16 Now more scriptures, which leave no doubt, that the evening ends the day

Read Judges 19:9 ... Behold, now the day draweth toward evening (erev), I pray you tarry all night: behold, the day groweth to an end, lodge here...

Is the evening the event that closes out or ends a day?

Can we conclude that the day ends at the evening time or as the evening ends? Let us continue.

Perhaps a thorough reading of the sequence of the events as recorded in this narrative, which occurred that entire day, will help us understand that indeed, the evening of that day (and any day) is an event that occurs at the end of the day.

First, Judges 19:5-7. These three verses narrate events that occurred on the fourth day. That complete fourth day passed. Next, we read in verse 8 of the fifth day. Verse 8 and 9 speak to the events that occurred on the fifth day.

Read Judges 19:8 (as part of the narrative that leads up to verse 9): “And he arose early in the morning on the fifth day to depart: and the damsel’s father said, Comfort thine heart, I pray thee. And they tarried until the afternoon, and they did eat both of them.”

The English word afternoon, as used in this verse is found only once in the entirety of the KJV Bible. Nowhere else in the KJV will you read the word afternoon.

The KJV translators (circa 1611) utilized the one English word afternoon and in so doing did not accurately convey the meaning the original Hebrew conveys.

If you were to read Judges 19:8 in the original Hebrew text, you would read a three-worded Hebrew phrase, natah ha yom instead of the one English word afternoon.

Natah ha yom: (See Strong’s #’s 5186 natah and 3117 yom. The Hebrew word ha is equivalent to the English word the). Once again this Hebrew phrase is the phrase that is used in the original Hebrew text of Judges 19:8.

Since the KJV translators incorrectly translate this Hebrew phrase, what English word or phrase should they have used?

What should natah ha yom be correctly translated as?

The Hebrew word natah is found over 200 times in the Old Testament and its definition is: to stretch out, to lengthen, to decline, to bow down, to stretch forth, declining.

Next, the Hebrew word yom is used scores of times throughout the OT and its distinctive meaning is day.

All together then, natah ha yom means or is correctly translated as the declining or the stretching forth of the day.

Consequently, Judges 19:8 should be correctly translated to read, “they tarried until the declining of or stretching forth of the day.”

That is what the more dependable (mss) text reads and the more accurate English translations reveal.

Verse 8 indicates that on that fifth day, they stayed around (tarried) until the declining of the day. Then picking up the narrative in Judges 19:9, notice the next event to occur on that fifth day. The day draws toward evening (erev); the day groweth to an end.

Instead of writing the word afternoon, the KJV translators would have served their readers well by simply interpreting the Hebrew for what it really says; they tarried until the declining of the day.

It was the portion of the day as the sun was declining, as the day was declining. Then continuing verse 9, the day draws toward evening, the day groweth to an end.

From the original Hebrew text, we read a narrative, which illustrates complete progression of activity that occurred as the day was ending, indicating that the evening ends that day.

Let us learn more.