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 JewsPRACTICE 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).
They started to leave Rameses. 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, presuming they set up tents towards the end of 15th 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...........
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 truth of the matter of the Hebrew word "bow," should
now be very evident to all who really want the truth.
The truth of ALL passages and ALL Hebrew words on this
Passover, death angel, 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.
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 my Website in 2003.
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