Acts 10:3

10:3 About three o’clock one afternoon ¹  he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God ²  who came in ³  and said to him, “Cornelius.”

Acts 10:30

10:30 Cornelius ⁴  replied, ⁵  “Four days ago at this very hour, at three o’clock in the afternoon, ⁶  I was praying in my house, and suddenly ⁷  a man in shining clothing stood before me

Exodus 29:39

29:39 The first lamb you are to prepare in the morning, and the second lamb you are to prepare around sundown. ⁸ 

Numbers 28:4

28:4 The first lamb you must offer in the morning, and the second lamb you must offer in the late afternoon, ⁹ 

Numbers 28:1

Daily Offerings

28:1 ¹⁰ The Lord spoke to Moses:

Numbers 18:1

Responsibilities of the Priests

18:1 ¹¹ The Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your tribe ¹²  with you must bear the iniquity of the sanctuary, ¹³  and you and your sons with you must bear the iniquity of your priesthood.

Psalms 55:17

55:17 During the evening, morning, and noontime

I will lament and moan, ¹⁴ 

and he will hear ¹⁵  me. ¹⁶ 

Daniel 6:10

6:10 When Daniel realized ¹⁷  that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows ¹⁸  in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. ¹⁹  Three ²⁰  times daily he was ²¹  kneeling ²²  and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously.

Daniel 9:21

9:21 yes, while I was still praying, ²³  the man Gabriel, whom I had seen previously ²⁴  in a vision, was approaching me in my state of extreme weariness, ²⁵  around the time of the evening offering.

Luke 1:10

1:10 Now ²⁶  the whole crowd ²⁷  of people were praying outside at the hour of the incense offering. ²⁸ 

Luke 23:44-46

23:44 It was now ²⁹  about noon, ³⁰  and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ³¹  23:45 because the sun’s light failed. ³²  The temple curtain ³³  was torn in two. 23:46 Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” ³⁴  And after he said this he breathed his last.

[10:3]  ¹ tn Grk “at about the ninth hour of the day.” This would be the time for afternoon prayer.

[10:3]  ² tn Or “the angel of God.” Linguistically, “angel of God” is the same in both testaments (and thus, he is either “an angel of God” or “the angel of God” in both testaments). For arguments and implications, see ExSyn 252; M. J. Davidson, “Angels,” DJG, 9; W. G. MacDonald argues for “an angel” in both testaments: “Christology and ‘The Angel of the Lord’,” Current Issues in Biblical and Patristic Interpretation, 324-35.

[10:3]  ³ tn The participles εἰσελθόντα (eiselqonta) and εἰπόντα (eiponta) are accusative, and thus best taken as adjectival participles modifying ἄγγελον (angelon): “an angel who came in and said.”

[10:30]  ⁴ tn Grk “And Cornelius.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[10:30]  ⁵ tn Grk “said.”

[10:30]  ⁶ tn Grk “at the ninth hour.” Again, this is the hour of afternoon prayer.

[10:30]  ⁷ tn Grk “and behold.” The interjection ἰδού (idou) is difficult at times to translate into English. Here it has been translated as “suddenly” to convey the force of Cornelius’ account of the angel’s appearance.

[29:39]  ⁸ tn Heb “between the two evenings” or “between the two settings” (בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם, ben ha’arbayim). This expression has had a good deal of discussion. (1) Tg. Onq. says “between the two suns,” which the Talmud explains as the time between the sunset and the time the stars become visible. More technically, the first “evening” would be the time between sunset and the appearance of the crescent moon, and the second “evening” the next hour, or from the appearance of the crescent moon to full darkness (see Deut 16:6 – “at the going down of the sun”). (2) Saadia, Rashi, and Kimchi say the first evening is when the sun begins to decline in the west and cast its shadows, and the second evening is the beginning of night. (3) The view adopted by the Pharisees and the Talmudists (b. Pesahim 61a) is that the first evening is when the heat of the sun begins to decrease, and the second evening begins at sunset, or, roughly from 3-5 p.m. The Mishnah (m. Pesahim 5:1) indicates the lamb was killed about 2:30 p.m. – anything before noon was not valid. S. R. Driver concludes from this survey that the first view is probably the best, although the last view was the traditionally accepted one (Exodus, 89-90). Late afternoon or early evening seems to be intended, the time of twilight perhaps.

[28:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “between the evenings” meaning between dusk and dark.

[28:1]  ¹⁰ sn For additional reading on these chapters, see G. B. Gray, Sacrifice in the Old Testament; A. F. Rainey, “The Order of Sacrifices in the Old Testament Ritual Texts,” Bib 51 (1970): 485-98; N. H. Snaith, The Jewish New Year Festival.

