In biblical texts, particularly within the Old Testament, you’ll often encounter the phrase “between the evenings.” Understanding what time of day this refers to is crucial for grasping the timing of significant events like the evening sacrifice and Passover. So, What Time Is The Evening according to these scriptures?
The term “between the evenings” (beyn ha’arbayim in Hebrew) is used repeatedly in passages describing when specific rituals should be performed. Examining these instances reveals that “between the evenings” points to twilight, the transitional period between daylight and complete darkness.
For example, the evening sacrifice was commanded to occur “at twilight,” described as “between the evenings” in Exodus 29:39 and Numbers 28:4. Similarly, the Passover sacrifice, a pivotal event for the Israelites, was also to be carried out “at twilight” or “between the evenings,” as stated in Exodus 12:6, Leviticus 23:5, and Numbers 9:3. These repeated instructions emphasize that this specific time, twilight, held significant religious importance.
This designated time “between the evenings” became deeply associated with prayer. It evolved into what was known as “the hour of prayer.” References in Psalms (55:17, 141:2), Daniel (9:21), and Luke (1:10) allude to this practice. Notably, the evening hour of prayer is explicitly identified as the ninth hour in Acts 3:1 and 10:30. The ninth hour is generally considered to be around 3:00 pm. Interestingly, this is also the time when Jesus Christ was crucified, aligning with the timing of the Passover sacrifice, as he is referred to as “our Passover, sacrificed for us” in I Corinthians 5:7.
While the ninth hour, or 3:00 pm, is broadly accepted as the time referred to as “between the evenings” and the hour of evening prayer, some interpretations might slightly vary. Nevertheless, the consistent association of “between the evenings” with twilight, evening sacrifices, Passover, and the hour of prayer firmly establishes it as a religiously significant time, approximately around 3:00 pm, marking the transition from day to evening in the biblical context.
