EXPRESSING TIME IN THE GOSPELS
by
Gordon Henry Lovik
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Theology in
Grace Theological Seminary
May 1973
Please report any errors to
Ted Hildebrand at:
ted.hildebrandt@gordon.edu
Accepted
by the Faculty of the Grace Theological Seminary
in
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
Doctor of Theology
Grade
A
Examining Committee
Homer A.
Kent, Jr.
James L. Boyer
Charles R. Smith
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter
I. INTRODUCTION 1
II. COMMON WORDS
FOR TIME IN THE JEWISH YEAR 10
Year
Month
Week
Day
Hour
Feasts
III. WORDS
INDICATING TIME UNSPECIFIED 34
ai]w<n
kairo<j
xro<noj
IV. WORDS INDICATING
TIME IN A YEAR 69
Year
Month
Week
Tomorrow
Yesterday
V.
WORDS FOR DAY AND ITS PARTS 99
Day
Division
of the Day
Night
Divisions
of the Night
Other
Indications of Time
PART II. GRAMATICAL STUDY
VI. INFINITIVAL EXPRESSIONS OFTIME
157
Background
of Temporal Infinitives
Tenses
of Temporal Infinitives
Identification
of Temporal Infinitives
Occurrences
of Temporal Infinitives
VII. PARTICIPIAL EXPRESSIONS OF TIME 171
Possibility
of Temporal Participles
Background
of Temporal Participles
Tenses
of Temporal Participles
VIII. CONJUNCTIVE AND ADVERBIAL
WORDS FOR TIME 182
Conjunctions
Adverbs
and Improper Prepositions
IX. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 235
BIBLIOGRAPHY
239
SCRIPTURE
INDEX 257
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
With
the advent of Gerhard Kittel's multivolume
work, Theological Dictionary
of the New Testament,1 there
has been great interest in the
meaning of the vocabulary of
the New Testament. Most of the
resulting study has been
devoted to words having only a
theological significance.
However, other important areas
for word studies remain, such
as, words pertaining to the
local church, Christian conduct
and discipleship. With this
type of study in mind this
writer has chosen to
investigate the area of "time," in
order to evaluate its meaning
and significance in the
Gospels.
Statement of the Problem
Little
study has been made of temporal expressions
in the Gospels. This is true in
grammars, books on syntax,
as well as commentaries and
special studies in periodicals.
However, because the Gospels
are history, an accurate
understanding of the methods
for expressing time in the
1
Gerhard Kittel, gen. ed., Theological Dictionary
of
the New Testament
(8 vols.; trans. by G. Bromiley; Grand
Rapids:
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1964-).
Gerhard
Friedrich is the general editor of volumes VII and
VIII.
"(Hereinafter referred to as TDNT.)"
1
2
Gospels is important. To
correctly interpret the Gospels
it is necessary to make a
thorough study of all the
temporal expressions in the
Gospels.
Though
a few writers have expressed interest in a
philosophical approach to the
problem of time,1 they draw
conclusions that are often far
from being Biblically
acceptable.
Consequently,
there are several reasons why this
investigation is a contribution
to New Testament studies.
(1) This study sets forth a
collection and analysis of all
the time expressions found in
the Gospels. (2) These
expressions of time have an
important bearing on the exege-
sis of many passages. (3) An
objective analysis can thus
be made of those writers of the
past and present who have
built their exegesis and
theology on misunderstandings of
time words and grammar.2 (4) The life of Christ can
be
understood more clearly by
knowing the meaning of these
1
Cf. Thorlief Bowman, Hebrew Thought Compared with
Greek, trans. by J. Noreau (
1960);
Oscar Cullman, Christ and Time, trans. by F. B.
Filson
(Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1950), "(Here-
inafter
referred to as Time.)"; J. A. T. Robinson, In the
End,
God
(New York: Harper and Row, 1968), "(Hereinafter
referred
to as In The End.)."
2
For example, a recent article citing many men who
have
erred in their interpretation of the aorist tense and
consequently
their interpretation of Scripture was written
by
Frank Stagg, "The Abused Aorist, Journal of Biblical
Literature, LCI (June, 1972),
222-31. "(Hereinafter
referred
to as Aorist.)"
3
expressions of time. (5) Any
writer, who asserts that
"errors" exist in
matters of time in the Gospels, can be
answered with confidence.
Background for This Study
Any
serious word study in the Greek of the New
Testament requires a consideration
of both Hebrew and
Aramaic. At least three of the
Gospel writers were Jewish
and their expression of thought
though written in Greek
would be Hebrew in concept.
Since the language of the
Jewish part of
marily Aramaicl at
least three different languages must be
considered. (1) The thought
concepts had their basis in
the Hebrew mind and language.
(2) These thoughts were
spoken for the most part in the
Aramaic language. (3) God
chose to record this revelation
in the universal language
of the
It
must further be seen that any examination of
Greek words in the New
Testament must include some study of
the Old Testament Hebrew and
the Septuagint. These same
Greek words also have a history
which often can be traced
from the Classical Greek down
through non-biblical Koine
Greek. Any study in the New
Testament must include a
1
However, this is not to argue against the findings
of
M. Mansoor, The Dead Sea Scrolls (
Eerdmans,
1964), pp. 177-81, that Greek and Hebrew were
also
used in this time. Yet, the prominence of Aramaic has
long
been an accepted fact.
4
consideration of these areas.
Unless
otherwise identified, the translations
appearing in this dissertation
are those of the author. The
Greek Testament used throughout
was The Greek New Testament
published by the United Bible
Societies. In addition the
nineteenth edition of D. Erwin
Nestle's Novum Testamentum
Graece was
also used to check for textual variants.
Limitations
of This Study
By
the title, "Expressing Time in the Gospels," the
dissertation is limited to
those temporal references in the
four Gospels. Yet there must be
further limitations to
treat the subject properly.
Three major limitations are
needed. First, this is not a
study of the chronological
indications found in the
Gospels. This has already been the
subject of much writing.1
Second, in Greek a temporal con-
cept can be expressed through
verb tenses, but since an
investigation of this would be
too extensive to treat here,
the time indication of verbs
will not be included. Third,
the significance of the case of
these time words will not
be studied separately. Such an
investigation would entail
a study of great length which
is not possible in this
1
This subject is adequately treated by Leslie P.
(unpublished
Th.D. dissertation, Dallas Theological
Seminary,
1963).
5
dissertation.1
A
few minor limitations are also necessary. Though
it would be desirable to
compare and contrast all the
parallel passages containing
temporal expressions, this
will not be attempted since
this could be a separate study.
Where it is important to the
purpose of the dissertation,
the unacceptable views of the
liberals will be cited and
discussed. There will not be an
extensive rebuttal given
to the liberal method of
interpretation. Because of the
subject matter there will not
be exegetical elaborations
but rather the conclusions from
the exegesis process.
Goals of This Study
There
are two primary goals of this work. The first
is to collect and to classify
every word, phrase and gram-
matical expression pertaining
to time in the Gospels. The
second is the establishing of
the precise meanings of these
references to time. Berkley
Nickelsen says that the basic
objective of every interpreter
of the Scriptures should be,
1
It is accepted that the comments found in Greek
grammars
concerning case significance of time words are
correct.
The following distinctions should be maintained
unless
there are strong contextual reasons not to do so:
(1)
the genitive case implies the time within which some-
thing
takes place but states nothing as to duration;
(2)
the dative case answers the question 'when?' and des-
ignates
a point of time; (3) the locative case (particu-
larly
when e]n
occurs) regards the period from the point
of
view of a point even if it is of some length; and (4)
the
accusative case when used of time expresses duration
over the whole period.
6
"to find out the meaning
of a statement (command, question)
for the author and for the
first hearers or readers, and
thereupon to transmit that
meaning to modern readers."1
This well states the second
goal of this study. The end
result hopefully will be a
wordbook of temporal expressions
in the Gospels that will
provide a basic tool in the inter-
preting and understanding of
historical and temporal
passages in the Gospels.
Method of This Study
The
major approach of this study will be a word
study. This necessitates, (1) a
knowledge of the possible
word meanings in the period in
which they occur, (2) an
examination of the context of
each writer to understand the
initial reception of the
message, and (3) a careful
avoidance of fine distinctions
of synonyms and etymological
determinations unless there is
strong contextual support.
It must be noted that
"linguistically, it is the syntactical
complexes, in which the lexical
items are used, and not the
lexical items themselves, which
constitute communication."2
Great care must be taken to
avoid a lexical structure for
1
A.
Rapids:
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1963), p. 5.
2
James Barr, Biblical Words for Time (
Press
Ltd., 1961), p. 155. "(Hereinafter referred to as
Time.)"
7
the Gospels that sets forth the
outlines of Biblical
thought about this subject
since there can be variations
between languages and thought
patterns of the writers
themselves.
More
specifically the expressions for time will
each be explored in three
areas. The use of a word in non-
biblical Greek includes several
considerations. The
etymology of a word is
important if it can be ascertained.
