Especially, those hot Texas days that are coming when even a
couple of degrees cooler standing in the shadows is refreshing.
Sitting out on the back deck or patio, or evening walks
Just after the sun sets it starts to get quiet. You can
still see the sunlit sky above the horizon. Often that’s when you see the most
spectacular colors. And things seem to start to settle just a bit. They calm
down just a bit. The street lights sense the impending darkness and start to
turn on. When they first came out, we called them “electric eyes”. Now they’re
photosensors. Either way, street lights and the devices in people’s yards that
sense the changes in lighting begin turning on.
Maybe that’s why they call it nightfall, as night just
begins to fall, things calm down. The birds and the people begin to settle in
for the night. This period of time, between sundown and night we call dusk or
my preference, twilight.
Twilight in the Old Testament
Twilight, a compound word combining two syllables, “twi-“
and “-light”. When you think of the syllable “twi” it might make you think of
two as in twin. While it does convey a sense of two, it more precisely conveys
a sense of “tween”, as in “between,” twi-light, the light between two events.
In Hebrew, there’s a phase that describes twilight
perfectly. That phrase is “ben ha arbayim”.
And that phase will be the focus of our study today.
“Ben ha arbayim” is an interesting expression. And that is
exactly what it is, an expression. You won’t find it in Strong’s Concordance.
Strongs only translates words not expressions or phrases. In fact, in each of
the eleven instances where the expression “ben ha arbayim” is used in the Bible,
Strongs and the King James get it wrong and translate it as “erev”, at
even.
Pronounced “beyn”, it means “between”
“ha” an article meaning “the” and
“arbayim”-
Arbayim is a bit more complex. It derives from the same root
as the word “erev” (H6153) which is often translated as “even”, “evening”,
“dusk”, or “eventide”.
Delving into the root, we find the word “arab” (H6150). Yes,
that arab. It’s where we get the word Arabia. It means to grow dusky or dark,
to become evening.
By adding the suffix “im” to “arbayim”, it becomes plural,
“two darknesses or evenings.”
When translated to English, the phrase means, “between the (two)
evenings” or just “between the evenings”. It describes twilight perfectly. The
first darkness or evening occurs after the sun has just dropped fully below the
horizon, we call this sunset. The word “erev” is used to describe sunset, when
the sun touches the horizon to when it has dropped completely below the
horizon. It is stated more precisely as “ba erev”, at sunset. That is the first
evening. The second evening is when it gets totally dark. One evening when the
sun has set and the second evening when it becomes totally dark.
During, this period of time it is still light out for
another 30 minutes or so to maybe as long as an hour depending on location and
time of year.
We view the sun setting as marking the end of the day and it
does, yet the day isn’t over by our reckoning until midnight. But more
importantly, in God’s view it marks the beginning of a new day.
Between the evenings is the time between when the sun has
set below the horizon, no longer visible, and before total darkness. It is dusk
or twilight time at the beginning of the day on God’s calendar.
Between the (Two) Evenings – “ben ha arbayim”
There are only eleven instances of the phrase “ben ha
arbayim” in the Bible. So, we’re going to review each one. And if I do this
correctly, we will see it has an important connection to the Passover.
Of the eleven times the phase “ben ha arbayim” is used in
the Old Testament the King James translation somehow missed all eleven,
choosing instead to translate it as “at even” or “evening”.
Passover killing the lamb in Egypt
Exo 12:1-8 KJV
(1) And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying,
(2) This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you.
(3) Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house:
(4) And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb.
(5) Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:
(6) And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. [at sunset, ba erev]
(7) And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. (at home)
(8) And they shall eat the flesh in that night, [layelâh] roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.
This has
led to some confusion as to whether the lamb was to be killed at sunset on the
14th or the night before on the 13th just after sunset.
We are blessed to have Robert Young’s
Literal Translation, the YLT, as it shows us when ben ha arbayim appears in
the Hebrew and translates it correctly. First published in 1862, the Literal
Translation is, as the name implies, a very literal translation of the original
Hebrew and Greek texts.
