Written by Jack Churchill

What do you mean, "between the evenings?" ". of making many books about the meaning of 'between the evenings' there is no end; and much study of this subject is a weariness of the flesh." Eccl 12:12 (JNC's modernized Version)

The expression "between the evenings" is the source of much confusion and disagreement. But it is placed in the bible without furnishing any obvious explanation. Why does the bible use this strange expression? And why doesn't it explain the meaning? It must be either that we aren't supposed to know or else that this is a concept so plain that it doesn't really need elaboration.

"BETWEEN THE MORNINGS"
The expression "between the evenings" is used eleven times in the Old Testament. But did you ever notice that the expression "between the mornings" is never used at all? I believe there is a simple explanation for that.

Let's suppose that we go out and sit on a porch, facing east, while it is still dark before sunrise on a Sabbath morning. After a while, we see the sun beginning to poke up over the horizon. Then, if we wait a little while longer on this Sabbath morning, we will see that the sun has risen completely above the horizon. But it is important to notice that, just before the sun began to appear, it was the morning of the seventh day of the week and after the sun had risen totally above the horizon, it was still morning on the seventh day of the week. In other words, it was the same day of the week before the sun arose as it was after the sun was risen. Since there is no change in the day of the week as you pass from dark to daylight, it is not necessary to ever use an expression such as "between the mornings." Every moment during the period when the sun is rising belongs to the same well-defined day of the week. The period of time during which the sun comes up in the morning is clearly defined to be part of that one specific day. No confusion about it. "between the evenings"

The situation would be quite different, however, if we were sitting on our porch, facing west, and were waiting to watch the sunset instead of the sunrise. Suppose, for example, that we went out and sat on the porch a hour or so before sunset on a Friday (i.e., shortly before the end of the 6th day of the week.). After a while, we see that the lower rim of the sun has "touched" the horizon. A few minutes later, we watch as the top rim of the sun sinks below the horizon. Then, a few minutes after that, we would find ourselves sitting on our porch during the dark portion of the early evening at the beginning of the 7th day of the week. In other words, we sat down during the evening at the end of the 6th day of the week and much later, after the sun had disappeared below the horizon, we found ourselves still sitting there except that, while we were watching, it become the evening of the 7th day of the week. So what?

So, in my opinion, the bible never needs to use terms such as "between the mornings" because the morning before sunrise is the same day of the week as the morning after sunrise. The situation is quite different, though, when we are talking about sunset. Just before the lower edge of the sun touches the horizon on Friday afternoon is clearly part of the 6th day of the week. And the period of time when it has finally gotten dark is clearly part of the 7th day of the week. The problem, here, is that we don't have any bible definition that tells us whether the period of when the sun has only partly dropped below the horizon is the end of the 6th day or the beginning of the 7th day or something else. That period of time between daylight and dark has not been defined in the bible. We cannot say it is part of the 6th day of the week nor can we say it is part of the 7th day. There are four possibilities:

1. it is part of the 6th day
2. it is part of the 7th day
3. it is both of the above
4. it is neither of the above

There does not seem to be any scripture in the bible that tells us which of the above to choose. So, since the period of time during which the sun is disappearing below the horizon is an undesignated period that doesn't seem to belong to any day at all. It is "undefined" time. That, in my opinion, is why the bible has to use the expression "between the evenings." That time doesn't belong to ANY day of the week. The only way to indicate that something is supposed to be done during that specific interval of time would be to call it just exactly what it is: "between the (two) evenings." You can't say "do it on the 13th" or "do it on the 14th" since the period of time in question is not defined to be part of one or the other.

In other words, for the purposes of Passover keeping, it is necessary to use the terminology "between the evenings" because there is no other way defined in the bible to indicate this particular period of time. I believe that the key to all of this is in two scriptures. Numbers 28:16 and Leviticus 23:5-6. [Passover (pass-over Israelites) was on the 14th and the feast was on the 15th] More about that later.

Bible evidence to support this?
Here's just a tiny sample.

1. Did one evening start at high-noon and another evening come at sunset? If so, then we would have a serious problem with Chapter one of Genesis. Genesis tells us that "the evening and morning were day one." does this mean that the evening of creation day #1 ran from noon till dark? If that is true, then what time period does the bible mean by the "morning" part of day one. (The same problem would arise concerning days two through seven.) Personally, I find it hard to picture the possibility that "the evening of day one" could be running from high-noon till sunset. And what, then, would Genesis mean by "the morning" of creation day #1? Would that run from sunset till the following high-noon? I have a hard time seeing how "between the evenings" could refer to the time between noon and sunset without creating confusion about the first chapter of Genesis.
2. In Exodus 30:7-8, we read that Aaron was to light the lamps of the tabernacle between the evenings. Does it seem likely that Aaron would be wasting precious oil by turning up the lamps at noon or at 3 PM? In Leviticus 24:2, 3-4, we see that Aaron was to burn the lamps continually from evening until morning. In my opinion, this seems to be evidence that "between the evenings" did NOT include the late afternoon. I have a hard time picturing Aaron going into the tabernacle at high-noon or at 3 PM to turn up or light the lamps that were supposed to burn from evening until morning. Aaron's lamp was to burn from evening till morning (Lev. 24:3) And Aaron was supposed to "dress" the lamps every morning (between the mornings?) and "light" them between the evenings.
3. Consider Joshua 10:26-27 and Joshua 8:29 and Daniel 6:14 for evidence that, in the bible, the going down of the sun occurs at sunset, not at noon or mid afternoon. (But be careful with Deuteronomy 16. There are some who claim there is evidence that these verses do not refer to the Passover after all but, rather, to the annual Sabbath we often refer to as the first day of unleavened bread.) There are other scriptures, as well, that evening was something that happened when daylight was over and did not begin at noon.
4. Isn't "eat the Passover" part of "keep the Passover?" The passages in segment 6 of the Harmony of the Passover says that "eat the Passover" is a subset of "keep the Passover." Numbers 9:11 seems to say the same thing. The bible says that the Passover was on the 14th day of the first month. So, it looks like "eating" the Passover must also have been done on the 14th.
5. There are scriptures about the Egyptians burying their dead as the Israelites left Egypt. If the firstborn of the Egyptians died at midnight on the 15th, and the Israelites packed out of Egypt during that same night, then that would mean that the Egyptians were burying their dead before sunrise when they had only been killed sometime after midnight that same night. Do you know anybody who would bury their dead firstborn a couple of hours after they died and not even wait until daylight?
6. If we believe that evening started at high-noon (or even mid-afternoon) then we would have to believe that Aaron and Hur held up Moses' arms until high noon and then let them go. (They held up his arms until "the going down of the sun." And the bible definition of "going down of the sun" is given in several scriptures. See, for example, Joshua 10:26-27, Joshua 8:29, Exodus 17:12, Deuteronomy 16:6, Joshua 1:4, I Kings 22:36, II Chronicles 18:34, Psalm 50:1, Psalm 113:3, Malachi 1:11. And, would anyone imagine when reading Malachi 1:11 that YHWH's name would only be great until the sun went down at about 3 O'clock in the afternoon? And did the King stop laboring to save Daniel only until the sun went down in mid-afternoon?) I don't think "the going down of the sun" starts at noon after all. The sun goes down when the disk is at the horizon in my opinion. It's hard for me to visualize it being otherwise.)
7. There are several verses in the bible that have to be ignored in order to believe that the Passover sacrifice was supposed to take place near the end of the 14th.
8. There are some other things I'll have to add later.