Then the use of each word has
to be examined in Classical,
other Koine literature and the
papyri. A second area to
explore is the use of each word
in the Old Testament. This
often can be studied from the
Greek word through its Hebrew
counterpart, as well as the
uses of the word in the
Septuagint. After this the
final area of study can begin.
Each use of the word in the
four gospels is syntactically
and contextually considered.
For greater ease of compre-
hension, the Gospels are
discussed separately, Matthew
through John, with appropriate
conclusions placed in the
final paragraph of each
discussion.
The
last major area of the dissertation consists of
a grammatical investigation of
the temporal infinitives,
participles, adverbs and
conjunctions. This second area of
study completes the examination
of all the expressions for
time in the Gospels with the
exception of time as is indi-
cated by the verb tenses. This,
however, is not a
consideration of the
dissertation.
Preview of This Study
Following
this introductory chapter the first major
part of the dissertation,
"Word Study," begins. The initial
major chapter contains a
discussion of the temporal words
that were common and popularly
used by all Jews. This
chapter is not an extensive lexical
study but rather the
citing of the various meanings
for the most frequently used
words, such as,
"year," "day" and "hour." These common
words provide a basis for later
discussion. Their variety
of meanings establishes early
that linguistic dogmatism
solely on the basis of a word
unscientific.
The
next three chapters contain words expressing
time. They are divided into
"Words Indicating Time
Unspecified," "Words
Time in a Year," and "Words for Day
and its Parts." In each
chapter the words will be examined
alphabetically as to their use
in (1) non-biblical Greek,
(2) the Old Testament, and (3)
the Gospels.
The
second major part of the dissertation, "A
Grammatical Study," begins
with chapter six. It is a study
of "Infinitival
Expressions of Time." These are clearly
identified in the Gospels and
are examined both grammati-
cally and contextually. Chapter
seven is an investigation
of "Participial
Expressions of Time." Primarily this is a
study of the grammar because it
is too difficult to deter-
mine this function of the
participle. Only illustrations
8
9
of this are cited. The last
chapter of this second part is
a discussion of the "Conjunctive
and Adverbial Words for
Time." These are cited
alphabetically and in accordance
with their recognized major
function, adverbial or
conjunctive.
A
summary and conclusion completes the dissertation
setting forth the findings of
the investigation.
PART
I. WORD STUDY
CHAPTER II
COMMON WORDS FOR TIME
IN THE JEWISH YEAR
Expressions
of time in the Gospels are subject to
misunderstandings for at least
three reasons: (1) the
large number of Gospel passages
indicating time which often
differ in parallel passages,
(2) the lack of specific
knowledge about certain first
century dating practices, and
(3) the errant equating of
contemporary concepts of time
with those of the Gospel era.
Much of the confusion can be
alleviated by a general
understanding of the time expres-
sions commonly used within the
Jewish year. The indications
of time considered in this
chapter are: year, month, week,
day, hour and feasts.
Year
The
year, hnAwA in Hebrew, has been
reckoned by
many methods at different
points in Biblical history. This
practice provides a variety of
calendars for the New Testa-
ment era. Both the length of
year and the nature of the
calendar year create problems
for determining the correct
method of Biblical calendation.
The
primary system the Hebrews used for indicating
chronology was by the year. But
even among the Jewish
people the principles of
chronology varied sufficiently to
11
12
give Old Testament scholars
great difficulty. Within the
past few decades significant
efforts have been made toward
understanding the chronological
reckoning of the Jews both
during the period of the Kings1
and the restoration of
conclusions have not been met
with universal acceptance
they provide the basis for Old
Testament time reckoning.
In
the Old Testament both a solar, a luni-solar
year3 and a lunar
year4 have been suggested as being
followed. Morgenstern writes in
support of the luni-solar
year, that is, a calendar year
based on lunar months with
a system of intercalation to
harmonize with the sun:
Now it is of
utmost significance that, working on
altogether
independent, astronomical grounds, Charlier
reached
exactly the same conclusion, that the temple
must
have been so built that on the two annual equi-
noctial
days the first rays of the rising sun shone
directly
in through the eastern gate. He has shown
further
that these two equinoctial days were the 1st
of
the first month and the 10th of the seventh month,
1
Edwin R. Thiele, The Mysterious Numbers of the.
Hebrew
Kings (
Company,
1965).
2
Richard A. Parker and Waldo H. Dubberstein,
Babylonian
Chronology, 626 B.C.-A.D. 75 (
3
Julian Morgenstern, "Supplementary Studies in the
Calendars
of Ancient
X
(1935), 3-5.
4
Henri Daniel-Rops, Daily Life in the Time of Jesus,
trans.
by P. O'Brian (New York: Mentor-Omega Books, 1962),
p.
179. "(Hereinafter referred to as Daily Life.)"
13
the
latter the late Biblical Yom Kippur. . . .1
Those
who accept a lunar or embolistic year actually
assert the same basic reckoning
of time since an embolistic
month, a second Adar, was added
about every third year to
bring the lunar year into
agreement with the solar year.
The
beginning of the Jewish year could begin either
in Nisan (March-April) or
Tishri (September-October)
depending on the system followed
at a particular time. The
first month of the year varied
during Jewish history after
the division of the kingdom.
Later in 1 Maccabees the
method of designating the
months by name and number indi-
cates that the first month of
the Jewish year about 165 B.C.
was Nisan. This probably was
the case in
the first century A.D., since
it was just before Nisan that
any type of correction for the
length of the year had to be
made in order to make the
ripening of the barley correspond
to the celebration of the
Passover in Nisan. Further, no
political events had occurred
to force the Jews to change
from the practice of the
Maccabbean times.
Shortly
after the time of the Maccabean revolt the
all others. Found in the Book
of Jubilee 6:23-32, this
system of dating reckons a year
as 364 days. Thus each
1
Julian Morgenstern, "The Gates of Righteousness,"
14
year was errant one and
one-half days with the cycle of the
sun unless some method of
intercalation was practiced. The
year itself is divided into
four quarters of ninety-one days
with two months being thirty
days and one being thirty-one
days in each quarter. The
advantage of this system is that
every feast day was on the same
day of the week each year.
Feast days came regularly on
Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.1
Since the Passover, Nisan 15,
according to this system falls
on a Wednesday, some scholars
have taken liberty to recon-
struct the entire passion
accounts.2 Though
this view has
created much interest and
speculation that Jesus and his
disciples may have used this
calendar, most scholars do not
consider this likely. Perhaps
the greatest weakness of
this Jaubertian calendar system
is the lack of knowledge
about the yearly intercalations
which must have been made
in both the solar and
traditional calendars at the time of
Christ. An acceptance of this
system adds many more
problems to the passion week
chronology than it solves.3
1
Jack Finegan, Handbook of Biblical Chronology
(Princeton,
N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1964),
pp.
54-55. "(Hereinafter referred to as HBC.)"
2
This is especially true of Annie Jaubert, The
Date
of the Last Supper,
trans. by Isaac Rafferty (Staten
3
For an excellent analysis and refutation of Annie
Jaubert's
chronology see Clifford Wood Hardin, "An Exami-
nation
of Jaubert's Chronology of the Passion Week,"
(unpublished
Th. M. thesis, Dallas Theological Seminary,
1969).
15
There is no evidence that this
calendar was used outside of
the
followed there.
By
the time of Christ several calendars were in use
in
asserting dates.
Matters
were much complicated, however, by the fact
that
by no means all the inhabitants of
the
official calendar of the Jewish community. . . .
And
in a Greek city of the
perfectly
well be three concurrent calendars, the
Jewish,
the Syrian and the Egyptian, quite apart from
the
Roman.
And
lastly it now seems quite certain, since the
discovery
of the
groups
who were faithful to the tradition of the Book
of
Jubilees still used the ancient calendar of 364
days,
which had four terms of ninety-one days each, and
which
were each made up of thirteen weeks. This had
the
advantage of making the great feasts, such as the
Passover,
fall on a given date.1
The
reckoning of time by the aforementioned calen-
dars could produce different
times for both the length of
the year and the beginning of
the year. For example, the
Egyptian calendar after 22 B.C.
consisted of twelve months
of thirty days or three hundred
sixty days with five
epagomenal days added after the
twelfth month. Every year
preceding the leap year of the Julian
calendar was an
intercalary year and six
epagomenal days were added so that
the Egyptian yearly calendar
averaged 365 1/2 days. The
1
Daniel-Rops, Daily Life, p. 183.
16
beginning of the year fell on
August twenty-ninth or
thirtieth.1
The
Syrian calendar followed the Macedonian which
began in October and followed a
lunar calendar-system with
the probable insertion of
intercalary months. Though this
dating system seems to be
followed in 1 Maccabees2 it
appears to be of no consequence
in the New Testament.
Whether the Jewish year began
in the fall adopting the
Syrian system or in the spring
following the Babylonian
calendar is not known. However,
"at the time of Christ it
is quite certain that the lunar
year of 364 days was in
use."3 That is
to say, the lunar year with an intercalated
lunar month which permitted the
lunar year to coincide with
the solar year.
