When does the Sabbath
day BEGIN and END?

Is there an EXACT time to begin and end the Sabbath?

At what time should the Sabbath day begin and end? This is not merely an academic question for scholars to debate, but a practical one relevant to many Christians who believe in the validity and value of the principle of seventh-day Sabbath keeping for today. The problem of when to begin and to end the observance of the Bible Sabbath is particularly acute in those parts of the world where it is difficult, if not impossible, to observe the Sabbath according to a sunset reckoning, because in these places the sun rises or sets very early or very late or not at all during certain periods of the year.

The question of when to begin and end the observance of the Sabbath was examined at great length by some believers. The aim of this article is first to summarize briefly the positions they adopted, since these provide a valuable perspective in discussing Sabbath reckoning. Additionally, this article will suggest a guideline for Sabbath reckoning in those parts of the earth where sunset reckoning is difficult and sometimes impossible to follow. The suggested guideline will be developed out of the implications of the Fourth Commandment.

Who introduced the Bible Sabbath to America?

Seventh-day Sabbath-keeping was introduced in America by the Seventh Day Baptists, who organized their first church in Rhode Island in 1671. In the eighteenth century the German Seventh Day Baptists in the Ephrata community of Pennsylvania observed their Sabbath from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday.

Julius Friedrich Sachse, a historian of German sectarian groups in Pennsylvania, notes that:

"the Sabbath was ushered in with the first hour of [after] the sixth day (Friday, 6 p.m.) and closed at the end of the twelfth hour of the seventh day (Saturday, 5:59 p.m.) . . . to conform to the very letter of the law in the New Testament."

This method of Sabbath keeping from 6 p.m. to 6 p.m. was apparently advocated by other Seventh Day Baptist groups, as indicated by the discussion of this issue in The Sabbath Recorder, a periodical of the Seventh Day Baptists.

Should the Sabbath ALWAYS start at 6 p.m.?

During the first 10 years of their history Adventists generally observed the Sabbath from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 p.m. Saturday, although some kept it from sunrise to sunrise. The main promoter of the 6 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sabbath reckoning was Joseph Bates, an ex-sea captain and a self-sacrificing crusader for truth. In August 1846 Bates published a 48-page pamphlet entitled The Seventh-day Sabbath, a Perpetual Sign, which proved to be a mighty instrument in propagating the message of the Sabbath.

The reasoning Bates gives in this pamphlet for beginning and ending the Sabbath at 6 p.m. is that one:

"cannot regulate the day and night to have what the Savior calls twelve hours in the day [John 11:9] without establishing the time from the centre of the earth, the equator, where at the beginning of the sacred year, the sun rises and sets at 6 o'clock."

Bates continues reasoning that since in the Arctic and Antarctic areas there are times when the sun never sets or never rises, then:

"the inhabitants of the earth have no other right time to commence their twenty-four hour day, than beginning at 6 o'clock in the evening."

There is no evidence that Bates was influenced by German Seventh Day Baptists in forming his position on the six o'clock beginning time for the Sabbath. "Rather, he came to these conclusions," Carl Coffman rightly notes, "as a result of his knowledge of a seaman's computation of equatorial time."

In the spring of 1851 Bates defended his 6 p.m. to 6 p.m. position in an article entitled "Time to Begin the Sabbath," where he appeals to two main Bible texts, namely, Leviticus 23:32 and Matthew 20:1-16. From the first text he derived the principle of keeping the Sabbath "from even unto even," and from the second he established the time of "even," namely, 6 p.m.

The fact that in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16) the master paid his laborers at "even" (verse 8), which was the 12th hour of the day, led Bates to the conclusion that the 12 hours of the day were reckoned from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thus 6 p.m. is the "even" which marks the beginning and end of the Sabbath.

To defend this view Bates argued that the Sabbath should be reckoned according to equatorial time, that is, according to the length of the day and night at the equator. At the equator sunrise and sunset occur consistently throughout the year plus or minus 10 minutes at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. respectively.

