Bible Encyclopedias
Hour

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

our ( שעתא , sha‛ăthā' , שׁעא , she‛ā' ; ὥρα , hō̇ra ): Hour as a division of the day does not occur in the Old Testament; the term she‛ā' ( sha‛ăthā' ) found in Dnl, is Aramaic, and as used there denotes a short period or point of time of no definite length ( Daniel 3:6 , Daniel 3:15; Daniel 4:33 (Hebrew 30); Daniel 5:5 ). The Greek hōra 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 .