Encyclopedia entry
Hour
First found in Dan. 3:6; 4:19, 33;5:5. It is the rendering of the Chaldee shaah, meaning a “moment,” a “look.” It is used in the New Testament frequently to denote some determinate season (Matt. 8:13; Luke 12:39).
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With the ancient Hebrews the divisions of the day were “morning, evening, and noon-day” (Ps. 55:17, etc.). The Greeks, following the Babylonians, divided the day into twelve hours. The Jews, during the Captivity, learned also from the Babylonians this method of dividing time. When Judea became subject to the Romans, the Jews adopted the Roman mode of reckoning time. The night was divided into four watches (Luke 12:38; Matt. 14:25; 13:25). Frequent allusion is also made to hours (Matt. 25:13; 26:40, etc.). (See DAY.)
An hour was the twelfth part of the day, reckoning from sunrise to sunset, and consequently it perpetually varied in length.
Also from Smith's (1884) +−
The ancient Hebrews were probably unacquainted with the division of the natural day into twenty-four parts; but they afterwards parcelled out the period between sunrise and sunset into a series of divisions distinguished by the sun’s course. The early Jews appear to have divided the day into four parts, (Nehemiah 9:3) and the night into three watches, (Judges 7:19) and even in the New Testament we find a trace of this division in (Matthew 20:1-5) At what period the Jews first became acquainted with the division of the day into twelve hours is unknown, but it is generally supposed they learned it from the Babylonians during the captivity. It was known to the Egyptians at a very early period. They had twelve hours of the day and of the night. There are two kinds of hours, viz. (1) the astronomical or equinoctial hour, i.e. the 24th part of a civil day, and (2) the natural hour, i.e. the 12th part of the natural day, or of the time between sunrise and sunset. These are the hours meant in the New Testament, (John 11:9) etc., and it must be remembered that they perpetually vary in length, so as to be very different at different times of he year. For the purpose of prayer the old division of the day into four portions was continued in the temple service. as we see from (Acts 2:15; 3:1; 10:9)
In the Bible
97
Verses where Hour is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Corinthians 4:11
To this very hour we are hungry and thirsty, we are poorly clothed, we are brutally treated, we are homeless.
- 1 Corinthians 8:7
But not everyone has this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that they eat such food as if it were sacrificed to an idol. And since their conscience is weak, it is defiled.
- 1 Corinthians 15:30
And why do we endanger ourselves every hour?
- 1 John 2:18
Children, it is the last hour; and just as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have appeared. This is how we know it is the last hour.
- Acts 2:15
These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It is only the third hour of the day!
- Acts 3:1
One afternoon Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
+91 more verses naming Hour.
Scripture on Hour
62
See all 62 +−
- Daniel 3Matthew 26Mark 14Mark 15Luke 22Acts 10Revelation 18Daniel 4Matthew 8Matthew 14Matthew 25Matthew 27Mark 13John 5John 12John 19Acts 2Acts 16Revelation 3Judges 7Nehemiah 9Psalms 55Daniel 5Matthew 6Matthew 9Matthew 10Matthew 15Matthew 17Mark 6Luke 1Luke 7Luke 10Luke 13Luke 20Luke 23Luke 24John 1John 2John 7John 8John 11John 13John 17Acts 3Acts 22Acts 23Romans 131 Corinthians 41 Corinthians 81 Corinthians 15Galatians 21 John 2Revelation 8Revelation 9Revelation 11Revelation 14Revelation 17
Hour references
13
Voices on Hour
24
Surfaced by name match — accuracy varies by title clarity.
Sources · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.