Bates maintained that the Sabbath should be observed according to the "equatorial day" in all parts of the world. What he meant is that the Sabbath is to be observed longitudinally from 6 p.m. to 6 p.m. as it comes to each part of the earth in due time as the earth revolves on its axis.

Does the Bible define when evening occurs?

In a paper by J. N. Andrews he argues convincingly that the New Testament defines "evening" not necessarily as 6 p.m. but rather as sunset. He appeals especially to texts such as those found in Mark 1 and others where it explicitly says:

"At evening, when the sun had set, they brought to Him all who were sick and those who were demon-possessed." (Mark 1:32, NKJV throughout unless noted).

"When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them." (Luke 4:40)

Here the evening which marks the end of the Sabbath is clearly linked to sunset. Andrews gave additional references from the Old Testament where "even" is equated with the setting of the sun.

Regarding the parable of the laborers in the vineyard, Andrews argues that it does not necessarily prove that the 12th hour of the day coincided exactly with 6 p.m. He establishes this point by showing that the 12 hours of the day were not 12 sixty-minute periods like ours, but rather 12 equal parts of the daylight time, which would vary somewhat according to season. This conclusion is explicitly supported by John 11 where Jesus says:

"Jesus answered, 'Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.'" (John 11:9)

Support for Andrews' reasoning is also found in the Talmud, where there is a discussion of the extent of reasonable error in the estimate of the hour of the day and it is noted that "in the sixth hour the sun stands in the meridian." Thus Andrews rightly concluded that the Jewish hour was not a fixed unit of time but the 12th part of the time between sunrise and sunset at any time of the year. Consequently the parable of the laborers in the vineyard offers no valid justification for a 6 p.m. to a 6 p.m. method of beginning and ending the Sabbath.

Andrews presented two major reasons for ruling out the 6 p.m. to 6 p.m. method of Sabbath keeping. First, such a method is dependent upon clocks or watches, which did not exist in Bible times. This would mean that in those days God's people would have been at a loss to know when to begin and end the Sabbath. Second, "the Bible, by several plain statements, establishes the fact that evening is at sunset." The conclusions reached by Andrews are based on a sound analysis of the Biblical data.

How do you keep the Sabbath in the ARTIC?

The observance of the Sabbath according to the sunset reckoning in the Arctic regions becomes practically impossible during part of the summer, when the sun never sets below the horizon, and during part of the winter, when the sun never rises above the horizon. In these areas the common difficulties resulting from observing the seventh-day Sabbath in a society where most working schedules are built around Sunday as the day of rest, are compounded by the problem of knowing when to begin and close the Sabbath during those weeks when the sun does not rise or set.

The problem of observing the Sabbath in the Arctic region exists not only during the time when the sun does not set or rise above the horizon, but also during the time just before the sun's disappearance for a certain period in winter and immediately following its reappearance. At this time of the year the sun sets by noon time; thus half of the Sabbath falls within the civil time of Friday. This means that according to the sunset reckoning, for several weeks every year, half of the Sabbaths falls during the civil time of Friday and half during that of Saturday.

Under these conditions the observance of the Sabbath according to the sunset reckoning becomes a real problem, because it requires the interruption of work on Friday by noon and the resumption of work on Saturday after the noon hour. This is not an imaginary problem but a real one which Seventh-day Sabbath keepers face, for example, in the northern part of Norway and to a lesser degree in all Scandinavian countries and Alaska.

No easy solution can be offered on how to observe the Sabbath according to the sunset reckoning when the above conditions prevail. Some acceptable alternatives if one wishes to use a sunset model for keeping the Sabbath in regions such as the Artic:

1. During the winter when there are no sunsets, the end of the twilight (beginning of darkness), as indicated by astronomical tables, should be looked upon as the beginning of the Sabbath.

