- DAY The Jews reckoned the day from sunset to sunset (Leviticus 23:32).
It was originally divided into three parts (Psalm 55:17). “The heat of the
day” (1 Samuel 11:11; Nehemiah 7:3) was at our nine o’clock, and “the
cool of the day” just before sunset (Genesis 3:8). Before the Captivity the
Jews divided the night into three watches, (1) from sunset to midnight
(Lamentations 2:19); (2) from midnight till the cock-crowing (Judges 7:19);
and (3) from the cock-crowing till sunrise (Exodus 14:24). In the New
Testament the division of the Greeks and Romans into four watches was
adopted (Mark 13:35). (See WATCHES.)
The division of the day by hours is first mentioned in Daniel 3:6, 15; 4:19;
5:5. This mode of reckoning was borrowed from the Chaldeans. The
reckoning of twelve hours was from sunrise to sunset, and accordingly the
hours were of variable length (John 11:9).
The word “day” sometimes signifies an indefinite time (Genesis 2:4; Isaiah
22:5; Hebrews 3:8, etc.). In Job 3:1 it denotes a birthday, and in Isaiah
2:12, Acts 17:31, and 2 Timothy 1:18, the great day of final judgment.
- DAY’S JOURNEY The usual length of a day’s journey in the East, on
camel or horseback, in six or eight hours, is about 25 or 30 miles. The
“three days’ journey” mentioned in Exodus 3:18 is simply a journey which
would occupy three days in going and returning. - DAYSMAN an umpire or arbiter or judge (Job 9:33). This word is formed
from the Latin diem dicere, i.e., to fix a day for hearing a cause. Such an one
is empowered by mutual consent to decide the cause, and to “lay his
hand”, i.e., to impose his authority, on both, and enforce his sentence. - DAYSPRING (Job 38:12; Luke 1:78), the dawn of the morning;
daybreak. (Comp. Isaiah 60:1, 2; Malachi 4:2; Revelation 22:16.) - DAYSTAR which precedes and accompanies the sun-rising. It is found
only in 2 Peter 1:19, where it denotes the manifestation of Christ to the
soul, imparting spiritual light and comfort. He is the “bright and morning
star” of Revelation 2:28; 22:16. (Comp. Numbers 24:17.) - DEACON Anglicized form of the Greek word diaconos, meaning a
“runner,” “messenger,” “servant.” For a long period a feeling of mutual
jealousy had existed between the “Hebrews,” or Jews proper, who spoke
the sacred language of palestine, and the “Hellenists,” or Jews of the
Grecian speech, who had adopted the Grecian language, and read the