"EVENING" AS USED IN THE
ENTIRE OLD TESTAMENT
Part Seven
1 CHRON.16:40, "...continually morning and evening..."
23:30, "...to stand every morning...and likewise at even..."
2 CHRON.2:4(3), "...burnt offerings morning and evening..."
13:11, "...every morning and every evening (lit. and in evening
in evening)..." - "...to burn every evening (lit, in evening in
evening)..."
2 CHRON.31:3, "...the morning and evening burnt offerings..."
EZRA 3:3, "...burnt offerings morning and evening..."
9:4, "...until the evening sacrifice..."
9:5, "...at the evening sacrifice..."
All these have to do with the morning and the evening
sacrifice, which we covered in the last study. It truly was from
the beginning an EVENING, sun-set, dusk, twilight into the night,
or evening into evening, sacrifice service. It was not a noon or
middle of the afternoon sacrifice, originally that is, but the
Pharisees moved it up by the time of Christ as Alfred Edersheim
showed us in his book, which I quoted from in the last study.
2 CHRON.18:34, "...until the even..."
I covered this account of the death of a king of Israel in
an earlier study.
ESTHER 2:14, "...in the evening she went..."
The women went to the king's house in the evening and on the
morrow she returned to the second house of the women in waiting,
to the custody of Shaashgaz the king's chamberlain, which kept
the concubines.
The context is obviously talking about the king sending for
and having sexual relations with these women. Esther finds the
greatest favor with the king and is made queen (verses 15-17).
Going to a king for sexual relations in those days would
make complete sense at evening time, or sun-set, as the time to
settle down for the night and to have pleasure in sexual matters.
JOB 4:20, "...are destroyed from morning to evening..."
A figurative way to say mankind is "beaten in pieces" (see
margin) - or they die as mortal people all the time, every minute
of the day, or from morning to evening - perpetual death and
decay comes to all persons. Such is mortal life for mankind -
death coming to all sometime and somewhere within the 24 hours of
a day.
JOB 7:4, "...and the night (marg. evening) be gone..."
Here "evening" is put for the whole night period. Job asks
"When shall I arise and the night be gone? And I am full of
tossing to and fro unto the dawning of the day."
Clearly "evening" here is counted as the entire night period
until the dawning of the morning or the rising of the sun. A long
way from the second past high-noon or even 3 p.m in the
after-noon.
PS.30:5(6), "...weeping may endure for a night (marg, in the
evening)..."
Here it is talking about being sad and weeping for an
evening or night, but the morning comes and there is often joy or
singing (as the margin gives). Evening or night is in contrast to
morning after the night. The idea is that for certain number of
hours and going to bed in a downward sad mind-set for what may
have happened during the day, is sometimes lifted to more
brightness of mind in the morning.
PS.55:17(18), "...evening, and morning, and at noon..."
This is talking about praying to God for deliverance from
the battle with enemies. Praying in the evening before sleeping,
praying in the morning at the start of a new day, and praying at
high-noon time, is in order under such circumstances. The three
parts of the awake hours of the day are covered.
PS.59:6(7), "...They return at evening..."
14(15), "...at evening let them return..."
This Psalm is said to be a psalm David wrote when Saul sent,
and they watched the house to kill him. Those sent were evil and
returned in the evening to be like wild starving dogs in
fulfilling their task to kill David. He says they will return in
the evening like most evil people like the darker part of the day
to do evil in. But David knows God will be with him and protect
him and save him from them. In the morning (verse 16) David will
sing of God's power and mercy for he knows the Lord is his
defence.
This all fits nicely with evening being sun-set and after -
into the evening of the night.
PS.65:8(9), "...the morning and evening..."
A Psalm about God's wonderful works in the earth - morning
and evening, the two parts of the 24 hour day, divided up by dusk
with night and the day-light hours. God works His work at all
times throughout the earth.
PS.90:6, "...in the evening it is cut down..."
