In biblical literature, the concept of "day" holds significant theological and symbolic meaning, often representing both literal and metaphorical periods of time. The term "day" is used throughout the Bible to denote various lengths of time, from a 24-hour period to an indefinite era or age.

Creation Days

The most prominent use of "day" in the Bible is found in the Genesis account of creation. Genesis 1 describes the six days of creation, followed by a seventh day of rest. Each day is marked by the phrase, "And there was evening, and there was morning," indicating a cycle of time. The Berean Standard Bible states, "And God said, 'Let there be light,' and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. God called the light 'day,' and the darkness He called 'night.' And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day" (Genesis 1:3-5). The creation days have been interpreted both literally, as 24-hour periods, and figuratively, as longer epochs of time.

Sabbath Day

The concept of the Sabbath, or the seventh day, is rooted in the creation narrative. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, setting a precedent for the observance of the Sabbath as a day of rest and worship. Exodus 20:8-10 commands, "Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God." The Sabbath serves as a reminder of God's creative work and His covenant with His people.

Day of the Lord

The "Day of the Lord" is a significant eschatological theme in the Bible, referring to a future time when God will intervene decisively in human history. This day is characterized by both judgment and salvation. The prophet Joel declares, "The Day of the LORD is great; it is dreadful. Who can endure it?" (Joel 2:11). In the New Testament, the Apostle Paul writes, "For you are fully aware that the Day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night" (1 Thessalonians 5:2). This day is anticipated as a time of ultimate justice and the fulfillment of God's promises.

Days of Jesus' Earthly Ministry

The Gospels recount the days of Jesus' earthly ministry, highlighting His teachings, miracles, and interactions with people. Each day of His ministry was purposeful, culminating in His crucifixion and resurrection. The Gospel of John emphasizes the significance of Jesus' final days, stating, "Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath" (John 19:31). These days are central to the Christian faith, marking the foundation of salvation through Christ's atoning work.

Symbolic Use of Days

In addition to literal days, the Bible often uses "day" symbolically to convey deeper spiritual truths. For example, Psalm 90:4 states, "For in Your sight a thousand years are but a day that passes, or a watch of the night." This verse underscores God's eternal nature and His perspective on time, contrasting human temporality with divine timelessness.

Final Days

The Bible also speaks of the "last days," a period leading up to the return of Christ and the establishment of God's eternal kingdom. The Apostle Peter, quoting the prophet Joel, declares, "In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people" (Acts 2:17). These days are marked by both challenges and the outpouring of God's Spirit, encouraging believers to remain vigilant and faithful.

Throughout Scripture, the concept of "day" serves as a multifaceted symbol, reflecting God's creative power, covenantal faithfulness, and redemptive plan for humanity.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.

DAY'S JOURNEY

jur'-ni (derekh yom, Genesis 30:36 Numbers 10:33; Numbers 11:31; hemeras hodos, Luke 2:44): The common way of estimating distances in the East is by hours and days. This is natural in a country where roads are mere bridle paths or non-existent, as in the desert. The distance traveled must of course differ largely according to the difficulties of the way, and it is more important to know where night will overtake the traveler than the actual distance accomplished. A day's journey is now commonly reckoned at about 3 miles per hour, the distance usually covered by a loaded mule, the number of hours being about 8. Hence, a day's journey is about 24 miles, and this may be taken as a fair estimate for Bible times.