2. The Sabbath can be kept according to astronomical computations for the moment when the sun is closest to the horizon, or at its zenith on Friday until it returns to this point on Saturday.

3. The Sabbath can be considered beginning and ending at the same time as indicated on sunset calendars for locations just south of the Arctic Circle.

In my opinion, in the Arctic regions where the sun sets very early, very late, or not at all, it is advisable to observe the Sabbath from 6 p.m. to 6 p.m., according to the equatorial sunset time. This method preserves the integrity of the sixth working day, is compatible with the sunset time of Bible lands, and respects the working schedule of most people living in the Arctic regions.

The artic circle begins at latitude (lines that run east and west on a map) 66° 33'
(66 degress 33 minutes) and includes all regions north of this line.

The equivalent polar circle in the Southern Hemisphere is called the Antarctic Circle.

Does the fourth commandment state WHEN Sabbath begins?

Any attempt to ascertain the Biblical teaching on the time for beginning and ending the Sabbath ought to start from a study of the Fourth Commandment itself as found in Exodus 20:8-11. After all, the manner and the time of Sabbath keeping ought to be reflective of the principles enunciated in the commandment itself.

It may be surprising to some to note that no specific instructions are given in the Fourth Commandment on the manner and time of Sabbath keeping The only injunction given is to "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy" by doing all one's work in six days and by resting the seventh day "to the Lord your God."

Regarding the manner, the commandment does not offer, for example, any injunction to attend religious services on the Sabbath. Why? The reason may be found in the divine awareness of the plight of those believers who through the centuries have been prevented by sickness or circumstances from participating in a corporate religious service.

Similarly the absence of any instruction in the Fourth Commandment regarding the time to begin and end the observance of the Sabbath may reflect divine awareness of the predicament of those believers who would be called to live in regions of the earth where sometimes it would be impossible to observe the Sabbath from sunset to sunset.

If the Fourth Commandment had spelled out that the seventh-day Sabbath is to be observed everywhere on earth from sunset to sunset, then those believers who live in those northern regions, where at least for a time there is no sunset, would have felt guilty for beginning and ending the Sabbath according to a different criterion.

The absence, then, in the Fourth Commandment of specific instructions on the exact manner and time of Sabbath keeping is indicative of divine wisdom in formulating a principle whose application could be adapted to different cultures and geographical locations. It is thus important to note at the outset that the method of observing the Sabbath from sunset to sunset is dictated not by the Fourth Commandment itself, but by the method of sunset reckoning which became normative in Jewish history.

Do SUNSETS define the Sabbath day?

Several reasons have contributed to make the sunset reckoning normative for the observance of the annual feasts in general and of the weekly Sabbath in particular. A first reason is suggested by the legislation regarding the Day of Atonement, which, as noted in the previous chapter, implies that the beginning of the fast was anticipated from the morning of the 10th day to the evening of the 9th day (Leviticus 23:27-32), presumably to help people better to prepare themselves for the solemn services that began the following morning.

Similarly the beginning of the observance of the Sabbath on Friday evening at sunset could have been dictated by the necessity to help believers to be better prepared and predisposed to enter into the daylight celebration of the Sabbath.

A second reason is suggested by the fact that in Bible times for all practical purposes sunset marked the end of the working day. This fact is clearly illustrated in the parable of the laborers in the vineyard where the owner in the "evening" calls the laborers to pay them their wages (Matthew 20:8). Being the end of a working day, the "evening" represented in a sense the end of the day itself and thus the beginning of a new day.

A third reason, which is closely related to the second, is implied in the injunction: "Six days you shall labor, and do all your work; but the seventh day is the sabbath to the Lord your God" (Exodus 20:9-10). The implication here is that the observance of the seventh day begins at the completion of the sixth day of work. Since in Bible times the sixth day of work, as just noted, ended in the "evening" (Matthew 20:8), the same "evening" could naturally function as the beginning of the rest and sanctification of the seventh day.

