Historical proof the day begins at evening. Josephus writes,

WARS OF THE JEWS book 4 CHAPTER 9 (582)

THAT VESPASIAN, AFTER HE HAD TAKEN GADARA, MADE PREPARATION FOR THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM; BUT THAT, UPON HIS HEARING OF THE DEATH OF NERO, HE CHANGED HIS INTENTIONS; AS ALSO, CONCERNING SIMON OF GERASA

(580) but having the advantage of situation, and having withal erected four very large towers aforehand, that their darts might come from higher places, (581) one at the northeast corner of the court, one above the Xystus, the third at another corner over against the lower city, (582) and the last was erected above the top of the Pastophoria, where one of the priests stood of course, and gave a signal beforehand, with a trumpet, at the beginning of every seventh day, in the evening twilight, as also at the evening when the day was finished, as giving notice to the people when they were to leave off work, and when they were to go to work again.(583) These men also set their engines to cast darts and stones withal, upon those towers, with their archers and slingers.

In the above Josephus is saying that the trumpet was blown at evening which is the beginning of every seventh day and at the evening at the end of every seventh day for the people to go back to work again. Remember Josephus is writing this during the time of the destruction of the Temple when the priesthood was still active which conclusively proves the Jews at this time understood the day begins and ends at evening and the day consisted of 24 hours.

To prove the weeks were originally connected to the moon we read fragments of lunar days 4 through 25 which were uncovered at Qumran describing the moon's appearance and movements in relation to the sun and the ancient weeks. Wise, Abegg and Cooke, in their book The Dead Sea Scrolls, A New Translation, translate the fragment for lunar day 8 as follows

4Q317

On the eighth of the month [chodesh], the moon rules all the day in the midst of the sky...and when the sun sets, its light ceases to be obscured, and thus the moon begins to be revealed on the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK" (pp. 301-303).

This is conclusive evidence from the Dead Sea Scrolls that the "9th" day of each month is the first day of the week (which begins at EVENING) and therefore the eighth day of each month is the 7th day of the week. this is an absolute when using deductive reasoning.

The following conclusively proves that in each 24 hr day the evening came BEFORE the morning/sunrise.

Each of the gospel writers tells us what happened after the Sabbath/15th had passed.

And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where he was laid. And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun. {Mark 15:47 - 16:1-2}

NOTICE; the spices were bought™ AFTER the Sabbath was gone and BEFORE the rising of the sun and when they came, very early in the morning of the first day of the week, i.e. the daylight portion of the 1st day of the week which began that evening. Some people teach that the day ends at sunrise and if that is so, when could they have bought the spices?

No one would have sold them any spices on the Sabbath and they would not have bought them on that day either. The conclusion is that the seventh 24hr day ended that night and the next one began and the 12hrs of night belonged to the next 24hr day which began that evening. In any event the evening of the 1st day of the week came before sunrise of the 1st day of the week. It must of necessity INCLUDE what the Creator originally established, (Gen. - 1) DARKNESS followed by LIGHT.

Notice also the seventh day of the week had ended, which can be a 24hr. period of time, for in six days YHWH made heaven and earth and rested the seventh day. This seventh day period of time had as many 24 hrs in it as did the six days.

A good question would be, "...when what Sabbath was past?" The answer would have to be... the only Sabbath that was mentioned previously. That is, the Sabbath that came after the day of preparing or preparation for the fifteenth. The women obviously felt they needed more spices to anoint the Messiah's body with. They waited until the Sabbath was over that evening, probably around 6 or 7:00 and then the next 24hr day would begin or 1st day of the week, and they bought some spices that evening of the 1st day of the week, BEFORE the rising of the sun and then hurried over to the tomb, very early in the morning part of the 1st day of the week to anoint the body.

Now notice how Luke puts it.
And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment. Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain other with them. {Luke 23:56 - 24:1}
The first thing to notice in Luke's account is that the women prepared spices and ointments before the Sabbath day and then rested on the Sabbath day, according to the commandment. This of course would have to be according to the fourth commandment, which says to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. The spices and ointments prepared here cannot be the same ones mentioned in Marks account, seeing that they were purchased “after� the Sabbath had past, which was on the 1st day of the week BEFORE SUN RISE. Then after resting on this Sabbath day, the one after the preparation, i.e. the 15th, they came on the first day of the week very early in the morning, just as Mark recorded.
The women brought the spices with them which they had prepared before the Sabbath, and certain others (more spices) with them as well. These other spices were bought after the Sabbath had past (Mark 15:47) on the evening/night portion of the first day of the week and BEFORE the morning sunrise of the 1st day of the week.

If the day began at sunrise, how could they have bought spices after the seventh day was OVER and bring them with them to the tomb BEFORE the 1st day of the week began unless the Sabbath ended at evening????
The seventh day was gone when they bought the spices and the 1st day had not begun yet according to the sunrise theory, which is an impossibility.
If they bought spices BEFORE the 1st day of the week, they would have had to buy them on the seventh day of the week. If they bought spices AFTER the seventh day, it would have to have been on the 1st day and if the 1st did not begin until sun up, then we have major problems.
The answer is that the 12hr evening that ended the seventh day, belonged to the 1st day of the week, BEFORE sunrise, same as the Day of Atonement which began on the 9th day at evening, belonged to the 10th day. This thought goes back to creation.

The above conclusively proves the evening came BEFORE morning/sunrise.


Brother Arnold

YHWH says,

The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
Psm-74:16
We see from the above that the day and night belongs to YHWH, not the devil.