Exo 12:6 YLT
(6) 'And it hath become a charge to you, until the fourteenth day of this month, and the whole assembly of the company of Israel have slaughtered it between the evenings; [at twilight, ben ha arbayim]
(8) 'And they have eaten the flesh in this night, [layelâh] roast with fire; with unleavened things and bitters they do eat it;
For it to
be killed at ben ha arbayim which occurs after sunset and to still be on the
14th, it would have to be killed after sunset the day before at the beginning
of the 14th.
Passover Keeping
We will
now look at a few passages instructing us in keeping the Passover.
Lev 23:4-6 KJV
(4) These are the feasts of the LORD, even holy convocations, which ye shall proclaim in their seasons.
(5) In the fourteenth day of the first month at even is the LORD'S passover.
(6) And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the feast of unleavened bread unto the LORD: seven days ye must eat unleavened bread.
This too has
caused some confusion as to when to keep the Passover. In the fourteenth day
at even has been interpreted by some to mean at the end of the 14th at
sunset causing them to incorrectly keep the Passover on the 15th combining the
14th with the Feast of Unleavened starting the 15th. However, Young makes this
passage plain by properly translating ben ha arbayim.
Lev 23:4-6 YLT
(4) 'These are appointed seasons of Jehovah, holy convocations, which ye proclaim in their appointed seasons:
(5) in the first month, on the fourteenth of the month, between the evenings, [at twilight, ben ha arbayim] is the passover to Jehovah;
(6) and on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast of unleavened things to Jehovah; seven days unleavened things ye do eat;
Now, if
it’s got to be on the fourteenth day of the month, when is ben ha
arbayim on the fourteenth? Between the two evenings at the start of the
fourteenth, which is after sunset on the thirteenth. If it were at sunset
at the end of the fourteenth, it would actually be on the fifteenth.
The children of Israel are to continue to keep the Passover.
Num 9:1-5 KJV
(1) And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,
(2) Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season.
(3) In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, [ba erev] ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it.
(4) And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover.
(5) And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even [ba erev] in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.
What does
Young’s Literal Translation say?
Num 9:3-5 YLT
(3) in the fourteenth day of this month between the evenings [at twilight, ben ha arbayim at the beginning of the 14th] ye prepare it in its appointed season; according to all its statutes, and according to all its ordinances ye prepare it.'
(4) And Moses speaketh unto the sons of Israel to prepare the passover,
(5) and they prepare the passover in the first month , on the fourteenth day of the month, between the evenings, [at twilight, ben ha arbayim] in the wilderness of Sinai; according to all that Jehovah hath commanded Moses, so have the sons of Israel done.
Someone
who couldn’t make the Passover ceremony when it was originally scheduled
because he had been in contact with a dead body and was defiled, or was
travelling, provision was made to keep it in the second month of the year.
Num 9:10-11 KJV
(10) Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD.
(11) The fourteenth day of the second month at even [ba erev] they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
Num 9:10-11 YLT
(10) 'Speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, Though any man is unclean by a body or in a distant journey (of you or of your generations), yet he hath prepared a passover to Jehovah;
(11) in the second month, on the fourteenth day, between the evenings [at twilight, ben ha arbayim] they prepare it; with unleavened and bitter things they eat it;
This is
very clear.
Daily sacrifices and offerings
Now we
have a few passages with instructions on carrying out daily sacrifices and
offerings.
Exo 29:38-41 KJV
(38) Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.
(39) The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even: [ba erev]
Now it’s
unfortunate the morning is mentioned first as it causes confusion that the
morning one comes first, when actually the evening sacrifice comes first being
at the beginning of the day.
(40) And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.
(41) And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, [ba erev] and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
Exo 29:39, 41 YLT
(39) the one lamb thou dost prepare in the morning, and the second lamb thou dost prepare between the evenings; [at twilight, ben ha arbayim]
(41) 'And the second lamb thou dost prepare between the evenings; [at twilight, ben ha arbayim] according to the present of the morning, and according to its libation, thou dost prepare for it, for sweet fragrance, a fire-offering, to Jehovah: —
He
doesn’t correct the order but plainly says one occurs at ben ha arbayim, the
beginning of the day.
Num 28:1-4, 8 KJV
(1) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
(2) Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season.
(3) And thou shalt say unto them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto the LORD; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering.
(4) The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even; [ba erev]
(8) And the other lamb shalt thou offer at even: [ba erev] as the meat offering of the morning, and as the drink offering thereof, thou shalt offer it, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD.
