Exodus 14:24. It came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians.
Before the captivity, the Hebrews divided the night into three watches. The first was from sunset to ten o’clock; the second from ten o’clock to two; the third from two o’clock to sunrise. The first was called the “beginning of the watches” (Lam. 2:19). The second was called the “middle watch” (Judg. 7:19). The third was called the “morning watch,” as in the text, and also in 1 Samuel 11:11.
This mode of dividing time is also referred to in Psalm 63:6; 119:148. The Psalmist meditated on God and his word in the “night-watches.” a later method of dividing the watches, see note on Mark 13:35 (#743).