Figurative expression in using "morning" and "evening" here,
to tell us that all before God is as nothing, as coming and
going, rising up and withering away. What may open up and rise up
during the day-light hours may also close up and wither away when
no more sun shines down on them. Some plants open up and show
their creative wonders during the day-light hours and then close
up for the hours of no sun light. So before God a thousand years
is but as yesterday gone, as a little bleep in the night. We have
not long on the earth (verse 10) so Moses (who is said to be its
composer) asked God to teach us to use our days in the Eternal's
service and wisely, and even if some of our days have affliction
in them, we can look to God for mercy.
PS.104:23, "...Man goes forth unto his work...until the
evening..."
Praise is given to God for His mighty and wondrous works,
one of them being that man goes forth to work and labor during
the day-light hours and returns home in the evening. In a mainly
agricultural society as it was in ancient Israel, is this
especially true. The Psalmist reflects on this. Man goes to work,
often up at the crack of dawn and labors till evening, when he
returned home. In such a setting as the psalmist wrote, man was
not returning from his work and labor at high-noon or 3 p.m. in
the afternoon. Anyone who has worked on the farm, and/or ranch,
knows exactly what the psalmist was talking about.
PS.141:2, "...of my hands (as) the evening sacrifice..."
A request for God to accept and hear the prayer of David, a
prayer of acceptance as the incense, and the lifting up of his
hands (ah, not wrong to pray at times with up-lifted hands...such
does not have to be in the mode of some "emotional religious"
types) as the evening sacrifice.
We have already covered WHEN in the BEGINNING the "evening"
sacrifice and service was held in the Tabernacle or Temple of
David and Solomon's age.
PROV.7:9, "...in the evening (marg.in the evening of the day), in
the black and dark of night..."
Words of wisdom to the wise to leave alone the temptations
of the harlot. Solomon tells us about a young man void of wisdom
and understanding, going through the streets near to her corner
of work or house of employment. Such men go in the "twilight
time" - in the "evening" (dusk, sun-set), in the black and dark
night. Yes, most of us know that such a trade as the woman
practices is usually done, especially back in ancient times,
AFTER the evening, twilight, and the black and dark night has
arrived.
ECC.11:6, "...in the evening withhold not thine..."
The Jewish Tanakh renders it this way, "Sow your seed in the
morning; don't hold back you hand in the evening, since you don't
know which is going to succeed, the one or the other, or if both
are equally good." Verse 7, "How sweet is the light, what a
delight for the eyes to behold the sun!" Verse 8, "Even if a man
lives many years, let him enjoy himself in all of them,
remembering how many the days of darkness are going to be. The
only future is nothingness!
This context is talking about man's work, from morning to
evening, all the day-light hours (remember Solomon was writing in
a time when there was little if any night-shift work of any kind
- not so of course in our modern industrial/technology age). He
is to put forth his hand to work, be it starting in the morning
and going through to the evening. All the sun-light hours are to
be appreciated, for in all his life there will be all the
dark/night parts of a day in which no man works (remember Jesus
saying, "the night comes when no man works" - that was the normal
and general way of living back then - work during the day-light
hours, rest and sleep during the darkness hours).
ISA.17:14, "...at eveningtide trouble..."
Isaiah is telling us that woe is to come upon the nations
who make noise of war and overpowering might as the roaring of
the seas. The nations may rush like the waters of a flood but God
will rebuke them and they shall flee! They shall be chased as the
chaff of the mountains before the wind - God will deal with them
as like a whirlwind blows tumbleweed and all in its path. Trouble
from such nations may come like the evening comes (even coming at
evening time - much warfare is now done at night time - this is a
prophecy for the end-times for the prophecy is a continual
prophecy starting from chapter 11 and the Kingdom age, moving
back into the events of the "day of the Lord" - chap.13:6).
So trouble from nations may come in and as the evening
(evening/darkness, no light, poetically here representing the
evil from the nations) but by or before the morning (a relatively
short time) those nations will be dealt with by God.
JER.6:4, "...the shadows of the evening..."
Here we find one of the clearest Bible definitions of
"evening" - it is a time of "shadows." Yes, dusk or twilight time
produces shadows, just enough light, not full darkness yet, to
produce shadows in the evening. I think I remember a popular hit
parade song once called "Shadows in the Evening."
EZEK.12:4, "...thou shalt go forth at even..."
