Are There Really Two Evenings?

As several posts have now demonstrated, “evening” in the Bible often means the end of the day. What about “between the two evenings”? The Bible uses this phrase (in Hebrew) eleven times, all in the five books of Moses. It’s used to pinpoint the Passover sacrifice in Ex. 12:6; Lev. 23:5; and Num. 9:3, 5, and 11. Does God’s Word define this phrase for us? Does it mention two distinct evenings and tell us when they are? Indeed it does!

When Jesus fed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish, the Bible documented two distinct evenings. First, in Mat. 14:15, we read, “When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, ‘This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.’” The phrase “the hour is already late” is rendered “the time is now past” in the KJV, but they mean the same thing. The disciples were simply reminding their Master that it was getting late.

Remember, a day had twelve hours (John 11:9). When the disciples told Jesus it was getting late, that tells us that the sun was getting low in the sky. After the five thousand ate their fill and the disciples gathered up twelve baskets full of fragments, Christ sent away both His disciples and the multitudes (vv. 22-23). Then we read, “And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there” (Mat. 14:23).

There we have it: two evenings. One evening came before Christ fed the five thousand, and the other came afterward. Our Savior literally fed the five thousand between the two evenings!

Other passages mention separate evenings, too. Several passages mention an evening that is clearly before sunset, and others mention an evening that is clearly after sunset.

First, let’s look at the verses where evening is clearly before sunset. Here’s Deut. 23:11: “But it shall be, when evening comes, that he shall wash with water; and when the sun sets, he may come into the camp.” First came evening, and then came sunset.

At Christ’s death, too, the Bible notes an evening before sunset. Matthew wrote, “Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him” (Mat. 27:57-58 [mirrored in Mark 15:42]). Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for Christ’s body in the evening, but it was awhile before sunset, for Luke 23:54-56 shows that He was also buried before sunset.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote, “Prepare war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe to us, for the day goes away, for the shadows of the evening are lengthening. Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces” (Jer. 6:4-5). Evening is between noon and night, but still before sunset. Otherwise, there would be no lengthening shadows. There’s a similar expression in Judg. 19:8, where the Hebrew phrase translated “afternoon” (natot hayom; Strong’s # H5186 and H3117) literally means “stretching out of the day.”

Finally, in John 20, Jesus’ disciples discovered His empty tomb on Sunday morning (John 20:1). Later that same day, at evening, He startled His disciples by passing through a wall and joining them for a meal (v. 19). Evening had to be before sunset, or it would not have been the same day.

As we can see, “evening” can be quite some time before sunset. It can mean afternoon, as the shadows are lengthening and the day is drawing to an end. This is when Jesus fed the five thousand; it’s when the unclean would wash their clothes and prepare to reenter the camp; and it’s when Joseph of Arimathea asked for Christ’s body.

Evening can also be after sunset. Here’s an example in Prov. 7:9: “In the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night.” The word “twilight” here is neshef (Strong’s #5399) and means “breeze,” referring to either the evening breeze or the early morning breeze. “Evening” is here associated with the beginning of night.

In one of His parables, Jesus said, “So when evening had come, the owner of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and give them their wages, beginning with the last to the first’” (Mat. 20:8). Verses 6 and 12 of the same passage show that workers had been hired at the eleventh hour and worked one hour, or until the end of the day. Therefore, “evening” in this passage is probably after sunset.

During his affliction, Job lamented, “When I lie down, I say, ‘When shall I arise, and the night [evening] be ended?’ For I have had my fill of tossing till dawn” (Job 7:4). “Night” is the Hebrew erev, or evening, proving that evening can be after sunset.

Finally, David wrote in Psa. 30:5, “For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; weeping may endure for a night [evening], but joy comes in the morning.” Again, “night” is erev, or evening.

Here, then, are two separate evenings: one before sunset and one after sunset. One during daylight, and one at dusk/dark. They are two separate evenings because they are on two separate days!

Does the Bible give us any other guidelines on interpreting “between the two evenings?” Indeed it does! But that’s a topic for another post.

Adapted from The Lord's Passover, by this author. For more information, please see the original work. It's available for free in PDF format.