Of
course there were other problems of Jewish time
reckoning:
There
are some interesting facts to learn, as that
the
Hebrews, in counting an interval of days (or weeks,
or
months, or years) between two events would probably
(though
not necessarily) include in the interval both
the
day (or week, or month, or year) of the first event
as
well as the second.4
1
Finegan, HBC, pp. 28-29.
2
Ibid., p. 121.
3
Daniel-Rops, Daily Life, p. 180.
4
John Marsh, The Fulness of. Time (
&
Brothers Publishers, 1962), p. 20. "(Hereinafter
referred
to as Time.)"
17
This
is known as inclusive reckoning and must be
considered in matters of
chronology (particularly in
connection with the use of h[me<ra). Fortunately, most
other words for time are not
affected by this principle of
chronology. In a subsequent
chapter, the two Greek words
for year, e]niauto<j and e@toj which translate hnAwA will
be examined in detail.
Month
Twelve
months, written mh<n in
both the Septuagint
and the New Testament, made up
the Jewish year. Each month
had twenty-nine days and began
"when the thin sliver of the
new moon appeared in the
sky: if it did not appear, then
necessarily the month had
thirty days."1 It must be under-
stood that the Jewish month was
based totally on visible
lunar calculation, as is
attested by the two Hebrew words
for month, wdH , meaning "glittering new moon" and Hry
meaning "moon" or
"month."
The
decision for determining the new month was the
work of the Sanhedrin.
If
the members of the court found that the new
moon
might be visible, they were obliged to be in
attendance
at the courthouse for the whole thirtieth
day
and be on the watch for the arrival of witnesses.
If
witnesses did arrive, they were duly examined and
tested,
and if their testimony appeared trustworthy,
this
day was sanctified as New Moon Day. If the new
1
Daniel-Rops, Daily Life, p. 181.
18
crescent
did not appear and no witnesses arrived, this
day
was counted as the thirtieth day of the old month,
which
thus became an embolistic month.1
This
shifting of the month from twenty-nine to
thirty days based on the visual
sighting of the new moon
and the decision of the
Sanhedrin to begin a new month
makes the certain determination
of a new month or a parti-
cular day in the month during
the first century an
impossible task.
There
was even a greater difficulty in reckoning
time by months. Since a solar
year is eleven days longer
than a lunar year, every third
year an extra month had to
be added to the calendar in
order to celebrate the feasts
at the correct time each year.
This
was done by adding a second Adar (the Baby-
lonian
name for the twelfth month), February-March, so
contrived
that the Passover, celebrated on the 14th
Nisan
(the first month), should always fall after the
spring
equinox.2
In
this way the spring season of the year coincided
with the month Nisan and the
first sheaf of barley would be
fully ripened, ready to be
offered on the sixteenth of
Nisan. To correlate the
beginning of the Jewish year with
the Julian calendar would
demand knowledge of every inter-
calation and the decision of
the Sanhedrin for all these
1
Jack Finegan, Light From the Ancient Past (New
2
G. Gordon Stott, "Month," HDCG, II (
Charles Scribner's Sons, 1912),
731.
19
years.
Perhaps
the aforementioned difficulties explain why
the words for month and year
occur only a few times in the
Gospels. The names for the
months are not used at all.
There is actually no evidence
that the object now called a
calendar and which shows the
months, weeks and days at a
single glance was known to the
average Jew.
Week
The
modern method of determining time by weeks was
not followed by the Gospel
writers. The Hebrew fbw from
the numeral seven was
translated by the Greek sa<bbaton,
This seventh day of the Jewish
week began Friday at sunset
and extended through the
daylight of Saturday. This was
the Jewish sabbath and was
known by that name. On several
occasions in the Old Testament
various feast days are also
called sabbaths.1
Consequently, the word "sabbath" could
refer to a feast no matter
which day of the week it was
observed or to the seventh day
of the Jewish week.
The
day prior to the weekly sabbath was the day of
preparation for the sabbath and
seems to be designated as
the paraskeuh<, the preparation day.2 Once in Mark 15:42
1
An excellent discussion of the meaning of Sabbath
in
the context of feast days can be found in an unpublished
monograph
by Homer A. Kent Jr., "The Day of that Sabbath
was
a High Day," pp. 25-31.
2
Josephus Antiquities 16. 6.2. (Perhaps this is
also
intended in Mt. 27:62; Lk. 23:54; Jn. 19:31, 42).
20
it is called prosa<bbaton and was also known as
"the eve
of the sabbath."1
Six times in the Passion week account
paraskeuh< occurs
and may have the function of indicating
"Friday," the day
before the Sabbath. That paraskeuh< can
refer to Friday of any week is
indicated by the Didache,
“. . . but do ye fast on the fourth day and the
Preparation
(Friday)."2 Josephus writes, ". . . and that
they need not
give bond (to appear in court)
on the Sabbath or on the day
of preparation for it (Sabbath
Eve) after the ninth hour."3
The meaning of paraskeuh<, Friday,
became so fixed in
However,
paraskeuh< can
also refer to "the day
before any feast which required
special preparation that
could not be made on the feast day
itself."4 That this can
be applied for example to Nisan
14, the day before the
eating of the Passover, is
illustrated by many passages in
Rabbinic literature.5
The Septuagint never uses paraskeuh<
in connection with any type of
a feast or Sabbath day.
1
Daniel-Rops, Daily Life, p. 184.
2
Didache 8.
3
Josephus Antiquities 16. 6.2.
4
Solon Hoyt, "Did Christ Eat the Passover?"
(unpublished
monograph, Grace Theological Seminary, 1945),
P.
34.
5
Babylonian Talmud Pesachim 4:1, 5, 6; 5:1; 10:1.
21
Thus,
two uses of paraskeuh< in the
New Testament
times are possible. It may mean
Friday, including the
evening of Thursday, which is
the day before a weekly
Sabbath. Or, it could mean any
day before a feast day such
as the Passover, Nisan 15. This
distinction must be con-
sidered in matters of
chronology. The other days in the
week were named simply by their
numerical order, so that
"the first of the week (mi%> sababa<twn) in Matthew 28:1 is
Saturday evening and Sunday
until sunset. The word for
week, sa<bbaton, occurs often since every Jew was oriented
to the sabbath observance on
the seventh day of the week.
Day
The
most frequently used word expressing time in
the Gospels is h[me<ra, day. The Hebrew MOy
and
its
translation h[me>ra were popularly used to indicate both a
twenty-four hour solar day and
the daylight period. The
Greek language also had nuxqhme<ron to indicate the
complete cycle of light and
darkness but this is used only
once in the New Testament, 2
Corinthians 11:25. "Usually,
however, the 'day' which
includes the nightime and the day-
time is simply designated with
the word h[me<ra, and
the
context makes plain what is
meant. . ."1
The
sequence of time in a day was measured by one
1
Finegan, HBC, p. 8.
22
of four methods: (1) a
sunclock, po<loj, (2) a
sundial,
gnw<mwn, (3) a
water-clock, kleyu<da (for
the night
especially),1 and
(4) estimation. It is quite certain that
the common people would use the
last method.
In
the ancient world the day began at dawn in
Old Testament; whereas the
Roman day began at midnight.2
Bickerman
writes concerning the Jewish reckoning:
On
the other hand, the complete day, for the purpose
of
the calendar, is generally reckoned in conformity
with
the respective calendar systems. The peoples who
use
lunations as the basic time-measurement (Athenians,
Gauls,
Germans and Hebrews) counted the twenty-four
hour
day from evening to evening.3
Though
it is not universally accepted, most New
Testament scholars accept that
the beginning of the day
among Jews in
the appearance of the stars was
the sign that the day had
ended4 and a new day
begun.
The
darkness part of the day is called night, nu<c,
and can be broken down into
several divisions of time. The
early evening was designated e]spe<ra.
The entire night,
1
Finegan, HBO, p. 12.
2
Ibid., pp. 8-9.
3
Elias J. Bickerman, Chronology of the Ancient
World
(Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University :Press, 1968),
p. 13. "(Hereinafter referred
to as Chronology.)"
4
Babylonian Talmud Berakoth 1:2.
23
nu<c
contained
four watches according to both the New
Testament and Josephusl
with each watch representing one-
fourth part of the night. This
differed from the Old Testa-
ment practice of having only
three watches. The watches
came in the following order:
(1) o[ye<, (2) mesonu<ktion,
(3) a]lektorofwni<a
and
(4) prwi~.2 In fact, in Talmudic
literature the word
"evening" at times also included the
entire afternoon. The afternoon
was divided into two
periods, 12 to 2:30 and 3:30 to
6:00, called evenings.3
The time for the slaying of the
Passover lamb according to
Josephus4 was
between the two evenings.
As
light began to dawn in
began. "This was true in
and
accurate way of speaking even
though the twenty-four hour
day began at sunset in some
countries and mid-night in
According to the
was divided into four parts:
(1) the gazelle of the
morning (a[me<raj ble<faron), (2) when one can distinguish
1
Josephus Antiquities 18. 9.6.