7, "...and in the even I digged through the wall..."
Ezekiel was to bring forth his stuff in the day-light before
them, and he was to go forth in their sight in the evening. Day
is contrasted to evening. He was to do something both in the day
and in the evening. Another way would be to say he was to do
these two things one in the day, sun-up time, the other in the
sun-down time or evening/night.
EZEK.24:18, "...at even my wife died..."
He speaks to the people in the morning (sun-up time) and in
the evening (sun-set, sun down behind the horizon) his wife dies.
The one is contrasted to the other as in chap.12:4. Then in the
next morning or sun-up time, he did as he was commanded by the
Lord.
EZEK.33:22, "...the hand of the Lord was upon me in the
evening..."
Here we have morning and evening once more - one contrasted
to the other. The one was sun-down/night time and the other
sun-up or day-light time.
EZEK.46:2, "...gate shall not be shut until the evening..."
The great Ezekiel Temple gate shall be open on the Sabbath
and new month day (verse 1). Things will be done while the gate
is open, but in the evening the gate shall be shut. All making
logical sense - the day-light part of the day is for worship and
things to be done, and at the end of the day, in or at evening
time. The gate is to be shut. It is time to rest and get ready
for the night's sleep.
DAN.8:14, "...two thousand and three hundred days (marg.evening
and morning)..."
26, "...the vision of the evening and the morning..."
The sanctuary was to be cleansed after a certain number of
"evenings and mornings" - a certain number of literal days, each
containing an evening/night part and a day-light/day part, which
constitute a literal 24 hour day.
Literal days here as in the first chapter of Genesis.
Recorded history shows indeed that it was certain literal days,
then the sanctuary was indeed cleansed and Jerusalem/Temple were
restored to the Jews. There will also be an end-time fulfilment
of this prophecy.
DAN.9:21, "...about the time of the evening oblation..."
We have seen when from the beginning the "evening" oblation
was given. From the end of the prophets to the commencement of
the time of John the Baptist and Christ was about 400 years. By
the time of John and Christ, the "evening" sacrifice and oblation
had been moved up to a time much earlier than it was from the
beginning as first instructed to Moses by God.
Hab.1:8, "...more fierce than the evening wolves..."
The great Chaldean army was to be likened to evening wolves.
Wolves on the prowl at evening or night time to hunt and attack
and devour their prey. Wolves are especially dangerous after the
sun has sunk below the horizon.
ZEPH.2:7, "...they lie down in the evening..."
Judah will be delivered from their enemies by the Lord, and
they shall lie down in peace and safety, in the evening. The
evening, after the sun has set and the night comes along, is the
time to rest and sleep in peace. The poetic analogy is simple and
very understandable.
ZEPH.3:3, "...her judges (are) evening wolves..."
Some of the evil of Assyria and other nations is likened to
"evening wolves" who catch and devour their prey during the night
and gnaw on their bones until the morning. Once more
"evening/night" is contrasted to "morning/day-light."
ZECH.14:7, "...at evening time it shall be light..."
The context is the very DAY of the coming of God (YHVH used
here) - Jesus Christ back to this earth to fight at Armageddon.
It is ONE particular literal day (verse 7). It shall with all the
brightness of GLORY be not day nor night - it will not matter if
it is day or night (half the earth on any one day is having day
while the other half is having night), for those on earth having
night or evening time, will be as if they were having day-light
or day (for so the coming of Jesus will be with splendid
brightness and powerful glory.
Verse 6, as the margin of my KJV says, "i.e. it shall not be
clear in some parts of the world." True, for as verse 7 tells us,
some parts of the world on that day will be having evening or
night, but the glorious coming of Christ (YHVH used - hence Jesus
as God - part of the very Godhead as the NT teaches us) shall
make evening or night as if it is day or day-light.
I have covered every place in the entire OT where we can
find this Hebrew word 'erev and we have noted the context in each
case.
There is nothing to prove "evening" in the OT can mean any
time after the second past high-noon.
In this case the Sadducees and Samaritan Jewish sect had it
correct, the Pharisee Jewish sect was in total error on this
point.
....................
END OF STUDY
January 2004
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