Hour

Hour - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

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).

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 [287]DAY.)

An hour was the twelfth part of the day, reckoning from sunrise to sunset, and consequently it perpetually varied in length.

Hour - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

HOUR, n. our. [L. hora; also L. tempestivus, from tempus. See Time. But hour, hora, afterward came to signify a certain portion or division of the day. This has been different in different nations.]

1. A space of time equal to one twenty fourth part of the natural day, or duration of the diurnal revolution of the earth. An hour answers to fifteen degrees of the equator. It consists of 60 minutes, each minute of 60 seconds, _c.

2. Time; a particular time; as the hour of death.

Jesus saith, woman,my hour is not yet come. John 2.

3. The time marked or indicated by a chronometer, clock or watch; the particular time of the day. What is the hour? At what hour shall we meet? I will be with you at an early hour.

Good hour, signifies early or seasonably.

You have arrived at a good hour.

To keep good hours, to be at home in good season; not to be abroad late, or at the usual hours of retiring to rest.

Hours, in the plural, certain prayers in the Romish church, to be repeated at stated times of the day, as matins and vespers.

our (sha`atha', she`a'; hora): Hour as a division of the day does not occur in the Old Testament; the term she`a' (sha`atha') found in Dnl, is Aramaic, and as used there denotes a short period or point of time of no definite length (Da 3:6,15; 4:33 (Hebrew 30); 5:5). The Greek hora is commonly used in the New Testament in the same way, as "that same hour," "from that hour," etc., but it also occurs as a division of the day, as, "the third hour," "the ninth hour," etc. The Hebrews would seem to have become acquainted with this division of time through the Babylonians, but whether before the captivity we are not certain. The mention of the sun dial of Ahaz would seem to indicate some such reckoning of time during the monarchy.

See TIME.

H. Porter

mo'-ment (regha`, "a wink"; atomos, "an atom," stigme, "a point," parautika, immediately," "forthwith"): "Moment" is not used in Scripture for a division of time, but for an instant of time, as the wink or twinkling of the eye (Ex 33:5; Nu 16:21,45; La 4:6; 1Co 15:52), or for a short period of time (Job 20:5; Ps 30:5; Isa 26:20; 2Co 4:17). The division of the hour into sixty minutes was certainly known in Babylonia, and the Jews were made acquainted with it, at least during the captivity, but they do not seem to have adopted it very extensively.

H. Porter

Definition

The term “hour” is often used in the Bible to tell what time of day a certain event took place. It is also used figuratively to mean “time” or “moment.”

• The Jews counted daylight hours starting at sunrise (around 6 AM). For example, “the ninth hour” meant “around three in the afternoon.”
• Nighttime hours were counted starting at sunset (around 6 PM). For example, “the third hour of the night” meant “around nine in the evening” in our present-day system.
• Since references to time in the Bible will not correspond exactly to the present-day time system, phrases such as “around nine” or “about six o’clock” could be used.
• Some translations might add phrases like “in the evening” or “in the morning” or “in the afternoon” to make it clear what time of day is being talked about.
• The phrase, “in that hour” could be translated as “at that time” or “in that moment.”
• Referring to Jesus, the expression “his hour had come” could be translated as “the time had come for him to” or “the appointed time for him had come.”

Bible References

• Acts 2:15
• John 4:51-52
• Luke 23:44
• Matthew 20:3

Word Data

• Strong’s: H8160, G56100