2
F. R.
(Edinburgh:
T. & T. Clark, 1906), p. 417.
3
Finegan, HBC, p. 14.
4
Josephus Wars 6. 9.3.
5
Bickerman, Chronology, p. 13.
24
blue from white (prwi~, skoti<aj
e@ti ou@shj), (3) when east
began to grow light (o@rqroj baqu<j), and (4) twilight
(li<an
prwi~, a]natei<lantoj tou? h[liou<).1 Consequently,
prwi~ and o@rqroj and their cognates are used of this time
period in the Gospels. Rather
than reckon time hour by
hour the daylight part of the
day was often divided into
three-periods, the middle of
the morning, noon and the
middle of the afternoon. These
correspond to 9 a.m., noon
and 3 p.m.
It
seems to me more likely that in spite of the
opportunity
offered by an hourly nomenclature the
ancients
found that for many purposes the simpler
three-hour
interval was sufficiently definite. For
the
culture represented by the evangelists and in a
society
without clocks or watches one could often be
satisfied
with phrases no more specific than our mid-
morning,
midday (or noon), mid-afternoon together
with
dawn or sunset.2
Thus
it is seen that within a solar day there can
be many expressions of time and
most are inadequate in
indicating a precise moment of
time. The more easily fixed
points of time during the day
would be daybreak, nightfall
and midday.
1
John M'Clintock and James Strong, eds., "Day,"
CBTEL, II (New York: Harper
and Brothers Publishers, 1882),
pp.
702-703.
2
Henry J. Cadbury, "Some Lukan Expressions of
Time,"
JBL, LXXXII (September, 1963), 278. "(Hereinafter
referred to as "Time.")"
25
Hour
Another
popular way to speak of time is by the hour,
w!ra. The
earliest known use of hours by the Jews came
during the Intertestament
Period and is recorded in the
apocryphal book 3 Maccabees
5:14. This hour had little
similarity to modern reckoning.
Any hour identification
could only be relative since
its length depended on the
time of the year and the
geographical latitude.
The
twelve hour system then in use throughout the
hours
are each the twenty-fourth part of a legal day
calculated
mathematically; the Roman system was
based
upon the durations of the sun's presence in the
sky:
on December 25th, therefore, the winter sol-
stice,
when there were but eight hours and fifty-four
minutes
of possible sunlight in the day, the day-time
hour
shrank to less than forty-five of our minutes,
while
each of the night-hours draw out to an hour and
a
quarter of our time.1
It
is important to notice that every day had twelve
hours of relatively equal
length and these hours were
numbered from daybreak to
nightfall (Mt. 20:3-12). Of the
method by which time was
actually determined in the
Biblical period, we know
little. The division of time into
sixty minute hours was a late
refinement, which must have
become generally used only when
some sort of a sundial or
hourglass became readily
available.2
1
Daniel-Rops, Daily Life, p. 186.
2
Roger T. Beckwith, "The Day, Its Divisions and Its
Limits,
In Biblical Thought," The Evangelical Quarterly,
XLIII,
(October, 1971), 220. "(Hereinafter referred to as
The
Day.)"
26
The
night likewise was divided into twelve equal
parts from sundown to sunrise.
Ramsay states:
Though
the Roman legal Day began at midnight, yet
the
hours of the day were counted only as beginning from
sunrise;
and the hours of the night (in rare cases in
which
the hours of the night were spoken of) only from
sunset.
In popular usage probably no night hours were
spoken
of except the third, sixth and perhaps the ninth,
as
the beginnings of the second, third and fourth
watches;
and those expressions were used, not because
there
was any device in ordinary use for dividing the
night
into twelve hours, but simply by analogy from
the
three main customary divisions of the day.1
From
the earliest times the daylight period had to
be divided by visual
observation rather than any other
means, at least by the common
people. In the Talmud there
is a discussion of the extent
of reasonable error about a
man's estimate of a given hour
appealing to the fact that
"in the sixth hour the sun
stands in the meridian."2
It
can be expected that many
references to a particular hour
in the Gospels would also be
based on estimation rather
than on mechanical means. The
most frequently used hours
were the third hour (9 a.m.),
the sixth hour (noon) and the
ninth hour (3 p.m.).
The
Hebrew word for hour hbw,
translated by w!ra,
can also mean an inexactly
defined period of time so that
in Daniel 3:6 it is best
translated "immediately." The
1
William Ramsay, "Numbers, Hours, Years and Dates,"
HDB, V. (New York: C.
Scribner's Sons, 1904), 477.
2
Babylonian Talmud Pesahim, 11b-12b.
27
Greek word could be used to
refer to time in general, "the
time is coming."1 These various meanings of w!ra necessi-
tate careful study of this
often used word in a later
chapter.
Feasts
During
the Jewish year several feasts are observed
and these are identified in the
Gospels by name or by the
word "feast," e[orth<.
By itself e[orth< cannot
give a
clear meaning and in a given
context scholars can disagree
as to the identity of the
feast.2 Although the time of the
year for the feasts varies
slightly because of the inter-
calation practice of the Jews,
some chronological identifi-
cations can be made
particularly in John by understanding
the time of the feasts. Of the
six major feasts--Passover,
Unleavened Bread, Weeks,
Tabernacles, Trumpets and Day of
Atonement--mentioned in the Old
Testament only three are
found in the Gospels by name.
The Passover, Unleavened
Bread and Tabernacles together
with the later Maccabean
festival, Dedication, provide
feast time indications.
1
James Barr, Time (London: SON Press Ltd., 1961),
p.
121.
2
The feast of John 5:1 for example has been identi-
fied
with the Passover by Lightfoot and Greswell, with
Pentecost
by Bengel and Browns, with Tabernacles by
Cocceius,
Ewald and Zahn, with the Day of Atonement by
Caspari,
with Trumpets by Westcott, and with Wood-gathering
by Edersheim.
28
The
Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread occur
during the same month, Nisan,
and seem at times to be almost
interchangeable. Both feasts
are found several times in the
accounts of the crucifixion.
The month Nisan is the time
when the first barley was
ripening. On the tenth of this
month the head of each home set
aside a lamb for the paschal
offering and groups were formed
for the proper celebration.
These lambs would be selected
from the flocks outside
necessary for the eating of the
lamb. On the fourteenth
the women removed all leaven
from the home and in the after-
noon the lamb was slain in the
temple by the priests then
taken to a home and cooked.
That evening, which began the
fifteenth, all the lamb would
be eaten. If they needed
additional meat because of the
large number of guests a
Chagigah could
be offered.1 It is uncertain
how many Old
Testament practices were
retained at the time of Christ
and there are almost as many
differing opinions about the
first century practice as there
are writers on the subject.
It
is unfortunate that the word for the Passover
feast, pa<sxa, which is found a total of twenty-five
times
within the four Gospels, can be
used at least five
1
Alfred Edersheim, The
Services (
1958),
pp. 218-19. (Also see his discussion of the
Passover
on pp. 208-48). "(Hereinafter referred to as
29
different ways because it
greatly complicates chronologi-
cal reckoning. Theodor Zahn
gives four different senses
of pa<sxa. (1) It can refer to the Passover lamb as
the
object of qu<ein or fagei?n. (2) The observance of Nisan
14 with the slaying of the lamb
and the feast of the
Passover, as distinguished from
the Feast of the Unleavened
Bread which began on the
fifteenth, is called the Passover.
(3) The name a@zuma, Unleavened Bread, refers not only to
the seven days following the
slaying of the Passover but
it is also applied many times
in the Old Testament to the
fourteenth day which precedes
it. (4) Likewise, pa<sxa
can be applied to cover all the
days of a@zuma so that the
terms a@zuma and pa<sxa are
used quite synonymously.1
Further, it would seem possible
that the Passover could
refer to the Paschal meal alone
on Nisan 15 or to Nisan 14
excluding the feast which began
after sunset. Edersheim
further maintains that pa<sxa can mean the Chagigah sacri-
fice offered on the fifteenth.2
Four
references to pa<sxa occur
before the Passion
Week account.3 Each
of these references appear to be
general indications of the
Passover season without reference
1
Theodor Zahn, Introduction to the New Testament,
trans.,
M.W. Jacobus, III (
1953),
296-98. "(Hereinafter referred to as Introduction.)"
2
Edersheim,
3
Luke 2:41; John 2:13, 23; 6:4.
30
to a more specific time
intended. Attempts to be dogmatic
concerning the days and nights
at the time of the Passover
meet with frustration because
of the probable existence of
more than one way of expressing
days.
