PASSOVER
EXODUS 12:6 "IN THE EVENING" OR "BETWEEN THE EVENINGS"
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 Concordance 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" .... means see margin note. IN MARGIN NOTE you have "Heb. between the two evenings"
NOW to go to some of the modern translations, 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 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].
..........
A MUCH DEEPER STUDY
BETWEEN THE TWO EVENINGS
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 OLD TESTAMENT 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----- "The Passover began on the evening of the fourteenth day of the first month Sometimes, as in Ex.12:6, the Hebrew reads literally, 'between the twoevenings,' 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, be that at night or day (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.
...............................................................
MARCH 1997 - Keith Hunt
"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
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