Job cursed the DAY that he was born which began at night and said, let it not see the dawning of the day.
Job-3:4
And Job spake, and said, 3Let the day perish wherein I was born, and the night in which it was said, There is a man child conceived. 4Let that day be darkness; let not YHWH regard it from above, neither let the light shine upon it. 5Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it. 6As for that night, let darkness seize upon it; let it not be joined unto the days of the year, let it not come into the number of the months. 7Lo, let that night be solitary, let no joyful voice come therein. 8Let them curse it that curse the day, who are ready to raise up their mourning. 9Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark; let it look for light, but have none; neither let it see the dawning of the day: 10Because it shut not up the doors of my mother's womb, nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.

When Job said,
let it look for light, but have none; i.e. let that day that he was born in (at evening) not have light as do the other days. neither let it see the dawning of the day:
neither let the light shine upon it (THAT DAY).
Job asks that the day he was born in, to be cursed and have no light from the stars that night neither let it see the dawning of the day: i.e. don't let that day have a sunrise either, or have any light during the whole 24hrs of the day that he was born in, which began at evening.

This alone proves the evening came before the light on the day Job was born (at night) or how else could Job have said to let that day have no light? All 24hr days have a dawning of the day or sunrise except one that is cursed.


Brother Arnold

Another positive proof that the 24 day begins at evening/night is in Acts 20:6-7 6And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. 7And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. 8And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.

We see from the above that they abode seven days at Troas, and when you count from the time they sailed away from Philippi, after the days of unleavened bread, you will find that the seventh day of Paul's stay was the first day of the week. (You can prove it was actually the day after the new moon day). At any rate, we know that the first day of the week was the next day after a worship day and it was upon the first day of the week when they came together to break bread/eat an ordinary meal, and Paul preached to them and continued his speech until midnight, ready to depart at the break day. There were many lights, which show that this upon the first day of the week began at night, before the break of day.
Now I know it can be argued the other way but it reads as if the worship day had ended and the first day of the week had begun and that is when they came together to break bread, much like some of us, when the weekly Sabbath or new moon day is over at evening, and the first day of the week begins, some go out to eats and some break bread at someone's house, but it is upon the first day of the week and in the above cases it was at night which indicates the worship day had ended that night and they stopped to eat an ordinary meal on the first day of the week that evening, ready to go to work on the same first day of the week when it gets light.

The sunrise proponents, upon the first day of the week would have the worship day ending at sunrise and upon the first day of the week beginning, which would mean they were assembled for worship at around 4 or 5 o'clock a.m. and when the worship day ended, they had a meal at sunrise which don't seem likely. One could say that, upon the first day of the week can be referring to later on in the day of the first day of the week when they came together to eat, but this is not how it reads and why would they be gathering together to eat upon the first day of the week, unless they were already assembled on the worship day which had just ending???

People are not in a habit of coming together on the first day of the week to break bread unless it is at night after a worship service day has ended because on the first day of the week they are going to work and that night they are tired and are not going to have a gathering after work to break bread. There are many more things I could point out here, showing it is not lightly they were assembled at the end of the worship day as the sun was rising upon the first day of the week, but at the end of the worship day as the sun was setting. The worship days ended at evening.

This conclusively proves that the 24hr day begins at evening; same as the 16th chapter of Ex- where they gathered quail on the evening of the 1st day of the week/16th and manna on the morning of the 16th/1st day of the week.


Brother Arnold

Exodus the 16th chapter proves the day begins at evening because YHWH will not break His own Law and teach his children to do the same.

We read in Exodus 16:1-13 how YHWH spoke to Moses on the 15th day of the second month, which we know to be the weekly Sabbath, telling him that he had heard their murmurings and would give them quail and manna to eat,
12. I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am YHWH your Elohim. 13. And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.

The reason the quails did not come until the evening is because YHWH sanctified the seventh day and hallowed it at creation and He would not be delivering Quail on this Holy sanctified day for the children of Israel to catch, clean, cook and eat, and therefore the 15th day had to have ended at evening or the Creator would have broken His own Law and caused his people to commit sin by delivering the quails on the Holy Sabbath for them to catch, clean, cook and eat.
The quails arrived that night after the weekly Sabbath was over at evening, and on the first day of the week the children of Israel ate them between the evenings i.e. the evening that ended the seventh day/15th and the evening that would end the first day of the week/16th. If this be not the case, a very serious death penalty sin had taken place, for them to have done this on the sacred Holy Sabbath day.
If they were not aloud to gather manna on the Holy seventh day, they would not be aloud to gather quail either. If the quails were given on the holy Sabbath for the people to clean and eat, then the people that went out to gather manna on the next Sabbath could say that they gathered the quails on the Sabbath/15th and therefore gathering manna would not be as bad as gathering quails. Of course I don't believe the quails were gathered on the weekly Sabbath/15 and neither would anyone that did not have a doctrine to protect. This is why the quails did not come until the evening which ended the Sabbath day and began the first day of the week and this is why Moses and Aaron says, in verse 6,
6. And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that YHWH hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:.

8. And Moses said, This shall be, when YHWH shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full;

13. And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.

These verses show how that nothing was going to happen until evening, the reasoning being, the Sabbath would be ended. I would ask the question, why wait until evening unless for the reason that the weekly seventh day ended at evening?????

Someone could say that it would have taken YHWH a little time to fulfill such a big order of quails for so many people, but we should know this is not good reasoning.

It is much like the case in Mark 16:1, where the women bought spices after the Sabbath had past which would be on the first day of the week, and they brought the spices with them to the grave while it was yet dark on the same first day of the week. This is only possible with the evening to evening day, for obvious reasons, and that because the seventh day ended at evening and the first 24hr day of the week began at evening allowing time to buy spices and bright them with them to the grave at the rising of the sun on the first day of the week.


Brother Arnold