H. Porter

SABBATH DAY'S JOURNEY

jur'-ni (sabbatou hodos): Used only in Acts 1:12, where it designates the distance from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives, to which Jesus led His disciples on the day of His ascension. The expression comes from rabbinical usage to indicate the distance a Jew might travel on the Sabbath without transgressing the Law, the command against working on that day being interpreted as including travel (see Exodus 16:27-30). The limit set by the rabbis to the Sabbath day's journey was 2,000 cubits from one's house or domicile, which was derived from the statement found in Joshua 3:4 that this was the distance between the ark and the people on their march, this being assumed to be the distance between the tents of the people and the tabernacle during the sojourn in the wilderness. Hence, it must have been allowable to travel thus far to attend the worship of the tabernacle. We do not know when this assumption in regard to the Sabbath day's journey was made, but it seems to have been in force in the time of Christ. The distance of the Mount of Olives from Jerusalem is stated in Josephus (Ant., XX, viii, 6) to have been five stadia or furlongs and in BJ, V, ii, 3, six stadia, the discrepancy being explained by supposing a different point of departure. This would make the distance of the Sabbath day's journey from 1,000 to 1,200 yards, the first agreeing very closely with the 2,000 cubits. The rabbis, however, invented a way of increasing this distance without technically infringing the Law, by depositing some food at the 2,000-cubit limit, before the Sabbath, and declaring that spot a temporary domicile. They might then proceed 2,000 cubits from this point without transgressing the Law.

And in some cases even this intricacy of preparation was unnecessary. If, for instance, the approach of the Sabbath found one on his journey, the traveler might select some tree or some stone wall at a distance of 2,000 paces and mentally declare this to be his residence for the Sabbath, in which case he was permitted to go the 2,000 paces to the selected tree or wall and also 2,000 paces beyond, but in such a case he must do the work thoroughly and must say: "Let my Sabbath residence be at the trunk of that tree," for if he merely said: "Let my Sabbath residence be under that tree," this would not be sufficient, because the, expression would be too general and indefinite (Tractate `Erubhin 4:7).

Other schemes for extending the distance have been devised, such as regarding the quarter of the town in which one dwells, or the whole town itself, as the domicile, thus allowing one to proceed from any part of the town to a point 2,000 cubits beyond its utmost limits. This was most probably the case with walled towns, at least, and boundary stones have been found in the vicinity of Gaza with inscriptions supposed to mark these limits. The 2,000-cubit limits around the Levitical cities (Numbers 35:5) may have suggested the limit of the Sabbath day's journey also. The term came to be used as a designation of distance which must have been more or less definite.

H. Porter

2250. hemera -- day
... day. Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine Transliteration: hemera Phonetic Spelling:
(hay-mer'-ah) Short Definition: a day Definition: a day, the period from sunrise ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/2250.htm - 7k

3069. Ludda -- Lydda, a city in Palestine
... lud'-dah) Short Definition: Lydda, Diospolis, Lod Definition: Lydda, Diospolis,
Lod (modern Ludd), a city on the way to Joppa within a day's journey of ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3069.htm - 6k

3117. yom -- day
... 3116, 3117. yom. 3118 . day. Transliteration: yom Phonetic Spelling: (yome)
Short Definition: day. Word Origin a prim. root Definition ...
/hebrew/3117.htm - 7k

4550. massa -- a pulling up, breaking (camp), setting out, a ...
... journeying. From naca'; a departure (from striking the tents), ie March (not
necessarily a single day's travel); by implication, a station (or point of departure ...
/hebrew/4550.htm - 6k

6776. tsemed -- a couple, pair
... A yoke or team (ie Pair); hence, an acre (ie Day's task for a yoke of cattle to
plough) -- acre, couple, X together, two (donkeys), yoke (of oxen). ...
/hebrew/6776.htm - 6k

When Day's Shadows Lengthen
... No. 140 When day's shadows lengthen. GENERAL, Evening Hymn When day's
shadows lengthen Mane nobiscum, quoniam ad vesperascit. ...
/.../the st gregory hymnal and catholic choir book/no 140 when days shadows.htm

A Day's Work. April 12.
... A Day's Work. April 12. Make a rule, and pray to God to help you to keep
it, never, if possible, to lie down at night without being ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/daily thoughts /a days work april 12.htm

Second Day's Discussion.
... Book III. Chapter XII. "Second Day's Discussion. But when the day had
dawned, some one came in and said: "There is a very great ...
/.../unknown/recognitions of clement /chapter xii name days discussion.htm

