in the afternoon of the 15th day of
the first month, and not at the beginning of the 15th day, or at
the end of the 14th day.
Look at the very wording of those verses. Go ahead see them
in a Hebrew/English Interlinear Bible.
The only LOGICAL way, the only CONSISTENT way to read those
verses, if you believe the Passover was in the late afternoon of
the 14th day, is also to believe the feast of the 7 days of
unleavened bread also began in the late afternoon of the 15th,
and so the first holy day would not have been the 15th, but the
16th of the first month.
And all that is utter nonsense as other scriptures make it
VERY CLEAR that the 15th day of the first month is a Sabbath day.
This we can also see from the NT as Christ was killed on the
14th, and they did not want to leave His body on the cross
BECAUSE THE SABBATH was coming on. That Sabbath was the Sabbath
of the 15th of Nisan, the first holy convocation day of the
feast, in which no servile work was to be done(Num.28:18;
Lev.23:6,7).
All should now become clear to understand. The Passover lamb
sacrifice was killed AT THE BEGINNING of the 14th day, in the
EVENING of the 14th day, during the DUSK or TWILIGHT part of the
14th day, during the time of "between the two evenings." The
feast of Unleavened Bread, when such bread was to be eaten for 7
days, started at the beginning of the 15th day, at the evening
that began the 15th day, and continued for 7 full days, up to the
END of the 21st day. At the end of the 14th day, as that evening
came to end the 14th and start the 15th, only unleavened bread
was to be eaten, for seven full days. The first day of that seven
day period was to be a Sabbath(the 15th) and the last day of
those seven days was also to be a Sabbath(the 21st day of the
month).
And that all fits in nicely and precisely and harmoniously
with Exodus 12:15-20; Lev.23:5-8; Num.28:16-18. It also fits in
exactly with the facts that Israel GATHERED TOGETHER AT RAMESES
AFTER THE PASSOVER (during the day portion of the 14th), READY TO
LEAVE RAMESES ON THE 15TH DAY, AND THAT BY NIGHT(Ex.12:37-42;
Num.33:3,5).
To believe that the death angel passed over at midnight of
the 15th day killing all the first born of the Egyptians, that
Pharaoh then sometime after midnight called to Moses and Aaron to
tell all Israel to leave. That Israel would pick up from Goshen
where they were living and observing the Passover, with all their
cattle and live stock(which do not walk very fast), take spoils
from the Egyptians who did not live in Goshen, march all the
way to Rameses, get all together there and organized, ready to
leave Rameses in the SAME NIGHT, is not only the hight of
ridiculous imagination, but it is contrary to all the clear plain
scriptures on the subject from the books of Moses.
BACK TO EXODUS 12
Now it should be easy to understand. God speaks of the 14th
day of the first month in verse 6. They kill it at the beginning
of the 14th, at dusk. they were to eat the flesh of it IN THAT
NIGHT, the night of the 14th. God has not yet changed the day.
The words have not changed from the 14th day to some other day.
Verse 12 , God was to pass through the land "this night." What
night? Why the same night as He has been speaking about from
verse 6 - the night of the 14th!
It was THIS DAY - the 14th that was to be a MEMORIAL (verse
14).
Ah, now we see how this ties in with 1 Corinthians 11. Paul
was instructing the church at Corinth HOW AND WHEN to observe the
death of Jesus correctly. The NIGHT in which Jesus was
betrayed(the beginning of the 14th, the time of the Passover
observing) Jesus introduced the new NT symbols for the Passover
MEMORIAL celebration. And that is why Paul wrote that Jesus said
for the bread and cup, "this do, in THE MEMORIAL (or remembrance)
of me." The definite article "the" is in the original Greek.
The original Passover was a MEMORIAL service of the true
lamb of God that would come to die for the sins of the world(as
well as a time for Israel to remember their delivery from
Egyptian bondage).
A memorial service is not usually observed at the EXACT time
of the death of the one being remembered or memorialized. Jesus
died not at the beginning of the 14th but towards the end of the
14th.
TYPOLOGY ONCE MORE
Moving back to Exodus 12. Was the lamb of the Passover to be
"beaten, spit upon, and scourged" as Jesus was foretold to have
done to Him before death? No!
There was NO SCRIPTURE in Exodus 12 or anywhere to instruct this
to be done to the Passover lamb.
The Passover lamb was killed by having its throat cut. Was
Jesus to die by His throat being cut open? No! There is NO
SCRIPTURE to say that was how Christ was to be killed in Exodus
12.
The passover lamb was to be ROASTED. Was Jesus to die by
being burnt at the stake? No! There was NO SCRIPTURE in Exodus
12 to say that was how the Messiah was to die!
Nothing of the Passover lamb was to remain, it was all to be
burnt and destroyed. Was Jesus' body to be destroyed, to decay?
No! It was foretold that His flesh would not see corruption, and
that He would rise again to life. There was NO SCRIPTURE in
Exodus 12 to support the idea that Christ's body would not remain
but would be destroyed.
Typology is good. Typology is used by God, but typology like
some aspect of parables, BREAKS DOWN at points and is not
necessarily meant to be carried over into the hundredth degree of
everything stated or given.
The Passover lamb was slain and died at the BEGINNING of the
14th day. Jesus died towards the END of the 14th day. Was Christ
to die at the beginning of the 14th like the Passover lamb did?
No! There is NO SCRIPTURE in Exodus 12 that dogmatically
asserts the Messiah was to die at the beginning of the 14th, just
as there is no scripture to say He was to be put to death by
being burnt at the stake, or roasted, as was the Passover lamb.
Typology is good if you use it CORRECTLY! It is like what
Paul said about the law. "But we know that the law is good, IF a
man use it lawfully" (1 Tim.1:8).
Typology is also good IF you use it typologically lawfully
and correctly!
Many have been thrown for a loop, driven off the easy to
understand verses in the books of Moses concerning the Passover
and Feast of Unleavened Bread, by what is written in Deuteronomy
the 16th chapter.
This I will look at and explain next time.
...............................................................
EXODUS 12:6 "IN THE EVENING" OR "BETWEEN THE EVENINGS"
by Keith Hunt
Some question this, or have a hard time understanding it, or cannot understand the Hebrew.
First let me give you how the Hebrew scholar J. P. Green renders it: " twixt the evenings"
"twixt" is # 996 in Strong's Concordance "the evenings" is # 6153 in Strong's Con.
"The Strongest Strong's Con." has for 996 "....between; seperate from; whether ... or :- between. among, betwixt, at even, at, from, whether, among, ....amongst, asunder, midst, once in, out of, part, spake unto, within. "
Then for further in-depth understanding of these two words, you need to have "The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament" [two volumes].
I give you the old KJV; remember there were dozens of Hebrew and Greek scholars that worked on the original KJV translation: "in the evening" n .... means see margin note. IN MARGIN NOTE you have "Heb. between the two evenings"
NOW to go to some of the modern translations, shall we say how the modern scholars translate it.
NKJV: "at twilight"
New American Standard Bible: "at twilight"
NIV: "at twilight"
The SONCINO CHUMASH edited by A. Cohen [JEWISH WORK] "at dust. lit. 'between the two darknesses' that is to say, between the darkness of the day and the darkness of the night, a period of six hours, reckoning the duration of the day from 6 a.m. until 6 p.m. (R). It is a period of approximately one and a third hours between sunset and the disappearance of the light which subsequently penetrates through the clouds (E). N opposes E's view and approximates to R's explanation.
The above reminds me of the Jewish joke: Ask a question to three Jews and you'll get three different answers!