Same
issue. I can see how over time day after day it would seem that the first
offering is done in the morning and the second is done at the end of the day.
Young makes it clear though.
Num 28:4, 8 YLT
(4) the one lamb thou preparest in the morning, and the second lamb thou preparest between the evenings; [at twilight, ben ha arbayim]
(8) 'And the second lamb thou dost prepare between the evenings; [at twilight, ben ha arbayim] as the present of the morning, and as its libation thou preparest—a fire-offering, a sweet fragrance to Jehovah.
As we’ve learned ben ha arbayim, twilight, begins the day.
Lighting the Temple Lamps
And we have one passage regarding lighting the temple lamps.
Exo 30:7-8 KJV
(7) And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.
(8) And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, [ba erev] he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
Exo 30:8 YLT
(8) and in Aaron's causing the lamps to go up between the evenings, [at twilight, ben ha arbayim] he doth perfume it; a continual perfume before Jehovah to your generations.
The Jews have mistakenly interpreted the evening to begin at
the ninth hour, 3:00 pm in the afternoon and some even as early as right after
noon when the sun begins its traverse towards going down. Traditions of men. Why
would Aaron light the lamps during the daylight at 3:00 pm in the afternoon?
When do you turn the lights on at your house? In the middle
of the afternoon or when it starts to get dark?
Proof of the Quails
Exo 16:1-3, 8-13 KJV
(1) And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
(2) And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
(3) And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
(8) And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening [ba erev] flesh to eat, and in the morning [boqer] bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.
(9) And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings.
(10) And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
(11) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
(12) I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even [ba erev] ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning [boqer] ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.
(13) And it came to pass, that at even [ba erev] the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.
Exo 16:6-8 YLT
(6) And Moses saith—Aaron also—unto all the sons of Israel, 'Evening— [ba erev] and ye have known that Jehovah hath brought you out from the land of Egypt;
(7) and morning—and ye have seen the honour of Jehovah, in His hearing your murmurings against Jehovah, and what are we, that ye murmur against us?'
(8) And Moses saith, 'In Jehovah's giving to you in the evening [ba erev] flesh to eat, and bread in the morning to satiety—in Jehovah's hearing your murmurings, which ye are murmuring against Him, and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against Jehovah.'
Notice he says, “evening” in both places. In the evening at
sunset [ba erev] you will know it is the Lord Jehovah (v. 6 when you see
the quails arrive) and (v. 8) when Jehovah gives you the quail in the
evening at sunset [ba erev]. Young properly translates both of these as the
evening sunset.
Exo 16:11-14 YLT
(11) And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses, saying,
(12) 'I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel; speak unto them, saying, Between the evenings ye eat flesh, and in the morning ye are satisfied with bread, and ye have known that I am Jehovah your God.'
(13) And it cometh to pass in the evening, [ba erev] that the quail cometh up, and covereth the camp, and in the morning there hath been the lying of dew round about the camp,
(14) and the lying of the dew goeth up, and lo, on the face of the wilderness a thin, bare thing, thin as hoar-frost on the earth.
Take careful note as to when it says, God will give
them quails at sunset and when God says they will eat the quails
at twilight, between the evenings.
Verses 6, 8, and 13 talk about when God will give
them the quails, when they will arrive in the camp. Both the King James and
Youngs correctly say “at even” or “evening”, [ba erev] is when they will
witness the quails falling all over the camp. The quail come up, they arrive at
sunset.
Only verse 12 says when they will eat the
quails. The King James says, “at even ye shall eat flesh” and
Youngs says, “between the evenings ye eat flesh”. Once
again the King James gets it wrong while Young gets it correct. They will begin
to eat the quails between the evenings, at twilight, ben ha arbayim after
sunset!
You can’t eat the quail before they arrive! They have to
arrive at sunset before you can eat them after sunset at twilight. This proves
once again that when God said to kill the lambs between the evenings, He meant
after sunset the thirteenth at the beginning of the fourteenth. (Exo 12:6)
Why could they not eat the quail until after sunset?
Proof of the Manna
Notice what it says in the verses regarding the manna.
Exo 16:4-5, 8, 12-17 KJV
(4) Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
(5) And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
(8) And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.