A last reason is suggested by the psychological and social function of sunset. Psychologically the setting of the sun marks the end of our working day and the beginning of the new cycle of rest and work of another day. Thus sunset offers an ideal psychological beginning for the celebration of the Sabbath as the day or rest, worship, and service unto the Lord.

Socially, the setting of the sun has the effect of bringing the family members back together. The work of the day scatters the family in different directions, but the setting of the sun brings the family members back together for the evening supper and fellowship. Thus sunset offers an ideal sociological moment, when the family members are together again at the end of a working day, to begin together the celebration of the Sabbath day.

It is no wonder that in the course of Jewish history a very rich and meaningful ritual was developed to mark the arrival and the departure of the Sabbath at sunset. After all, the Sabbath was a family celebration, which in Bible times included all dependent workers (Exodus 20:10). Thus, by rallying the family members together, sunset time provided an ideal moment for beginning and ending the Sabbath.

It is also no wonder that while, in the previous chapter we saw indications of the existence in Bible times of a sunrise method of day reckoning, no explicit indications were found suggesting that such a method was ever used for reckoning the beginning and end of the Sabbath.

All the passages in the Old and New Testament which refer to the time element of Sabbath keeping clearly suggest a sunset reckoning. Luke, for example, explicitly designates the late Friday afternoon when Jesus' body was taken from the cross as "That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near." (Luke 23:54). Similarly Mark explains that the people waited until the "evening, when the sun had set" (Mark 1:32) to bring to Christ the sick and demon-possessed. Passages such as these clearly indicate that the Sabbath was observed by the Jewish people in general from sunset to sunset.

In the light of the foregoing considerations we conclude that the sunset reckoning for beginning and ending the Sabbath - though it is not dictated directly by the Fourth Commandment - became the normative method in Jewish history.

In my view the sunset reckoning is still valid and valuable today, wherever the sunset does provide, as in Palestine, a logical termination of the working day and a balanced division between daytime and nighttime. My conviction rests on the fact that the reasons mentioned above which made the sunset reckoning normative for Sabbath keeping in Bible times, are reasons still valid and relevant today.

Should we work right up to the moment Sabbath begins?

To respect the integrity of the working time of the sixth day, however, does not imply that one ought to be engaged in gainful employment until the very end of the day. On the contrary, Friday was rightly called the "Day of Preparation" because part of the work done on that day was in preparation for the Sabbath.

Emperor Caesar Augustus himself acknowledged the right of the Jews to be released from civil obligations earlier on Friday by legislating that Jews "be not obliged to go before any judge on the day of preparation after the ninth hour," that is, after about 3 p.m. The obvious reason for this legislation was to enable the Jews to have adequate time to prepare themselves for the arrival of the Sabbath.

In Conclusion

The absence of any specific instruction in the Fourth Commandment regarding the time for beginning and ending the Sabbath suggests that divine wisdom has chosen to leave the determination of the time factor open to accommodate differing geographical situations.

Additionally, the reasons which made the sunset reckoning normative in Bible times for beginning and ending the Sabbath are reasons which are still valid and valuable today. This is true wherever sunset respects to a large degree the integrity of the sixth working day by providing a balanced division between daytime and nighttime as in Bible lands.

In Arctic regions a Sabbath keeper may wish to observe the Sabbath from 6 p.m. to 6 p.m., according to the equatorial sunset time. This preserves the integrity of the sixth working day.

The beginning of the Sabbath on Friday evening at sunset enables believers today to be better prepared to enter into the daylight celebration of the Sabbath. In most countries today sunset marks the end of the sixth working day and the beginning of the rest and sanctification of the seventh day. Sunset can bring the family together to begin the celebration of the Sabbath day.

The sunset reckoning, then, is still a valid and valuable method for beginning and ending Sabbath wherever sunset provides a balanced division between daytime and nighttime, as in Bible lands.