[18:1]  ¹¹ sn This chapter and the next may have been inserted here to explain how the priests are to function because in the preceding chapter Aaron’s position was affirmed. The chapter seems to fall into four units: responsibilities of priests (vv. 1-7), their portions (vv. 8-19), responsibilities of Levites (vv. 20-24), and instructions for Levites (vv. 25-32).

[18:1]  ¹² tn Heb “your father’s house.”

[18:1]  ¹³ sn The responsibility for the sanctuary included obligations relating to any violation of the sanctuary. This was stated to forestall any further violations of the sanctuary. The priests were to pay for any ritual errors, primarily if any came too near. Since the priests and Levites come near all the time, they risk violating ritual laws more than any. So, with the great privileges come great responsibilities. The bottom line is that they were responsible for the sanctuary.

[55:17]  ¹⁴ tn The first verb is clearly a cohortative form, expressing the psalmist’s resolve. The second verb, while formally ambiguous, should also be understood as cohortative here.

[55:17]  ¹⁵ tn The prefixed verb with vav (ו) consecutive normally appears in narrational contexts to indicate past action, but here it continues the anticipatory (future) perspective of the preceding line. In Ps 77:6 one finds the same sequence of cohortative + prefixed verbal form with vav (ו) consecutive. In this case as well, both forms refer to future actions.

[55:17]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “my voice.”

[6:10]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “knew.”

[6:10]  ¹⁸ sn In later rabbinic thought this verse was sometimes cited as a proof text for the notion that one should pray only in a house with windows. See b. Berakhot 34b.

[6:10]  ¹⁹ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:10]  ²⁰ sn This is apparently the only specific mention in the OT of prayer being regularly offered three times a day. The practice was probably not unique to Daniel, however.

[6:10]  ²¹ tc Read with several medieval Hebrew MSS and printed editions הֲוָה (havah) rather than the MT הוּא (hu’).

[6:10]  ²² tn Aram “kneeling on his knees” (so NASB).

[9:21]  ²³ tn Heb “speaking in prayer.”

[9:21]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in the beginning.”

[9:21]  ²⁵ tn The Hebrew expression בִּיעָף מֻעָף (mu’af bi’af) is very difficult. The issue is whether the verb derives from עוּף (’uf, “to fly”) or from יָעַף (ya’af, “to be weary”). Many ancient versions and modern commentators take the first of these possibilities and understand the reference to be to the swift flight of the angel Gabriel in his coming to Daniel. The words more likely refer to the extreme weariness, not of the angel, but of Daniel. Cf. 7:28; 8:27; 10:8-9, 16-17; also NASB.

[1:10]  ²⁶ tn Grk “And,” but “now” better represents the somewhat parenthetical nature of this statement in the flow of the narrative.

[1:10]  ²⁷ tn Grk “all the multitude.” While “assembly” is sometimes used here to translate πλῆθος (plhqo"), that term usually implies in English a specific or particular group of people. However, this was simply a large group gathered outside, which was not unusual, especially for the afternoon offering.

[1:10]  ²⁸ tn The “hour of the incense offering” is another way to refer to the time of sacrifice.

[23:44]  ²⁹ tn Grk “And it was.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[23:44]  ³⁰ tn Grk “the sixth hour.”

[23:44]  ³¹ tn Grk “until the ninth hour.”

[23:45]  ³² tc The wording “the sun’s light failed” is a translation of τοῦ ἡλίου ἐκλιπόντος/ ἐκλείποντος (tou Jhliou eklipontos/ ekleipontos), a reading found in the earliest and best witnesses (among them Ì⁷⁵ א B C*^vid L 070 579 2542 pc) as well as several ancient versions. The majority of mss (A C³ [D] W Θ Ψ Ë^1,13 Ï lat sy) have the flatter, less dramatic term, “the sun was darkened” (ἐσκοτίσθη, eskotisqe), a reading that avoids the problem of implying an eclipse (see sn below). This alternative thus looks secondary because it is a more common word and less likely to be misunderstood as referring to a solar eclipse. That it appears in later witnesses rather than the earliest ones adds confirmatory testimony to its inauthentic character.

[23:45]  ³³ tn The referent of this term, καταπέτασμα (katapetasma), is not entirely clear. It could refer to the curtain separating the holy of holies from the holy place (Josephus, J. W. 5.5.5 [5.219]), or it could refer to one at the entrance of the temple court (Josephus, J. W. 5.5.4 [5.212]). Many argue that the inner curtain is meant because another term, κάλυμμα (kalumma), is also used for the outer curtain. Others see a reference to the outer curtain as more likely because of the public nature of this sign. Either way, the symbolism means that access to God has been opened up. It also pictures a judgment that includes the sacrifices.

[23:46]  ³⁴ sn A quotation from Ps 31:5. It is a psalm of trust. The righteous, innocent sufferer trusts in God. Luke does not have the cry of pain from Ps 22:1 (cf. Matt 27:46; Mark 15:34), but notes Jesus’ trust instead.