The Holy Bible from Ancient Manuscripts [Peshitta] by George Lamsa: "at sunset"
Complete Jewish Bible translated by David H. Stern "at dusk"
TANAKH....Jewish Publication Society: "at twilight"
WELL THAT GIVES YOU THE MOST UP TO DAY MODERN SCHOLARS TRANSLATION OF THESE HEBREW WORDS OF EXODUS 12:6.
THE REST OF THE IN-DEPTH TRUTH THAT THE THE ORIGINAL PASSOVER OF EXODUS 12 WAS AT THE BEGINNING OF THE 14TH, AND NOT AT THE END OF THE 14TH GOING INTO THE 15TH, AS THE JEWS PRACTICE TODAY [WELL JEWS FROM THE PHARISEES' RELIGION], IS IN MANY STUDIES ON MY WEBSITE UNDER "SABBATH AND FEAST OF GOD...." ..........
"Evening" and the eating of Quail (Ex.16)Was the evening in the mid-afternoon? by
Keith Hunt
In the ANSWERS study paper of 1991, concerning Exodus 16 and
God giving the Israelites quail to eat, they have this to say:
"In verses 11 and 12 we see God giving further explanation
of when the quail will be given:
'....And the Lord spoke unto Moses, saying, I have heard the
murmuring of the children of Israel: speak unto them saying, At
even (beyn ha-arbayim) you shall eat flesh, and in the morning
you shall be filled with bread....' (vs. 11-12).
If the phrase 'beyn ha-arbayim' is taken to mean 'twilight
(i.e. the period between sunset and dark",' the Israelites would
have had a very short time at the exact moment the sun set to
gather, prepare, cook and eat the quail, about 30 minutes at the
most. It should be obvious that to gather, prepare and eat the
quail would take more time than this. If, however, 'beyn
ha-arbayim' literally means the 6 hour period 'between the two
evenings,' then there would be approximately 6 hours to prepare a
meal of quail which could have been eaten any time prior to
sunset......"
My answer to Answers Publication. The Israelites were told
this by God through Moses BEFORE the quails came that evening.
They had time either right at sunset, to light fires. You had
some catching the quail, and quickly killing them and
de-feathering them, and on the fires for roasting they would go.
Quail are not a large bird. Notice God gave no instructions as to
how the quail were to be eaten, there was no, "and you shall
eat them this way....."
I have observed in restaurants that many people eat their
steaks very very "rare," so much so that it is all still red on
the inside. It is very raw! Yet, people who eat it this
way, like it to be so.
Do you think that ALL those "lusting after flesh" to eat,
Israelites, just took their sweet time and patiently sat by until
the quail were cooked "well done" style? I guess not! Many would
have ripped of the feathers in seconds and maybe put them over
the fire for a few minutes, before passionately devouring them.
Yes, many would have eaten their pound of flesh as we say, within
half an hour of it arriving in the camp of Israel.
There is yet another answer to this argument put forth by
Answers Publication. The phrase "at even you shall eat flesh"
could well be a figure of speech, a general statement of speech.
The Bible is full of such figures of general statements. I have a
full study on that important tool to correct Bible understanding,
you will find it entitled "A Key to Bible understanding - General
Statements."
The phrase "and in the morning you shall be filled with
bread" (Ex.16: 12), is a figure of general statement speech. The
substance to make bread with was going to be there for them in
the MORNING, but that phrase did not command them or tell them
they could only eat the manna in the morning. It came in the
morning and was there until the sun "waxed hot." They did not all
have to gather it at the split second of "morning." As you read
the context it is clear that the manna came in the morning, but
lasted in good wholesomeness until the next morning. They could
have it to eat for an approximate 24 hours. Yes, they could eat
the manna from the morning, when it arrived, if they desired,
but they could eat it later in that day also. It was only by the
next morning that it was breeding worms and stinking - rotting
away.
So also, the quails were to arrive at even, "between the two
evening" - at dusk, twilight, sunset, after the Sabbath (the
context, see verse 22, shows that this was happening on the first
day of the week, for six days later they had to gather twice as
much manna as no manna was given by God on the Sabbath day) and
work could be done such as fire building and cooking, and they
could eat them from that time on. Some surely did and were
indeed eaten them within half an hour to an hour, between sunset
and darkness of night. Others maybe took longer to eat them, and
continued well into the night, but at eventide they came and at
eventide they began to roast them on fires and eat them. As we
have noted there were probably some among those flesh lusting
Israelites, that did not wait for roasting or boiling them, but
de-feathered and ate them raw.
All in this section of Scripture concerning the eating of
the quails can be understood without contradiction to the truth
about the Hebrew "between the two evening" as dusk, twilight,
sunset. As well as noting that if manna was not given on the
Sabbath day, God would surely not have sent quail in the
afternoon of the Sabbath day, and have tens of thousands of
Israelites going crazy over being able to eat flesh. There would
have been more pandemonium over the quails for sure, than going
out and peacefully and quietly gathering some manna.
Now, if you have not yet done so, please study my study on
the Hebrew phrase "between the two evenings" (beyn ha-arbayim).
............................
Written 1991 and re-written 2003
What time was the "evening" sacrifice?As it was from the beginning by
Keith Hunt
The ANSWERS Publication of 1991 on the Passover subject said
this:
"The two daily sacrifices are another distinct clue as to
the time when the passover was sacrificed. One of the daily
sacrifices was to be in the morning, and one was to be 'between
the two evenings.' In Numbers 28: 3-4 we read of the daily
morning and evening sacrifices in the tabernacle (they then quote
the verse, and point out that "evening" is in the Hebrew "between
the two evenings" - Keith Hunt).....Historical testimony shows
the time of the sacrifice of the morning lamb to have been about
9 a.m. (Edersheim, 143). The rabbis stated that the 'between the
two evenings' lamb was slaughtered at 2:30 p.m. and the pieces
laid on the altar at 3:00 p.m. (Edersheim, 144)."
Ah, so we have Answers Publication of 1991 quoting from a
fellow by the name of Edersheim. Most of their readers, and maybe
most of you reading this, will not have a clue who this Edersheim
guy was or is. Well, he was, for now he is long time dead and
buried. But he is a very well known Jewish Christian scholar of
the 19th century, and most theology schools know of him and have
his books in their libraries. How many theology students have
read his books....well that is another question.
I have most if not all of Albert Edersheim's books, and I
have read them, marked them up with my red pen and yellow marker,
for indeed they contain a wealth of great historical insights and
notes for anyone studying the Gospels and the background into
Jewish and Temple life and practices and customs.
The book that ANSWERS tells you a snippet of and try to make
their case from, is Edersheim's book called "The Temple - its
Ministry and Services as they were at the time of Christ." As far
as I know Alfred Edersheim's books are still printed and
available. Most Bible Book stores will help you find them. They
are indeed well worth having and studying.
What makes me so ANGRY (in fact angry enough to spit
fireballs) on this matter before us, is that ANSWERS really make
it sound like they have this iron case, sealed up in stone, as to
when the "evening" sacrifice took place, and so it is then proof
positive that the Hebrew phrase "between the two evenings" must
mean, not one bit less, than afternoon to the time of sunset.
The average, unlearned, none Edersheim book owner, will read
what ANSWERS have said, and walk away believing it must then be
so.....so end of the matter, no need for further investigation,
it is all finished and done with.....the Passover lamb was killed
from the days of Moses (hence from Ex.12) in the middle of the
afternoon, for between the two evenings is, they are told,
quoting from the Jewish scholar Edersheim, from at least 2:30 in
the afternoon.
Well, when I first read ANSWERS Publication in 1991 and this
section on Edersheim....RED FLAGS immediately went up, a DOZEN of
them, for I HAD READ where they were directing us to in
Edersheim's book. I KNEW IT WAS INCORRECT, or only PART of what
Edersheim said and actually taught and believed.
I will now give you the WHOLE of what Alfred Edersheim wrote
on WHEN the evening sacrifice actually took place in all of its
historical setting. Read it carefully, and note where I have
CAPITALIZED.
From EDERSHEIM'S book "THE TEMPLE" pages 143 and 144
QUOTE:
For the service of the officiating ministers was not only by
day, BUT ALSO AT NIGHT in the Temple. From Scripture we know that
the ordinary services of the sanctuary consisted of the morning
and evening sacrifices. To these the Rabbis add another evening
service, probably to account for their own transference of the
evening service to a much later hour than that of the sacrifice.
THERE IS, HOWEVER, SOME DIFFICULTY ABOUT THE EXACT TIME EACH OF
THE SACRIFICES WAS OFFERED.
According to general agreement, the morning sacrifice was
brought at the "third hour," corresponding to our nine o'clock.
But the preparation of it must have commenced more than two hours
earlier. Few, if any witnesses could have witnessed the actual
slaying of the lamb, which took place immediately on opening the
great Temple gate. Possibly they may have gathered chiefly to
join in the prayer at the time of incense. In the modified sense,
then, of understanding by the morning sacrifice the WHOLE
SERVICE, it no doubt coincided with the third hour of the day, or
9 A.M. This may explain how on the day of Pentecost such a
multitude could so readily "come together," to hear in their
various tongues "the wonderful works of God" - seeing it was the
third hour, when they would all be in the temple.
The EVENING sacrifice WAS FIXED BY THE LAW (Numbers 28: 4,
8) as "between the evenings" that is , BETWEEN THE DARKNESS OF
THE GLOAMING AND THAT OF THE NIGHT (Sunset was calculated as an
average at 6 o'clock P.M......)
SUCH ADMONITIONS as "to show forth thy faithfulness every
NIGHT upon an instrument of ten strings and on the psaltery" (Ps
92:2,3) and the call to those who "by NIGHT STAND IN THE HOUSE of
the Lord," to "lift up their hands in the sanctuary and
bless the Lord" (Ps. 134), SEEM INDEED TO IMPLY AN EVENING
SERVICE - AN IMPRESSION CONFIRMED BY THE APPOINTMENT OF LEVITE
SINGERS FOR NIGHT SERVICE IN 1 CHRON. 9:33; 23:30.
BUT AT THE TIME OF OUR LORD the EVENING sacrifice certainly
commenced MUCH EARLIER. Josephus puts it down (Ant. 14. 4, 3) as
at the NINTH hour.
According to the Rabbis the lamb was slain at the eighth
hour and a half, or about 2:30 P.M., and the pieces laid on the
altar an hour later - about 3:30 P.M......The evening service was
somewhat shorter than that of the morning, and would last, at any
rate, about an hour and a half, say till about fouro'clock.
.....After that no other offering might be brought except on the
eve of the Passover, when the ordinary evening sacrifice took
place two hours earlier, or at 12:30 P.M.
END OF QUOTE FROM EDERSHEIM
Now, did you catch it all, especially concerning the EVENING
SACRIFICE? The BIBLICAL SUPPORT, that which was as Jesus
sometimes said, "from the beginning it was not so" - WAS IN THE
EVENING, AT SUNSET ON INTO THE NIGHT. That was how it was
ORIGINALLY, under Moses and how God from the beginning ordered it
done, in the evening, or starting at "between the two evening"
which we have proved in a number of studies NEVER means starting
in the middle of the afternoon. But by the time of Christ, the
Pharisees, who had the greatest influence over the people, and so
had the priests of the Temple follow their MAN MADE traditions,
the evening sacrifice they had moved up to the middle of the
afternoon and over with by about 4 p.m. On the Passover day they
had introduced the killing of the lambs in the Temple in the
middle of the afternoon by the priests, and had moved the
ordinary evening sacrifice up to 12:30 p.m.
You talk about disregarding the commandments of God in order
to hold to their own traditions, as Jesus said about them a few
times in His ministry, this that we are looking at here, is a
classic example.
The Pharisees taught evening and "between the two evenings"
was from anytime noon and following, the Samaritans, Karaites,
and Sadducees Jews, all taught that it was the time as AFTER
sunset and BEFORE darkness (Interpreter's Bible, Ex.12:6; also
The Jewish Encyclopedia, art. Passover, page 553).
I have shown in other studies that there was NO LAW in God's
word, especially in the books of Moses, to have the Passover
lambs killed in the Temple by the priests, at any hour of the
Passover day. And so all of that ritual was made up, added, to
God's basic instructions for Passover observance (which was what
Jesus and His disciples did on that famous last Passover in the
last chapters of the Gospels, which I have covered in many other
studies on this subject). It was made up and added, put into
force and effect by the Pharisee religious party. It was part of
the many commandments and traditions of men that kept them and
many of their followers from observing the commandments of God
(Mark 7: 6-13). The same religious party that MOVED UP the
EVENING sacrifice to the middle of the AFTERNOON, so they did not
have to work or have people working in the Temple at sunset and
on into the early part of the night.
When we begin to understand ALL the false teachings, ideas,
traditions, making the word of God of none effect by all that
came from the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes (yes, they got a few
things correct between them, but most was corruption and
falsehood), then we can understand why Jesus told His disciples
to be ware of the "leaven" (the doctrine) of the Pharisees and
the Sadducees (Mat.16: 6-12).
Many today need to heed Jesus' words. God's word is the
truth Christ said (John 17:17). And that truth will set you free.
...............................
Written first in 1991 and re-written for this Website in 2003
"Going down of the sun" - Deut.16:6?When did Israel kill the Passover and leave Rameses? by
Manuel Rojas
and
Keith Hunt
ANSWERS Publication of 1991 put forth verse 6 of
Deuteronomy 16, as proof that the phrase "at evening, at the
going down of the sun" proved evening and going down of the sun
was at the END of the 14th. For the life in me I do not know
how, from this verse 6, they came up with that dogmatic
conclusion. Then as they understood the Hebrew "the going down
of the sun" to mean the sun moving towards the horizon, then it
fits in nicely with their teaching that the "evening" can be any
time after noon, when the sun starts on its way down towards the
horizon.
So, does the Hebrew words for "at the going down of the sun"
mean what Answers Publication want you to believe it means.
I'll first take you to the Jewish Publication Society (who
are the religious descendants of the Pharisees, who indeed
observe the Passover at the end of the 14th day of the first
month - Nisan or Abib). This is how THEY translated the Hebrew
phrase we are now examining:
"You are NOT to slaughter the Passover sacrifice in ANY of
the settlements that the Lord your God is giving you; but AT the
PLACE where the Lord your God will CHOOSE to establish His name,
THERE ALONE shall you slaughter the Passover sacrifice, in the
EVENING, at SUNDOWN, the TIME OF DAY WHEN YOU DEPARTED FROM
EGYPT" (Tanakh - latest translation from the Jewish Publication
Society).
This verse alone proves the Passover was to be slain at
SUNDOWN, or "evening" or "between the two evenings" (as other
verses say, see my study on that phrase). It was not to be slain
at noon or shortly after noon or in the middle of the afternoon.
It was to be slain at "evening" - at SUNDOWN! But slain only in
the town God placed His name, at first it was Shiloh, then latter
it was Jerusalem.
This is not what the Pharisees of Jesus' day were doing.
They had indtroduced a Temple Passover sacrifice ritual that
started way BEFORE sundown, in the Temple by the priesthood. They
had the city correct (Jerusalem after Shiloh), but just about
nothing else. All the Temple rituals which the Pharisees
practiced concerning the Passover were NEVER ordained by God in
the books of Moses.
The Hebrew word for "going down" (Bow) we shall look at in
detail shortly when I present Manuel Rojas' study paper on this
word and the Passover time issue.
Ask yourself some questions of logic. Could the Israelites
have killed and eaten the Passover in their homes (remember they
had to put the blood of the lamb over the lintels of the door of
their houses) and at the same time left or departed from Egypt.
Then there is also the problem of the "death angel" coming
through at mid-might, over their homes and the Egyptian homes.
Even if you want to move the killing and eating of the Passover
lambs up to the middle of the afternoon of the 14th, from this
verse in Deut.16, as translated from the Hebrew by the Jews
themselves, you have the time of day as SUNDOWN, EVENING, when
the Israelites started to leave Egypt, and the death angel
has not yet come, and will not come over all homes of Israelites
and Egyptians, until MID-night (something just simply does not
add up or make sense if we look at what the main body of Jews
PRACTICE as to the time they celebrate the Passover and as to the
way they translate from the Hebrew Scriptures, this and other
verses. There is a huge contradiction between the two. Remember
though that most Jews of today are "religious" descendants of the
Pharisees).
The Israelites were still in Goshen when observing the first
Passover (this I clearly prove in another study). They gathered
at Rameses after the death angel passed over, and it was from
Rameses that they started to depart out of Egypt, on the 15th
day, (Ex.12:37-42 with Deut.16:1,6 and Num.33:3), at night.
They started to leave Rameses at sundown. There were possibly as
many as 4 million (with children and a mixed multitude - see
Ex.12:37,38). By the time all had departed from the city proper
it was indeed night time when they camped at Succoth (a place not
known, as the Hebrew word "succoth" just means "tent"). It was a
place the Israelites just camped for the remaining part of that
15th night/day.
Now to the nitty-gritty of the Hebrew word for "going down."
Here is Manuel Rojas' study paper.
Quote:
What is the meaning of the expression, "at the going down of
the sun" ?
The Hebrew word translated as "going down" is BOW; which is
number 935 in the Hebrew section of the Strong's Concordance of
the Bible. This word is used 8 times in the OT and is translated
as SUNSET in many English translations including the Moffat,
The New World Translation, the New International Version, the
Jerusalem Bible, the Amplified Bible, the Ferrar Fenton, and most
English Bible.
The Hebrew word BOW is also translated as SUNSET in the
German, Spanish, and French Bibles, translated directly from the
original Hebrew without any influence from the English
translations. BOW is translated as "sonne untergeht" (sunset) in
German, "coucher du soleil" (the sun goes to bed-sunset) in
French, and "la puesta del sol" (the setting of the sun) in
Spanish.
Although the expression "going down of the sun" in English
could mean a period of about six hours (the sun actually starts
going down at noon and finishes going down at sunset), when we
put ALL the eight times the Hebrew word BOW is used together, it
is very clear that this broad interpretation is very illogical
and that the real meaning is SUNSET.
Note: The following quotations are all taken from the King
James Bible.
GEN. 15:12
And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon
Abram; and lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him.
(The Greek LXX renders it "about sunset" and Green's
Hebrew/English Interlinear has "the sun was setting" - Keith
Hunt)
EX. 17:12
But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put
it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his
hands, the one on the one side and the other on the other side;
and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
(The LXX says, "going down of the sun" and Green has it as "down
sun" - Keith Hunt).
EX 22:26
If you at all take your neighbour's raiment to pledge, you
shall deliver it unto him by that the sun goes down.
(The LXX has "before sunset" and Green "down sun" - Keith Hunt).
DEUT. 16:6
But at the same place which the Lord thy God shall choose to
place his name in, there you shall sacrifice the passover at
even, at the going down of the sun, at the season that you cane
forth out of Egypt.
(The LXX is "setting of the sun" and Green has it "goes down the
sun" - Keith Hunt).
DEUT. 23:11
But it shall be, when evening comes on, he shall wash
himself with water: and when the sun is down, he shall come into
the camp again.
(The LXX is "sun has gone down" and Green renders it "is sinking"
- Keith Hunt).
DEUT. 24:15
At his day you shall give him his hire, neither shall the
sun go down upon it; for he is poor and setteth his heart upon
it; lest he cry against thee unto the Lord; and it be sin
unto thee.
(The LXX is "at sunset" and Green is "go down" - Keith Hunt).
JOSH. 8:29
And the king of Aihe hanged on a tree until eventide: and as
soon as the sun was down, Joshua commanded that they should take
his carcase down from the tree, and cast it at the entering of
the gate of the city, and raise thereon a great heap of stones,
that remains until this day.
(The LXX is "sun went down" and Green renders it "at the down of"
- Keith Hunt).
2 SAM. 3:35
And all the people came to cause David to eat meat while it
was yet day, David sware, saying, So do God to me, and more also,
If I taste bread, or ought else, till the sun be down.
(The LXX has it "before the sun goes down" and Green translates
it as "goes in" - Keith Hunt).
CONCLUSION: It is very evident that the meaning of the Hebrew
word BOW is SUNSET.
WAS THE STATUTORY PASSOVER IN EGYPT ON THE SAME NIGHT ISRAEL
LEFT?
Note: All the quotations in this section will be from the Moffat.
NUMBERS 33:3
Leaving Rameses on the fifteenth day of the first month, THE
DAY AFTER THE PASSOVER, the Israelites marched confidently in the
sight of the Egyptians.
Question: When did the Israelites leave Egypt?
Answer: The day AFTER the Passover; not on the same day. The KJV
says: on the MORROW OR DAY; we know in this passage it can not
mean MORNING because the Bible says they left AT NIGHT.
DEUT. 16:1
Keep the month of Abib sacred by holding the Passover for
the Eternal your God; for in the month of Abib the eternal your
God brought you out of Egypt by NIGHT.
Question: When did the Eternal bring Israel out of Egypt?
Answer: At night.
DEUT. 16:6
At the sacred spot which the Eternal your God chooses for
his presence, there shall you offer the Passover sacrifice, in
the EVENING AT SUNSET, at the HOUR YOU LEFT EGYPT.
Question: At what part of the day was Israel commanded to take
the Passover?
Answer: In the evening at sunset.
Question: When does God say that Israel left Egypt?
Answer: In the evening at sunset.
Question: Could the Israelites take the Passover in the evening
at sunset and leave Egypt in the evening at sunset the same
night?
Answer: Impossible: The Lord killed all the first born of Egypt
at midnight. The Israelites had to stay in their houses at least
until midnight. (we know from other verses they had to stay in their
homes until the morning - Keith Hunt). The Bible says they left on
the fifteenth at sunset, at night, at the hour they took the Passover.
This cannot be the same night; it has to be two different nights.
Is it logically possible for the Night to be Much Remembered
and Passover night to be the same night? (Well not really. It has
been a mistake for some CoG organizations to teach the "night to be
much observed" is the 15th night. A study of mine shows the "night to
be much observed" is Passover night - Keith Hunt)
Besides Scriptural evidence for two different night,
consider the following facts:
1. Israel departed from Rameses on the fifteenth at night.
2. About 4 million people were involved, including the
very young and very old.
3. The Israelites were in their houses until at least
midnight. (We know from other verses they were to stay
in their homes till the morning - chap.12:22 - Keith Hunt)
4. Aaron and Moses were called by Pharaoh right after
midnight. (It does not say Moses went to see Pharaoh, from
chap.10:25-29 we are told Moses would not see the face of
Pharaoh again. Pharaoh "called" for Moses, would mean he
sent people to tell Moses, he and the Israelites could leave -
Keith Hunt)
5. When they returned with permission to leave, they had
to tell the people to come out of their houses and
congregate at Rameses. (They could not leave until the
morning - chap.12:22 - Keith Hunt)
6. There were no telephones, no radio, no T.V. It took
time to tell the people.
7. They all had to meet in Rameses first. (It took a good part
of the daylight part of the 14th to get to Rameses - Keith
Hunt)
8. The experts do not know where Rameses was. Some put it
in the land of Goshen; others put it near Memphis. In
any case, they had to travel with everything they had,
including animals.
9. The Israelites needed time to get to Rameses and get
organized.
10. The Israelites were spread in rural communities in the
land of Goshen..............
END QUOTE from Manuel Rojas study paper.
I will end this study by going back over the 8 passages given by
Manuel where the Hebrew word BOW is used and will give you the
translation from the Tanakh by the Jewish Publication Society.
Gen. 15: 12
"As the sun was about to set, a deep sleep fell upon Abram...."
Ex. 17: 12
"....thus his hands remained steady until the sun set."
Ex. 22: 26
"....you must return it to him before the sun sets."
Deut. 23: 11
".....and at sundown he may re-enter the camp."
Deut. 24: 15
"You must pay him his wages on the same day, before the sun
sets."
Josh. 8: 29
"At sunset, Joshua had the corpse taken down...."
2 Sam. 3: 35
".....but David swore, 'May God do thus to me and more if I eat
bread or anything before sundown."
Deut. 16: 6
".....but at the place where the Lord your God will choose to
establish His name, there alone shall you slaughter the Passover
sacrifice, in the EVENING, AT SUNDOWN, the TIME OF DAY THAT YOU
DEPARTED FROM EGYPT."
The truth of the matter of the Hebrew word "bow," the time
of the day they departed from Rameses and out of Egypt, should
now be very evident to all who really want the truth. The
Israelites left Rameses at sunset the beginning of the 15th day,
the Passover and death angel passing over the land at midnight
could NOT have been the same night they left Rameses.
The truth of ALL passages and ALL Hebrew words on this
Passover, death angel, night to Be Much Remembered, is
conclusive. The Passover lamb sacrifice and Passover meal, with
the death angel passing over the land of Egypt, was in the
evening and night of the 14th, the BEGINNING of the 14th. The
Israelites then gathered with all their flocks at Rameses, and
this would have taken many hours, to gather and to organize
themselves into tribal unites as Moses did with them.
At SUNSET of the 15th, the BEGINNING of the 15th, they
started out of Rameses, hence they started out of Egypt as such.
Yet in one sense they were delivered from Egypt the very night
of the Passover, at midnight, delivered from death, and set free
to go free from Egyptian bondage. It was through great trial, testing,
affliction, hardships, and sin on the part of the Egyptians that the
children of Israel completed their dwelling in Egypt, and were brought
forth from slavery, to God's freedom and led towards the promised land.
The typology for the Christian is readily seen. The child of
God is put under the blood of the Lamb (Christ Jesus), saved from
sin and death, as we observe the Passover service on the evening
and into the night of the 14th of Nisan. A day later we observe
the night and day of the 15th, the first day of the feast of
Unleavened Bread, as we rejoice that we are led by God
(sanctified and set apart) to leave behind the life of sin and
progress towards the Kingdom of God (our promised land).
..............................
First compiled within a larger study of 1991-95, and re-written
as a single study for this Website in 2003.
Passover/Atonement Counting of DaysGod's "norm" and Roman "way"by Keith Hunt PASSOVER/UNLEAVENED BREAD COUNTING
AND THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
I've mentioned the somewhat strange counting of the Feast of
Atonement as found in Lev.23:32.
It is the 9th day, yet in verse 27 it is the 10th day of the 7th
month.
A little confusing? It may be. In the previous study on proving
if Passover is 7 or 8 days I commented some on this seeming
contradiction.
The NORM is that God starts days from evening to evening as we
see in Genesis chapter one. But there are times when God inspires
writers to use what to us has come to be known as the Roman way
to start and end days, from midnight to midnight.
When we understand this then all what might seem to be
contradictory is cleared up.
The evening of the 9th day is indeed the evening that follows the
day light portion of the 9th day. And can so be called, in the
Roman way of counting days, the evening of the 9th day. At the
same time, in the norm of how God counts days, from evening to
evening, it is the start of the 10th day in this 7th month.
Within a relatively short passage of Scripture, God uses BOTH
ways to count days. He uses His way, hence the 10th day, and He
uses the Roman way, hence the feast of Atonement begins on the
evening of the 9th day, which is also the start of the 10th day
as we view it from the counting of days as found in Genesis
chapter one.
Keith Hunt
PASSOVER
UNDERSTANDINGS
DEUTERONOMY 16:1-8
by Keith Hunt
Before we look in detail at this section of scripture, a
section that has given many a problem to many a person as they
try to understand the feasts of the Passover and Days of
Unleavened Bread, we need to bear in mind some basics on how to
read and understand the Bible.
There are portions of the word of God that are HARD to
understand. Peter was inspired to say concerning the writings of
Paul that "in which some things hard to be understood"(2
Pet.3:16). It is to be noted Peter did NOT say they were
IMPOSSIBLE to be understood, only hard. It took a little more
effort and meditation, a little more study and thought, than
other parts of his writings.
So it is with the word of the Lord. There are sections of
scripture that are not as easy to understand as other sections.
The Eternal has purposely written His word that way, so those who
will not dig, search, study, meditate and realize that there is
no contradictions with God, will as Peter said, WREST to their
destruction. They will fall, be deceived and be blinded to the
truth.
There is the principle in the word of the Lord that not
everything concerning a subject matter is found in one single
place. There are usually many verses and passages of scripture on
any important topic of the Bible, scattered here and there. We
must be willing to find ALL the information from ALL the Bible on
any subject, before we conclude what is the truth.
Then together with the above point, is the fact that God has
written some very plain words on the subjects of importance to
us. He wants us to find those easy to understand verses first,
then within the light they give as the foundation, we can go on
to ascertain the meaning and truth of the harder to understand
sections on the subject.
We need to keep in mind some other points as to how the
Bible is written. Sometimes the writer moved from one thought
into another thought and back to the first thought, and then once
more to the second thought, WITHOUT TELLING US HE WAS GOING TO DO
SO! Paul and his writings are a good example of that kind of
letter or way of writing. Anyone who has studied Paul for any
length of time will know that was how he often wrote. He would be
explaining something, then in his explanation something
he said would trigger another thought that would lead him off to
explaining something else, then later he would come back to his
original thought and continue his first explanation.
We have the book of Revelation that uses what some motion
pictures use. A scene of the time, then a "going back" in time
scene that fills in or brings you up to date on something that is
needed to understand the present time and plan of the story. This
can be used more than once in the unfolding of events.
There are passages of scripture that move from one event to
another event without any warning. The events told may be years
apart or even thousands of years apart, yet the writer does not
tell you this. An example is Isaiah 61. Jesus read this section
when starting His ministry. He read verses one to the middle of
verse two and stopped(see Luke 4). This section had to do with
the Messiah's FIRST coming, but from the middle of verse two and
on this section in Isaiah has to do with the Messiah's SECOND
coming. No warning is given to us as to moving from one to the
other.
NOW WITH THAT let's start to look at Deuteronomy 16.
We have here mentioned the Passover by name and the days of
UNleavened Bread. It seems a little confusing to understand. So
let's STOP for a moment. Let us realize this is the FIFTH book of
Moses. We have already had Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. In
those books we have ALREADY been given some verses on the
Passover and Unleavened Bread feasts, some quite EASY to
understand. Let's get the easy ones clear in our mind.
We have seen by letting the Bible interpret the Bible that
the phrase "between the two evenings" as used in Exodus 12:6 and
16:12 is clearly the DUSK or twilight part of the beginning of
the day. The Passover was killed and eaten at the BEGINNING of
the 14th, the death angel passing over the houses the NIGHT of
the 14th. Then in Leviticus 23:5 we are told plainly that the
Passover is in the 14th at EVEN. This corresponds clearly with
Exodus 12:6. Lev.23:6 very plainly tells us the feast of
Unleavened Bread is on the 15th for seven days, the first and
seventh of those seven days are Sabbaths.
And this is exactly what Numbers 28:16-25 tells us. We saw last
time the logical way to understand this section in Numbers is NOT
that the Passover was at the END of the 14th for then the feast
of Unleavened Bread would not begin until the end of the 15th.
But Lev.23:6 says it is ON THE 15TH that is the feast of
unleavened bread, not after the 15th.
These clear scriptures make it plain that the 15th is the
first day of unleavened bread, the feast begins with this 15th
day, not after it. And as this is the first day of the feast of
unleavened bread, it is a Sabbath day, as is the 7th day of this
feast(the 21st of the first month).
We have seen that the NT gospels verify this to be the plain
truth. Jesus was killed on the 14th, the Passover day, which is
not a Sabbath. He was hurriedly taken down from the cross and
buried towards the end of that 14th day BECAUSE the Sabbath drew
on, the Sabbath of the feast of Unleavened Bread, which was the
15th day of the first month.
With all that clear easy to understand information we can
also now understand correctly Exodus 12 and verses 6 all the way
through verse 20, which some have difficulty with. The Lamb was
killed on the 14th at the beginning of the 14th. The Lord passed
over that night of the 14th(verse 12). That night was to be a
memorial and that day also(verse 14) corresponding to 1 Cor.11
and Paul's instructions. Then in verse 15 of Exodus 12 WITHOUT
ANY WARNING the topic changes to the feast of UNleavened Bread.
Seven days unleavened bread was to be eaten, from the first day
of it unto the seventh day of it. In the first day was a Holy
Convocation - no work - a Sabbath day then.
It was on this day, the 15th that God started to bring Israel out
of Egypt from Rameses where they gathered(see Num.33:3;
Deut.16:1-3; Ex.12:37-42). It was at the beginning of the 15th,
at night, when they left Rameses. So in Ex.12:18 we have the
EXCEPTION to the general rule used in the Bible(and there is
another point many stumble over, the Bible does use "exceptions"
at times). The evening of the 14th is this time in verse 18 the
END of the 14th, as YOU BEGIN THE 15TH. UNleavened Bread was to
be eaten from the END of the 14th(the beginning of the 15th) the
start of the Sabbath of the 15th(the first day of the 7 day feast
of unleavened bread), to the END of the 21st day, the seventh
day of the feast, which was also a Sabbath day.
You will notice from all these sections of scripture, that
sometimes the FIRST day of the feast is only mentioned as a
Sabbath, sometimes BOTH the first and seventh days are mentioned
as Sabbaths. In Deut.16 we shall see that ONLY the 7th day of the
feast is mentioned as a Sabbath. Again, putting ALL verses
together we can know that indeed BOTH the first and seventh day
of this seven day feast of unleavened bread were Sabbaths.
The plain, clear, easy to understand verses MUST COME FIRST!
As we take them and hold the foundation to THEM, then the harder
to understand sections can be put together correctly, so there is
a NO CONTRADICTION in the word of the Lord on the matter.
I am now close to getting into Deut.16, but one more thing
before I do. It is also very important to realize and to remember
that in the ORIGINAL HEBREW of the OT there were NO PUNCTUATION -
no periods, no comers etc. just one letter after another
letter. Remember this and remember the point that sometimes
writers moved from one thought to another thought and back again,
WITHOUT ANY WARNING to you the reader.
We shall see that this was the case with HOW Deut.16:1-8 was
written.
DEUT.16:1-8
FIRST thought and admonition: "Observe the MONTH of Abid,
and KEEP the Passover unto the Lord thy God."
Two points given - the month of Abid is important and has to
be observed in some way. The Passover in that month is to be
kept. Why is this month important? Moses goes on to say: "for in
the month of Abid the Lord thy God brought thee forth out of
Egypt by night."
Yes as we have seen, the night of the 15th when they left
Rameses, the beginning of the feast of Unleavened Bread, the
first day of the feast, the evening of the Sabbath when they went
for a while and then tented(Succoth meaning tent, Ex.12:37).
The thought now goes to the Passover sacrifice: "Thou shalt
therefore sacrifice the Passover unto the Lord thy God, of the
flock and the herd, IN THE PLACE WHICH THE LORD SHALL CHOOSE to
place His name there. Thou shalt eat NO LEAVENED BREAD WITH IT."
Period, end of this thought. Should be end of sentence here.
We need to note this was the "second law" - Deuteronomy (meaning
second law) - given by Moses shortly before Israel was to enter
the promised land. They had been wandering the wilderness for 40
years. They had been one community, one large town or city of
people, together as one. They had observed the feasts for 40
years as one town of people. Now they were going to posses a
land. They would be scattered over a large area. They would have
many towns and villages, large and small. God was instituting a
law here, a rule for them on WHERE to observe the Passover when
they would inherit this land of promise.
The Passover memorial service was not just to be everywhere in
the land, it was to be in THE PLACE that God would choose to
place His name. We know from the other books of the OT that it
was first placed at SHILOH and then later at JERUSALEM.
Now after this thought and instruction on the Passover
sacrifice, the thought CHANGES to the feast of Unleavened Bread.
Beginning a new sentence: "Seven days shalt thou eat unleavened
bread therewith(therein, when you eat or consume as the
Hebrew is), the bread of affliction; for thou camest forth out of
the land of Egypt in haste: that thou mayest remember the day(the
time, not just one single day of 24 hours only) when thou camest
forth out of the land of Egypt all the days(time, years,
generations) of thy life. And there shall be no leaven bread seen
with thee in all thy coasts seven days(this is exactly what the
clear plain scriptures we have already looked at teach in
Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers); neither shall there any thing of
the flesh which thou sacrificedst the first day at even, remain
all night until the morning."
End of thought on the seven day feast of Unleavened Bread
for the moment. All is fully in line with the other scriptures on
the feast as given in the other books of Moses.
The last sentence about no flesh remaining has mixed up some.
They think this is a reference to the Passover sacrifice. BUT IT
IS NOT! Moses when his thoughts and instructions are on the
Passover in this section, ALWAYS makes it clear to us it is the
Passover he is now addressing. Notice it in verse ONE, and again
in verse TWO, also in verse FIVE and once more in verse SIX. The
sacrifice thought about and instructed about in verse FOUR is not
called the Passover sacrifice.
There were DAILY sacrifices all through the year, every day
of each week, never ending. During the feast of Unleavened Bread
no evening sacrifice was to be left until the morning, it was to
be consumed or burnt away. In that sense it was like the Passover
sacrifice, but this verse is NOT SPECIFICALLY talking about the
Passover sacrifice, but the daily evening sacrifice starting on
the first day(the 15th) of the feast of UB.
Moses' mind and thought and instructions ONCE MORE goes back
to the Passover sacrifice to GIVE RE-EMPHASIS, and nail the truth
home to them about WHERE TO kill the Passover lamb. He did not
want them to NOT GET IT! We often do the same today. Something
that maybe NEW, or the situation is going to change for those
within the doing of certain practices(as to how they were doing
it for a long time), we will give the instruction MORE THAN ONCE.
We do not want any to not understand it clearly, or say "well I
didn't hear it the first time" and so we GIVE IT AGAIN!
Moses and other writers of the books of the Bible were no
different. We shall say God is no different(as He is the one who
inspired the writers), so it is really He that REPEATS for us
IMPORTANT instructions. So it is with many of God's laws. He
repeats them over and over again for us, instructs us over and
over again on the same law, maybe coming from a different angle
at times, or adding a slight variation to it. But many things God
repeats to us in His word. He wants to make sure we GET IT!
Back to the thought of the Passover by Moses(verse 5), a new
sentence: "Thou mayest not sacrifice the Passover within any of
thy gates, which the Lord thy God giveth thee. BUT at the PLACE
which the Lord thy God shall CHOOSE to place His name in, there
thou shall sacrifice the Passover, at even, at the going down of
the sun( the Hebrew says literally - ' when goes the sun ' and we
have seen from our previous studies and previous books of Moses
this was at sunset, dusk, between the two evenings, at the
beginning of the 14th day of the first month), at the season that
thou camest forth out of Egypt. And thou shalt roast and eat it
in the place which the Lord thy God shall choose( notice how
Moses stated this again for the THIRD time, really wanting to
drive the point home to them), and thou shalt turn in the
morning, and go unto thy tents(the Passover memorial service in
ancient Israel with a full killing and eating of the lamb etc.
probably lasted well into the night and in the morning of the
14th day, they would go to their tents and sleep, for that day
was not a Sabbath day, no holy convocation was called for on the
daylight part of the 14th).
Moses's mind had now brought them to going to their tents on
the morning of the 14th to rest and sleep. His mind was now once
more taken further on into the feast of Unleavened Bread. His
mind was triggered once again to give instructions concerning the
feast of Unleavened bread. He had covered the 14th, the killing
and eating of the Passover sacrifice and the rest of the day as
they went to their tents. Now to finish his thoughts on this
whole Passover Feast of UB topic, he comes back to reminding them
that AFTER the PASSOVER DAY, there was SEVEN DAYS of UB to be
observed with the eating of unleavened bread. He has already told
them just a few sentences back that
there were 7 DAYS of unleavened bread(from the 15th to the 21st
as clear scriptures in Leviticus and Numbers show). Now he does
not contradict this in verse eight. He only breaks it down into
two points that he wants to give emphasis to. Namely that after
the Passover day, there are days to observe as UNleavened bread
eating - there are six days(he does not even mention here that
the first of those six days is a Sabbath - the 15th of the month,
but other scriptures in Lev.and Ex.give us that truth), but
really seven(as he has above stated), only the 7th day of this
feast is a Sabbath day, a holy convocation day(as the other
scriptures in Lev.Ex.Num.prove).
Do you see how Moses went back and forth, moving from
admonition and instructions concerning the Passover memorial
service to the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and back again, with
more emphasis on this part of the Passover day or that part of
the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Sometimes repeating certain
important points he wanted them to make sure they understood.
He brought out certain points and left out other points(like
not mentioning the first day of the UB feast as a Sabbath day).
There are no contradictions here in Deut.16 with the rest of
the scriptures on the spring feasts of the Lord. A little new
rule about the Passover being held in one location chosen by God
as they went to inherit the land of Promise, a little specific
emphasis on certain parts of this 8 day spring festival, but
nothing to contradict Exodus, Leviticus or Numbers.
In closing it is important to notice that in all the
instructions about the Passover sacrifice in all the books of
Moses, there is NOTHING WHATSOEVER stated or laid down as a rule
or law, that the Passover lamb was to be slain by the Priesthood,
OR that it was to be slain in the Tabernacle. The lamb was to be
slain in the PLACE where God chose to place His name, the town,
or the city, where God would place His name and tabernacle, BUT
NOWHERE was it ever stated in the law of God, the books of Moses,
that the slaying of those lambs was to be done by the Priesthood
in the Tabernacle. That practice came about MUCH LATER in the
history of Israel, and was never a commandment of the Lord. It
was one of the many "traditions" of the scribes and Pharisees
that Jesus said made void the law of God, and condemned them for
putting those traditions above the word and law of God.
Next time we need to look in depth at whether Jesus on the
last day of His physical life really observed the original
Passover memorial service, or was it an early supper type meal
without any lamb, to introduce the bread and cup of the NT
symbols of His death, as some are claiming it was.
.............................................................
3 WORDS OF DEUT. 16:1-8
DEUTERONOMY 16 AND HEBREW WORDS.
by Keith Hunt [March 2014]
MANY HAVE REAL PROBLEMS UNDERSTANDING DEUT.16:1-8. THEY MAKE THE MISTAKE OF NOT FULLY UNDERSTANDING 3 HEBREW WORDS.
THE WORDS IN THE KJV ARE: Flock; Herd; and Roast.
WE SHALL GIVE THEM A THOROUGH STUDY.
The word "FLOCK"
We shall go first to Strong's Concordance of the Bible. The number is 6029 "anad" - to bind around, bind upon, bind. From the "Theological Workbook of the Old Testament" [which all serious teachers of theology should absolutely have] - "anad" - bind, around, upon, (Job 31:36; Prov. 6:21)
From "The Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance of the Old Testament" [which any serious theology teachers should have, gives you every verse where the word is used in the OT] - "gahnad" - Imperative - Prov. 6:21; (and) tie them about thy neck. Job 31: 36; - Future - (and) bind it (as) a crown to me.
The popular and most often used word for "flock" in the Hebrew OT is #6629; 5739; 4735; 6251; and once 4830. #6629 is the most used for "flock" and "flocks" - these words [numbers just given]. We do have a CONTRADICTION in scholars!! J.P.Green in his Hebrew/English Interlinear gives the word as #6029 in Deut.16:2; but Strong's gives it as #6629 [tzohn - so n] For 6629 Strong has: "flock, sheep, goats [in contrast to larger mammals: cattle, donkeys, camels, etc......]" So if Strong is correct then "flock" would be the correct translation. So indeed could then be "flock" of sheep.
If J.P.Green is correct, then the Israelites would be binding, choosing, tying, as picking their lamb on the 10th day of the month, to tie or keep until the 14th for the Passover sacrifice. As given in Exodus 12.
The word "HERD"
#1241 in Strong's Concordance. Strong says: "baqar" - animal, cow, bull, cattle, oxen, herd......"
BUT the Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament gives more: "baqar" - Cattle, herd, ox. baqar (180 times) .... though baqar refers to draught animals, including bulls, cows, heifers, and calves., baqar is distinguished from "flock" (so n) which denotes small cattle such as sheep and goats., so n and baqar OFTEN denote ALL domesticated animals., behema also refers to livestock generally including sheep and goats......"