Consequently,
when a day and night or a definite
number
of days and nights are being set apart from
manual
labor for religious purposes, it is necessary
to
decide which nights are being set apart in this
way
as well as which days. This was especially true
of
the passover, when the main celebration took place
by
night, but even in this case the special circum-
stances
made it as natural for Josephus to think of
the
new day as beginning after the night was over as
before
it began, since he cannot have failed to see
that
the lamb connected the night as intimately with
the
day preceding as the unleavened bread did with
the
day following.1
The
festival of Unleavened Bread follows immediately
after the Passover and lasts
seven days, Nisan fifteenth to
the twenty-first. It is called
by Josephus e[orth> tw?n
a]zu<mwn and ai[ h[me<rai tw?n a]zu<mwn.2 Apparently in popular
speech the fourteenth of Nisan
was also included in the
feast of Unleavened Bread in
Mark 14:12. However, the
second day of Unleavened Bread
was considered to be the
sixteenth of Nisan and the time
when the first sheaf of
barley was offered in the
began the counting for the seven
weeks to Shabuot or
1
Beckwith, "The Day," p. 226.
2
Josephus, Antiquities 3.10.5. and 18.2.2.
31
Tabernacles.1 The unleavened bread eaten during this
time
was a remembrance of the
deliverance from
sequence of these two feasts
and the events which accompany
them further complicate the
reckoning of time during the
Passover season.
The
Mishnah tractate Pesahim brings the entire
ritual
to a complexity widely removed from the his-
toric
night of the Exodus. The dating of the
recurrent,
commemorative festival is important for
Gospel
exegesis. The night of the Passover proper
(14-15
Nisan) and the feast of Unleavened Bread (15-
21
Nisan) are distinguished in Leviticus 23:5f and
Numbers
28:16f., but telescoped in Luke 22:1. Doubt-
less
they had long become telescoped in popular
thought
and practice, as Josephus and the Mishnah bear
out.
The first day of Unleavened Bread was strictly
15th
Nisan, though the 14th was often loosely so
called,
as in Matthew 26:17; Mark 14:12. The prepara-
tion
of the Passover began at 6 p.m. on 13th Nisan,
ending
at the same hour on the 14th. This is an
analogical
extension of the normal weekly Friday or
prosa<bbaton (Mark 15:42), when cooking
and all
laborious
preparations for the sabbath had to be
performed.2
This complexity is not found in
the other feasts.
Tabernacles
was celebrated in Tishri (the early
fall) fifteenth to the
twenty-first. Also known as Sukkot,
Succoth or skhnophgi<a, it commemorated the period of
wilderness wanderings after the
Exodus which was during the
formative period of the Jewish
nation. During these years
1
Louis Finkelstein, The Pharisees, I (
Jewish
Publication Society of
2
gelical Quarterly, XLIII
(July, 1971), 153-54.
32
the Jews lived like nomads in
temporary dwellings.1 At
this festival temporary
dwellings of palm branches and wood
sticks, not tents, were made to
dwell in. This feast was
held in high regard in
Josephus' time as is seen by his
description of Tabernacles; e[orth> sfo<dra a[giwta<th kai>
megi<sth2 and ei]j ta> me<lista throume<nh.3
Though
mentioned often by Josephus and
in the Septuagint, it is
found only in John 7:2 in the
Gospels. Most scholars
place this event about six
months prior to the crucifixion.
Following Jesus' teaching at
this feast He remained in
The
festival of Dedication (Hanukkah) or e]gkai<nia
is mentioned only in John 10:22
about three months before
the crucifixion. John
identifies this as being winter
which corresponds with the
festival date of Kislev or
December. The celebration is
actually a memorial to the
Maccabean wars of freedom over
the Syrians and Antiochus
Epiphanes who had desecrated
the
Antiochus defiled the temple on
Kislev twenty-fifth, B.C.
167, the Jews led by Judas Maccabaeus
regained the temple
cleansed t and restored its
worship. The whole festival
1
Julius H. Greenstone, Jewish Feasts and Fasts
(New
York Bloch Publishing Company, 1946), p. 60. "(Here-
inafter
referred to as Feasts.)"
2
Josephus Antiquities 8.4.1. VIII, iv, 1.
3
Ibid., 15.3.3.
33
has particular reference to
"the rededication of the
and the altar after these had
been in the hands of the
heathens for two years and were
polluted by them with
heathen worship and
sacrifice."1 The festival was similar
to Tabernacles:
And
they kept eight days with gladness in the
manner
of the Feast of Tabernacles. . . they bare
branches
and fair boughs, and palms also, and sang
psalms
unto Him that had given them good success in
cleaning
His place. They ordained also by a common
statute
and decree, that every year those days should
be
kept of the whole nation of the Jews.2
The
Festival of Dedication was a national holiday
rather than a religious festival.
While
the New Testament also uses many words and
grammatical expressions for
time, the purpose of this
chapter was to present the
commonly known designations for
time and to show that those in
the New Testament era could
use many expressions of time.
These popular methods of
reckoning time--by year, month,
week, day, hour, and
feasts--often had many
interpretations which is true of
these words in current speech.
This diversity of meanings
has produced problems in
understanding these time designa-
tions. For this reason, many
occurrences of these time
words must be studied at
greater length in the following
chapters.
1
Greenstone, Feasts, p. 115.
2
II Maccabees 10:6-8.
CHAPTER III
WORDS INDICATING TIME UNSPECIFIED
In
the Gospels three words expressing time need
special consideration in that
the words by themselves
specify a concept of time more
than an exact expression of
time. These words, ai]w<n, kairo<j and xro<noj, are the
subject of much discussion
especially by current
theologians. Since these words
occur often in the Gospels
this chapter will examine each
word in the above mentioned
order considering (1) their use
in non-biblical Greek,
(2) their use in the Old Testament
and (3) their use in
the Gospels. This last area of
examination will also
include the substance of the
contemporary discussion of the
three words.
Ai]w<n
As
a general indication of time, ai]w<n is used
in a
number of places and
expressions which, when examined,
provide the necessary insight
as to the correct meanings
of this word.
In
non-biblical Greek
Regarding
etymology Richard C. Trench connects ai]w<n
with a]w<, and a]h<mi meaning
to breathe. He further comments,
34
35
Like
ko<smoj it has a primary and physical and then
superinduced
on this, a secondary and ethical sense.
In
its primary, it signifies time short or long, in
its
unbroken duration, often times in classical Greek
the
duration of a human life.1
Curtius argues that ai]w<n is from the Sanskrit e?naj
meaning "course or
walk" and in the plural, "habit or
custom."2 Others connect ai]w<n,
with the Sanskrit ayu which
conveys the idea of life and
especially long life. Moulton
and Milligan comment more
cautiously concerning the
etymology and the meaning of ai]w<n:
The
word, whose root is of course futile to dig
for,
is a primitive inheritance from Indo-Germanic
days,
when it may have meant 'long life' or 'old age'
--perhaps
the least abstract idea we can find for it
in
the prehistoric period. . . . In general the word
depicts
that of which the horizon is not in view,
whether
the horizon be an indefinite distance. . . or
whether
it lies no farther than the span of Caesar's
life.3
Thus,
the basic idea of ai]w<n
relates to time
especially as it pertains to
human life whether it be that
of an individual or that of the
human race.
1
Richard C. Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament
(Grand
Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953),
p.
217. "(Hereinafter referred to as Synonyms.)"
2
Georg Curtius, Principles of Greek Etymology,
trans.
by A.S. Wilkins and E.B. England, I (
3
James Hope Moulton and George Milligan, The
Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament
From the Papyri and
Other
Non-literary Sources
(
Publishing
Company, 1963), p. 16. "(Hereinafter referred
to
as Vocabulary.)"
36
The
earliest meanings of ai]w<n
include "lifetime,
life, long time, an age and
eternity."1 Consequently, in
early times ai]w<n could signify the duration of human life
as being limited to a specific
space of time or to denote
an age or generation as the
space of human life. The
expansion from these meanings
to the conception of time
unlimited was easy.2 Some of the Greek philosophers
frequently made use of ai]w<n to indicate the concept of
time unlimited. Plato has ai]w<n as "timeless, ideal
eternity" in which there
are no specific designations of
time such as days, months or
years. Plutarch and others
have ai]w<n in the sense of eternity or unending time.3
When
the preposition ei]j was linked to ai]w<n the concept of pro-
longed time and even the sense
of "forever" developed.
Prior to he time of the New
Testament era ai]w<n
acquired a
religious significance inasmuch
as Ai]w<n became
the name of
the God of eternity.4 Interesting examples of these uses
1 Ernest DeWitt
(Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1927), p. 76.
“(Hereinafter
referred to as Word Studies.)"
2 Hermann Cremer, Biblico-Theological
Lexicon of
the
New Testament Greek,
trans. by W. Urwick (
T.
& T. C ark, 1954), pp. 74, 75. "(Hereinafter referred
to
as Lexicon.)"
3 For a more detailed
study of the philosopher's use
of
ai]w<n examine TDNT, I,
pp. 197-78.
4
Hermann Sasse, ai]w<n, TDNT, trans. and ed. by
Geoffrey
W. Bromiley, I (
Publishing Company, 1964), 198.
37
can be cited in the early
centuries A.D. An athlete
claiming to have established a
new Olympic record exclaimed
mo<noj
tw?n a]p ] ai]w?noj neikh<saj
]Olu<mpia. Another time
one who was led off to death is
led "from life" a]p ] ai]w?noj.
Also the cry to the emperor was
heard "the emperors for-
ever," ei]j to<n ai]w?na.1
From
the instances cited above it is clear that
ai]w<n had a
varied number of meanings in the Greek language
ranging from life to eternity.
Because of the wide-range
of uses only the context itself
can determine the best
translation.
In the
Old Testament
The
meaning of ai]w<n in the
Old Testament can be seen
by two basic means: (1) the
meaning of the Hebrew words
translated by ai]w<n in the Septuagint and (2) the meaning of
ai]w<n in its
contextual environment in the Septuagint. These
will be considered in the
aforementioned order.
There
are nine Hebrew words translated by
ai]w<n.
However, the word MlAOf almost always the word with its
several variations which is
translated by ai]w<n,
although
occurs about sixty times. The
seven other words occur from
one to five times each and have
no real significance on the
1 Moulton and Milligan, Vocabulary,
p. 16.
38
understanding of ai]w<n.1 Both dfa and MlAOf have
the same
basic meanings of
"eternity, forever, and eternal." In
fact, the word ai]w<n may derive its meaning from the
Assyrian ullu(m) meaning
"yonder, remote."2
William Rice
Hall indicates both words can
signify "perpetuity with a
distinctive emphasis upon concealment."3 This perpetuity
will be indefinite or concealed
as to limits in definition
though not necessarily in the
context. Some of the
references to MlAOf aid in illustrating Hall's comment.
In Deuteronomy 15:17 there is
mention of a perpetual slave
and in Genesis 9:16 a perpetual
covenant. Each of these
indicate a perpetuity only
after a time of inauguration.
In fact even the permanence of
their perpetuity may be
limited. Girdlestone writes:
Eternity
is endless; and this idea is only qualified
by
the nature of the object to which it is applied, or
by
the word of God. When applied to things physical,
it
is used in accordance with the revealed truth that
the
heaven and earth shall pass away, and it is limited
by
this truth. When applied to God, it is used in
harmony
with the truth that He is essentially and
absolutely
existant and that as He is the causa causarum
1 Edwin Hatch and Henry
A. Redpath, A Concordance to
the
Septuagint and the Other Greek Versions of the Old
Testament, I (Gratz, Austria:
Akademische Druk, 1954), 39-
41.
"(hereinafter referred to as Concordance.)"
2 Frank Herbert
Christian
Thought
(
1937),
p. 238. "(Hereinafter referred to as Time.)"
3 William Rice Hall,
"The Concept of Time and
Eternity
in the Old Testament" (unpublished Th.M. thesis,
39
and
without beginning, so in the very nature of things
it
must be held that no cause can ever put an end to
His
existence.1
The
extent of the perpetuity therefore can be
limited depending upon the
object and its relation to ai]w<n.
In those cases where God is so
related, nothing less than
the totality of eternity would
be meant.
There
may also be MlAOf,
perpetuity, in two direc-
tions, namely, the past2 as well as the future. "These
observations are equally true
whether the definite article
is used with the Hebrew or
not."3
Obviously care must be
taken to let the context
indicate the extent of time
intended.
In
the Septuagint ai]w<n
translates MlAOf with
two
meanings: (1) a duration of a
definite space of time, and
(2) an unending duration of
time which could be either past
or future depending on the context.4 Past time stretching
indefinitely backward is seen
in Genesis 6:4 "the mighty
men that were of old."
More frequently the time intended
is future and can be limited
only by the context as in
1 Robert Baker
Girdlestone, Synonyms of the Old
Testament, 2nd ed. (
1953),
P. 317.
2 Cf. Joshua 24:2 and
Jeremiah 28:8 as good illus-
trations
of perpetuity in the past.
3 James Barr, Time
(London: SCM Press Ltd., 1961),
p.
70.
4 Cremer, Lexicon, p. 75.
40
II Samuel 12:10, "the
sword shall not depart out of your
house forever (e!wj ai]w?noj). Initially ai]w<n had the idea
of hidden or distant time
belonging to the remote past or
future from the standpoint of
the present. Only later did
ai]w<n in
translating MlAOf
develop the meaning of endless
time or eternity. Cremer
substantiates this by saying:
MlAOf
the Hebrew
word meant primarily a remote,
veiled,
undefined, and therefore unlimited time, past
or
future, and only secondarily, a definite (especially
a
future) period whose limits must be ascertained from
the
context, it was the natural choice to have ai]w<n
translate
this word.1
While
ai]w<n has several lexical
meanings ranging from
life, lifetime, an age, a space
of time and eternity it is
certain that ai]w<n may signify an indefinite period of time
either past or future
(including the present) whose extent
is limited by the context more
than by word meaning and
may designate only a brief
period in one's life or extend
as far as eternity (or any
point in between). In that ai]w<n
was used to translate the
Hebrew MlAOf primarily it must be
understood that the New
Testament use ai]w<n has the Old
Testament world of thought
behind it.2
1 Cremer, Lexicon,
p. 75.
2Alan
Bible (New York: NacMillan,
1956), p. 266. "(Hereinafter
referred to as Word Book.)"
41
In the
Gospels
Some
fourteen different expressions occur in the
Gospels where the word ai]w<n is included. In general two
basic ideas seem to be present
among these uses: (1) an
indefinitely long period, that
is a period without assign-
able limits, and (2) one of the
two great periods of the
world's history.1
Regarding
the first idea it should be noted that
"only in the light of the
context can it be said whether
ai]w<n means
'eternity' in the strict sense of simply
'remote' or 'extended' or
'uninterrupted time."2 Sasse
further suggests that the use
of the plural "presupposes
knowledge of a plurality of ai]w?nej, of ages and periods
of time whose infinite series
constitutes eternity."3
The
two great periods of the world's history are
the present time which began
with creation and culminates
with judgment and the Messianic
or Kingdom age.
remarks,
In
the NT Aion is used of this life in opposition
to
the Age of the Kingdom which is called o[ me<llwn or
e]kei?noj
o[ ai]w<n:
from this it comes to mean this World
Order
under the rule of an evil angel.4
1
2 Sasse, ai]w<n, I, 198-99.
3 Ibid., p. 199.
4
42
The
many variations of expression using ai]w<n are
thought to be only an
"intensification of the tendency
already displayed in the LXX to
replace the simple formulae
by more complicated."1
In
recent years considerable discussion of ai]w<n,
kairo<j an xro<noj has taken place.2 These divergent views
have developed into two general
ideas about these words.
The two basic positions
concerning ai]w<n are set forth by
Oscar Cullmann and James Barr.
Cullmann
argues that ai]w<n in the
New Testament
designates a duration of time
which may be a limited or
unlimited extent of time.
Actually his scheme allows for
four elements: (1) the entirety
of time, (2) the period
before creation, (3) the period
between creation and the
final events, and (4) the
period from the final events to
infinity.3 When
ai]w<n is used to show a limited duration
of time it, should be
translated "age." If unlimited
duration is indicated the
translation "eternity" is pre-
ferred. The plural ai]w?nej is preferred when the sense
1 Sasse, ai]w<n, I, 200.
2 Some of those who reflect
this recent discussion
are:
J. Marsh, The Fulness of Time; A. Richardson, A
Theological
Word Book of the Bible; J.A.T. Robinson, In
the
End, God; C. Cullmann, Christ and Time; and J. Barr,
Biblical Words for Time.
3 James Barr, Time
(London: SCM Press Otd., 1962),
p. 74.
43
"eternity" is
intended. However, this "eternity" is not
something different than time
but the whole of time.1 To
Cullmann "eternity"
is, "the linking of an unlimited series
of limited world periods, whose
succession only God is
able to survey."2
In
his reply to Cullmann's position James Barr
argues against Cullmann's
methodology and conclusion that
eternity (ai]w<n) is synonymous with the entirety of
earth's
limited times. He maintains for
example, that ai]w<n in its
popular phrase ei]j to>n ai]w?na may be used "firstly for
the
totality of time and secondly
for a perpetuity in some
state for the whole of a
limited period, and negatively for
the continual avoidance of a
particular action"3 either
for
the whole or a limited period.
In other words ai]w<n may
have several meanings which are
not necessarily parts of
the same whole. He further
suggests that the use of the
plural of ai]w<n probably can be traced to or influenced by
the Hebrew olamim (or
similarly the Aramaic),4 and
not to
the combining of time periods.
restrict this meaning of ai]w<n too severely when he
comments:
1 Oscar Cullmann, Time,
trans. by F. Filson (Phila-
delphia:
he Westminster Press, 1950), pp. 45-46.
2 Barr, Time, p.
64.
3 Ibid., p. 77. 4 Ibid., p. 65.
44
In
this connexion it is important to observe that
neither
there, nor in any Jewish literature current at
the
time, was the word aion used to express the view
that
the history of the world is made up of a number
of
aions or 'ages', nor even the notion of two aions
or
ages -- the present and the one to come.1
Such a conclusion can hardly be
supported by the context
of many New Testament passages.
In
summary, Barr appeals to the syntactic contexts
to determine whether ai]w<n should
be translated "forever"
(which he believes is true in
most contexts) with "never"
in negative contexts and for
the past "from all time" or
eternity.2
The consideration of the context and the
historic uses of ai]w<n to determine the correct meaning of
ai]w<n is a
much better approach than Cullmann's self-
designed system of limited time
periods which when compiled
extend from the beginning to
the end of eternity. With
this background in mind an
examination of the use of ai]w<n
in the Gospels is now possible.
The
several uses of ai]w<n, are
translated most
often by "age,"
"forever," and in the negative by "never."
The time indicated may extend
from the time of creation to
the eternal state.
Matthew
uses ai]w<n with tou<t& in a general way to
speak of this present age or
time of history in contrast
1
2 Barr, Time, p.
69.
45
with the coming age which is
climaxed by the eternal state
(12:32). Similarly ai]w<n is found in "the worry of the
age"
(13:22; Mk. 4:19). Perhaps it is best to understand this
as the present evil time1 or world system which culminates
in judgment.
The
expression sunte<leia ai]w?noj,
"end of the age"
is found in five places and
always with ai]w<n in the
geni-
tive singular.2
Although it is found nowhere else in the
Gospels, this expression is frequently
found in Jewish
apocalyptic literature
especially in the Book of Baruch.
Each reference indicates a
future time period of limited
duration. It may be the time of
spiritual harvest (Mt. 13),
the time just prior to the
Messianic kingdom (24:3) and the
end of this dispensation at the
Rapture (28:20). At least
two differing points in time
are indicated therefore, the
expression does not seem to
refer to a particular point
but a period of time. To the
dispensationalist the promise
of Matthew 28:20 extends only
to the Rapture since there
will be no need for the promise
after the Rapture. The
other occurrences will be
fulfilled in conjunction with
the Second Coming, with the
events of the Tribulation and
1 Ezra P. Gould, A Critical
and Exegetical Commen-
tary
on the Gospel According to St. Mark (
&
T. Clark, 1961), p. 76. "(Hereinafter referred to as
Mark.)"
2 Mt. 13:39, 40, 49; 24:3; 28:30.
46
the judgment of all living (Mt.
13). Thus the same expres-
sion refers to differing
periods of limited duration.
Following
the end of this age time continues.
While Matthew does not use ai]w<n to describe the eternal
state he may suggest it in
recording the cursing of the fig
tree "there shall no
longer be fruit from these forever"
(21:19). The expression used is
the familiar Old Testament
phrase ei]j to>n ai]w?na or "into perpetuity."
Concerning this
phrase Lenski writes: "The
belief that whatsoever is
allowed to see that age will
continue to exist, in that age,
makes ei]j to>n ai]w?na equivalent to forever."1 And yet in a
sense even this use of ai]w<n may extend only so far as the
life of the fig tree. If this
is true, the most Jewish of
the Gospels has ai]w<n primarily to indicate time within the
existing period which is prior
to the eternal state.
Of
Mark's four references,2 two
are parallel to
accounts in Matthew. However,
Mark 10:30 introduces the
coming age (e]rxomen<& ai]w<n) which has as its
character-
istic life eternal. It is clear
that this coming age is
a distinct future period
following "this age" which is
qualified as to its nature only
by the phrase "eternal
life." Its extent of time
is unspecified.
1 Richard C. H. Lenski, The
Interpretation of St.
Luke's
Gospel (
1964),
p. 34. "(Hereinafter referred to as Luke.)"
2 Mark 3:29; 4:19; 10:30; 11:14.
47
In
the phrase ei]j to>n ai]w?na which
occurs in Mark
3:29, "hath not
forgiveness forever," it must have the
meaning of eternal duration
rather than "age." The "for-
ever" indicates the
duration of the not being forgiven
which must last as long as the
individual exists. It is
later referred to as an eternal
(ai]w<nioj) sin.
Here only
in Mark does ai]w<n indicate a long period of time including
both the present and future
ages.
The
third Gospel, Luke, incorporates all of the
previous uses of ai]w<n though sometimes with differing ex-
pressions. He writes of the
sons of the present period of
time in 16:8, tou? ai]w?noj tou<to. The terminus of the
present age will not be reached
until the coming age (18:
30). "This age" (tou<tou) in Luke 20:34 is not to be con-
fused with "that (e]kei<nou) age" (20:35). Perhaps more
pointedly here than any other
place Jesus shows there is a
distinction between the present
age, a time for marrying,
and the future age, a time of
resurrection. The periods
are distinct and do not
overlap. The ei]j to>n ai]w?na is
found in both the singular
(1:55) and the plural (1:33).
This is the only plural use of ai]w<n in the Gospels. The use
of ai]w<n in the singular "toward Abraham and
his seed for-
ever" may be indicating
that up to the time of Luke's
inscripturation only a single ai]w<n had transpired whereas
the plural "reign over the
house of Jacob forever" would
cite that a multiplication of
eons in an indefinite
48
succession portray the
magnitude of eternity.1
However, it
is best to understand the
singular or plural uses as
optional ways of saying the
same thing, "forever," unless
there is contextual evidence
which would indicate otherwise.
Luke
1:70, "from of old" introduces a use of ai]w<n
which looks backward into time.
It is not from an eternal
past but a time period being
reckoned from the time when
the holy prophets began to
emerge. Here ai]w<n
indicates a
past time within this age but
removed from eternity or
forever.
In
John only two types of ai]w<n
expressions are
found. The first expression in
9:32 is e]k tou? ai]w?noj
"since the world
began" and suggests the time as being since
the beginning of this age
commencing with creation. This
is the only such use in the New
Testament though it is
used freely by non-biblical
authors.2
The
most popular phrase ei]j to>n
ai]w?na
is found in
the singular all eleven times.
In John 8:35 Jesus uses an
illustration concerning the
tenure of a servant and a son
in a household. The servant is
not remaining "forever" but
the son remains
"forever." That is, his tenure is not lost
1 Lenski, Luke, p.
68.
2 J H. Bernard, A
Critical and Exegetical Commen-
tary
on the Gospel According to St. John, II (
T.
& T. Clark, 1962), 336. "(Hereinafter referred to as
John.)”
49
as long as he lives. Obviously
the time of this illustra-
tion extends only as far as the
life of the servant and the
son. Though "forever"
may be considered the best transla-
tion it can be misleading since
the "forever" is limited
to a lifetime. The other uses
of this phrase in John are
translated "forever"1 or its negative "never"2 which is an
unending avoidance. Among these
are the popular Johannine
phrases "never die,"
"live forever," and "never taste death."
In some of these cases the
"forever" had a beginning though
no end. Yet the same expression
is used in referring to
the abiding of the Son (12:34)
which has no beginning or
ending. Correct theology
demands that ai]w<n in
these places
be understood as an unending
period of time. In all these
passages ai]w<n cannot specify the period of time. Only
the
context can determine this. The
comment of A. H. Strong
concerning the meaning of ai]w<n and ai]w<nioj is
most fitting:
"They do, however, express
the longest possible duration of
which the subject to that which
they are attributed is
capable."3
By
way of summary, ai]w<n is
found in several phrases
and designates time that has
varying lengths. It may refer
to time past, from creation, Abraham
or the prophets. In
1 Jn. 6:51, 58; 12:34;
14:16.
2 Jn. 414; 8:51, 52;
10:28; 11:26; 13:8.
3 Augustus H. Strong, Systematic
Theology (Philadel-
phia: The Judson Press, 1907),
p. 1044.
50
other places it indicates the
existing world system, this
age, or the coming age. The
expression, sunte<leia ai]w?na,
used only by Matthew, signifies
the consummation of the age
either at the Rapture or the
Second Coming. The most
popular expression is ei]j to>n ai]w?na which is translated
"forever."1 Yet even the "forever" often had
a beginning
unless it was ascribed to
Jesus. It can have an ending at
the end of one's life as well.
To suggest a common trans-
lation for these multiple uses
would be impossible. Each
context must determine the time
and duration signified by
ai]w<n.
kairo<j
A
second important time word is kairo<j which
is
often translated
"time." However, there are several other
translations and uses of this
word.
1 Since ai]w<nioj is an adjective it was
not considered
separately.
The assertion by Strong, Systematic Theology,
p.
1044 that both ai]w<n and ai]w<nioj have the same basic
meaning
makes an in depth study unnecessary. Only the
nature
of its uses need be cited. In the Gospels the ad-
jective
ai]w<nioj has the meaning "eternal." This is also the
nuance
of ai]w<n.
Of
the twenty-nine uses of ai]w<nioj all but
five
occur with zwh< in the expression "eternal" life. The
other
uses are: (1) "eternal" fire (Mt. 18:8; 25:41);
(2) "eternal" punishment (Mt. 25:46);
(3) "eternal"
dwellings (Lk. 16:9); and (4)
"eternal" sin (Mk. 3:29).
51
In non-biblical Greek
While
the etymology of kairo<j,
"time," is uncertain
and gives place to several
differing conclusions, the early
temporal uses of this word
suggest two basic meanings: (1)
exact or critical time, season
or opportunity and (2) time,
period or season of the year.1 Typical of the first meaning
is the sentence "the time
(kairo<j) for
the delivery of the
corn had passed."2
In other words kairo<j refers
to a
specific point of time. James
Barr similarly states,
"where kairo<j has a reference to time in a classical
author
like Aeschylus the sense is
roughly that of opportune
time."3 In its second sense it may mean a short
space of
time, a stretch of time, time
of the year or an age.4
Generally,
kairo<j is in
some way limited or defined
by the use, of other words,
such as prepositions or words
following in the genitive case
to indicate the reason why
the time is set apart. Delling
shows strong preference for
the first meaning when he
writes "the linguistic development
1 George Henry Liddell
and Robert Scott, A Greek-
English Lexicon, I (London: At the
Clarendon Press, 1940),
859.
"(Hereinafter referred to as Lexicon.)"
2 Moulton and Milligan, Ibid.,
p. 315.
3 Barr, Ibid., p.
32.
4 Gerhard Delling, kairo<j, TDNT, trans. and
ed.,by
Geoffrey
W. Bromiley, III (
Publishing Co., 1965), 457-58.
52
of the term clearly suggests
that the basic sense is that
of the decisive or crucial
place or point, whether
spatially, materially or
temporally."1
In the Old Testament
From
the Hebrew several observations can be made.
Most often kairo<j translates tfe which
"in reference to
determining the nature of the
concept of time in the Old
Testament,
it is basic that it refers primarily to the
juncture of circumstances, the
specific occasion."2 Conse-
quently, it can be said that tfe refers directly to the
occasion itself. It must be
stated further that tfe is
translated by many other Greek
words including w!ra, h[me<ra,
and xro<noj. However, kairo<j also
occurs for dfeOm,
"appointment" which
is used to indicate natural periods
such as feasts and MlAOf which refers to remotest time or
perpetuity.
The
use of kairo<j in the
Septuagint continues the
earlier meanings of kairo<j, namely: (1) a decisive point
in time, as in Genesis 17:21
"at this set time in the next
year" and (2) a more
general indication of time. As a
general rule, kairo<j in the Septuagint signifies a point of
time at which something happens
though on some occasions it
1 Delling, Ibid.,
p. 455.
2 John H. Wilch, Time
and Event (
Brill, 1969), p. 167.
53
seems to suggest the meaning of
xro<noj, a
"period of time."1
This period of time can be
shorter or longer, a regular
fixed time or a general
statement of time.2
In the
Gospels
The
use of kairo<j in the
Gospels is limited to
thirty places, three of which
occur in the plural. It is
generally accepted that kairo<j has two or more senses.
Often it means a fixed time or decisive
point. For this
reason it can be thought of as
"the right time." A second
meaning is more general and is
limited or defined by the use
of other words or prepositional
phrases. This seems to be
the general use.3 It is also possible that a third use,
that of the plural, occurs to
denote periods4 of
time.
Several translations conveying
the idea of time, "right,
proper time, opportunity"5 may result depending on the use
involved. However, these
several meanings are not accepted
1 However, Barr, Time,
pp. 35-37 lists many illus-
trations
which seem to have just the opposite of their
normally
accepted meanings.
2 E. Jenni,
"Time," Interpreter's Dictionary of the
Bible, IV (New York: Abingdon
Press, 1962), 645.
3 Cremer, Lexicon,
p. 324. 4
Ibid.
5
William
P. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek
English
Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early
Christian
Literature
(
Press, 1957), p. 395. "(Hereinafter
referred to as
Lexicon.)"
54
by all the scholars.
Among
the recent theologians commenting on the
significance of kairo<j several maintain that it stands for
"realistic time,"
that is, time of opportunity and fulfill-
ment1 which is in contrast with xro<noj meaning "a period
of time." More pointedly,
Robinson comments " kairo<j is
time considered in relation to
personal action, in
reference to ends to be
achieved in it."2 Thus,
it always
must be thought of as a
"point of time defined by its
content."3 It becomes a critical or decisive moment.
For
this reason it is argued that
times are "known and dis-
tinguished not so much by their
place in some temporal
sequence as by their content:
i.e. they are known
realistically, rather than
chronologically."4 Therefore,
it is the sum total of these kairoi< that provide a line of
realistic time. This is of
theological importance to
Oscar Cullmann for it is his
"working out of the series of
decisive moments or kairoi
chosen by God, the joining
together of which furnishes
Cullmann with his line, so
important for his understanding
of time."5
1 John Marsh, Time
(
Publishers,
1952), p. 20.
2
John Arthur Thomas Robinson, In the End (
Harper
and Row, 1968), p. 258.
3 Cullmann, Time,
p. 39.
4 Marsh, Time, p. 21. 5 Barr, Time,
p. 63.
55
That
Barr does not accept this limited definition
of kairo<j is clear when he says, "If there is a
difference
between xro<noj and kairo<j in the
New Testament usage it is
clear that it cannot correspond
to the distinction between
chronological and realistic
time."1
Actually, in some of
the passages of theological
significance "there may be good
reason to suppose that there is
no real difference between
the words."2 In
many places xro<noj and kairo<j appear to
exchange the meanings usually
given to them.3 Barr
concludes his argument:
But
the main point has been abundantly established
namely
that the correlation of two great conceptions
of
time with the two Greek words is thoroughly erro-
neous
and that all arguments about time in biblical
thought
are misleading in such proportion as they
depend
upon this correlation.4
It
must be noted that two differing views con-
cerning the meaning of kairo<j prevail: (1) it points only
[emphasis mine] to a specific
point in time, or (2) it has
in addition to the first
meaning the meaning of xro<noj
which is normally understood to
be its opposite. With this
in mind the meaning of kairo<j in the Gospels can better be
1 Barr, Time, p.
22.
2 Ibid., p. 31;
see also Caird, The Apostolic Age,
p.
694.
3 Barr, Time,
cites many illustrations of this from
both
the Septuagint and the New Testament beginning on
p.
35.
4 Ibid., p. 44.
56
explored.
In
Matthew on some occasions kairo<j must
indicate
a specific point in time. For
example, he writes of the
demons not wanting to be
tormented pro< kairou?
"before the
time" (8:29). The omission
of the article is not to
generalize the statement but it
occurs because it is a
time designation after a
preposition.1 The
time indicated
is the appointed time of
judgment. Similarly in 24:45 a
faithful steward puts food
before the household e]n kair&?
"at the right time."
This use of e]n kair&?
without further
qualification seems to be an
idiom and can be found with
this meaning outside of
Biblical Greek.2 The
sense remains
that of a specific point of
time though the exact time is
unspecified. Jesus indicates
this idea also when He
remarks near His crucifixion
"my time is near" (26:18).
Also
in Matthew kairo<j has
the meaning of "season"
when connected with the grain
(13:30) and fruit (21:34)
coming ripe for harvesting.
While this is not a single
point of time it does convey a
very limited expanse of time
at the harvest season. It is
not so much an exact chrono-
logical reference as it is a
time to do something. A more
1 Nigel Turner, Syntax,
Vol. III., A Grammar of New
Testament
Greek,
ed. by J.H. Moulton (3 vols;
T.
& T. Clark, 1919-63), p. 179. "(Hereinafter referred to
as
Syntax.)"
2 Xenophon Anabasis 3.1.39.
57
general expression, e]n e]kei<n& t&? kair&?,
"at that time" is
found in 11:25, 12:1 and 14:1.
The context of each usage
clearly indicates that this is
not a specific time indica-
tion. George Ogg remarks
concerning this expression, "It
may be a mere transition or
introductory formula; it may
refer to some definite season
about the limits of which,
however, nothing is known. In
neither case can a scienti-
fic chronology obtain any help
from it."1 Mark
12:23
which is parallel to Matthew
12:1 has "and it came to pass"
which is a general indication
of sequence more than time.
On two occasions, 16:3
"signs of the times" and 21:41
"proceeds in their
seasons," the plural of kairo<j is
used.
In these places kairo<j seems more like the chronological
reckoning indicated by xro<noj. Time here is presented as
periods of eschatological and
agricultural reckoning.
Therefore, Matthew uses kairo<j with three basic ideas:
(1) a specific point of time,
(2) a limited expanse of
time, and (3) a period of time.
Mark's
account has kairo<j five
times always in the
singular. Like Matthew it is
used to indicate a specific
event in time, such as, the
coming of the kingdom, "the
time is fulfilled" (1:15)
and the time of the second coming
(13:33). Yet, in each instance
the time of the event does
1 George Ogg, Chronology
of the public Ministry of
Jesus (Cambridge: At the
University Press, 1940), p. 17.
“(Hereinafter referred to
as Chronology.)"
58
not appear important, rather
the event. In Mark 11:13
kairo<j
denotes that it was not the "season" of figs, but in
12:2 it was the
"season" for receiving the produce of the
vineyard. The use in Mark 10:30
"he shall receive one
hundred fold now in this
time" is a general reference to
one's lifetime as contrasted
with the coming age which is
mentioned later in the verse. Here, as in Matthew,