For Divine Protection on a Day's Journey.
... ORIGINAL HYMNS HYMN CXCII. For Divine Protection on a Day's Journey. 8.6.8.6 ... For
Divine Protection on a Day's Journey. I take the journey of a day,. ...
/.../montgomery/sacred poems and hymns/hymn cxcii for divine protection.htm

He Touched Her Hand.
... One morning on waking, a woman charged with the care of a home began thinking of
the day's simple duties. ... Better just take a day off." And he was gone. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/gordon/quiet talks on service/he touched her hand.htm

"Sufficient for the Day. " June 6.
... "Sufficient for the Day." June 6. Let us not meddle with the future, and
matters which are too high for us, but refrain our souls ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/daily thoughts /sufficient for the day june.htm

The Secret Walk with God (I. ).
... Curacies. AIM OF THE BOOK. Day by day, for many years past, my life has
lain among men preparing themselves for just that work. As ...
/.../moule/to my younger brethren/chapter i the secret walk.htm

The Distracted Mind
All Saints' Day and Other Sermons. <. ... things of itself. Sufficient
unto the day is the evil thereof.". Scholars will tell ...
/.../kingsley/all saints day and other sermons/sermon xxxix the distracted mind.htm

We Sure of To-Morrow? a New Year's Sermon
... 'To-morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.'"Isaiah 56:12. ... We spoil
to- day by thinking how we can turn it to the account of pleasure. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture h/we sure of to-morrow a.htm

The Duty of Every Day
... THE SECOND BOOK OF CHRONICLES THE DUTY OF EVERY DAY. 'Then Solomon offered burnt
offerings unto the Lord ... Even after a certain rate every day.'"(AV) ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/the duty of every day.htm

Day's (19 Occurrences)
...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. ...DAY'S JOURNEY. ...
/d/day's.htm - 17k

To-day's (1 Occurrence)
To-day's. Today's, To-day's. Toe . Multi-Version Concordance
To-day's (1 Occurrence). Acts 19:40 For in connexion with ...
/t/to-day's.htm - 6k

Sabbath-day's (1 Occurrence)
Sabbath-day's. Sabbath-days, Sabbath-day's. Sabbatheus .
Multi-Version Concordance Sabbath-day's (1 Occurrence). Acts ...
/s/sabbath-day's.htm - 6k

Journey (214 Occurrences)
... (1.) A day's journey in the East is from 16 to 20 miles (Numbers 11:31). (2.) A
Sabbath-day's journey is 2,000 paces or yards from the city walls (Acts 1:12). ...
/j/journey.htm - 42k

Quail (5 Occurrences)
... Numbers 11:31-33: "And there went forth a wind from Yahweh, and brought quail from
the sea, and let them fall by the camp, about a day's journey on this side ...
/q/quail.htm - 13k

Journeyed (111 Occurrences)
... Luke 2:44 but, supposing him to be in the company that journeyed together, they
went a day's journey, and sought him among their relations and acquaintances ...
/j/journeyed.htm - 33k

Quails (4 Occurrences)
... Numbers 11:31 A wind from Yahweh went out and brought quails from the sea, and let
them fall by the camp, about a day's journey on this side, and a day's...
/q/quails.htm - 8k

Kibroth-hattaavah (5 Occurrences)
... with the Erweis el-Ebeirig, where the remains of an ancient encampment have been
found, about 30 miles north-east of Sinai, and exactly a day's journey from ...
/k/kibroth-hattaavah.htm - 10k

Kibrothhattaavah (5 Occurrences)
... with the Erweis el-Ebeirig, where the remains of an ancient encampment have been
found, about 30 miles north-east of Sinai, and exactly a day's journey from ...
/k/kibrothhattaavah.htm - 10k

Juniper (7 Occurrences)
... selected the place of encampment, if possible, in a spot where it grew, in order
to be sheltered by it at night from the wind; and during the day, when they ...
/j/juniper.htm - 11k

Who are the four horsemen of the apocalypse? | GotQuestions.org

What is the significance of Lystra in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

What is the meaning of the Parable of the Unforgiving / Unmerciful Servant? | GotQuestions.org

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus