Meaning of HOUR

This term is used in the Scriptures with various meanings.
(a) An indefinite period, in which the term time would have the same meaning: "The hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father" (John 4:21).

(b) A certain point in time, with "instant" or "immediately" being able to be used synonymously: "And the woman was saved from that hour" (Mt. 9:22).

(c) The division of the day into twelve hours, which is generally considered from sunrise to sunset. This varied in Palestine from ten of our count in the winter to fourteen in the summer, so that the hours of summer were almost half as long as those of winter.

Hours in Scripture are usually counted as 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., making the third hour 9 a.m.; the sixth hour with twelve noon; the ninth hour with 3 in the afternoon, etc.

This correspondence is applicable to all times mentioned in the NT except in the Gospel of John. This evangelist followed the Roman reckoning, from midnight to midnight.

This explains the difficulty found in Jn. 19:4, which records that the judgment was underway at the sixth hour, while Mark 15:25 says "it was the third hour when they crucified Him."

A comparison of all the passages shows that the trial began at a very early hour, and 6 o'clock in the morning fits well in our calculation; and the crucifixion at 9 a.m., the Jewish third hour, agrees with Mark.

The other specific times mentioned in John are found in Jn. 1:39; 4:6, 52, 53, and our time reckoning agrees well with all these mentions.