743. Night Watches

 •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 7
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Mark 13:3535Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: (Mark 13:35). Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning.
The earliest division of the night into watches is noticed in the note on Exodus 14:2424And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians, (Exodus 14:24) (#121). After the Jews became subject to the Roman power they adopted the Roman method of dividing the watches. These watches were four: the first being from sunset to three hours later; the second from this time to midnight; the third from midnight to three hours before sunrise; and the fourth from this time to sunrise. These four watches are all alluded to in the text, the first being called “even,” the second “midnight,” the third “cockcrowing,” and the fourth “morning”; the names indicating the time when the watch terminated.