Now we turn to the very important Englishman's Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance of the Old Testament; this gives us every place in the Old Testament where this word is used, and is very revealing. It is used for bulls, cows, heifers, calves, as we have seen. But I want to focus on verses where it is rendered "herd."
Gen.13:5 "had flocks, and herds" - this is Lot. Flocks yes could refer to sheep, but he also had "herds" - do not presume this means "cattle" [as I will show you later]; it could mean herds of goats, herds of geese, herds of other types, a generic use, meaning herds of this or that. Gen.24:35 "and he has given him flocks and herds" - speaking about Abraham. Again both "flocks" and "herds" are used here as generic.... flocks of this or that, herds of this or that. A flock of chickens, a flock of geese, a flock of sheep; a herd of cows, a herd of goats, a herd of camels, a herd of donkeys. Gen.26:14 "he had possession of flocks, and possession of herds" - speaking of Isaac. Again flock and herds used generically..... flocks of this and herds of that. See Gen. 32:7,8; 33:13; 45:10; 46:32;
Gen.47:17...NOW more SPECIFIC..."for the cattle of the herds" - Here it is not generic but SPECIFIC.... cattle.
Ex.10:9 "with our flocks and with our herds we will go" - Moses saying how Israel will go forth. All kinds of "flocks" and "herds" - portrayed very well in the famous 1950s "The Ten Commandments" epic movie. Flocks of geese, chickens, ducks. Herds of sheep, goats, cattle, cows, ox. An overall generic use. See also Ex. 10:24,; 12:32.38; 34:3; Lev. 1:2; Num.11:22; 15:3; Deut. 8:13; 12:6,17; 14:23; 15:19; 16:2; 1 Sam.30:20; 2 Sam. 12:2; 2 Chron. 32:29; Isa. 65:10; Jer. 3:24; 5:17; 31:12; Hos. 5:6; Jon.3:7;
A SPECIFIC is given in Joel 1:18 - "the herds of cattle are perplexed."
SO THE WORD "HERD" can in some contexts just be generic.
When Israel left Egypt with their flocks and herds, the use was "generic" - flocks can apply to a number of different fowl or animals; a flock of geese, a flock of chickens, a flock of sheep. So likewise, herd can apply to different animals - a herd of camels, a herd of oxen, a herd of cows, a herd of goats, a herd of horses, a herd of donkeys. Israel left Egypt with many different kinds of flocks and herds.
So in Deut.16. Flock could apply to sheep, a Herd could apply to goats.
We know from Ex.12 the Passover sacrifice was to be a sheep or goat. So Moses in Deut.16 is using the overall generics of "flocks" [if J.P.Green is incorrect on the Hebrew word; if correct it puts another picture on it all] and "herds" - a herd of sheep, a flock of goats; a flock of sheep, a herd of goats. However your society wants to term them. There is no worldwide written law that you must use. Hence some might say, "a flock of sheep" and "herd of goats" OR "a herd of sheep" and "a flock of goats."
Flock - Herd - generic use. The Israelites after 40 years of observing the Passover knew the Passover sacrifice was from either the sheep or the goats.
As I've said, if J.P.GREEN is correct for the Hebrew of "flock" then the Israelites were again being told to mark, bind, tie, your Passover sacrifice as on the 10th day ready for the 14th day as given in Exodus 12. And if was to be from your "herd" - generic - they knew either the herd of sheep or the herd of goats, as instructed in Exodus 12, and which they had done for the last 40 years wandering in the wilderness.
NOW THE WORD "ROAST" in verse 7 as given as "roast" by the KJV.
The word is #1310 in Strong's Concordance. Strong say: "basal" - to ripen, boil, to cook, roast, bake; to be cooked, to be boiled; ripen; seethe, boil, sodden, boiled, baked, bake, brought forth ripe, ripe, roasted, roast, seething, sodden at all, sod."
Notice it can mean "roast"
Now to the very fine "Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament" "bashal" - seethe, bake, boil, roast, and grow ripe. ....... In the more than a dozen places where bashal is used to describe the preparation of cakes or animals in the sacrificial system, it can describe any kind of cooking procedure: "baking" (Num.11:8), "roasting" (Deut. 16:7; 2 Chron. 35:13) or "boiling" (Lev. 8:31; Ezekiel 46:20, 24). This does not mean that the word is used indiscriminately. The passover must be roasted (bashal) with fire (2 Chron. 35:13), but the holy offerings should be boiled (bashal) in pots. Even clearer distinction is made in Exodus 12:9 where boiling in water (bashal) is contrasted with roasting with fire (sala), which is required for the passover...... Where bashal relates to a ripe stage (Gen.40:10; Joel 3:13), the reference seems to be to the harvest or grapes being ready for use, just as cooking makes the meat ready to be eaten. bashel. Boiled. This adjectival form, occurs only twice in the sense of boiled (Ex. 12:9; Num. 6:19).
THERE IT IS FROM THE IN-DEPTH STUDY VOLUMES OF THE THEOLOGICAL WORDBOOK OF THE OLD TESTAMENT.
THE SCHOLARS OF THE KJV BIBLE WERE QUITE CORRECT IN RENDERING THIS WORD "ROAST" IN DEUT. 16:7.
VERY FEW TIMES IN THE ENTIRE KJV BIBLE WERE THE MANY SCHOLARS WHO WORKED ON THE PROJECT WRONG IN THEIR TRANSLATION INTO ENGLISH OF THE HEBREW AND GREEK.
You can also check this fully out in the Englishman's Hebrew Chaldee Concordance of the Old Testament, PAGE 280, in the copyright edition of 1980 that I have.
VERSE 7 is also a key verse. It is the individual Passover of the 14th that is being talked about in all this section. When you understand the truth about "the night to be much observed" which is the night of the 14th and NOT the night of the 15th as erroneously taught by the WCG under Herbert Armstrong, and most of the many off-shoots from them today. The Passover night was a long night..... it took hours to get the meal cooked, not started till after sundown. Well up to near midnight and after, before the passover meal was finished. As we see from the Gospels they lay around, no hurry. Jesus continued into the night praying. It was a time of really observing that night. Then they went to their tents in the morning to actually get some sleep, as Deut. 16:7 tells you. The Samaritans sect of today [yes there are still some Samaritans living] STILL observe the Passover this way. They cook the lamb or goat, don't finish the meal till very late, stay up for most of the night, and sleep in the morning and day part of the 14th.
When you understand all of this, and that Moses did not think of or write as the "Passover" being 8 days as Ezra and Josephus and as Jews of Jesus' day sometimes thought of it; then you can understand Deut. 16 :1-8 pretty simply, as I've explained in my old study of this under the "feasts" of God on my website.
The idea put forth by some [like Fred Coulter] that Ezra "edited" Deut.16, is pure speculation. There is no Biblical proof of such an idea. Moses is still writing Deut.16 like he was for chapter 15 and was for chapter 17. Now notice chap.32:45.....Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel. What about after verse 45? Well notice verse 48...God still spoke to him the same day. After that...well Moses could well have written chapter 33, in the third person tense. OR it could have been Joshua, or someone else that added to what Moses said in his blessing to the tribes of Israel before his death. If it was someone else, it is just speculation that it was Ezra; much more likely someone of Moses' time, who well remembered the words of Moses. Chapter 34. Same thing - could have been Joshua or someone of that time who added these words, knowing the facts, and so completing the book of Deuteronomy; to say it was Ezra, way down the road, is purely speculation, and has no backing in the Bible. What the Jews may have to say, does not make it correct either; the Jews are very wrong on many things, not the least Jesus Christ, who lived and taught and died among them. ..................
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