Imagine a world with no clocks, no watches, no phones buzzing with the time. Just the sun, the moon, and the stars overhead. That’s how people in biblical times lived. Time wasn’t something you checked on your wrist—it was something you observed in the sky, something you felt in the rhythms of daily life.
Sunrise, Sunset—That’s Your Clock
In biblical times, the day started at sunset, not midnight. That’s why Genesis says, "And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day" (Genesis 1:5). Time was marked by natural events: the sun rising, the sun setting, and the phases of the moon. If you needed to know the hour? You’d look at the sky and figure it out.
For most people, life revolved around these natural divisions of time:
-Morning (Boqer, בֹּקֶר) – The time for work, when the sun was up.
- Midday (Tsohorayim, צָהֳרַיִם) – The hottest part of the day, when people rested in the shade.
- Evening (Erev, עֶרֶב) – The time for winding down as the sun set.
- Night (Lailah, לַיְלָה) – Marked by watches (more on that in a moment).
How the Ancient Jews Kept Track of the Night
Without streetlights, a lit-up phone screen, or an alarm clock, how did people know what time it was in the middle of the night? They used night watches—periods when guards or shepherds would take turns staying awake.
The night was divided into three or four watches:
1. First Watch (Evening Watch) – Sunset to about 10 PM.
2. Second Watch (Midnight Watch) – Around 10 PM to 2 AM.
3. Third Watch (Morning Watch) – 2 AM to sunrise.
By the time of the Romans, a fourth watch was added, breaking the night into quarters.
In the Hebrew Bible, the night appears to have been divided into three sections:
Lamentations 2:19 – "Arise, cry out in the night, at the beginning of the watches!"
This suggests multiple watches, starting from the evening.
Judges 7:19 – "So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outpost of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch..."
If there’s a middle watch, that strongly implies a three-watch system. If there were four, it would have been called the "second watch," not the "middle watch."
What About Sundials and Water Clocks?
Not everyone relied on the sun alone. By the time of King Hezekiah (8th century BCE), sundials were already in use. Isaiah 38:8 mentions the "steps of Ahaz," which many believe was a type of sundial. The shadow would move as the day progressed, helping people estimate the time.
Water clocks, or clepsydras, were another way to measure time. These were bowls with small holes that allowed water to drip at a steady rate. Priests in the Temple likely used them to track time for sacrifices. But for everyday people? They still relied on the sky.
Time Meant Something Different Back Then
Unlike today, when every second is counted and measured, people in biblical times lived by God’s time, not the clock’s time. There were no seconds, minutes, or even precise hours. Time moved at the pace of the sun, the moon, and the seasons.
And yet, isn’t it funny? Even with all our technology, we’re still bound by those same rhythms. We still rise with the sun. We still rest when it sets. Time hasn’t changed—just the way we count it.
Timeless Watches from Israel
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