(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 the LORD your God.
Exo 16:12 YLT
(12) 'I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel; speak unto them, saying, Between the evenings ye eat flesh, and in the morning ye are satisfied with bread, and ye have known that I am Jehovah your God.'
At
twilight you shall eat flesh and that morning you shall eat bread
(manna)
Exo 16:13-17 KJV
(13) And it came to pass, that at even [at sunset] the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.
(14) And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.
(15) And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
(16) This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.
(17) And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
This was the first day they gathered manna. It was the first
of the six days that they would gather it.
Exo 16:22-23 KJV
(22) And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
(23) And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
Exo 16:25-30 KJV
(25) And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.
(26) Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
(27) And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
(28) And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
(29) See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
(30) So the people rested on the seventh day.
The
seventh day, the 22nd day of the second month, one week after the
quail was a Sabbath.
And that means one week earlier, the 15th day of
the second month had to be a Sabbath also.
They couldn’t eat the quail until after sunset, beginning at
twilight, because that day was the Sabbath! God wouldn’t let them violate the
Sabbath by slaughtering and roasting quail over an open fire on the Sabbath.
Some may say, “Yeah, but I thought they arrived in the
wilderness of Sin on the 15th. They wouldn’t have been traveling on
the 15th, right?”
What day does it say they arrive in the wilderness of Sin?
Verse one.
Exo 16:1-2 KJV
(1) And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
(2) And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
This is some unfortunate phrasing as it ignores a very
important Hebrew accent mark, the atnah. The atnah is used to express division
of thoughts in the Hebrew text. In other words, the atnah divides the verse
into two units of thought, similar to the semicolon in English.
The word Sinai has an atnah attached to it in the Hebrew and
as such requires a full pause separating it’s thought from the next portion of
the text.
More proper phraseology would be read like this –
And
they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of
Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai; [full pause] And
on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land
of Egypt, the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured
against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness.
In other words, they didn’t arrive on the 15th on
a Sabbath day. The 15th was the day they murmured about not having
anything to eat.
We know this has to be true because of the proof of the
manna. The manna began the very next day after the 15th, on the 16th,
the first day of the week and ended seven days later on the following Sabbath
the 22nd.
If the 22nd was a Sabbath, the 15th
had to be a Sabbath!
The Selfsame Day
Now, what day did they depart Egypt? Numbers chapter
thirty-three.
Num 33:3 KJV
(3) And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.
It is a
night to be much observed unto the LORD. (Exo 12:42)
Why am I
pointing this out?
The
Passover lambs were killed on the 14th of Nisan, the evening before on the 13th
after sunset, between the two evenings. They ate the Passover lamb that night
and burned the leftovers so nothing remained until morning. (Exo 12:10)
At
midnight that same night the Lord passed over and spared their firstborn but
killed the firstborn of Egypt. They did not go out of their houses until
sunrise of the 14th. (Exo 12:22) They had no idea how long it would take for
the firstborn of Egypt to be killed so the only command they had was to not
go out of their houses until morning. No way they were going out! Once they saw
the sunrise, they knew it was okay.
After
sunrise during the Passover day, they began spoiling the Egyptians. (Exo 12:36)
The
tribes of Israel then gathered in Rameses. After sunset of the 14th, they departed.
It was the 15th of Nisan a Night to be Much Observed! (Exo 12:42)
Notice
the days of the week on the calendar. The 14th of Nisan was a Wednesday. Christ
was crucified also on a Wednesday some 1230 years later. He was laid to rest in
His grave just before sunset. The night the Israelites left Egypt free from
bondage in Egypt was the selfsame night we were freed from the
bondage of sin and death.
A Night
to be Much Observed!
Why is This Important?
Our study of the difference between “ba erev – at sunset”
and “ben ha arbayim – between the (two) evenings proves that we are keeping the
Passover on the correct day, the 14th of Nisan, after sunset on the
13th.
Our God is a God of order and precision. When we see
evidence of His faithfulness we know we can trust Him and our faith grows.
Conclusion
I wish you all an enjoyable Night to be Much Observed when
you go out with a high hand. I hope from now on you will always remember
twilight time as an important time for the Israel of God.
It’s a wonderful time of transition to a new day.
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